My love for the Lord is growing...

Deuteronomy 6:5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

I am finally reaching a point in my life where I fully understand what loving the Lord with all that is in me really means. My life has become much more beautiful in the last week. I have realized that I am very confident in the world, but not in the things of the Lord. I have never truely put God first in all things. Instead I have been very selfish and put my thoughts and motivations towards money, and success. I now understand that true peace and happiness comes when you put your whole heart, mind and soul to work praising and giving gratitude to the Lord. This is not to say that I have been void of him. I have just reserved him for morning and evening prayers, church, and whenever I have needed something. I will strive to praise him with every breath that I take. I cannot deny his presence in my life and I know that I have so much to be grateful for. I have such a strong burning in my heart that is somewhat overwhelming. It is because I am full of love for my Lord who is my God. I owe this change to someone very special who has come into my life... I am striving to put the things of the world aside and be on the Lords Side of the Line. He deserves my praise and obedience, and he wants me to be happy.

Work in Progress...

I have drastically changed my lifestyle in the past year and a half. I can't even remember the girl I once was. In the past 8 months I have worked very hard to become a good member of the Mormon church. There have been some trials, but I have been strong through the power of prayer and the help of my new friends in my ward. I have since realized that I still have a long way to go. I still do not understand most of what the Lord has in store for me. I don't even know some of the basic fundamentals of being a worthy daughter of God. I pray morning and night and have been reading my scriptures, which are a great start. What I am working on is expressing constant gratitude to my Father in Heaven for my many blessings. I want my love for the Lord to be obvious to all who come in contact with me. Not in an obnoxious way, but a calming approachable way. My heart is so full today. It could easily bring me to tears... I know that if I keep God's commandments and show him constant gratitude that I will be happy. Not without trials and hardships, but happy none-the-less. I never want to stop growing in the gospel. I am a constant work in progress, and I'm glad. Otherwise I would return to being complacent. I have so many great examples around me. It's becoming easier and easier to learn and grow.

You mean I'm not 18???

Ok, so I'm super competitive and hate losing at anything! Well not hate, but I love competition. I have been motivated to begin running again so I can keep up with a new friend to run long distance. I thought that I could just pick up where I left off without much training. Holy cow!!! I just ran, walked, hiked a couple of miles from my house up by the Phoenix Zoo & up the Papagos, and it wasn't without heavy breathing and spontaneous side craps. I think I am a little sunburned now too! How funny... when I first started my run I thought it was going to be a piece of cake, then I started to feel my age. It's amazing that I still mentally think that I am that track star! Now that my run is over I am back to thinking I can't be 28... where does the time go??? I was just 18!!!
This is a picture of me my senior year... I have a box of metals somewhere. I am such a bragger about these things! I am like Al Bundy sans the hygiene issues...

How I feel about mean people!

Seriously!!! Just be kind to one another... it's the way to be man!!!

Book of Jacob & Carlsbad Tavern

Last night I was scheduled to close the restaurant. Usually Sunday nights are pretty quiet, sometimes it's crazy... very hit or miss. I brought my Book of Mormon to read during my down time. Last night was a "dead" night. I didn't have any tables for the last couple of hours, so I sat in the dining room alone and read the Book of Jacob (it was the first time that i fully understood the parable of the Olive Trees, the Master & the Servent). The bar was full and the boys were getting pretty rowdy, so it was kind of funny to be reading that book in particular. As I was deep into my studying I looked up to see a regular of Carlsbad's standing right by my side quietly watching me. He always harasses me about my body and obnoxiously flirts with me. I thought I was for sure going to get some rude comments about Mormonism from him.
Instead he said "I'm so embarrassed that I am drunk right now."
Confused I asked why. He went on to tell me that his brother just married an LDS girl and that his brother is getting baptized. He said that he has read the Book of Mormon and that his brother is always calling him to tell him new scriptures to read.
Shocked, I let him know that I do not judge anyone, and that I am impressed that he shared some of his experiences with me. We had a few more words and at the end of it all he SHOOK MY HAND!!! This is a guy my age who has always been inapropriate towards me! What a difference it makes when you let people know that you are LDS. You never know if you can re-educate people about the gospel, or if they are already knowledgeable. Either way, I'm glad that I am finally going to get some respect from him. Now on to the rest of them!!!