Reflections on Sharing Faith and Strength

I've kind of flat-lined here on my blog for a little while. (I've got a bunch of updates coming at you soon though!)

College is busy. Dance is busy. Living is busy. Living in college and dancing is busy. Sundays in a singles ward are busy. Family keeps me busy. 

I should be studying right now. I at least got a start....while I watched Once Upon a Time.

 

Despite all of the busyness (is that even a real word? I've typed busy so many times that it doesn't even seem like a word anymore), I've made time to read a few books in the past few weeks. I first read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. One of my best friends read it and has been doing her own happiness project, so I decided to read it myself. Maybe I'll even start my own happiness project! 

Then I read Heaven in Here by Stephanie Nielsen of NieNie Dialogues. Right after I finished that one, I started into My Story by Elizabeth Smart. Both of these women are incredible. 

[Side note: I never used to read non-fiction books. My dad always tried to encourage me to read them when I was younger, and I never really did. I really liked my Harry Potter and the Work and the Glory, okay? Apparently though, I'm reading a lot more non-fiction these days. College will do that to you.]

Anyway, I loved reading these women's stories. They both went through incredibly difficult challenges - Stephanie being burned on over 80% of her body, Elizabeth being kidnapped (among many other horrible things) for 9 months. They came through these challenges greater than ever before though. And why was that?

God. Heavenly Father.

Both women describe the huge amounts of faith and trust that they decided to place in their Father. Both women knew that they would not be able to survive, let alone thrive, without the aid of their Father. They talk about feeling His presence, His love, His guidance, His Spirit with them each day, strengthening them and promising them that everything would be okay, taking their hands and leading them through. How wonderful is that? 

For the past couple of months, I have been working to have the influence of the Holy Ghost in my life. It isn't easy, and I don't do very good some days. I do know though, that my Heavenly Father does love me. He is watching over me. He is my Father.

I am grateful for the strength and the courage of Stephanie Nielsen and Elizabeth Smart in writing down their stories and sharing their faith. How much of a better place would the world be if we all shared our faith and worked to uplift and strengthen one another? Maybe my blog can be just one place in my life where I can do that. 

I'll be honest, Stephanie Nielsen has inspired me to keep blogging and to blog more frequently. Hopefully you all will be seeing me on here more and more, despite the busyness of college and dance and family and friends and simply living. 

Happy Halloween. 

from http://wavy.com/2014/10/23/10-halloween-fun-facts/