12 years ago...

Howdy!

I meant to do this post a few days ago but life has been busy and I forgot to do it...

January 25... It would seem like any other day of the year to most people... But to me, this day holds a special meaning. 

On January 25, 2003 I made the biggest decision of my existence, even though at the time I had no idea how much it would impact my life.

12 years ago I made the decision to be baptized and become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or otherwise known as Mormon. 

It was the best decision I could have made for myself. I was only 11 when I made the choice and I had no idea what exactly I was doing. 

I have been on a crazy roller coaster as far as the Church goes, it has taken me a long time to get to when I am, and it hasn't always been easy. 

It took me about 10 years to understand what the gospel was and to decide that I actually wanted to be in it for the long haul. But even then, I have had a hard time.

***Disclaimer; this is about to get religious, so if you don't want here read about how I feel about God, stop reading. ***

Being a member of the Church, isn't easy and it isn't supposed to be. We are meant to be tried and tested. We have to remember that God isn't the only one who wants us.

Have you ever wondered why, when it seems like you are doing what’s right, you’re on the right path, and you can feel yourself getting closer to God - that temptations seem to get stronger and more frequent?

I have experienced this numerous times. It makes you feel almost as if the temptations are there because you're really not doing as well as you thought, that you are somehow unclean, unworthy.

ERRRR!!! Wrong answer. Try again.

My Bishop gave this analogy at girl’s camp a many years ago...

You are standing facing the sun, with your shadow behind you. You start walking towards the sun. What happens? Wouldn't you know that your shadow actually starts to grow bigger! The closer you get the longer it stretches out- sometimes almost even becoming bigger than you actually are.

But there is a changing point in this formula if you continue to walk towards the sun. Once you hit this point, your shadow starts to get smaller. Now instead of the shadow growing bigger as you get closer to the sun, it starts to diminish, until you reach a point that you are close enough to the sun that your shadow is gone completely.

 Now talking in terms of the gospel, the sun is Heavenly Father and the shadow is temptation. When we first start taking those steps towards Him a little emergency flash goes off in Satan's workshop. It says "WARNING! WARNING! Teasha has taken three steps closer to the Sun! Act accordingly. Pronto!" 

So little old Satan comes a creeping up behind us throwing all sorts of tricks and deceptions at us. If we give in, stop taking steps towards the Sun or even take a step or two back, Satan isn't so worried anymore and he leaves us alone for a while. But again, as we start to take steps closer to the Sun, Satan comes back. As we continue to take steps forward despite Satan's attempts to stop us, he starts to really get worried and he starts throwing harder temptations at us at a faster rate. The closer we get the more desperate he becomes. He'll stop at nothing to get us to halt our progression! 

But, in the end, light is stronger than darkness, isn't it. If we continue to press forward, Satan's power diminishes until finally it can no longer touch us nor be seen. That isn't to say that trials will disappear. Trials are a part of Heavenly Father's tool kit. He uses them to mold us, make us stronger, humble us, teach us, to give us experience. So while temptations may become smaller and not as much as a struggle, it doesn't mean our lives are free of pain and heartache and struggle.

As myself speaking, I feel temptation is Satan's tool and trials are Heavenly Father's. Heavenly Father does not tempt us. He gives us daily struggles to overcome and to become closer to him. Satan uses trickery and deception. The definition of temptation is "to induce or entice, as to something immoral". It’s interesting to look at the definition of moral. It means "dealing with, or capable of distinguishing between right and wrong". So to be immoral would mean that you are no longer able to tell right from wrong. Satan tempts us so that when we give in, we are allowing ourselves to start sand-papering away our knowledge of right from wrong. 

Isn't that interesting? Would a loving Heavenly Father tempt us? Would he want us to fog our consciences to where we no longer had a sense of right and wrong? No. Heavenly Father sends us trials, the act of being tried. Tried meaning tested, proved, trustworthy. If we fail a trial, it means we haven't been proven. To fail and give into temptation causes much more than failure. It causes our senses to be dulled and our Liahona to stop working. We start to wonder and to forget why we even came out into the wilderness in the first place. Pretty soon old Satan doesn't have to hang around anymore. We have become so immoral (not being able to tell right from wrong) that he no longer has to tempt us. It’s as if we stopped walking along the path, decided to twirl in a circle ten times real fast, and then try walking forward again. Most of the time we end up falling on our bums! Satan just laughs, delighted with our now queasy stomachs and dizzy/mixed up heads, and he runs off to find someone else. 

If we can be strong and realize that we are not unworthy of our Father's blessings, and realize that temptation in our lives does not mean we are somehow failing. But rather realize that as we take steps closer to Him, Satan is going to do everything in his power to stop us. He is going to throw larger and even more enticing temptations are way to get us to stop our progression. 

