thou hope and deliverer

Lately whenever I leave my New Testament class I always end up listening to Lamb of God by Rob Gardner. When I was in high school, I sang in a production that did Lamb of God and my love for this music and my Savior increased so much. I am so thankful for all that Jesus has done for me and this world. I never truly appreciated it until I was able to study the music of Lamb of God. These past couple of classes I have been reminded of this music so much.

Jesus loved us so much that he put away His will for God's will; he went through so much pain, was cut off from God, and experienced so much temptation so that I can live with my Heavenly Father once more. He did this all so I could have a body and be like my God. I am so thankful for the love that I can feel from Jesus. I love the verse that ends with "nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt" (Mark 14:36). I can learn from Jesus and put the will of my Heavenly Father before my own. For example, sometimes I pray for specific things or help with certain things, but it may not be my time. I know that my Heavenly Father has the best intentions for me and that I must be faithful, just like Jesus was in Gethsemane.

One last thing that I loved about this week is when Brother Griffin pointed out that Jesus is the Savior of worlds, not just ours. My Savior had to go through the pain and sorrow of multiple worlds, and He did that because of the love he and my Heavenly Father have for us. I can't express how thankful I am for this. Because of Him I am able to be resurrected and stay with my family for all of eternity. (I'll include some pictures of my cute family/extended family because I love them and I get to spend forever with them).

too blessed to be stressed (about the destruction of the second coming)

I have honestly never studied the second coming in depth and spending time on the parables this past week have been amazing, I have learned so much. I know that the second coming can be really scary because of all the destruction and I know that Jesus will come at 'midnight', which is the darkest hour, but I know that I will be okay. My Heavenly Father has a plan for us and I trust that things will work out how they need to. In the parable of the talents the lord says to the two that have ten and four talents, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matt. 25:21, 23). This parable teaches that all of us aren't expected to come up with the same amount of goodness and righteousness. We have been given what we can work with best. This gives me so much comfort; I have exactly what I need to lead the life that I should be leading.

Another verse that I have always loved is Matt. 25:40 which says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". No act of kindness is too small. The fact that I can be there to bless people who need it makes me so happy. People have been in my life to help me and bless me also. I have had some of the most wonderful friends and family bless me in this life and I am so thankful. This church and the people in it give me so much hope.

lead me, guide me

This week in my New Testament class we talked about a lot of interesting things. First off, in Matthew 22:28-30 there is mention of eternal marriage. The Sadducees asked Jesus "Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her" (Matthew 22:28). They were talking about how brothers marry their deceased brother's wives when necessary. Jesus answered that the marriage is not sanctioned by God so they won't actually be married in the next life. I had no idea that eternal marriage was talked about by Jesus and these three versus open up a lot of questions about what Jesus taught and what is not mentioned in the scriptures.

We also talked about the qualities of a leader in class. Qualities include not being a hypocrite, being a servant, being humble, and not considering yourself better than those that you are a leader over. Brother Griffen also taught that leadership does not need to boisterous and noticed by everyone. Leadership can be behind the scenes and given through service and kindness. We can lead people by serving and sharing with them.