Peace of mind and comfort in my heart!

When one not so good thing happens after another,  sometimes life can get discouraging. Sometimes we can have feelings of discouragement, frustration, anger, the attitude of just wanting to give up because you ask yourself what is your purpose? You might feel alone and that no one understands what your going through. Recently I have had some really good moments but also some really discouraging moments. Today I found out some news about a family member that is sick and is basically taking it one day at a time. I sent my wishes that he will start feeling better and got the response that most likely it will just get worse and not better. In the moment it made me sad. All sorts of feelings rushed into me and I was not quite sure what to do or to think. After a  few moments I said a prayer. I instantly received peace of mind and comfort in my heart. Because I know what God, my Heavenly Father's plan is for us.

I know that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me. I know that I am His daughter and that before I come here to earth I lived as a spirit in His presence. I know why I am here.

I know that its only through our Savior, Jesus Christ that we can be cleansed of our sin and return back to our Heavenly Father. Its through Jesus Christ's Atonement that He can help us and give of that comfort because he knows how everything feels.

Alma 7:11-13
11And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.
13Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Because I know the plan God has for us, that even though someone dies, and yes it is sad, but I am comforted because I know I will be able to see them again and be with my family for eternity if I follow God's commandments now and prepare now to return back to Him.

I love my family so much and I am so grateful that I know that I will be able to be with them even after we die. That we will be able to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father!

Isaac, James and Annie

Day 06 - A picture of someone you miss

 This my nephew Isaac Hanson! He is 7 years old. He will be 8 soon and will have the opportunity to get baptized. I am so excited for him to be able to experience such a spiritual experience. For him to be able to recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost. Which is one of the greatest blessings from God. I Love him so much. I love all the memories of all those things we got to do together. Since being on a mission the only way I communicate with him is through letters. And I have to say I love his letters! And I am so grateful that he sends me one almost every week! I love him and I really miss him a lot!

This is James Hanson. He is 4 years old! He is almost 5! He is my buddy. We have spent a lot of time together. And I am grateful for every moment of it. James is so full of engery and I really miss him. I really miss every morning at about 7am when he would could down and say "Aunt Karen its time to wake up now." And when I wouldn't he would ask me if I would get up if he gave me a hug! Well lets just say I could never resist a hug from him!

This is Annie. She is two. She has an awesome personality. She loves Mickey Mouse. We would read a Mickey Mouse book together all the time and she could tell me the names of all the characters. She is so much fun to play with! I miss her so much!

Faith to act. Our choices!

Psalms 82:6
 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are ^achildren of the most High.

My sister tells me a story about my niece when she was just four years old. Vanessa was sitting in the backseat of our parents’ Suburban. Our brother MacCary was in the front passenger seat. Vanessa was mad at her dad for something and claimed, “It doesn’t matter! I have another daddy anyways!” My sister was sitting there thinking, who is feeding this kid with lies…. She said to Vanessa, “No, Vanessa you only have one daddy and it’s him,” pointing to our brother. Vanessa, a very smart, and yes, sometimes a smart aleck, four year old said, “No, I have a daddy in heaven too Aunt Natasha!”

My niece’s unquestionable faith that she is a child of our Heavenly Father is a great example for all of us. We are all children of God and knowing that should affect the choices we make in our lives.

In my experience children are full of faith. They are receptive to the feelings of the spirit. They usually are the first to love and the first to forgive. Often in the scriptures we are taught to be like a child.

Mosiah 3:19
For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Our ultimate goal is to return to live in the presence of our Heavenly Father. The only way we can do that is by having faith in Jesus Christ.

A lot of people tell me they already have faith in Jesus Christ. So I ask them what they are doing about that faith. A lot of them respond I have been baptized, I’m saved there is nothing more to do. Or I believe. Well faith isn’t just believing. Faith is a principle of action and power that should motivate our day to day choices.

If I didn’t have faith I would be here on a mission working hard to teach all of God’s children about the gospel.
A farmer wouldn’t plant if he didn’t expect to harvest. None of us would go to work each day if we didn’t hope by doing so we could accomplish something. Each day we act upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result. This is faith.

