Remember and hold on to what you know and believe.

The other week I was just thinking about how I still don't know what I want to do with my life. It was making me nervous and unsure, and I mentioned it to my friend last night and she said that that's okay. It's okay not to know; I have my whole life ahead of me. And I really needed to hear that, and I'm so glad it came from her.

I was blessed this weekend with the opportunity to spend time with a bunch of little kids–I babysat for two different families Friday and Saturday night, and today I was able to sub in the nursery at church. :) It was so great! The kids were so cute!!

A couple weeks ago, I started doing something while reading my scriptures. I randomly open my scriptures and start reading until I find a verse that stands out to me. Then, I write that verse down in the front of my scriptures. The first one I wrote down? Moroni 7:33. "And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."

Faith.

Lately I feel like that's what I have been focusing on in my blog or thinking about: Trusting and having faith in my Heavenly Father and my Savior. Maybe it's something I need to work on. I haven't exactly ever had trouble with it, but sometimes I think I have forgotten. Maybe that can be (one of) my summer project(s): remembering it and holding on to it. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland addresses it best: "In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited." :)

During sacrament meeting, I was thinking about the song we had sung to prepare for the sacrament. It was "He Died! The Great Redeemer Died", and I wrote this in my notebook:
He died for me. He loves me so much He died for me. Through all of my mistakes, He has loved me and been there for me. I know I'm who I am and where I am today #BecauseOfHim. <3

I know God loves me, and I know He's watching out for me. He knows exactly what I need, when I need it, and He knows when I need to hear something from someone specific. He knows where I'm going, and He knows how to help me get there. So thankful that He sent His Son, and so thankful that He blesses me with great friends and people in my life who love me, believe in me, and want what's best for me, just like He does. And I know that the same applies to you. He loves you and He knows you, He believes in you, He wants what is best for you, and He knows what you need and when.

He will never give up on you! You are too precious to Him. <3

I choose to believe.

Earlier today I felt like I needed to talk about something specific, but it has since escaped my mind. While I am thinking about it, I will share an experience I had today during the sacrament. As we were singing the sacrament hymn, "There Is A Green Hill Far Away", I couldn't stop thinking about the lyrics and the meaning of this song:

1. 1. There is a green hill far away,
   Without a city wall,
   Where the dear Lord was crucified,
   Who died to save us all.
   2. We may not know, we cannot tell,
   What pains he had to bear,
   But we believe it was for us
   He hung and suffered there.
   3. There was no other good enough
   To pay the price of sin.
   He only could unlock the gate
   Of heav'n and let us in.
   4. Oh, dearly, dearly has he loved!
   And we must love him too,
   And trust in his redeeming blood,
   And try his works to do.

I bolded some of the lines that stood out to me, and I highlighted the third verse because it hit me really hard. "There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav'n and let us in." There truly was no one else who was good enough. Sister Jones said something during Relief Society that goes really well with this verse. She said, "Jesus cannot save us in our sins." He can't save us in our sins, so He atoned for us so that we can turn to Him and so that He can save us. Sister Frandsen (in sacrament meeting) talked about how it is our choice to believe. Sister Jones said something along the same lines. She said that "the Savior cannot force it [the Atonement] upon us. We must choose."

The theme today seemed to be "Choose to believe." And it is true. We must choose. No one can force us to believe. It is our choice. I can tell you what I believe and know, and what I feel and have felt, but only you can choose to believe it for yourself.

I believe in God. I believe in Christ. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, and I know that He loves you. I know that He has a plan for me and a plan for you. I know that He supports and cares for you, even if you don't believe in Him. He still loves you, and He still wants you to succeed in life. He wants you to return to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to help us. We cannot get back to Him without our Savior.

I am so grateful for my Savior, and for His sacrifice for me. He died for me–my sins, my sicknesses, my pains, my afflictions, things I've gone through. He died so that I could have someone who knows exactly what I've been through. And I'm so thankful for that.

It is always our choice, and I am proud to say that I choose to believe.