The Church: The Ultimate Trail Mix

I've had the opportunity over the last few weeks to talk with a sweet friend. This friend is struggling to rise to full activity in the Church. They felt a bit like an outcast and a reject - they are so different from all the other members. How could they ever fit in?

I gave my friend this analogy. They laughed their head off, but really it is so true.

Photo found at http://grapplergourmet.com/diy-trail-mix/

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is like a bag of trail mix. Now, this analogy may sound strange at first, as it did to my friend, but just hear me out.

The Church is like a bag of trail mix. In a trail mix, there is a MIXTURE of different types of food items. There are the peanuts and the almonds, the raisins and the dried cranberries, the sunflower seeds and the M&M's.

Now, if we were to just have a bag of raisins to take on our hike, would it be as delicious as a bag of trail mix? If the trail mix were nothing more than a bunch of raisins, it really wouldn't be a mix at all.

The foods in a trail mix come from many different trails of lives. There are raisins that have been dried and aged with experience. There are the nuts that bring crunch to the mix, the dried cranberries that make it tart, and the M&Ms that make it sweet (and quite frankly, all worth it).

The church is exactly like a trail mix. There are people from all different walks of lives.
There are people (like the raisins) who have grown up in the church and are dried, aged, and tested in the gospel.
There are people who are young in the gospel, like the sunflower seeds, who have not reached the fullness of their gospel maturity but are striving hard to do so.
And there are M&Ms, who bring sweetness and spunk to our gospel trail mix, having taken the path of transformation in their life.

You cannot say one does not belong in the trail mix of the Church. It is a trail MIX for Pete's sake! You can throw many different things in a trail mix. There is no dried fruit or type of nut or chocolate that does not belong.

You may be a nut. You may be a seed. You may be a M&M. But regardless of who you are and what trail you traveled to get to where you are today, you are still important in His church. You still are valuable. If you aren't as progressed in the gospel as some, that doesn't mean you aren't still valuable. It just means you have a direction to follow, a path to trod, and a legacy to leave.

Don't give up. Whether you were born in the gospel, inactive in your childhood, or rebellious in your teens, YOU STILL BELONG IN HIS FOLD.  His arms are stretched out and He will come to your rescue, no matter how far you may be. (See Luke 15: 6). He rejoices in any and all who are willing to come unto Him and take His name and join His trail mix.

Welcome to the trail mix of happiness.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Julie

Grace, Strength, and Trials: What I learned from losing a spelling bee

I was talking with a friend earlier today. She felt so weak. She felt like she had failed at some decisions in the past, and thereby was suffering today. Maybe that was true, but I'd like to share an experience with you that I told her about.

In 5th and 6th grades, I participated in the school spelling bee. 5th grade was my first time ever making it to a school level, and I was so excited and nervous. I studied like crazy. I memorized the words. I knew it front and back. And then...I got sick. The stress built up until it emerged as a fuzzy head, bad cold, and congested nose. Bleh. You know what I mean?
Well, I went to the competition anyway. There were probably 30 students. I was one of the first to spell in the first round. And the word came. I don't even know what the word was, but I was so sick and stressed that I missed it. On the first round, I lost. I got last place. I bawled my face off and drenched my jacket in boogs and tears. I was a mess.

The next year, I returned to the spelling bee. This time there were only 15 students, I'm guessing. I had prepared equally, but this time I was not sick. And ya know what - I got 5th/6th tied and made it through quite a few rounds. Wahoo!

Well, why did I share that story with my friend and now with you? An embarrassing story that involved me failing the spelling bee & having to fess up to my favorite teacher and my large class that I slaughtered the spelling bee (and not in a pleasant way)? Well, this is why.

Many times, we walk into a situation as prepared as we can be. We all have our limitations, and we try our best. We step up (figuratively) to the mic & look the judges square in the eye and watch their mouths as they say the word. And then somehow, despite all we've done, we fail. We collapse. Perhaps we even break down and vow to never step up to the mic again. We feel pointless, worthless, and like something nobody would ever care to claim.
In that moment, we may ask God why He let us fail. Why does someone who loves us so much let us get last place??
There are many reasons. Perhaps it is to chastise us. Perhaps it is a warning. Perhaps it is His way of helping us embrace Him and Christ's grace. Perhaps it is a way to open our hearts to future opportunities and exquisite joy.

