He is there to help us at our most vulnerable points.

I find that even the craziest weeks go smoothly when I take the time to study my scriptures. I'm not perfect at always remembering to do so, but when I do remember, my days seem to go better. I'm less stressed, more alert, and more in tune with the Spirit. On days when I don't, I'm more stressed, more forgetful, and more anxious, which tends (at times) to drive the Spirit away. Not a lot, but enough that it throws my whole day off. I know I'm blessed when I take the time to study my scriptures. I'm blessed with more time–or, at least, time well-spent and managed–and with a more alert mind. I'm also blessed with the Spirit. So grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who blesses me with the capacity to see and understand when I am blessed because I obey Him.

Sacrament meeting was wonderful today! We had two beautiful musical numbers and two awesome talks.

Misfortune happens to us all the time. It doesn't depend on your personal worthiness or unworthiness; life just happens to everyone.

Reasons why we obey the commandments:
1. Simple Obedience
2. Habit
3. Fear of Punishment
-Affliction is not necessarily evidence that one has sinned (Job)
-Neither prosperity nor suffering can easily be interpreted
4. Desire for Blessings
-Promises to groups don't mean consistent prosperity for all the people in the group all the time
5. Out of love for the Lord
-Our nature and purpose on this earth is to have joy
-The joy we feel has little to do with our circumstances and everything to do with the focus of our lives.

In Gospel Principles, we talked about prayer. It was a very enlightening lesson and I learned a lot.
-God cares about us, so what we care about is also important to Him.
-You can't get an answer by praying, "Should I...?" because you're asking Him to take away your agency. You need to first make a decision, and ask, "How can I go about this decision?" And God will guide you.
-Heavenly Father accepts what we bring to the table. He wants to help us.
-If you do your best, God will do the rest.
-Look for what God wants, not what you want.
-He is there to help us at our most vulnerable points.
-It's okay to be honest and tell God how you feel, as long as you are humble enough to listen to what He has to say in response.

In our 5th Sunday lesson, Sister Harline said something that I loved. She said, "Be prayerful in your dating and ask for guidance." I forget that that is a thing that I can ask for help with. God cares about all the things that I do, and dating is included in that. :)

So thankful for the lessons today! I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father's guidance and the lessons that He teaches me that I need to know. He is there for us always, and He listens to us in our most vulnerable states–our most emotional times. He will always listen, but we have to make sure that we listen to Him in return.

Xoxo
Mattie