Amber - small change

 My last week was a bit of a failure as far as my main goal goes.  I didn't get to bed any earlier.  I did keep up on doing things with my free time but didn't work as hard as planned.  I kind of forgot that I wanted to work harder.  I could have done more and I think it would have helped but even so I think I have to make a small change.  You see I found that I like to finish things and I get disappointed when I don't.  So switching up what I'm doing while still in the middle of something else is disappointing to me.  It would be useful if it was taking super long and I needed a break but that is not the case here.  So the plan is to try to push through and work hard to get the planned thing done.  However, if I don't quite finish then I'm going to keep at it the next day and push the planned activities to the next day.  I'll keep the same order but it won't be tied to a certain day of the week any longer.  The idea is to keep me motivated so that I'll find it easier to go to bed earlier.  I will say that it has helped with playing the computer.  Last week I only played twice and even then I only stayed up late once.

Goals:

• Alarm at 9:30 - wrap it up and go get ready for bed.
• 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:

* Today's thought is about not being deceived.  It is easy to be confused by many of the ideas and philosophies in the world today.  When we are diligent at seeking truth from God then we will be able to stand in the truth that is and not the best guesses of well meaning people or worse the half-truths that Satan would have us believe.  Section 46 gives us a couple specific ways to combat the deceiver.  Verse 7 says to do all things with prayer and thankfulness and to follow the answers to your prayers as given by the Holy Ghost.  Verse 8 says to avoid being deceived you should seek earnestly for the best spiritual gifts and to do so while remembering what they are meant to be used for.  Sometimes I think we don't seek for these gifts because we feel we don't need them or that we don't deserve them.  We need gifts from heaven because we aren't perfect.  That is what they are for to help us and to help others.

• Wow I slept for about 11 hours but I feel good so it must have been needed.
• Today I altered three pairs of pants for Grandma.  We bought them when you couldn't go into the dressing rooms but they were supposedly her size.
• I went to bed at a little before 11.

Tuesday:

* Come Follow me posed the question of how would church change for you if you followed the promptings you received.  This question made me think and I came up with a few.

• I already write down spiritual insights during the talks but if I listened for those insights the rest of church and wrote them down as well I am sure I would have more.
• The songs can be a source of promptings and the sacrament as well.
• I would be more likely to get up and bear my testimony.
• I would be sharing my thoughts during the lesson more often.
• I would be talking to more people.
• I would be trying to do my callings, especially as regards my ministering.  Greeting my sisters and seeing how they are doing.
• If I were actively trying to feel the spirit and trying to listen for those promptings then I am sure my church experience would be different.

• I woke a little after 7 and read my scriptures, though I didn't get up for another hour or so.
• I struggled today but did finish cutting out all the dolls and sew two more pairs of pants for Grandma.
• I went to bed after 11, I had a good chance of going to bed early tonight but decided to look up something first and that took way longer than planned.

Wednesday:

* My thought today is from section 47:1.  "Behold, it is expedient in me that my servant John should write and keep a regular history, and assist you, my servant Joseph, in transcribing all things which shall be given you, until he is called to further duties."  John Whitmer didn't want to do it but said he would if the Lord told Joseph that he should.  I've talked about this before but sometimes I get answers to prayers and am instructed to do something.  I attempt to do as I'm asked but it doesn't always work or I have done it and after a while I wonder if I should do something else.  However, it is usually the case that I need to keep doing what I'm doing/trying to do until I am instructed further.  This is the hard part.  I've always said it would be easy to die for God but it is much more difficult to live for him.  It is often tedious and takes lots of patience but whenever I question it I feel good about the path that I'm on.

• I actually didn't get to sleep until midnight so I was awake around 8.
• Today I also struggled, I was super tired and sluggish all day.  I did manage to make up the other half of Chad's hose and I am quite pleased with that because I had to push hard to make it happen.
• I was going to stay up a bit, on the computer, to prepare some stuff for tomorrow but the internet crashed and I decided that was a good excuse so I went to bed just after 10.

Thursday

* I didn't exactly get much of a new thought today but read small selection of verses that made me happy and grateful.  In 2 Nephi 9 Jacob exclaims how marvelous the wisdom of God in preparing a way for us to escape!  If it weren't for Jesus Christ we would all be subject to Satan.  We would never have our bodies again and we would never live with God again.  We would be stuck and miserable like the devil, unable to progress.  Christ makes it possible, we can overcome our sins and weakness and other challenges because of him.  One day will be resurrected and if we are doing what we can in this life to return to God then we will be reconciled with him and live together in joy and happiness.

• I woke up just after 7, pretty much exactly 9 hours after I went to bed.  My body just really needs 9 hours of sleep to feel good the next day and I feel marvelous this morning.  I have elected to stay home today and let everyone else go on their day trip to deliver some rocks.  I'm going to give the house a bit  of a cleaning and then hopefully get some good work done on my free time stuff.

Saturday

* I got busy and didn't get a thought yesterday and then today I read but already forgot my thought because it isn't actually today.  So sorry no thoughts.

• I don't remember when I woke up but I was in the living room so I think it was before 8.
• I was going to play today on the computer but decided to do some of my planner.  After a little bit I didn't want to play anymore because my planner was so interesting.  I took my time and did a thorough job and now it is basically done.
• In fact I went so long that I didn't go to bed until after 11.

Sunday

* I didn't read today, it's so silly I don't do it on the sabbath but am so religious about it the rest of the week.

• I woke up to a barking dog who has gone mad today.  She is super sensitive to sounds and she barks at anything that moves.  I wish she'd use her nose more often because she uses it last.  Sometimes she will not see me for a while and then she hears me in the back room or sees me all the way across the house and she barks like crazy until she recognizes me.  Today she has been barking constantly and it is driving me nuts!  I've quit going to see who is there because there is no one there!  She does bark a lot at the neighbors across the street but usually not for so long.
• No sewing today, not even hand sewing because I am super tired today.  However I got caught up in a family history project.  I'm making little missions to help people to get started in family history.  I had a few but I've been changing them and categorizing them and adding new ones.
• I again had trouble going to sleep because my brain wasn't done thinking about the family history project.  Though I will say that I went to bed a little after 10 so there is something positive.