My friends, overall, you will often not be strong enough. God really does give us challenges that are beyond our scope. Despite all our preparation and the hours we spend looking at a list of a couple hundred words, we are not enough. We've got limitations (like my sickness) that keep us from fulfilling our dreams.
Luckily, Christ is strong enough. Ask Him for that strength. Ask Him for the help to forgive, to aid, to lift, and to try again. And often, His strength may not be used in order to help you get 1st place the first time, but perhaps just to help you be strong enough to try again. Maybe you'll never get 1st. But that isn't the point in this life. This life is about learning how to love, to lift, and to become like Him, and ultimately to learn how to humbly accept help and chastisement.

Don't give up. Don't think you are weak because you fell the first time. Don't think God doesn't love you just because you didn't score first or because you scored last. Simply know that He is all wise and that Christ's grace is sufficient for all of us. Ultimately, it is strong enough to take "the loser" and turn them into "a winner", or at least give them the strength to try again and again.
No one is a loser in His sight.
Grace: It's not just there to mend sins. It's there to mend will.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Julie

Look to the Light

My dear friends,
   I wish I could just reach out right now and hold each one of you in my arms. I wish I could sing you to sleep or say something that could particularly touch your soul. I wish I could lead you or follow you. I wish I could know you. But I can't. So I will do what I can.
    I feel like Satan is pushing us more and more by the day. And it isn't just the temptations of "go steal that candy bar" or "go yell at your little brother". No. They are temptations far more internal and far harder to detect.
     Inadequacy is one of Satan's greatest tools. He loves that tool. He carries it in his little chain-link belt and sleeps with it on his pillow...if he sleeps. Why? Why does he love that tool so much?
     Because he is inadequate. Have you ever noticed that when you feel down on yourself, you want everyone else to feel miserable too? You judge them and you want everyone to walk around with a little rain cloud over their head, just like you are. Satan is that way. He is misery and he loves company. In fact, company is what gives him his "power". The more people he can persuade to feel inadequate, hurt, alone, or pointless, the more "power" he gains. It's rather pathetic, but it is true to the core.
     My friends, I cannot say 2013 was easy. I saw a lot of people fall. I saw them fall to drugs, to immorality, to depression, to inadequacy. I even frightfully saw myself fall. Satan loves to keep you company when you are face-down on the floor. He loves to pin you down and sit there with you, basking in the misery that radiates from your life and his life. He is a sick twisted being.
       In the moments that you fall, it feels like he has all power. It feels like he has biceps the size of basketballs and is pinning you to the cold hard snow. It feels like you'll never escape. But I have a secret for you.
     Even in the moments when Satan has you in a death-hold, you are stronger than him. Thousands of times stronger than him. Why? Because you are something that he gave up. You are a child of God. And that title is more than just a name. It is a power. Satan may dress up in an inflatable sumo suit and parade around with nerf gun, but you have true power. However, all too often we feel the pressure of his inflatable muscles against our skin and feel like struggling is pointless. From our position on the ground, we can only see the hard-packed snow and ice and feel his "muscles".
We would never guess they are inflatables.
    My friends, the only way you can overcome the devil is by looking up. When you look up, you will see your captor in all his weak, inflatable junkiness. You will see a puny, heartless creature - a creature that you were misled by to think that he was all powerful and so strong. You will see his true form, his inadequacy, his weakness.
     Look up. Look up and see his weakness. See the being who has you pinned and ask yourself why you are letting a sponge pin down a mountain, why a plastic bottle is keeping the sea from rising. And look to Christ. Look up and see the god who died for you. And feel His strength surround you. And stand. And kick Satan's inflatable sumo suit bottom and watch him roll away.
    My friends, you have that power. You just have to look up. And that takes prayer. And that takes fasting and scripture study. And that takes hope and trust and humility. Trust Christ enough to look up. And love yourself enough to move away from your pathetic captor. Serve others. Attend the temple. If you don't have a recommend, get worthy and get one. Cast aside your pride and your mindless passions and embrace others, yourself, and Christ.
Once you look to the light, who is the darkness to hold you down?
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
-Julie

EMbrace Yourself

 “BRACE YOURSELF!!!” I’m sure most of you have heard that saying before.

