Miraculous

Wow! Sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth. I promise I'm alive and doing great. ;)

I feel beyond blessed I was able to work with my friend Beth + her amazing photography skills (Check out Beth Knight Photography to see more of her talent in action) to make this video. I am so grateful she was so willing to take the time to capture all of this and portray it is such a beautiful way.

I am also so grateful for the miracles I've seen in my own life and the miracles I continue to see. Also: unbelievably and undeniably grateful that I am still here today.

I would humbly describe my experience in one word: miraculous.

Half of My Heart

Half of my heart is here.

Half of my heart is missing.

Half of my soul is gone.

A feeling of complete incompleteness.

Little did I know how you would take half of me with you when you left.

But even without you here I'm falling each and every day.

Farther and harder than the day before.

I didn't know distance could have so little impact.

And at the same time weigh so much on your soul.

I set out, started out, determined to be strong.

But strength turns to weakness when you miss someone so much.

The longing, the aching is always there.

Sometimes I feel it more than others.

You're always on my mind.

Sometimes at the forefront,

sometimes in the background,

and sometimes somewhere in between.

I think of you.

In the songs on the radio.

In the night sky.
In the movies I watch.

In the long drives I take.

In the places I go.

I wish you were here.

I wish I could see your smile.
And hear your laugh.

I wish I could talk to you--tell you everything.

Hear your voice, your words.

The sound of your fingers on your guitar strings.

The sound of your footsteps on the pavement.

Hear how you are doing from your own mouth, in your own voice.

Hearing through other people just isn't the same.

Amidst all the longing, I know you couldn't be in a better place.

You are doing exactly what God needs you to be doing.

But missing you is one of the more painful things in my life.

I know I have to go on.

The journey has only begun.

I will continue to wish

but with a reassurance that I will see you again.

It will just take some time.

So for now I'll pick up the pieces

and try to survive

with half of my heart.

Christ Lives!

I testify that Christ lives. He lives, I know it with every fiber of my soul. One of my favorite hymns accurately describes my testimony of Christ:

He lives! All glory to his name!

He lives, my Savior, still the same,

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

(lyrics by Samuel Medley)

He lives. He lives and He is ever present and aware in my life. I know He lives because I see His hand guiding my every single day.

Because He Lives...

I witness the reality and divinity of our Eternal Father, of His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. I testify that our Father hears and answers our prayers. May each of us strive with greater resolve to ask in faith and thereby make our prayers truly meaningful.— David A. Bednar

I know that God is our Father. He introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith. I declare to you that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He lives. He was born in the meridian of time. He taught His gospel and was tried. He suffered and was crucified and resurrected on the third day. He, like His Father, has a body of flesh and bone. He made His Atonement. Of Him I bear witness. Of Him I am a witness. — Boyd K. Packer

I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there. — Jeffrey R. Holland

I want to add my testimony to that of these apostles of the Lord. I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives. I know that He came to this earth and lived a perfect life. He lived the perfect life and is the perfect example. He performed miracles and He still performs miracles today. I know that in the Garden of Gethsemane He suffered for my sins--every single pain and heartache and weakness I would every experience in this life. I know that He hung on the cross for me and He gave His life for me. I also know that He not only did it for me, but He did it for you. He did it for you, and every single person that has ever lived or will ever live on the earth. I know that on the third day He rose again, which was the greatest miracle of all. I know that because of Him and His Atonement I can overcome everything in this life, I can be healed, I can repent and be forgiven, and I can return to live with Him someday. I also know that through the power of His Atonement, I can become like Him, which is the thing I look forward to the most. He is my Savior, my Redeemer. He is my Best Friend, He is my King. He is my Brother, and my Shepherd. He is my everything.

"Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know that My Redeemer Lives!'" 

Christ Invites

I truly believe that the Book of Mormon itself is an invitation.

An invitation to come unto Christ.

Moroni 7:13 states,

"But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."

From this we learn that anything in this life that invites or inspires us to do good, is of God.

