distractions.

i've been thinking a lot lately about distractions.

those things that take us away from more important things. things like television, music, fashion, social media, exhaustion. of course, none of these things are wrong. in fact, there are so many good things in each  "distraction" almost daily. (except maybe exhaustion.. that one is just annoying!)

but often, i worry my life is too consumed in trivial things. things of lesser importance. things that distract me from feeling the spirit.


i recently read a talk by elder paul e. koelliker from this last general conference. if you haven't read it - read it! he talks about love and how we can feel God's love. he said, "there is seemingly no end to the expansive capacity to love. the feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. as we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him... i am confident that our Heavenly Father's arms are constantly extended, ever ready to embrace each one of us and say to each one with that quiet, piercing voice, 'i love you.'"

isn't that what we all want? to feel our loving Heavenly Father's presence in our lives and push away the distractions? i know i do! and i'm going to try to use the distractions to my benefit. use them for good.

president uchtdorf says, “with so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. … my dear young friends, perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to ‘open [your] mouths’ might today include ‘use your hands’ to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! but please remember, all at the right time and at the right place.”

* here's to taking his words - and applying them!

 {how do you balance the distractions in your life? how do you use them for good?}

Hello blogging world!

I write to you from my new home... the Switchboard.

While switchboarding I try my very best to be productive. Some days I sit here for 8 hours straight and although that may sound invigorating, it does get a little bit quiet around here.

SO

I fill my days with this...


(Is it a little bit pathetic that I still love to color out of my Disney Princess book!?)



yes - more coloring!



AND I have been trying my very best to study for at least a half hour as I sit here and although it is a little bit rough to concentrate - I am learning so much!

My goal is to finish the BOM (Book of Mormon) by the end of the summer... let's see if the phone will cooperate with me and not ring for that little space of time each day ;)

BUT my reason in posting today isn't to talk about that. I wanted to share what I learned from Sister Beck. Since I had a migraine conference weekend, I wasn't able to hear many talk so I am on the catch up. As most of you probably already know, her talk was incredible!! But the one thing that stuck out to me the most was when she said this,

[speaking directly to the women of the church]

"we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves."

I know this may seem like a simple quote, but the way she worded it and the emphasis words she included really hit me. As women of the church we have such great responsibilities placed on our shoulders but as she so simply stated, if we will incorporate the motto "Charity NEVER Faileth," into our daily lives - I know we can do our best and feel as though we are accomplishing that which is good.

There is your daily thoughts from the switchboard.

Enjoy!