What Are You Afraid Of?

It's that time of year again <3 

The time that the leaves are changing.

The time the air gets crisp.

The time of apples and pumpkins.

The time known for F E A R.

I believe there two different types of fear. 

The outward fear.

or fear of the things around us

And the inward fear.

or fear of things out of our control or knowledge.

I've learned a lot about FEAR this last week. I've actually experience both types first hand. 

Story Time!

THE OUTWARD FEAR

My roommate and I were walking home from an intense study session at the library. It was about 10 o'clock at night. Keep in mind that I have never once been afraid of anything on this campus. But there we were, walking down our mountain of a hill, when this guy jumps out of the bushes right in front of us and growls. "WHAT THE HAY!?" I did that freakish horse neigh. Not a pleasant sight. What in the world did I ever do to him?! Then he just walked away.. like it was no big deal. I walked away giggling, but was super jumpy the rest of the night. I haven't been that jumpy in a long time.

THE INWARD FEAR

This story takes a little bit longer to tell. Truth is, I didn't even realize fear was inside of me, until someone else pointed it out.

I was texting one of my friends about some things that I was stressing about, when she gave me this advice:

"STOP IT!" 

This short response is the whole reason we are best friends. Bluntness. Followed by an increase of love in a follow-up message:

"I just want you to not be afraid. Fear is our human kryptonite. God does not give us fear -- we have faith!"

There it was. There was the mention of the stain on my shirt. There was the notice of my weakness. There was the topic that would be on my mind for the rest of the week. Fear & FAITH.

I thought about those words a lot as I was going to bed that night. 

The next day, I went about as usual. Taking the usual accounting notes, and feeling my tummy rumble in economics.. I went to my LDS Institute's "Religion In Life" that they have every Friday where a selected member of a nearby ward comes to give a talk on a topic they felt inspired about. 

I sat next to my friends, and as the choir was singing, I wrote down a short paragraph regarding some thoughts that were going through my mind including these few sentences that said: 

"Just go for it! Don't be fearful!"

The speaker then got up to begin. His name is Scott Wilde. He introduced a little about himself and then explained that him and his wife had felt inspired to address the topic of:

"Hushing our FEARS with FAITH." 

I was in awe.... I nudged my friend next to me and had her read what I had just written down, not a minute before. Her eyes grew big just as mine probably were. Right then I felt, as I have many times before, my Heavenly Father's love and awareness of me. He knows what I have been thinking. He knows what is in my heart. And he sent not just one, but multiple people to me to reassure me that I NEED NOT BE AFRAID.

General Conference happened recently. That is when a Prophet of God, and all his Apostles speak to US. To the children of God. To give us all knowledge that we need to lead happy and substantial lives. And I learned so so much from their words. 

One big theme that stuck out to me personally, was that God has a plan for us. I learned that I don't have to see and understand the big picture of my life, I just have to have faith to do the little things He asks of me, and the understanding of my purpose and plan will be uncovered little by little. Which is hard, because I am so impatient sometimes.

In conference, the idea of PONDERIZING was also taught by Elder Devin G. Durrant:

"I invite you to "ponderize" one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it's a combination of 80% extended pondering and 20% memorization.

There are two simple steps:

First, choose a verse of scripture each week and place it where you will see it every day.

Second, read or think of the verse several times each day and ponder the meaning of its words and key phrases throughout the week."

I have done just that this last week. And I truly believe that the whole experience I just explained, happened because I was focusing on the spirit more from the scripture I had chosen.

The scripture I chose was found in the Book of Mormon. 3 Nephi 11:3. This is when a group of people from the ancient American continent are standing around, right before the resurrected Savior himself come among them.

3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

I chose this scripture to be my focus this last week because I was determined to HEAR and KNOW the spirit. I wanted to make sure I would be one that WOULD understand the voice of the Lord if&when He spoke to me. I know I understood the spirit as Brother Wilde spoke.

-----

ANOTHER COOL EXPERIENCE!!!  So this last week, I was able to jam out at the Third Day and Brandon Heath Christian concert. It was INCREDIBLE. I went with two of my friends. One of which is a member of my faith, and the other which isn't, but we are all Christians, and we were all surrounded by fellow Christians. It was the most uplifting concert I had ever been to. It really made me love life and appreciate all the good people in this world. Usually when I've been to concerts in the past, I've been a bit afraid of some of the people that could be there. Those that push you around in mosh pits, or those old creeper guys that stare at you for too long. But this concert, was full of love. Love for each other and love for the Lord. Made me think of the scripture in Moroni 8:16 that says: 

"Perfect love casteth out all fear."