Scriptures, Sharing, and Sledgehammers: The Art of Rebuilding #2

   I have written to you previously about something very dear to my heart– the art of rebuilding. Here’s the [link] to my old article about it. Today, I’d like to go a little further into the same topic.

You are more than just scars

     Over the past few months, I have either talked to or heard of many friends who have been hurt, who have fallen, who are broken.

I Pray for You: Living Worthy to Someday Be Sealed for Eternity

  I am so grateful for a gracious, loving, forgiving Heavenly Father. He truly does love us. He truly does care immensely for every one of His children. I know He is willing and open to revealing great and wonderful things to you in His time.

"I will give you rest": What it means to be healed

 Today, I was studying for my Young Women's lesson and came across a scripture. It is a scripture many of us are probably familiar with.
Matthew 11:28-30:

In the hands of God: Using your talents for God's purposes

 I feel so incredibly blessed at this time. My life is in crumbles at my feet, but my foundation is still there and it grows stronger by the minute. Oh how I love the gospel!
 I would like to tell you of two very special experiences that I have had within the past week that are in relation to my talents. Perhaps they will be of use to you.

A Letter to the Young Man who Changed my Life

My Dear Friend,
 Oh, how I wish I could tell you how highly I think of you, how much I love you. How I wish I could show you how much you've changed my life. How I wish I could tell you these things.

The Art of Rebuilding

I've discovered slowly but surely that life is like building up a city.
You start with the basics - things at ground level, small buildings, and so forth. As you progress and get better at constructing buildings, you can go ahead and start building complexes, office buildings, and eventually skyscrapers.

Dance Parallels: "Peace, be still"

Our first dance parallel is "Peace, be still".

Dance Parallels: Intro

I know, you're all probably wondering why in the world I am writing about dance. I'm not...
Well, I kinda am...but in a metaphorical type way.

Part Two Julie's Story: The Light in the Darkness

                In the song “Time to Say Goodbye”, there is a line that says, “There is no light in a room where there is no sun.” Well, disregarding electricity and candles and whatnot, there really is no light in a room where there is no sun. And the sun is hope. The sun is brilliant, enlightening, and cheerful. However, you can only fully embrace the beauty of the sun if you open your eyes. Otherwise, you only get a small part of its glory.

Part One Julie's Story: Behind the Scenes

I have decided to write a bit of my story each day, in hopes that it will touch someone out there whose story is taking a twist like mine.

You'd rather be dressed in white

I heard this blogpost a few weeks back in a church lesson and had to share. Short and sweet on both ends, but you'll love it.
http://lemmonythings.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/youd-rather-be-dressed-in-white-a-letter-to-my-daughter/

When Life Tips Over: Help During Trials

 Well, it has been a while since I have written a true heart-to-heart post, so I guess I'll do one now.
  The past few weeks have truly pulled on my heartstrings.

Two Scriptures That Might Just Change Your Life

So...I'll be frankly honest, the past three months of my life have been pretty killer. And by killer I mean OUCH. That hurt. Thanks for hitting me across the face with a frying pan, life. Just in case you're feeling the same sting, here are two scriptures that have kinda saved and changed my perspective...and life.

TREK---MY EXPERIENCE

Hi, guys, this is C, and I know I haven't posted in awhile....

I had the opportunity this week, this Mon-Wednesday, to participate in Pioneer Trek. June 17-19 2013. Went with my stake. We went up in Wyoming, kind of by Evanston.

What I Gained from Personal Progress...

Well, guess what is happening in just 45 minutes???!!!
That's right - somebody is getting their Personal Progress Young Women's Award! And guess who is so excited??? EEEK.