Aaron Shust--My Savior My God (with Lyrics)

My Conference Weekend

I had a wonderfully busy conference weekend. First I want to say that The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. It is the complete truth here on earth!!! I just love being a member of this church. It brings me great joy. Anyways so my region of Young Single Adults were asked to participate in singing in the free speech zone before the first session of Saturday's session. I said yes, but then thought well really I just ignore the protesters and just thought it to be silly, so I wasn't going to go. Friday after returning from my fave place on earth, the temple, I had three messages on my machine about going. People wanted rides and the Stake person wanted me to count how many showed up. I took this as I needed to go. So I went and it was a truly wonderful experience. I realized that we were not there to drown out the protesters, but to help the members maintain the Spirit on their way to conference. I got teary eyed singing the songs I Know That My Redeemer Lives and Joseph's Smiths First Prayer. Much of my own testimony is of these songs say. I do know that my Redeemer lives and He is my best friend. I always will say that I know Joseph Smith saw the Living God and Savior that glorious day in the Sacred Grove. It was wonderful to sing my testimony of the Gospel to thousands of people. After we got to go to the first session and had some nice seats. The talks were wonderful and direct which I feel we need. It is amazing to gather with thousands of LDS people in one room feeling the Spirit so strongly with the prophet and the apostles! A truly amazing experience. The rest of the conference was great and spent with family. What a truly great blessed life I have!!!
Other news in my life, hit a stumble with losing weight. My body is not helping and losing fast. I hate how I lose a lot then stop. It is very frustrating, but I need to keep pushing myself. It just sucks to kick my butt as hard as I do and the results are slow!!! Oh well the best things are worth fighting for right? Well I keep saying it is in this situation, but man am I frustrated.
So once again the life of Amy is pretty amazing!!

What is going down this month with Amy

Like how I try to use slang in the title when I am so not that hip, but hey it felt right. So this month has been a great one. Where to start, well one change is I am losing weight again at a crazy pace. So far in two months I have lost 17lbs!!! I am doing a Boot Camp class that is kicking my trash but so worth it. I am mostly losing inches though. I have lost 3 inches off my hips and waist in a month!!! Also I am trying to run and beginning to like it. I had to stop for three weeks because of my old injury in my knee from chasing my sister with the hose, (I fractured my knee, lesson of never seeking revenge after your sister throws water in your face), I kinked it but now getting on track again. I just have to wrap it while running. So that is my physical goals that are coming along quite nicely.
Other things well I am going to start doing is some genealogy of my ancestors and start getting their Temple work done. I mean I go to the temple every week, might as well do my own family. I have a start from what some other family members have done, but mostly the men have had their work done, so there are about 40 women I have to do and I am very excited to get it started, but now I have to find more. I can feel that they are waiting and anxious. I just have to learn how to do that. I am good at pretending at knowing what I am doing, but I don't think that is going to serve me well.
This month I have taken a break from all the religious books I have been reading, which I have loved and learned from, but I need to just read something different for a while. I mean the Lord created so much more in this world than just the Gospel. The Gospel is the most important, but there is so much more that came from him and I am learning as much as i can. I am reading Sophia Tolstoya's journal. I love history and people in history. I love Leo Tolstoy's books but finding out what kind of man he was to his wife and kids makes me not like him all too much and think he was actually a jerk. I know that I am reading just her side of the story and I need to read more about him before truly making an informed decision on the matter ( I say this in a joking manner. I am not taking it that seriously). I also can see how he got annoyed with her too. She was very dramatic. I know I have had my drama moments, I wont deny, but nothing like her. I mean she was the same immature at 60 as she was at 18. I feel I have matured a lot in these last 3 years. Anyways that is my opinion so far. Plus I am so grateful to be born at this time. If I was born in those days I would have been so screwed because of my opinions and personality. I am only half screwed now, so that is a step up and the positive on my unique mind.
Well that is really all that is going down with me right now. I hope everyone else is having an amazing life like me. I am truly blessed and so happy. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for all that He gives me. Since I have made the Gospel one of my main priorities in my life I have never been happier. Life is wonderful.

What I know about love so far

Valentine's day is coming up and though I dont have a valentine I am happy about that. I am glad because I know what is feels like to love someone. So I thought I would say what I feel true love is. I feel that real love is loving a person for who they are. You dont want to change them, but love them for their flaws and the great things about them. You also continue on together and realizing they are not going to stay the same person that you first met because as you grow in this life and they change as well as you. Real love is working hard together to make a life with one another and accepting that person with love even when mess up. Being there to support them even if you dont agree with them. It is trying to see where they come from but also in a loving way help them to see where you are coming from too. Compromise is a key and never letting the small stuff get in the way. They need to be more than someone you love, but your best friend. That friendship is needed so badly because you will go through days you dont love them but you like them. That helps in staying power in a couple. Friendship is so important in a relationship. Someone you count on and they count on you. Communicate with love and understanding, that is another big thing. Another thing I learned is loving someone means also being happy for them when they choose someone else. It hurts, but if you really loved them you are happy for them and want the very best for them. Falling in love is easy, but staying in love takes work and commitment. But if you work at it your love grows and becomes something more. Sadly when I experienced this love that person did not love me in the same way. But I am always grateful to have experienced it and with all the heartache I would never change those feelings because really loving someone is truly a great gift even when that person chooses someone else or things dont work out. It is those great feelings of love that makes us humans great and a great life lesson we all have to experience to grow as people in this life. There is still much more to learn about love, but again I am glad to know what it feels like and hopefully one day feel it again and for it to work out!!! So happy valentines day everyone!!!

