Better Than Giggles

I love to laugh. I love to smile. And once I get the giggles, it's hard to stop. 

Because if you asked me, "What's your favorite pastime?" I would say, "Laughing."

So today was a beautiful day. It started with giggles and ended perfectly the same way.

It was cloudy and it rained, and the sun was hardly out, but let me tell you...'sunshine in your soul' is real. And that sunshine is so very contagious. 

Life has been crazy lately. I'm constantly exhausted and there is so much to do. My life has taken turns in directions that I never planned for myself, and guess what? 

I'm happier than I ever have been. 

Because the 'sunshine in my soul' is more than a few temporary rays of sunlight. It's the light and Spirit of Heavenly Father. It is the WHOLE sun. Inside me. It's lasting. Eternal. It is the very source of all light. 

I promise that God's light is so very real. It IS happiness. It's joy beyond comprehension. It's the inexplicable laughs that you can't contain and the love that overflows towards everyone and everything you see. It's the power to smile through tears and to dance when the storms are beating down harder than ever. 

It makes everything beautiful. 

So seek the Light. See it. Live in it. Live for it. Let it change you. Let it make you whole. And let it flow from you. 

I promise as you humbly allow His light into your life through repentance and obedience it will radiate from you, and it will be impossible not to smile. Trouble will not disappear. The clouds will still come. But when you carry that sunshine inside of you, nothing can darken it without you choosing it. It will change you and it will change others.

Heaven's light is real. It has power. It brings peace. It brings laughter and pure joy. It's the only true source of all things good. It heals and helps and brings strength and courage. 

It brings happiness that is better than anything. 

It's better than ice cream and pizza.

It's better than a million 'likes'.

Better than a walk on the beach, or a late night with a friend.

It's better than anything I've ever known.

It's even better than the giggles.(;

Something Greater

Wow. 

I cannot even begin to describe the feelings I have inside of me right now.

But let me say this.

God lives. He is REAL. He is there. He has a plan. 

He loves you!

And you are part of something so much bigger than what you can see now.

So hold on. Don't give up. Keep going. Push through as hard and as long as you have to.

But just know, there is light, and there is hope. I promise you that. 

Heavenly Father needs you! You are here to do things that only you can. 

Please remember that. Remember that you are a Child of God. That means that you have the strength to do all things.

Remember that He loves you dearly. He pleads with you to turn to Him and to come unto His Son. So go. Go to Him. In whatever way you feel you need to. Don't let anything hold you back. Ask for His help to feel His love. 

Smile bright. Laugh. Love. Even when it's hard. 

Invite the Savior in, and I promise He will help you to see that YOU are a part of something greater.

YOU

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson

Recognize your potential. Remember where you came from. Remember whose you are. Allow Heavenly Father's plan to take over your life and help you to be who He has designed you to be. It's not just who you can become. It's who you are! 

Recognize that you are valuable beyond measure. You are powerful! You. Yes. YOU can do all things in the strength of your loving, magnificent Heavenly Father. 

Tell yourself that. Say to yourself constantly, "I am important. I have worth. Divine worth. I am worth the love of the Savior. A perfect Son of God who died to save me. Because I am worth it." 

Remind yourself that you CAN do it. YOU CAN! I promise! You can. You are exquisite. 

A beautiful, incredible, strong, able, and beloved Child of your Father. And HE can do all things.

I'm not encouraging pride. I am encouraging recognition of your incredible value in the eyes of Heavenly Father, and your ability, through Him, to do ALL THINGS.

I testify that as you seek your Heavenly Father's help through prayer, no matter how long it takes, and as I saw on a friend's blog recently, "slap a smile on your face",  He WILL fill you. You will feel complete, and whole, no matter the circumstances. And you will feel His power to BE who He has designed. 

Read that quote again at the top. With your spiritual eyes. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in Heavenly Father. He has made you unique. And He knows you will do marvelous things. 

Trust that. 

Be confident.

And just be YOU.

Make prayer a first resource, not a last resort.

-To Heal A Heart-

A few weeks ago, I moved away from home for the first time. I am on a big, new adventure and it's thrilling.

But I won't lie..I'm no good at goodbyes. Thinking about it now, why are they even called that? I have the hardest time leaving the people I love even if it's not permanent. I said goodbye to my very best friends, my sweet family, and the neighborhood and ward that I have grown up with. I was scared and uncomfortable and I felt so completely alone. I have felt what they mean by the phrase 'a broken heart'. It was physically painful. And for the first two and a half weeks away from home, I felt my heart break over and over again, despite my best efforts to put thoughts of home out of my mind. Or to distract myself. Or to communicate with family and friends to not feel so far away. My eyes were hardly dry the first few days after I left. And I didn't know what to do. I was reading my scriptures and saying my prayers, and doing all of those things that I have been taught since I was a little girl; and I do have faith in those small acts. But I still couldn't find relief from my aching heart.

One night I was talking to one of my very best friends from home and I couldn't contain it. I sobbed and sobbed until finally I choked out, "I want to go home." Knowing that I needed more help than he could give from so far away, my sweet friend gave me all he had to offer. He said, 

"You know that Jesus Christ has felt everything you're feeling, don't you?"

And instantly, my mind cleared and I longed to be on my knees expressing every feeling of the past weeks to my Heavenly Father, acknowledging that, yes, I do know His Son has felt it all. Because I felt the infinite power and peace in just that simple statement.

There is power beyond imagination in the Atonement -the suffering and death- of Jesus Christ. So much that even the mention of His name brought the immediate relief that I so badly needed. 

Too often, I have used this sincere, open and honest prayer as a last resort. I don't understand why. But I challenge you, if you ever do find yourself needing more than you have in you, to ask for the very real, sustaining power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

This is your reminder, just as my friend reminded me, that the Savior does know exactly how you feel. He knows perfectly. And if you don't know that, then test it out, ask sincerely in times of trouble, and in good times. Talk to Heavenly Father the way you would to a best friend. Because I promise that He listens better than the best. Don't try to do it alone. Heavenly Father and Jesus are eager to support the smallest bit of faith.

I know that the Atonement is REAL. I know that He suffered, He felt my pain and yours, and because of that, we don't have to. If we have the faith to ask. I know because I have fallen to my knees many times and asked for that power to be made known to me. And I have undeniably felt it. 

In the Atonement of Jesus Christ, there is great power.

Power to strengthen families.

Power to forgive.

Power to remove the sting of death.

Power to fill the void.

Power to calm every fear.

Power to dispel doubts.

Power to overcome temptation.

Power to love an enemy.

Power to comfort the lonely.

He has power to heal a heart.

{This Is It}

In a world where fear and doubt are real, and where the news we see seems to always be bad, it would help to know occasionally that there is something good. It would be nice to hear about it. Or know where to find it.

The word gospel means literally good news or glad tidings. And the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is that pure, beautiful, WONDERFUL news! It is a message of hope, joy, and ultimate comfort. It is the news that we-me and you and EVERY SOUL-have a Savior! We have a God in Heaven who is our literal father. He loves us. He watches over us. But He doesn't just watch from above. He is involved. In every detail. And He has a beautiful plan to help us return to Him and to be comfortable there. His plan is made to bring us everlasting JOY.

"Through all of living have much joy and laughter, life is to be enjoyed not just endured."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

I know it's true. I know God lives. I know He loves us purely and infinitely. 

There is good news to be found. There is WONDERFUL news to be shared. 

And this is it.