live high ,live mighty ,live righteously

I love music so much but the best songs of all are the ones that I can belt out at the top of my lungs and still feel the fizz of the spirit rush over me. one of  the first song that I ever felt this was not actually a church song it’s called " let the river run" and I learned it in choir with my older sister Heidi when I was 11 .It exclaims come “ The new Jerusalem” when ever I used to sing this I would want to cry and rejoice all at the same time and I have been thinking about that a lot lately probably because as a missionary what I am doing is calling to the new Jerusalem to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and come through the fog of confusion and into the light blue skies of the knowledge of the restored gospel.

Doctrine and Covenants 25:12

 12 For my soul delighteth  in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

I have come to the realization that music can bring the spirit fast and can take it away with the same hast. It is unfortunate that the adversary misuses the best things in life to lead people away from true and everlasting happiness.

So I guess what I would like you all to think about  next time you are listening to something is it uplifting?

Could I maybe be getting more out of listen to something with a little more depth and substance?

So I promise that if you try and put good music into your life that you will feel the spirit more abundantly and you will feel a greater happiness in your day to day life.

sweet dreams

This week was my very first zone conference! i was so excited .zone conference is a day where all the missionaries in your area gather together and have the president of the mission teach for a whole day.* ps it totally comes complete with taco salad and many smiles :) so something that I really got out of this particularly was the importance of prayer especially on your knees .president talked about kneeling as a sign of submission and of obedience and how important personal prayer is. Well I have a confession I have a tendency to pray whilst I am laying on my bed which prayers generally lead to accidental sleepage. So when president said this I felt a little pang of guilt permeate through me. So when I got home that evening I was absolutely reconciled that I was going to show my father in heaven the respect that he deserved by opening my heart in genuine supplication to him. now I love being a missionary however something that has been really disheartening is that I have been having nightmares really frequently and although i can deal with it makes my early missionary mornings somewhat of a drag. So I went about my nightly rituals of brushing my teeth and so forth then I got in to bed and then remembered what i had wanted to do .I then dragged myself out of bed and knelt next to my bed and began to pray and all though I thought that after praying numerous times during the day that I would have nothing to really say or ask for however when I opened my mind to the promptings of the spirit I found my mind filled with gratitude and needs that needed to be addressed .but one of things that came to my mind was to pray that I would have good dreams and be able to feel peace from the slumber I had .so with very little more thought on the subject I laid in bed and fell asleep immediately and had a dream that my best friend Hannah came and saw me on my mission and was here serving with me .long story short I woke up with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step and when I rolled over and put the little black dot on my called to serve calendar I felt as though each day would now be easier if I would pray more because just like the hymn says "I need thee every hour" and I am so glad that my heavenly father is always waiting for me to figure these things out and help me though .
 So some quick tips top stay awake:
In the word of John Bytheway “if you can’t pray on your knees without falling asleep pray standing”
Pray with the light on
Know what you want to say before you start
Bow your head but don’t lay your head on the floor or bed
I promise that if you pray sincerely at the end of each day you will be blessed  

I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain .

Today is a rainy day in upstate New York .Which is good because I love the rain .It reminds me of some of my favorite memories, playing in the rain in the beautiful parks in northern western Australia with my best friend Hannah ,Christmas time and  it also reminds me of my Mum .For a while we lived away from the school that my siblings and I attended and had to catch the bus which was a drag most of the time however when it would rain my brother David and myself would try and get as wet as possible because when  we got home mum would always be waiting there with hot cocoa ,towels and pjs . If it was in school holidays she would take us to the video store and let us get videos and make cookies and have our blankets in the lounge room ...which my Dad didn’t enjoy and had voice his opinions frequently on the subject lol
But there is one very rainy day that is my favourite of all and the reason I have been thinking about this particular day is because on Saturday a lady that my companion and I have been teaching is going to be baptized .If you haven’t guessed already the day that I am referring to was the day that I was baptized .It was Monday the 16th of February 1998 and as the seasons go in Australia especially where my parents lived it rained every single one of my birthdays .I had waited a very long time to be baptized after having had seen my 2 older sisters be baptized and having felt the awesome spirit and the specialness of the occasion. My mum worked really  hard to make me feel like a princess that day .I had caught the bus home and began to make a box for the memories of that day when my mum finally came home she carried all type of fun and interesting things with her but my favourite of all things was a dress that I was to wear after I was baptized it was a beautiful 90 style princess dress and my mum told me the specific reason that she had purchased this dress for me was because I was her princess and now by being baptized I was showing my heavenly father that I wanted to be his princess and that I was going to try and act the way that a princess would .so that one day I would eventually be a princess in heaven.
I was baptized by my Daddy that evening in the presence of all of my family and a large multitude of my branch and I have not felt more clean and beautiful or as close to my heavenly father until I was able to go to the temple.
I am really looking forward to helping people feel those very special feelings that are associated with taking those very important steps to returning back to our heavenly father. Because I know that through making and keeping these very special promises that we make when we are baptized that we will all be able to return to the presence of our heavenly father and be princesses and princes living in eternal happiness with our family and loved ones. I am grateful for my savoir Jesus Christ for preparing this way for me.

This was and is still my favourite baptism song even though it is short but hey so was I back then

 When I am baptized

1. I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain
and ponder on the beauty of an earth made clean again.

2. I know when I am baptized my wrongs are washed away,
And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day.

Chorus
I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain.
I want to be the best I can and live with God again.