From the very beginning we had agency. Our choices, small or large are all important. I believe if we made choices based on an eternal perspective and not on a now perspective, our choices would be more aligned with God. There are good choices, there are better choices, and then there are the best choices. Most of life I didn’t really understand that. I thought that if I was making good choices that I was doing fine. But good isn’t good enough. I recently learned that there is more. There is always more we can do.

Our Faith should be reflected in our choices. The true faith we have in our Savior and His atonement is the only way we can be cleansed and return back to the presence of our Heavenly Father.

President Spencer W. Kimball explained, “There must be works with faith. How foolish it would be to ask the Lord to give us knowledge, but how wise to ask the Lord’s help to acquire knowledge, to study constructively, to think clearly, and to retain things that we have learned”

Faith involves doing all we can to bring about the things we hope and pray for. President Kimball said: “In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process.” He continued by explaining that many of us want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don’t want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord.

We want a lot of things without doing anything about it. We need to do something if we want something.

I know that if I want success as a missionary and that because I do I have to WORK for it. I can’t just ask for it and then not do my part.

One of my favorite scripture about faith is Ether 12:12
For if there be no ^afaith among the children of men God can do no ^bmiracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.


I know that if I have faith to act and do the things I am suppose, that according to God’s will I can be part of Miracles. We all can be. We just need to make those BEST choices.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I know that through God’s power He translated the Book of Mormon. I know the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible is the word of God. I know that we are all children of God and that he loves all of us.

My mom!

Day 05 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

I could never imagine my life without my mom. I love her so much! My mom has taught me so many good things. Growing up we did so many fun things. My mom always knows when something is wrong without me even telling her. She was always there for me. I don't know what I would of done without my mom! I love her and I am so grateful for everything she has done for me!

My wonderful sister Lacy!

Day 04 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

This one was very hard for me to decide. I have a lot of great people in my life and a lot of them have helped me so much! My family is all very great! But I have to say in some of the toughest times in my life it was my sister Lacy that got me through it. I am so grateful for her and for all the help she has given me to get me where I am today. She is so amazing and was always willing to help me. She has such a strong testimony about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is an amazing example for me to follow!  I love her so much!



My sister and her daughter Annie.





My sister and all three of her kids.
Isaac, James, Lacy, Annie



The birthday cake she made me! :)

Natasha and Vickie

Day 03 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

Me, My best friend Vickie and my Sister Natasha! 

My sister and I are very close. We would tell each other everything! I love her so much and I am so grateful for the example she has been for me! I have only know my friend Vickie since 2008, but we became super close super quick! She is awesome! She is like a sister to me! I am so grateful for both of them in my life because I know that no matter what we will be close and always be there for each other!

Sister Cosper & Sister Warwood

Day 2: A picture of somebody that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

I couldn't just pick one person that has had a huge impact on my life lately, so I picked two! Sister Cosper and Sister Warwood have impacted my life so much that I will never forget them! When I first got to Tennesse, they were both my companions. Sister Cosper was my trainer, meaning she took me under her wing and taught me how to be a missionary! She is an awesome missionary and I am so grateful for her and the many things I learned from her! Thank you Sister Cosper! I love you!

After the first 6 weeks of being in Tennesse, Sister Cosper left to go serve in Galatin and Sister Warwood and I stayed in Cookeville, TN together.

Sister Warwood is an amazing missionary! We both are still relatively new missionaries. She has only been here 6 weeks longer than me and I have only been about 8 weeks. At first I was scared and I wasn't sure if I was ready for Sister Cosper to leave us! I still felt like I needed to learn more. But Sister Cosper left and right away me and Sister Warwood started working hard. That first week of it just being us two was a very long and hard week. We were doing everything we had been taught to do and somethings just weren't happenening for us. There were moments I was so frustrated I wanted to give up. We didn't though, we kept going and working as hard as we could. We prayed constantly for the strenghth and guidance from our Heavenly Father. At the end of the week we were both so physically tired and mentally tired we crashed!  We don't get a lot of time to ourself. Our time is devoted all to God. So even as tired as we were, we had to get up the next day and work hard!

 

Sister Warwood was such a great example to me in enduring to the end. To just get up and go! I learned so much from her and I am so grateful for her and the testimony she has of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints!

Even though Sister Warwood fell,

she got back up and continued on!

Even though we go through hard times

 together, she doesn't let it keep her down!

