Start from where you are.

First off, Porter was just singing bits and pieces of the Primary song "Holding Hands Around the World" awhile ago and it was so adorable!! Then, Lander asked me how work was, and then he was like, "Good?" and I was like, "Yeah, good" and he said, "Called it!" He sounded so proud of himself. He's so funny! :)

So, as you may have guessed, I had to work a bit today, which definitely wasn't ideal, but hopefully it won't be a regular thing. It's looking like my job may be prepping, making, and cutting the dough, in addition to just doing random jobs that need done, like sweeping and wiping counters/tables, amongst other things. I'm not entirely sure if that is the case, though–I still have two more training days–but we will see how the rest of the week goes.

Also! When I was driving home from work, it was POURING!!!! I was like, "I'm going to die!!" (I don't drive all that often, and the one time I drove somewhere in the rain it was only drizzling.) At one point, I felt like the brakes were going to give and I was going to go gliding, but I didn't. Anyway, I lived, obviously, and the car did, too. It was a blessing that I didn't come upon too many people on the road–maybe five or six total on the way home. :)

Anyway, I was able to make it for most of church today–I missed the first 35 minutes of sacrament meeting, but that's okay. I was able to make it in time to hear some things that I needed to hear, so it's all good. :)

In sacrament meeting, I got a couple of things from what Sister Andrews said:

• We need to keep the will of the Lord in our mind/ahead of our own. 
• This was basically what she said. I thought it was super inspired because sometimes I forget to do that. 
• Our focus should be on the essence of the Gospel.
• When she said this, I was like, "Ding!" Sometimes we get so caught up in some things that we forget the essence of the Gospel. 
• Going off of this, she started talking about charity and love, which are key aspects of the (essence of the) Gospel.
• Turn to God and He will show you what you need to work on.
• This was what I summarized from what she said. She read Ether 12:6, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble..." 

In Sunday School we brushed across the topic of prayer via Mosiah 26:14 and Brother Asay said, "When you have need, pray." I made some notes: don't give up on them (prayers), and pour out your whole soul. Speaking from experience, pouring out your whole soul to God is very helpful, even if it's only to make you feel better after getting a load or two off of your shoulders and giving them to God. (Though that's not the only thing that happens because of prayer :) )

In Relief Society we talked about family councils, which was super helpful for me because it gave me a lot of ideas for how to do them when I have my own family. :) Sister Nielson also brought up how it can be helpful in college! (I was like, that's me! I'm in college!) It can be helpful for roommates to have a family council because while we're living together, we basically are family (at least, hopefully we're basically family). One other thing that we talked about that I thought was very important was this: Involve Heavenly Father in all your family councils, and try to put technology away and focus on your family. Sister Nielson said, "We can start from where we are. The blessings will come."

Though she was talking about family councils, it applies to all parts of the gospel. Having trouble with prayer? Start from where you are. Start with praying once a day, if that's where you are. Scripture study? Start from where you are. Start with one verse, or five verses a day. That's what I love about the gospel: there are many parts of the gospel that work with other parts. So if you're stronger in one area, there is probably an area that it works with that you are struggling with, and it can help you become stronger in that area. Just start from where you are, and know that Heavenly Father will always help you. :)