What's Amy Learning about life this time

Like the title??? I dont really have a exciting title for a subject, but I thought this one would do.
So this week I heard someone say, "why do girls cry alot?" It got me thinking I am a strange girl because I really dont cry often. I cried a lot over that one guy last year and when I bare my testimony, or when being touched by the Spirit, but other than that I dont cry a lot. Which I am trying to decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. My brother has once said of me I know Amy only cries when she is really sad or and that is when I know she is really hurting. So something I should be happy about or not? Is there something wrong with me that I dont cry often? Or do I just handle things differently than most girls? Again I am strange. :)
Anyways, I mostly wanted to comment on this amazing book I am reading. Hearing the Voice of the Lord by Gerald Lund. It is about principles and patterns of personal revelation. While there is so much that I am learning I will quickly say a few. In a chapter that talks about agency and revelation he quotes a hymn that struck me. Here are the words: Know this, that every soul is free. To choose his life and what he'll be. For this eternal truth is giv'n That God will force no man to heaven.
That struck me in a way even though I have known about the gift of agency for a long time, but I never thought much about it until that last line. We have to choose to return to Him and choose to do what it takes to return to Him. Choose, what a powerful word.
Also when it comes to revelation first it is up to the Lord when, where, how, and to who he gives revelation to. It is in his time table. Also the part in this book that says we have to do things to receive revelation. In the scriptures He tells us to meditate, hearken, hold fast to, fest upon, lay hold upon, search diligently, and treasure up. Those are action words, things we need to do to prepare our hearts, mind and spirit to receive revelation. We have to also figure it out ourselves, decide if it is right and then ask. I think we get confused about how that works and expect Him to just tell us, but we have to do the work to learn wisdom. In my job we teach children by setting up activities to allow them to explore and learn for themselves. We guide them to ask questions and to experience it to learn. In a way that is kind of the same thing, but the Lord is the ultimate teacher and our body and spirits are learning important things to help us not just in this life but the next as well. Cool thing to realize, huh?
There is so much more that I am learning from this book. It is teaching me a lot about how to gain revelation and that sometimes He wants us to develop self reliance. Awesome stuff!!! So that is what Amy has learned this week.

True Happiness is.......

I realized I know what true happiness is. Back story I will say quickly, so I have battled with depression when younger. I just was not happy with my life. So I know what if feels like to be sad a lot. The last year and a half I have been mostly happy and I discovered that true happiness is not being bubbly all the time or smiling a lot or being blissful all day every day. While those are feelings or actions of being happy, but they are moment feelings. The feelings that last only for a while that, unfortunately, fade. Then what is true happiness you are asking???? Well I feel it is peace!!! Having that peace inside truly is real happiness. To be at peace with life, who you are and where you are going is true happiness. The way I have felt this true happiness was letting the Lord, my Savior Jesus Christ completely in my heart. I lived a long time with kind of letting Him in, but it wasn't until I let Him all the way in that I felt this pure joy that I had never felt in my life before. That peace and comfort that only He can give is amazing. It doesn't mean that I don't ever feel sad once and a while about some disappointments in life, but I feel them and let them go. I don't dwell as much because I have learned that those disappointments happen so I can learn. Peace is happiness and I am experiencing it. Well that is another random thought from my brain that I have decided to share with whoever reads about my boring but wonderful life. Hope you have enjoyed and maybe discovered something great or discovered that this girl is really strange. Oh well I am happy being strange!!!!

New year New goals

Last year my goal was to make it to the Temple. Did that and received much joy by continuing to go every week. That was they only goal I had, so this year I have goals in different areas in my life. First spiritual goals are continue to work on recognizing the spirit. I am great at it when it comes to teaching in church, in my other calling, and knowing the gospel is true, but guiding me in my personal choices and life, not so much. Huge example, me feeling so strongly that Andy was my eternal companion. Don't know how I felt as strongly as I did and it not be right, so that has not helped me to trust myself and knowing what is right or not in my personal decisions. Anyways working on that as well in depth and enriching scripture studies. Physical goals to run a 5K in a few months and to finally get my eating habits stable so I can get the rest of this weight off. I work out everyday, but that is not enough for the last 30lbs, so food is the final key. As well giving up my beloved Dr. Pepper, tears are in my eyes about that. :) Being a better person goals are learning to listen. Those who know me I am a talker so I want to be a better listener. My friends have said that they love that I talk but I really think I should be better at listening because I want to be a better friend. Lastly, I need to work on not swearing so much. I go through spurts in my life where I swear a lot or not at all. Now it has gotten to the point that I am not aware I am swearing and that bothers me. My fave words are the S-word, B-word, an occasional A-word and the one I say the most, good hell. So I don't think that keeps myself in tune when I keep saying "good hell" or the s-word in the car, at gym is where i mostly say them, or sometimes in casual conversation. So those are my goals this year. Wish me luck and Happy New Year everyone!!!