One Busy Girl!!

Well, this last week was composed of....
visiting teaching,
Being visit taught,
saying goodbye to friends,
continuing to train my replacement at work,
wrapping up life in AZ,
packing,
lack of sleep,
saying goodbye to family,
traveling approximately 1000 miles,
greeting family,
AND ....
Unpacking!

This last week I LIVED!
 I successfully ended a chapter of my life, turned the page, and eagerly began the next chapter of my life story!
Is it such a great thing to experience what life has to offer.

I feel like through all the whirlwind of changes I experienced, that I've actually become more acutely aware of the constants in my life. Those people and truths that I know I can hold on to.
I love, and am so grateful for those constants. . .

The Gift of the Holy Ghost, that I CAN have as a constant companion if I will.

My Heavenly Father who loves me dearly.

My Savior, Brother, and Friend- Jesus Christ.
The Scriptures
The Power of prayer
Friendships that are dear to my heart, and don't change no matter the distance.

These things I love. 

I'm excited that I have the opportunity to accept, embrace, and then face these changes head on!
I've come to realized that it is OK if I feel nervous, it is okay to feel vulnerable, it is okay to miss things of the past. It is OK to feel what I feel inside.

However, I want to accept those feelings with faith.
 I know that as I am experiencing these changes that my Heavenly Father is completely mindful of me.
He is mindful of my fears.
 He is mindful of my feelings.
He is mindful of ALL of Marla. 

"Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yeah he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yeah, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."

Recap!

So, I decided that when I started this blog,  I would try to post each Sunday about something I  was grateful for, or something that I had been thinking about during the last week. Basically, ANYthing! Similar to a journal. I hope that whoever reads my blog finds it interesting, but to paraphrase from a line in a movie- this blog is for free expression, not for good impressions! :)

This Sunday however, I wanted to do a recap over this last summer.
I'm going to do that by sharing some quotations that have really hit home to me.

"Let go and Let God."
This summer I have been trying to not only becoming healthier physically, but emotionally as well. I'm learning to let go of the things that I cannot control and learning to grab hold of my Savior.
As a let go of the pressures and the 'shoulds', I let God into my life.
I'm working on loving the REAL me.

"I'm not Okay, and You're not Okay- And that is Okay."
I've always had a hard time admitting my weakness. I think we all do. But I've learned even more fully this summer, that the truth is- we ALL are struggling. We all have imperfections.
And that is MORE than okay!
 I'm learning to be authentic.
I've learned that when I have the strength to admit to my weakness, that it gives permission for someone else to admit to it. How amazing is that?? And then, here comes the beautiful part. . . .
We can grow, learn, and strengthen each other.

"I don't always know what the future holds.... but I know Who holds the future."-Oprah Winfrey

I just saw this on a good friends facebook, but it VERY accurately expresses how I've grown to feel.

This summer I learned more about Agency. What a blessing that is! I'm so glad we fought for it in the pre-existence. But oh... how hard it is to deal with when people don't choose what we would like them too. People and the future are at times unpredictable.
 But, there is one who is always constant- and that is the Savior and our Heavenly Father.
I've learned that as I reach out to the hands they are extending to me. . . that it will be okay-
 NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS!

This summer has taught me so much and I am oh, so grateful! I feel blessed that Heavenly Father takes the time to teach me. Oh, how much I love Him!

 I'm so excited for the next chapter in my story book to begin though! This coming Saturday the 20th when I head back up to Provo, UT to attend BYU I will begin a new adventure!! I'm excited to see what comes my way!

 But through it all, I know I'm loved. I know I have potential. And I know that with the Savior, I can do ALL things!

Bring On the Fall!!!! :)

Last Week's Gems

So, this last week has been a very special week in my life. 

No, I didn't somehow win something.

 No, I didn't get absolutely swept off my feet. 

No, I didn't go on an amazing vacation. 

In fact, I stayed home and worked all week.

Yes, I did work a couple really long work days. 

Yes, I did feel tired.

Yes, I did accept a sad reality and close a chapter of my life.

The clincher:

Yes, I did have my Heavenly Father by my side. And when He wasn't by my side, I'm positive it was because He was carrying me through. 

I am ever so grateful that I am a member of the only true church on the earth- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is what brings my life happiness, meaning, and purpose. I KNOW it is true! Without it, I think I would feel so empty. 

The gospel is GLORIOUS! 

I wanted to share with you some of the simple things that enriched and beautified my life this week.

2 Nephi 1:15 

". . . I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."

I love these pictures by the way.... They are from the Reflections of Christ and Another Testament of Christ by Mark Mabry. 

D&C 123:17

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

LOVE THAT.

A quotation I received at Girl's Camp a couple years ago, that I think of often:

" I want to live in such a way, that when I get up in the morning Satan will cry, 'Oh no! She's awake!'"

A beautiful quotation that I simply adore by Max Lucado that I saw on a dear friend's blog. 

" A woman's heart must be so lost in God that a man must seek Him to know her." 

I desire to be that kind of woman with ALL my heart. I desire to be so close to the Savior, that the only way the man I fall deeply in love with someday will completely understand me . . .  

. . . is if he seeks Him.

The gospel principle that was reaffirmed to me this week: 

Faith and Fear cannot exist in me at the same time. 

No, they definitely can not.

When I have faith in my Savior, the worries of this life are washed away by His love and peace. 

This week I have an increased appreciation for the atonement, for I know that because the Savior experienced all that I have, my pains, my troubles, even my sickness- that frequently I honestly don't even understand myself- HE DOES. He has gone through it.

 He LOVES me still.

He can comfort me always. 

I Know My Savior Lives. 

I Know He Loves Me.

I Know I am worth it.