Amber - Feeling hopeful

Hello new week!  I love Mondays, it always feels so fresh and hopeful.  I am excited to make progress on these goals this week.  I may have to start going to bed early in order to do it though.  So here are is what I'm aiming for.

• My room is an electronic-free space
• Keep my temple covenants so that one day I can share a beautiful relationship with my chosen partner
• I like staying in the real world because of all of the wonderful real experiences I have in it

Below are my goals that will help make this a reality.

1. Make signs of goals and affirmations as needed and display them where I will see.
2. Study extra resources on each of the three sub goals.
3. Work on changing my reactions to triggers.
• When I feel lonely I pick something from my service list and do it
• When I have trouble staying in the real world then I work on my current memorizing item
• When I feel tempted then I call someone on my close to list
4. Practice all of the above (pausing to read signs and visualizing, picking up my memorizing, feeling lonely, and anything else).
5. Repent every night before bed.

Monday:

* My thought today comes from D&C 3.  This is the section where Joseph is chastised after the 116 pages were lost.  I liked verse 2 which says "For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round."  Sometimes in my own life I get answers or instruction and I don't like it.  I wish I got a different answer and sometimes I'll ask again later in life thinking maybe it just wasn't the right time.  However, this says that the Lord is the same and doesn't change so I need to be better at accepting and following the answers I receive.  Not just accept but also to rejoice in it, I can trust those answers because they are from God who doesn't change.

• I'm starting out pretty much the same because I haven't followed any of the plans so far.  I will say that I've spent way too much time playing ARK with Chase, Austin, and Chad.  We set up a server and have been popping in all weekend as it is a holiday.  I'll have to limit my time spent doing this.

Tuesday:

* I'm going to share my favorite quote from the talk I read today by Elder Uchtdorf.  Actually there are a couple.  The talk is "God Will Do Something Unimaginable" and is about adversity and how it affects us.  My most favorite part is this "Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us."  It is an exciting thought.  Then he talks about how to deal with tough times and unexpected challenges, how we do so is "We face the facts and return to the fundamentals."  This is very true and has been spot on for me.  Every time I struggle with something the key is always focusing on the basics.  The better I do at them the more success I have in my life.  Things become easier, I accomplish more, and I know I'm doing the right thing.

• Today I failed at the phone thing.
• I did actually do better in other ways.  I even worked on writing down some affirmations.
• I also said my prayer.

Wednesday:

* I liked D&C 3:10.  Joseph had lost the 116 pages and was unable to translate and was afraid he had lost his calling then he received this revelation and was chastised for his weakness.  But then God says "But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work." I am so grateful that when we make mistakes God always allows us to repent and become clean again.  No matter how many times nor how far we feel from him he is still all loving and wants us back.

• Still not doing good at the electronic-free room.
• I finished making my affirmations I just have to figure out how I want to display them.
• I stayed up way too late!  I didn't notice the time until after 3 so we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Thursday:

* I only slept 5 hours but I feel better than I feared I would.  I read D&C 4 and though it is packed with really good quotes I struggled to find anything new.  I think as a missionary we spent a lot of time studying and reading it in addition to memorizing it that I got too used to it.  However, after a bit of a search and reading come follow me and re reading a couple times I have found a thought in verse 2.  It uses the phrase "embark in the service of God".  There is more and I might be pulling it out of context but I was struck by this phrase and what it can mean in my life.  Often I am asked to do things in the scriptures, general conference talks, in church, and personal revelation.  Many times I'm not sure how to proceed or exactly what to do and I am someone who loves to have step by step instructions (I love putting legos together for this reason).  Most of the time I don't get to know all the steps but if I don't start the journey and take a step then I never get any further.  Sometimes just starting in any way you can think of is enough and often that first step (it's called faith) prompts more instruction and direction.  Eventually it always works out for the best you just have to take that step and embark on the journey.

• I'm going to try to be positive here and put down what I succeeded at rather than what I failed at, unless it was super impactful that day.
• Today I went to bed early and made some great plans for tomorrow.

Friday:

* I found a thing in section 5 that I'd never seen before.  In verse 4 the Lord tells Joseph that he has given him the gift to translate, that it is the first gift he gave him, and that he will give him no other gift until he has finished the work of translation.  I like to try out new systems and work on lots of goals and make things better.  When I get an answer that yes this is the thing and the way I should do things then I get excited but it doesn't last so long.  If I don't get consistent results very quickly (usually from me not doing the thing consistently) then I start looking for a better way.  However, this verse was a reminder that I need to go back to the answers I received.  Almost always it is the case that they are still the answers I just haven't given them a proper chance to work.  Same with my goals, I want to do more things but I haven't reached my original inspired goal yet.  The scriptures are true and you can get revelation from them everyday if that is what you want.

• So I've been very lax and didn't blog for two days hence I can't remember what happened the rest of the week.  Except I did OK with prayers and Sunday I did well with my phone.  Also I have finally got my memorizing item in place so I can grab it whenever and where ever I'm at.

I'm just going to move on to next week.