Amber - Do it or die

 Ok I am going to make this goal this week.  I've messed around long enough and it is not working.  So everything else is going to have to take second stage.  This week I will have to do some hard work and get to bed.  I also realize that I may have stronger opposition this week because I am trying hard.  That is how it usually works so hopefully that realization helps me stick to the plan.  I've also noticed that due to the nature and amount of stuff I write every week it is hard to compare and track my progress so I am including a table I made up in word and I will put my rise and bed times there.  Here are the goals.

Goals:

• Alarm at 9:00- wrap it up and go get ready for bed.
• Alarm at 9:30- time to put it down now.
• Bed at 10 pm
• Rise at 7 am (alarm included)
• Have an activity every day that I look forward to having time to do.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Rise Time	8 am	7:10	8 or later	7:07	7:05	6:45	9 am
Bed Time	10:15	10:10	11ish	after 11	10:35	10-12	12

Monday:

* Today I only got a little thing as outlined by Come follow me.  D&C 51 talks a bit about stewardship and how we are all responsible to God and for the things he gives us as well as in part those around us.  We are to take care of ourselves and help others when we are able.  I liked verse 9 where it says to deal honestly and be alike that we may be one.  I don't think it means to be the same but to treat everyone equal.  We are all children of God and have the same problem in this life, that we cannot return to God without the Savior and without repenting and improving what we have.  This is our stewardship and recognizing that in others is the key to becoming one with those around us.

• I worked on 3 different projects but finished none of them.  I got going slow and didn't have a ton of time to do things even though I didn't play any games or sit and spend time on my phone or computer.  However, I did actually make progress and hopefully I can get more done tomorrow.
• When bed time came I was faced with the three unfinished projects that I wanted to work on (4 if you count the belt that I didn't work on but was out ready).  I left two of them but one I had all over the table and couldn't leave it out so I decided to do a little bit more and then put it away.  I pushed it until just before 10 and thus was a little late.  However, I am happy to have got so much closer and made a good attempt at sticking to the plan.  

Tuesday:

* In section 52 the Lord gives us a pattern to be able to tell when someone is of God or not.  The key is two-fold.  The most obvious is that they bring forth good fruits.  If someone tells you something but then does another thing then you can know they are not of God.  If they aren't doing the things of God in their life then they are unlikely to have the spirit which means they are probably not inspired to tell you things of God.  However, it is also true that every person sins, it is part of being human.  So the other way to tell is if their spirits are contrite.  Do they feel sorry and try to fix their mistakes, are they willing to be humble and repent?  Humility and good fruits are the evidence of those who follow God.

• I woke up before 7 but didn't get up for a few minutes.  However when I did I got a lot of stuff done so I'm quite pleased with my progress so far.
• I did a ton of cleaning and other stuff today, even made a pie, unfortunately I didn't leave much time for crafts so only did a little hand sewing.

Wednesday:

* I woke up sick today, some sort of cold/sore throat.  I was so foggy and sluggish that when I read and didn't find anything I decided it was futile to keep trying.  I even burned Grandma three times with the curling iron (not bad) while trying to do her hair.  Not a good idea when you are sick.  Fortunately for me they went on a day trip and I stayed home.  Though I couldn't sleep I was able to do a couple good things.

• I finished mission 2 for family history.  I also spent a little time on my belt.  I did a couple things online and then I played.  I didn't get to bed on time but I wasn't tired so hopefully that doesn't affect my tomorrow too much.

Thursday:

* Feeling much better today and I got a thought to share.  While reading section 54 I came across this verse, "And as the covenant which they made unto me has been broken, even so it has become void and of none effect."  This is something that happens every time we sin.  We break a covenant we made with God and without the Savior's sacrifice and our ability to repent our covenant would become void and of no affect.  We would be lost forever because we couldn't fix the broken covenant.  We can't undo what we have done but Christ can.  He can take that sin and cover our name with his and make it, in the eyes of God, as if we had never done it.  We can be pure and start again and for that I am ever grateful because I make a lot of mistakes.

• Today I spent most of my free time starting up the energy clearing I was doing before.  This time I'm taking a financial course.  It took a lot of time to set up and get started, it is more involved than the usual plans I was doing before.  There was a bunch of intro stuff and prep stuff before I could actually start.  However, I feel good about what I did and even managed to squeeze in a little hand sewing and belt weaving.
• My head was so involved that I couldn't get me to go to sleep until after 11.  I went to my room soon after 10 but was just sitting there thinking and planning.

Friday:

*I was reading "The Living Christ" and in the first paragraph I came across and thought about "the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice."  The oxford dictionary gives a definition of virtue as "a good or useful quality of a thing."  There are many good and useful things from the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Other words for this definition are Merit, Advantage, Benefit, Usefulness, Efficacy, Power, Potency, Force, and Strength.  All of these can apply to Christ's atonement.  In fact if you replace the word virtue in the sentence with one of these words then it gives you a different perspective.  "the infinite advantage of His great atoning sacrifice."  or "the infinite power of His great atoning sacrifice."

• I have not been good at crafting this week.  Grandma has taken more of my time and I've been sick and behind on things.  Then I also don't feel like doing it because I'm stressed from too much Grandma time and catching up.  Today I spent a very small amount on my belt.  Only one pattern worth.  On the plus side I got a tool that will make it slightly faster/easier and I am quite happy about it.

Saturday:

* I read an amazing talk by Elder Uchtdort "God Among Us."  It was very uplifting and positive, gave me more hope for the future.  He that Christ "teaches us to lay aside the things of the world, and seek for the things of a better."  Then he says that he also teaches us to seek joy, enlightenment, peace, truth, happiness, and immortality and eternal life.  I will confess I''ve always thought of this as "Oh I need to think and focus on more of the spiritual and less on things I want to do."  Now that is part of it because I've found the more I think on the spiritual the more I notice how everything is spiritual and relates to the next life.  This in turn gives me joy and keeps me happy.  However, today I thought of it differently, that the things of the world as things that are worldly  and the things of a better world as all things that come from God.  This is irregardless of whether it is spiritual or physical.  Things we need in this life and things we enjoy in this life are often things of God and therefore they are also of a better world.  I can do sewing, or reading, or playing the piano, or learning new things, or exercising, or cooking something good, or enjoying nature, or watching a good movie, or any other thing that is good and still be seeking the things of a better world.  I think the key is to not let those good things prevent you from doing the necessary things for you and your family's spiritual and physical well-being.

• I worked more on my belt and again with hand sewing.
• I know today's bed time is vague but the truth is that I went to go to bed a little after 10 but couldn't go to sleep and wasn't feeling very well so I brought my phone in and watched funny videos until I could tell I was sleepy which was a bit before 12.  (I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!)

Sunday:

*No reading today.

• Also no sewing today.  Though I did finish missions 3&4.
• I really struggled to get to sleep today.  My mind was quite busy and I couldn't rest.  This is very unusual for me but has been happening lately.  Perhaps if I stop what I'm doing right when my alarm goes off then I can calm down in the evening.  I might add some sort of mediation or the like to calm my mind down.