There was a part in the concert, when when of the singers pulled out a $20 bill from his pocket and handed it to a man in the audience and told us all to pass the bill around until someone in the audience ends up with it at the end of the concert. There were probably about 200 people sitting in front of our row, and the $20 made it all the way back to us. I was amazed. I thought: almost anywhere else, that $20 probably wouldn't have made it past the first row. My how I love Christians. And boy am I proud to call myself a Christian.

The man that was seated next to me has left a place in my heart. He was very quiet and I could tell he felt a little insecure, but I could sense the love and faith he has for his God. He would raise his arm in praise at the mention of the cross. He would bow his head and nod as the musicians told stories about God keeping together their marriage. And right before the last song, when Third Day was explaining and testifying that God doesn't waste people and that God has a specific plan for each one of us, tears were streaming down his face. 

When I glanced over and saw this, I found I had tears rushing down mine. 

We are all weak. We are all unsure, and I know that when we realize these two things, we all have a portion of fear. But you can do it!

There really aren't words to describe all the good and happy feelings I felt that night. All the pleasant people that were around me and all the time my heart smiled. I know that was because I felt the spirit of the Lord and because my FAITH was increasing.

In another talk given in conference, there was a quote given that said:

"Faith grows not by chance, but by CHOICE."

I want to testify that I know "Ponderizing" works. I know that it builds our faith. I know that as I studied this verse, I have come closer to the spirit. Our Heavenly Father loves you and is aware of every single stain on your shirt, every situation you are in, and good and bad feelings that come to you.

I encourage you to put this into practice, to question yourself as a Christian, and to truly taste and swallow the saying that "GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU."

With that being said, I hope you take time to go to a haunted house, or corn maze, and enjoy this season and holiday. The beauty of Fall never ceases to blow me away!

Donut Worry! Bee Happy!

Sincerely, Meg

All is Well.

Hello, readers!

Life for me this week has been great! I have had some major eye opening and spirit inviting activities and enlightenment's this week that I would like to share. It has been so refreshing:)

My YSA ward had our "Especially for Young Single Adults (EFYSA)" This last Friday & Saturday. It was seriously the best thing ever. JUST what I needed.

Friday night we had our Stake President speak to us, and answer questions that some of the YSA had written down for him. And then after the devotional with him, we went outside on the field and broke up into little groups so that we could meet new people and talk with them. I absolutely LOVED my group and I loved meeting so many new people. After getting home, you'd be surprised at how difficult it can be to meet new people... We had a homework assignment to get into even smaller groups and create a MormonAd. Ours won in my book :) We talked a lot about the topic of being OVERWHELMED. Which is something I felt on my LDS mission quite often. Satan and God both use the term. Satan uses us being overwhelmed as a time to make us feel like giving up and breaking down, and God wants us to be overwhelmed, because that is when we turn to him on our knees for help, strength, and guidance.

So if you're feeling overwhelmed right now, I promise it's a good thing, just don't give up, and use it to come closer to God, and His plan for you.

Saturday was super good, too! We had workshops all day, and I learned a lot about Courage, and the Atonement.

Courage is always seen as a POSITIVE thing. It doesn't really take courage to do something evil or sinful... Anything that requires us to have courage, usually stretches us and pushes us in a RIGHTEOUS direction.

So RIGHTEOUSNESS uses courage.

And EVIL uses disCOURAGEment.

How cool is that???! One of my favorite quotes since I've been home, goes something like this--- "We don't fall into Satan's hands when we make a mistake, we fall into his hands when we get DISCOURAGED & depressed about our mistakes"

I know for a fact that we ALL make mistakes, and I also know for a fact that so many of us too often are our own worst critic and we are WAY too hard on ourselves. I am extremely guilty of this. But something that has been on my mind deeply is to "be happy in any circumstances" Nothing will show Satan what is up, more than us being HAPPY in our trials.

I read the first presidency message in the LDS Ensign for the month of July, and smiled when I read that it was about our beloved pioneers. My mission truly helped me gain a stronger testimony & knowledge of them.

President Uchtdorf, in it, talked about how one of the greatest things we can learn and apply from the lives of the pioneers, is their ATTITUDE & OPTIMISM.