Satan is powerful, but God outshines him like the Sun to a wee bitty ant. So small in fact, that even us, ourselves here on earth are much grander than a wee ant. Sure the ant can bite, his little friends can follow and start climbing over your feet and legs. But we have the power to smash that little ant. We have the power to turn on the hose and wash all those little ants away.

I testify that the hose is the power of the Atonement. 

I know all too well how Satan and his followers whisper lies into our minds. They whisper disappointments, proud thoughts, selfish thoughts, and doubts.

We have the power to turn on the hose.

No one else can do it for you.

You alone must turn it on. 

Even after the ants are gone, you may be left with bites that itch and are swollen, but with time it will heal. In time they will disappear.

So also can the Atonement heal you, Christ suffered for YOU.  Don’t let it be in vain.

When I was in my most dark and dismal places, coming to the Church and learning of the gospel is what brought me back to Heavenly Fathers light and love. Earlier I mentioned how being a member of the Church hasn't always been easy, but I can guarantee it has been worth it. The Church has truly changed my life. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

"Life goes on..."

"Life goes on.." it's a simple phrase that we all use. But have we ever thought about what it really means?

Something bad happens, and we say life goes on.
Break ups happen, life goes on.
We fail a test, life goes on.
When we crash our cars, life goes on.
And when we simply don't get what we want, life goes on.

But does it really? Does life go on? Existing goes on, living can end when you stop embracing your existence.

Before I go any further, I want to explain that this is not a suicide note, and I am happy with life. I am simply expressing a thought I had after a conversation with a friend.

I do not believe that "life goes on," existing goes on but life doesn't. What you have to understand is that life and existing are two different things. If you were to stop embracing life, you would still be alive, you just wouldn't necessarily be "living."

Existing, is being on earth and going through the motions. It's getting up, going to work, coming home and not actually doing anything with your time.

Life on the other hand is taking this time on earth that the good Lord gave you and living it to its fullest.

Its staying up till 2am playing video games with your roommate when you have work at 8am.
Its first dates, and awkward moments, first kisses and long relationships.
Its going to college and becoming who you really are.
It random road trips, to just get out of town.
It's the simple things that put smiles on our faces, laughs in our bellies, and an overall sense of accomplishment.

I know that this is cliche to say and that you have heard it a thousand times, but its not the breaths you take but the moments that take your breaths away. We spend so much time just trying to get through life. We are doing our best to just scrape by, but where is the fun in that? There isn't any! We all need to take some time and just relax and have fun and loose control for a little while.

"Life is meant to be enjoyed not just endured!" - Gordon B. Hinkley

Take this advice, and make sure you have FUN! I don't care what you do... as long as it is legal. And remember to make it worth while, and let it take your breath away.

As always if you ever need to contact me please feel free to via email teasha.adams@gmail.com or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/teasha.adams91 and of course you can leave a comment down below.

Remember that when life gets hard to moving forward and to...

Always Smile!

Blessings While I'm Waiting

Howdy!

As I said in my last post I have been very busy lately and have been dealing with a lot in my personal life. So here is whats going on, about two weeks ago I was hospitalized for an iron deficiency anemia. Which in non-medical terms means i don't have enough iron in my body to make the red blood cells I need. As a result of this, I cannot do things I would normally do. I have a hard time even walking because I feel so dizzy and light headed, almost to the point of passing out.

Once it had become too big of a problem, to where it was hard for me to do anything, I decided to go to Urgent Care to see if they should help me. Once I got there are saw a doctor and he told me to leave and go to the ER immediately. So, that's what I did. I got in my car and drive to the nearest E.R. and waited for about 20mins then they ran blood tests and whatnot and told me I was going to be admitted because I was going to need a blood transfusion and IV Iron.

After I was admitted and got the blood and iron I still didn't feel good, and still don't. Before I was released from the hospital the doctors gave me doctors to follow up with to try to keep all of this under control, which was good, but i had two weeks until the appointments. Which is now, this week.

I went to one of the two doctors yesterday to see if we could find a cause of the problem. I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how I feel about him. The first thing he wants to try is just putting me on medication to fix the problem, but I'm not even sure what the problem is, or what is causing the problem. I did however agree to his course of action and we will see what happens.

Now here is the fun part, insurance. These companies are supposed to be there to help make your life easier and medical bills more affordable right? Yeah, no! WRONG! They have made my life a literal living hell. At the current moment I need medication that they won't pay for for at least another month, I can't wait that long for it, and the out of pocket cost is too much for me to afford right now since I have other medical bills I am trying to pay. So, yay this is fun!

