Week 2 :)

This week has been similar to the last, but I have some new thoughts:

Jesus Christ will be there for us in our times of need- as long as we open the door to his assistance and remain humble, he will pick us up and help us accomplish his will. We truly need to humble ourselves to the lord: I think of John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." I know that I accomplish all things through Christ. If I listen to the Holy Spirit, I will be able to be an amazing missionary; I will be able to accomplish all things. 

Matthew 3:3 says "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." How can we better straighten those paths so that our heart is open for his love and help?

During this week I was studying in Alma Chapter 7 and I had a couple thoughts:

- Do we succor those who are in need in our lives?

The Definition of Succor is to help someone, especially who is suffering or in need; to be quick to help. Jesus Christ succored those in need; he suffered for our sins and assists us everyday. Imagine while you were paying the price for one person's sins and the same sin was on the list. I would be frustrated that person is making me do the same thing over and over again. But Jesus Christ is patient and loving and paid the price for each and individual sin of ours. 

This reminded me of two stories:

The first was a story about a teacher new to an extremely rowdy class. She had them set the rules and punishments so that they would obey them. A couple days later Tom's (a bigger boy in the class) lunch was stolen- they found the thief, a little hungry boy. The punishment for the crime was ten lickings without your coat on. As the little boy (Jim) came to the front of his class to receive his punishment he asked to keep his coat on- he could not because of the rules. Jim took off his coat- he had no shirt and you could see his bony little body. The teacher was struggling to follow the rules when Tom volunteered to take the little boy's lickings. (they had made a rule that someone else could take the punishment for another) After five lickings, the rod broke and the class was sobbing. "Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. 'Tom, I'm sorry I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever."

Jesus christ took our lickings for us, but do you ever hear us say "I will love you till the day I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever?" Because of the remembrance of this story, I have made a goal to more often remind myself of the Atonement and Sacrifice Jesus has done for us. 

The second story was one of a seminary class: The teacher asked one stronger looking boy if he could do a lot of pushups. He replied that he felt that he could. The teacher then pulled out a box of donuts and told the students that for each of them to get a donut he would have to do ten pushups. They went down the line and the boy did the pushups for each student- and there were a lot of students in the class. Eventually he began to struggle, and the pushups were becoming much more difficult. There began to be students who said that they didn't want a donut, making an effort to spare him from doing more pushups. However, even though they didn't want the donut, he was still required to do those ten pushups for each person. This story is very similar to the last however it is a reminder to be one of those people who are grateful for the atonement, and live their lives in such a way to show Jesus that you are grateful for what he did. 

I have one more thought, during this week we learned about how to make someone new comfortable in church. And it was said that when people feel welcome, they naturally want to stay. I challenge each of you to make others feel welcome- in church, in activities, in your home, and in conversations. 

Now for the question of the week: If you forgot from last week- These weekly questions are for you to answer either to yourself, or in your next email to me! How can you better let the light of Christ shine through you?

I love you all so much, and hope that you feel the Love of Christ this week! He loves you more than you know and wants to be with you every moment- you just need to invite him into your heart, and let him in.