"Despite having every reason to shout "All is not well," they cultivated an attitude we cannot help but admire today. They looked beyond their troubles to eternal blessings. They were grateful in their circumstances. Despite evidence to the contrary, they sang with all the conviction of their souls, "All IS well!"
Another thing to learn from them, is their COMPASSION. They didn't try to get to Zion in a race and leave their brothers and sisters stranded behind them. The first thing in their minds was to help their brothers and sisters around them get through the storms and rivers, and to leave help and guidance to those who come after them. We must do the same. Stop trying to "get ahead" in life, and help others to get there with us. Success is only success, if we help others to find that success also.

One of my favorite quotes about this was from the talk "Your 4 Minutes" given in a conference about a year ago. A olympic medalist said that she wanted to do her best, but she wanted her competitors to do their best too. How great is that?? We can all succeed and non if us is better than another.

Tonight, for the Sabbath, I got my parents to sit down with me to watch 17 Miracles.. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to watch it! I believe it is on NETFLIX- and especially at this time of year, as we are about to celebrate the 24th of July- Pioneer day, it's a great way to gain a knowledge and appreciation for all the went through.

As I watched it again, and was reminded of all the stories, and memories of these pioneers that I had the opportunity to share while serving a transfer as a missionary at the Mormon Trail Center, The spirit that was on that hallowed ground, is so special to me. And that feeling is one that will forever come back to me as I am reminded of the pioneers.

Tonight, I was OVERWHELMED, at the power of their faith and testimonies once again. Overwhelmed to the point where I have felt the urge to come again to my Father in prayer to ask for a greater desire to serve those around me. A greater sense to push forward, and a greater sense to forgive and understand. I want a faith like theirs.

While sitting in EFYSA this week, I had felt a strong urge, to change the focus of what I've wanted my major in school to be. The subject that I've set out to study right now, I really haven't ever felt super set on. My mission has changed the idea of the career that I want, and as I was surrounded by the spirit this weekend, I have felt the courage to dive into something that I have never even considered being a part of before. I'm registering this week, for a CNA class, and I have been so excited!! It is so strange to me, logically to be interested in this, but I am, and I know this was something that was brought by no coincidence.

Do not be afraid! Have the courage to be on the Lord's side each and every day. You are not alone. The Lord will provide you with miracles beyond your belief. Pray for specific miracles. Be yourself, and share your voice, because you never know which person you talk to that will need YOU. Keep your testimony at the core of your very being, and always remember who loves you most.

1 Nephi 19:9

"And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yeah, the spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his long-suffering towards the children of men."

I hope y'all are keeping your eye out for all the tender mercies of the Lord in your lives. I hope you are stretching yourself to reach goals and desires that you may not even know you have. It is so exciting to try new things and discover new things about yourself.

Be grateful in your trials! Sometimes we just need to do what is best for us, even if it is harder. Those things that are most worth while, aren't always the easiest.

Donut Worry, and Bee Happy!!!

Sincerely, Meg

Meg-a-what??

Hello:)

My name is Meg. It has been quite a while since I have posted on this here blog. I have been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for 18 months in Nebraska and Iowa. I returned home in January and am just now getting back into the blog world.

Because of the change that has taken place in who am I and what I have learned about myself from being away from the "world" for 18 months, I figured I could re-vamp the style of the blog. So welcome to the new name and new layout. Yay!

MEG-A-BIT.
When I was little, my parents owned a computer store not too far from the house I grew up in. My whole family has been very computer savvy, and even with the years that have passed since selling the store, that hasn't changed. I would love the days that would be spent at the store after pre-school & kindergarten. My brother would pick me up, and take me to the little strip mall where the store lived and I would spend hours playing my Barbie PC games, and watching my brothers tackle new enemies on StarCraft. My oldest brother ran the store quite often, and I still remember the chuckles that would come from both of us, when so many of our customers would think I was his daughter.

All those that worked there had custom green polo shirts with fuchsia collars and embroidered lettering that said "MICRO-BITS", stating clearly to all that walked in our Micro-bit store, that they were there to serve and help them. I was little, I sure didn't know much to answer questions, but even still, I had my own little polo that had "MEG-A-BIT" embroidered right under the company logo.

It was a nick name. One that I absolutely loved and bragged to tell people about, even though I didn't quite understand all the humor and irony of it. I just knew my family was proud or their cleverness, and I loved to be proud with them.

A Megabit:

The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega is defined in the International System of Units as a multiplier of 10⁶ (1 million), and therefore

1 megabit = 10⁶bits = 1000000bits

So there you have it folks... I'm just a bunch of bits. Hopefully the Reeses bits.. those are my favorite.

Annnnnyway.... I'm back, and more ready to write and discover life than ever before. Here we go!!!!!