Day One

Day one: A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

1. I am a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints.

2. I love camping.

3. When everything is covered in fresh snow, it makes me smile because I think it's so pretty.

4. I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska.

5. I consider Idaho to be my second home. :)

6. My favorite color is RED. But then again it changes a lot depending on the day. 7. I love my family! They mean so much to me!

8. I love being around kids, they make me happy!

9. I have a cat named Spazz.

10. I have 3 brothers and 4 sisters. I am the youngest. 

11. I have 6 nieces and 7 nephews. I have 1 nephew on the way and another unknown on the way. :)

12. I like four-wheelers, snow-machines, guns and fire,

13. I like to eat a lot of food. :)

14. I like being adventurous, trying new things.

15. I like waterfalls.

Getting to know me better!

 My blogs will consist of these things for the next  22 days!
Hopefully ya'll can get to know me better!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

Day 02 - A picture of somebody that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 03 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.
Day 04 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 05 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

Day 06 - A picture of someone you miss
Day 07 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 08 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 09 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 10 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 11 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
Day 12 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 13 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 14 - A picture of your night.

Day 15 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 16 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 17 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Day 18 - A picture of something you love.

Day 19 - A picture of a childhood memory.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.

Day 22 - A picture of your day.

Enduring to the end!

Everyday I wake up at 6:30am. I try to exercise for 30 minutes. I get ready and eat breakfast for an hour. I study for an hour, and then I study for another hour with my mission companion. We leave our apartment at 10am everyday. We spend all day, rain or shine finding people and teaching people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't go back to our apartment until about 9:30 every night. Most every day is a very long but satisfying day! There are those days though that everything we had scheduled falls through. We try to find other people to teach, and no one is home or everyone we try to talk to say they aren't interested. Days like that can get a little discouraging. I sometimes feel that I am not doing something right or I don't have enough faith for good things to happen. Sometimes I feel like my effort might be lacking. These are the days I feel like just giving up and laying in bed all day. In those times though I remind myself to pray and to read the scriptures.

One day when I was really frustrated I prayed and asked for help to know what to do. A scripture I have read many times before answered my prayers.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

In the scriptures we are taught the things we need to do. When Christ was here on earth he established His Church and taught people the basic principals of having faith, repenting of our sins, following the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by the proper authority, recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. 





After reading Proverbs 3:5-6 I remembered the enduring to the end. I remember that I can't just give up when I get frustrated or faced with a hard challenage. I need to keep going, I need to trust in God completely and know that if I do the best I can, and acknowledge God in all I do, He will direct me down the right path.

I know that we are all children of God and that He loves us! I know that He will be there to help us if we turn to Him and Trust Him. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that through Christ we can be cleanse of our sins and live in our Heavenly Father's presence again. That through Christ we can feel comfort because He knows exactly how we are feeling!

Prayer

When I was a kid I seemed to lose things often. I would look everywhere to find them and I never could. I would end up always going to my mom and asking her if she could find it and she always could. It come to a point when I lost something I would just go to my mom right away. One day I asked her how she could always find the things so quickly when I would look for a long time and never could. She told me that she would turn to God. Before she would start looking she would say a simple prayer and ask God if He would help her find it. I learned a lesson that day, that I could turn to God, my Heavenly Father for everything. Even the small and simple things. I learned that God would answer them through the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost answers my prayers by influencing my mind and feelings. Gives me comfort and peace in hard times and confirms truth to me.

I am so grateful for my mom and the things she taught me. The comfort it gives me to know that in any situation I always have someone to turn to. God will listen to us if we pray to him! He will answer our prayers too!








“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” Matthew 7:7
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” James 1:5

I know that if we ask God, He will answer us. I know that by praying it can help us make decisions, we can receive comfort, and know if things are true. I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that we are all His children and that He loves us! He wants to hear from us in times of need but also in times of happiness. I have faith and because I have faith I act on the things God wants us to do. I know by following God's commandments, even though I don't always understand them, that I will be happier in my life and that I will be able to return to God's presence someday! I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's Church restored!  I know that God and His son Jesus Christ appeared to Joesph Smith and called him to be a prophet so he could restore Christ's Church! I know that there is a prophet called of God on the earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet called of God. I know that he receives revelation through God to help us continue down the right path! I know that after I die I will be able to live in the presence of my Heavenly Father with my family for eternity! I love my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, my Savior!