I have been having a hard time with being my upbeat happy self lately because I am so exhausted with dealing with all of this that I can't deal with anything else. I am not sleeping that well at night as a result of the stress and therefore I am exhausted all the time and just not as happy as I should be.

Recently, since I have been having such a rough patch, I have been listening to a lot of Christian music and just trying to turn to the Lord with this because it's at the point where its in his hands and I have done all I can do. Let me tell ya, that is much easier said then done! I am a strong independent person, I take pride in this fact but in the past few weeks I have had to rely on others, and it has humbled me greatly and I have seen a side of me that I didn't know was there.

The title of this post is actually two names of songs that have helped me a lot in the past few weeks, the first being Blessing and the second While I'm waiting. (I will post YouTube videos at the bottom.) There songs have been able to let me see my trials in a different light and it is making all the difference.

Blessings basically says that Heavenly Father will give us blessing in different ways that we might not have even realized. It basically says that our trials, are Heavenly Fathers mercies. He gives us the trials that we have in our lives to make us stronger, so if it be through rain drops, tears, sleepless nights, or whatever may come our way, he wants us to turn to him for help and he is testing us to see if we will. We need to remember that, He loves us and will never give us more than we can handle.

While I am Waiting basically says that while I am waiting I will walk in obedience and that I will do all i can to grow closer to the Lord, and through those actions the Lord will be with you and you will know that He loves you and that you are on the right path.

Both of these song are about putting our trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to give us strength to move boldly and confidently through our trials and to know that we are never alone, and to know that we are loved.

I know with first had experience that having this faith in Them is not easy, its actually extremely difficult and challenging, but I think that is done on purpose. Heavenly Father knows that it is easy for us to say we love him when our lives are easy, but he wants to know that we are truly dedicating to him in the hard times too, because thats when true character comes to life. Our trails make us who we are.

My challenge to you is there next time you are having a rough day or don't think the Lord is there, turn to him. Get on your knees and pray, I know you won't want to, but do it anyways.

There is one last thing I want to share, there is a youth speaker in the church and his name is John Bytheway, he has a talk entitled "Rough Start; Great Finish" and he shares this poem in it and I think it  sums up how our trials makes us stronger if we are patient and allow the Lord to refine us through them.

Rough Start Great Finish:

Some people like to wonder, why is my life so though?

Mortality is full of trials and every day is rough.

They say “Hey! Lord, I’m being good. Why punish me with trials?

 I thought if I chose the right I’d have a life of smiles.”

So here are some things within a poem we mustn’t disregard

 which hopefully will answer why our lives can be so hard.

Nephi crossed a dessert to find a place to build a ship

 I think we’d all agree this was not a pleasure trip.

A wilderness dark and dreary lay before the tree of life

you must fetch Ishmaels family before you find your wife.

A wilderness will always come before the Promised Land.

And before they sowed in dark rich soil, they saw a lot of sand.

The kind of things that they went through we go through now today.

Here’s 25 examples of how things can be that way:

You’ve got to eat your Cracker Jack’s before you get your prize;

you have to sit through drive through before you get your fries.

I drove a Chevy Vega before my Honda Prelude;

I had to take my finals man before I got my grade dude.

Before 80’s music came we had to go through disco;

before the Teflon frying pan we used to cook with Crisco.

You do a lot of dating son before you find your honey;

bank offices will check your past before they loan you money.

Endure the small apartment kids before you buy a home;

my franklin planner weighed a ton before I bought a palm.

You have to pass the food court before you reach the mall;

and I was really short before I got this tall.

It takes a lot of courage to ask the girls to dance;

without the risk of asking you’ll never find romance.

The ugly duckling came before the really pretty swan;

you’ve got to pull the dandelions to have a gorgeous lawn.

It could take 300 Wonka bars to find a golden ticket;

to eat that pile of chocolate boy you’ve really gotta dig it.

 We shovel snow in winter time before we get to spring;

some guys will sacrifice their jeep to buy a wedding ring.

It’s half a dozen previews and then the presentation;

and only after 8^th grade trials comes high school graduation.

Airport security must be passed before you find your gate;

it’s odd that much of traveling is standing in line to wait.

You’ve got to go in rush hour then you park in your garage;

you have to do stuff for your wife to earn a back massage.

Hours of piano lessons came before the big recital;

the Cougars played the U of U before they won the title.

Perhaps I should get to the point before this poem gets longer;

I guess that what I’m trying to say is that trials make you stronger.

So when you have a problem there’s no reason to complain

it might just be that all that’s wrong is for your eternal gain.

The next time a trial comes along don’t gripe or wrote a letter;

just see what’s really going on is your problems make you better.

