Thursday, May 4, 2017

9 Months

#ProjectVandMe

V: You had your 9 month check up today. You are weighing in at 15 lb 3 oz, and 26 inches tall- still on the small side but following your own growth curve. You are a little tornado now! A master crawler that hardly ever sits still. You are loving exploring on your own, although you still don't want me or Dad to be too far away. You are pulling up and standing on anything you can reach. It's making for lots more pumps and bruises. Poor thing! You are feeding yourself finger foods. You are babbling and imitating us all the time. You are teething. Those two little buggers are coming in on the bottom. You are mostly still sleeping fine, but falling asleep has been a major struggle with the teeth issue. Socially, you have come a long way. You are smiling and waving at strangers! Every new stage comes with new struggles and joys. It's so fun to see your personality come through. We LOVE you so much, Little V.

Me: Austin was in Africa for about a month and has finally returned!!!!! It was hard having him away especially since V was learning to crawl and move. It changes your whole world when they become mobile. We went home to visit my parents in Washington. (It's still so odd to think they moved over the river to Vancouver.) We had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa, and Vienna did awesome being in a new place. In general I'm feeling really happy and at peace with our lives. Although our future is uncertain, I know we are being guided and watched over. I've discovered this podcast called "Bold New Mom." The host, Jody Moore, is a life coach (I was super turned off by that at first). To my surprise, she has some great insights on how your thoughts shape your life. It is really changing my outlook and attitude on everything. I LOVE it. Highly recommended. 














Monday, May 1, 2017

April: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

In case you missed it, I made a New Year's resolution to pick one gospel topic each month and study it in depth. So far...

January: Patience & Kindness
February: Prayer
March: Individual Worth

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is so grand, yet so personal. I was brought to tears many times during my studies this month. The event itself is so far reaching it is hard to comprehend. I don't have words to adequately express the grandeur. I will say, it truly is the greatest event to take place in the history of the world, and it has implications for all of us.

Much of what I learned this month is fairly personal to me, so I won't be sharing a ton. What I do want to share though, is the following:

"Everything points to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His teachings and messages were good, but the whole purpose of those teachings is to bring us to HIM so we may repent and be SAVED."
-Tad R. Callister 
(The Infinite Atonement)

After studying and realizing the importance of that point, things became so clear to me. So here's my main take away...

**SHOVEL**

Going forward, both with my studies this year and really the rest of my life, I need to recognize how everything points to Christ. I need to study each topic in conjunction with Jesus Christ and his mission. I see now that everything we are taught is important only because Christ suffered, died, and was resurrected for us. If he did not complete that act, nothing else would matter. 

The great news is that Jesus Christ did complete the Atonement, and because He did we have so much hope, joy, and purpose.

March: Individual Worth

In case you missed it, I made a New Year's resolution to pick one gospel topic each month and study it in depth. So far...

January: Patience & Kindness
February: Prayer

March: Individual Worth

I chose each of the 12 topics to study this year for different reasons. I chose individual worth for two main reasons: 

1) Lately, I have been pretty down on myself. I am doing a lot of comparing myself to others, physically, intellectually, monetarily, etc. I don't like how it makes me feel. I want to get back to the roots of who I am and why I matter. 
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2) Because I am judging myself more harshly, I find I am also more critical of others. I want that to change too.

Each month when I write these posts, I find it impossible to share everything I read and learn. I will keep it (relatively) short this month, but know, there is so much evidence of how important we are. It's all around us every single day. For me, it all boiled down to this:

You and I are individually of infinite worth. How do we know?

First, we matter so much to our Heavenly Father, that he sent his perfect Son, Jesus Christ, down to earth to suffer and die for us. 
Second, we matter so much to Jesus Christ that he willingly suffered all things for us, physical & emotional.

In contrast to this, Satan knows how important we are and tries his hardest to make us believe otherwise. 

“If the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, it is trifling in the sight of Satan. He is bent on slowing and, if possible, destroying the progress and happiness of any soul. We see it in the violence, abuse, and despair he inspires in individuals and in societies. His philosophy is degradation, his policy is domination, and his method is coercion.”
-D. Todd Christofferson

**SHOVELS**

1) Everyone matters to the Lord. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and atone for all of our sins, pains, and trials. He loves each one of us infinitely and unconditionally.

2) This worth demonstrates to us how we need to treat OURSELVES. We matter to the Lord enough for Him to personally and individually suffer for us. TREAT YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY.

3) This worth also demonstrates how we need to treat OTHERS. Each and every person matters enough to Him to do the same thing that he did for you. TREAT OTHERS ACCORDINGLY.

Next Month: The Atonement of Jesus Christ