I Will Not Sink...

For the past few weeks I have been susceptible to the whisperings of doubt. To that nagging question in my ear of, "Can you really do this? Can you actually succeed? Look at what you're not achieving. Look at other people, achieving your goals. Is there any hope for you?" It's a terrible habit, a difficult thing to fight. I think that the adversary knows this is something I struggle with. He knows my self doubt is my strongest weakness and sometimes I let it get the best of me. When I begin to struggle, I do the best I know how. I avoid looking at the mirror. I read my scriptures and my patriarchal blessing. I spend time on my knees and I carry prayers in my heart. I read words of apostles and prophets.
I'm feeling better

“My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events. Therefore, today we must be careful to not overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God and never lose hope!”-M. Russell Ballard, “The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 31

"I wonder if you sisters fully understand the greatness of your gifts and talents and how all of you can achieve the 'highest place of honor' in the Church and in the world. One of your unique, precious, and sublime gifts is your femininity, with its natural grace, goodness, and divinity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty.

"One of your particular gifts is your feminine intuition. Do not limit yourselves. As you seek to know the will of our Heavenly Father in your life and become more spiritual, you will be far more attractive, even irresistible. You can use your smiling loveliness to bless those you love and all you meet, and spread great joy. Femininity is part of the God-given divinity within each of you. It is your incomparable power and influence to do good. You can, through your supernal gifts, bless the lives of children, women, and men. Be proud of your womanhood. Enhance it. Use it to serve others."-James E. Faust, "Womanhood: The Highest Place of Honor," Ensign, May 2000, 96

"Turn to the Lord. Exercise all of the faith you have in Him. Let Him share your burden. Allow His grace to lighten your load."-Donald L. Hallstrom, "Turn to the Lord," Ensign, May 2010, 80

“All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan.”-Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Your Happily Ever After,” Ensign, May 2010, 127

“No matter the burdens we face in life as a consequence of natural conditions, the misconduct of others, or our own mistakes and shortcomings, we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father, who sent us to earth as part of His eternal plan for our growth and progress. Our unique individual experiences can help us prepare to return to Him. The adversity and afflictions that are ours, however difficult to bear, last, from heaven’s perspective, for ‘but a small moment; and then, if [we] endure it well, God shall exalt [us] on high.’ We must do everything we can to bear our burdens “well” for however long our ‘small moment’ carrying them lasts.”-L. Whitney Clayton, “That Your Burdens May Be Light,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 13

(Even though I'm not ready to be married...this makes me feel better on the whole dating situation)
"Men, if you have returned from your mission and you are still following the boy-girl patterns you were counseled to follow when you were 15, it is time for you to grow up. Gather your courage and look for someone to pair off with. Start with a variety of dates with a variety of young women, and when that phase yields a good prospect, proceed to courtship. It's marriage time. That is what the Lord intends for His young adult sons and daughters. Men have the initiative, and you men should get on with it. If you don't know what a date is, perhaps this definition will help. I heard it from my 18-year-old granddaughter. A 'date' must pass the test of three p's: (1) planned ahead, (2) paid for, and (3) paired off. "Young women, resist too much hanging out, and encourage dates that are simple, inexpensive, and frequent. Don't make it easy for young men to hang out in a setting where you women provide the food. Don't subsidize freeloaders. An occasional group activity is OK, but when you see men who make hanging out their primary interaction with the opposite sex, I think you should lock the pantry and bolt the front door. . . . "My single young friends, we counsel you to channel your associations with the opposite sex into dating patterns that have the potential to mature into marriage, not hanging-out patterns that only have the prospect to mature into team sports like touch football. Marriage is not a group activity—at least, not until the children come along in goodly numbers."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Dating versus Hanging Out," Ensign, June 2006, 13-14


To think that my Savior was born in a barn, a lowly resting place for a King. He could have been born in a palace but instead he was born in a stable, to His loving mother, Mary. It's my constant thought throughout Christmas.



I will not sink.