I hope my amateurish poem my point will not diminish;

sometimes a rough start comes before a really awesome finish!

As always if you ever need to contact me please feel free to via email teasha.adams@gmail.com or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/teasha.adams91 and of course you can leave a comment down below. 

Remember that when life gets hard to keep moving forward and to…

Always Smile!

Everyone is BEAUTIFUL!

Howdy!

So I have been super busy lately and I am probably going to do two different post one to explain why ia hve been busy, which will come later, and this one. So stay tuned.

A few weeks ago I was one Facebook and saw a video that I thought was very interesting. If was made by the Dove company and it explained how young girl judge themselves. It got me thinking about how we all think less of ourselves than we should. Why, why do we do this? We are all awesome! We all have our ups and down and we are all equal. We all are beautiful in our own ways, plus there are so many people putting us down that why add another negative voice to the pile?

I want all of you to watch this video and tell me how you think you are AWESOME!

Remember that when life gets hard, to keep moving forward and to...

Always Smile!

Answer

Howdy!

In my last post I asked you all to post any questions y'all might have had, and I received one. I am now going to attempt to answer it.  

The question: “I’m really into paranormal happenings and spiritual stuff life ghosts. This blog and your wish to have a non-profit are done in memory of your friend Brian Orgill. Do you think he hangs out with you now? Have you ever had an experience where you felt he was there or where you thought he was sending you a sign somehow? Have you had a dream about him where he might have been visiting you?”

This question goes deep into my religious beliefs of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormon. I’m going to break it down into smaller questions to make my answer more understandable.

1.      Do you think he hangs out with you now? I do not believe Brian "hangs out" with me now.

Have you ever had an experience where you felt he was there or where you thought he was sending you a sign somehow? I believe that Brian in some ways has been able to be close to me in my times of need to help guide me but these are rare and special occasions. Without going into to much religious talk, I have had an experience where I knew Brian was with me helping me to know what was right and what I needed to do.

Have you had a dream about him where he might have been visiting you? I have had dreams with Brian in them, but most of them of not meant anything, or have been me simply reliving past memories, I do not believe he was sending me a message or visiting me in these dreams. 

If you have anymore questions please feel free to let me know!

Remember that when life gets hard to keep moving forward and to...

Always Smile!

Questions

So lately I have not had any inspiration to write about... So I am going to open it up to a question an answer. If you have any questions for me about anything send me a message or leave a comment.

remember that when life gets hard to keep moving forward and to...

Always Smile!

You WILL win!

Howdy!

I know it has been a good long while since I have updated my blog, but I have been super busy and just haven't felt inspired to until last night.

I was on Facebook last night and saw a link that my friend had posted and decided to watch it. The title was "How do YOU define YOURSELF?" It is a motivational speaker who has a medical condition where she cannot gain weight and as a result has been labeled "the ugliest women on earth."

Here is the video:

I want to say something in response to this because I am sure it hit close to home for you as it did for me. 

How many of you have ever been told that what you want to do with your life isn't practical and it won't make you money? How many of you have been told that your dream job isn't achievable? And how many times have you let those people win?

I want to tell you to STOP! Just stop! As Lizzie says in the video, we are in the drivers seat of our own lives, not your best friend, not your parents, and not anyone else, but YOU! It is up to you to decide what your life is going to be, and what you leave behind when you leave this world. 

I have heard more time than I care to count that my dream of this non-profit is idiotic and that I am not wise for doing it. I have heard that I am going to fail and that when I do, I will have nothing. Of course, that hurts to hear. Why wouldn't it? But do I let it affect me? NO! NOt in a negative way anyways. I use it to push me forward and to be wood to the fire that fuels my motivation. 

In the video, Lizzie asks a simple question, how do you dine yourself? And I want you to answer this, and be honest. If its your friends, your family, your career, your religion, what is it? Is it what you want it to be? If it isn't change it! If you aren't following your dreams, do it! No one said it would be easy, but I know it will be worth it. 

There will be bumps and bruises and heartache along the way, but thats life. Heavenly Father sent each of us hear to learn and find joy and happiness! My challenge to all of you, since it is new year, this year go after your dreams, be yourself and find happiness! It's out there I promise!

I know without a shadow of a doubt that if you try to find happiness, and I mean actively try you will find it. I know this for a fact, because I have had to do it!

If you need help following your dream, let me know what it is, and I will do my best to help! If you ever need someone to vent to or just someone to be there, feel free to email me!

As always please feel free to contact me with any questions to comments. You can leave them here on the blog or you can Facebook or email me. My email address is teasha.adams@gmail.com and my Faceboook profile is: https://www.facebook.com/teasha.adams91

Remember that when life gets hard to keep moving forward and to…

Always Smile!