The following are the words of the prophet Moroni, but I believe it was absolutely inspired of him to write the following invitation, one that I would guess came from Christ through Moroni:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
(Moroni 10:3-5)

This invitation is open to all who read this holy book--the Book of Mormon. I testify that if you will read it, and pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, and ask if this book is true, the Holy Ghost will witness it unto you and you will know for yourself.

This next verse is among the very last in the Book of Mormon. I believe it states the central invitation for the Book of Mormon as a whole: Come unto Christ.

Moroni 10:32

"Yeah, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

I invite you once again to acknowledge this invitation and partake of it. And in so doing . . .

Come Unto Christ.

PC: https://teachhisdoctrine.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/come-unto-christ1.jpeg

Christ Loves Broken Things

Ether 12:15 says,

"Call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers."

"Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel's end-no dawn to break the night's darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea "Is there no balm in Gilead?" We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face." {Thomas S. Monson}

I testify that God truly loves broken things. It brings Him so much joy when we, as His children, come to Him with a broken heart. A broken heart, a willing heart, a heart that is ready to change. Only when we are broken in this way will we be able to fully use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to repent and change to become more like Him. 

It is in our weakest moments, when we feel we are in pieces that our Savior comes to our rescue to mend us, to heal us, and to make us whole.

"Broken" performed by Kenneth Cope

"Praise His name, my God loves broken things."

- Kenneth Cope

Christ Shows

Christ shows . . .

He shows Himself through tender mercies He sends you and He sends me each and every day.
He shows Himself through just about everything--we can learn something about Him through all that is around us.

He says in the scriptures,

"I will show unto you the greater things . . . it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you." (Ether 4:13-14)

He shows us how to live.
He shows us how to love.
It is His example that we must follow.

He shows us through the scriptures how we can live if we want to be happy.
He also shows us through His words in the scriptures how He has delivered and saved our forefathers.

"The words of Christ can be a personal Liahona* for each of us, showing us the way. Let us not be slothful because of the easiness of the way. Let us in faith take the words of Christ into our minds and into our hearts as they are." (W. Rolfe Kerr) 

I believe that He is constantly evident, present, and aware in our lives. 
He is there, if we will just look for Him.


Liahona* = In the Book of Mormon, a brass ball with two pointers that gave directions—as a compass—and also spiritual instruction to Lehi and his  followers when they were righteous. The Lord provided the Liahona and gave instructions through it.

Christ Knows

I know that Christ knows us better than we know ourselves.

"And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And He knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains." (Mormon 8:24)

Christ knows.

He knows us.

He knows our prayers.

He knows our faith.

He knows our thoughts.

He knows our intentions.

He knows our efforts.

He knows our testimonies.

He knows our hearts.

He knows our doubt.

He knows our heartache.

He knows our pain.

He knows us perfectly.

And He knows what we can become through faith in Him.

"Please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him. Have hope and faith in that promise. Learn to love your Heavenly Father and become His disciple in word and in deed.

"Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourself the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him' (1 Corinthians 2:9).

"Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love.

"God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season--He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him."

{President Dieter F. Uchtdorf}

PC: http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/bc/content/arp/content/principles/3/jesus-with-weeping-woman_570x310_1104492.jpg

Christ Overcomes

This is something I have been thinking about a lot.

Christ overcame all, and He continues to overcome.

Mormon 7:5 says,

"Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sings and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the victory over the grace; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up."

This is just one manifestation of the way in which Christ overcomes.

He overcomes our pain.
Our sorrow.
Our pain.
Our grief.
Our heartache.
Our confusion.
Our disbelief.
Our pride.

The biggest thing He overcame was death. He overcame the grave and because He did so, "the sting of death is swallowed up in [Him]" (Mosiah 16:8). Every time we lose someone in this life, He is there, walking with us every hour, helping us to overcome each and every emotion that comes with death--grief, pain, sorrow, heartache--everything.

It is only because He overcame that He is able to aid us in overcoming all that is placed in our path.

He overcame and continues to help us overcome.

PC 1: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/31/9f/b5/319fb5b6643b4edecfa4622a2a2e3eb3.jpg
PC 2: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/21/6c/52/216c52820a4cbf17bd636d2eb4af3d4f.jpg