Don't Give Up. Come back! :)

This is perfect for my post title!

Sorry it's been so long! How are you!? I missed you!! I hope all is well with you, and wherever you are at in the world.

I want to talk about a few things. Prayer. Perfection. Inviting others, and coming back yourself.

So, a few things first.
I was able to hang out with my super awesome cousin +Shyann McCoy a few weeks ago and that was super rad. I had a blast, and we went to her institute class together. I had a great time and was reminded that I need to go to my own institute classes. oops. Progression, right? There is always room to improve! Yay!

Okay. So life is super frustrating sometimes, right? I wish that it was easier. I wish that things could all fall into place....except that I don't wish that. I know that I say that I do and some days I do think it'd be really great if things could just work out perfectly. But then we wouldn't know the good times. I know that I wouldn't be able to learn about hard work, and the satisfaction of actually doing something myself. I love that we have the agency to do that!

I made some choices that have affected my temple attendance. I'm super bummed about it. I'm mostly disappointed in myself. I know that it happens. we aren't perfect. I'm for sure not perfect! Anyway, it's been about 3 weeks since I was able to attend the temple. I sure do feel a difference in my life and it's not something I am enjoying too much. I know that there are consequences in all things. In 2 Nephi 2:15, it says, "...it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter'. So Heavenly Father intended for this, so that we could know the great things from the bad things, and the light from the dark. He did this so we could have our agency and know that our choices do matter. So I get that. It's not always easy to appreciate this.
So, I've been pretty upset. Mad at myself. There's Lucifer whispering to me, 'You suck. Why did you even try? You know you're not good enough to be part of this church," and "You've already started going downhill, so why not keep going? It's too hard to go back." "You don't have to tell anyone. You can keep it a secret. Who cares." so on and so forth. I almost believed it.
But, thankfully I follow some LDS boards on Pinterest (my pinterest is here) and I came across this  cute picture.

Isn't that the greatest?!
I was pretty bitter, I'm not even going to pretend that I wasn't. But when I saw this, my heart softened. I have decided to be optimistic, and ready and willing to learn what I need to learn from this. It has been great! I have made the conscious decision to not be angry, and to learn from this, moreso that I ever thought that I would.

I think that failure and disappointing ourselves is hard. I think that we are hardest on ourselves, and we think that we have to internalize that. Especially with social Media now today. Everyone is sharing these wonderful pictures of their great successes and their super awesome lives, and we don't see the negative ness of it. No one wants to be negative and hear about it, right? I agree. However. it's hard not to compare yourself to others and their success's. Please don't. Don't compare your middle or beginning to someone Else's end. You are so great. I have to tell myself this daily. I'm 25 and not married and I live in Utah. Like, come on. I'm practically a spinster now!!! Ha ha, my prime years are past...just kidding! Thanks for letting me share my negative things here, and thanks for being a great support system for me. I hope that I can do the same for you, no matter what is going on in your life. Anyway! Keep going. Do your best. You are awesome. (This is my mantra).







Which brings me to prayer. You guys, prayer is the bombdotcom. Another picture I came across:

I have spent a lot of time wishing. I could have been praying! I know that God hears my prayers, and that he answers them.
Two weeks ago in church, a member of the stake presidency came to speak. He talked about praying for others. Yeah, I think that most of us pray for our families and for the missionaries, soldiers, etc. But there are so many others we can pray for. I have made it a point to make sure if I know someone is struggling, to pray for them. How many of us have been blessed by the prayers of our grandmothers and mothers? Countless! It's amazing. The power of prayer is real. It's also free. I encourage you to talk to your Father in Heaven. Let Him get to know you more. Talk to Him every day.
I wasn't good at steady prayers; to be honest I sucked. I'd pray like once a week. Now, it's the first thing I think of when I wake up! It's my first priority when I get to bed. It took me a while. I came back to church in October, and it's now March. It took constant reminders and nights and days of night praying. It took scripture study. You can do it!

 I read a really great article on LDS.Org about coming back to church.
I loved it. I am so glad I came back. It took me a few years. I came back a few times but never really stuck with it. I'm not sure what happened in October. I know I had a complete change of heart. I'm so glad I did. My life is very different but very much the same as it was. Maybe my life is the same but I am different. I am happy. I find happiness more than I did before. I love it. So, for those of you who have fallen away, I encourage you to come back. I hope you do. You are so welcome. I know that growing up in Utah and living in a community with so much hypocrisy and judgment is difficult. I grew up in it. I know what you feel, what you've felt and been through. It's not meant to be that way, and I am sorry that it has been that way. I encourage you to find the strength to come back. Richard G Scott gave a fantastic talk (click me!) about coming back. Please read it! Pray before you do. I pray for you. I pray for all of you to come back.

On that note, God did give us the agency, to do what we want. I just read this in regards to inviting others back to church. I have been a little bummed when those I do invite say, "Oh, I can't this Sunday" or "Sunday is my only day off" "that's too early" "I don't like reverse church" but! I won't stop. Not in an annoying way or to be a pest; just to remind them (you!) that there is always a seat available next to me and you are always always always welcome. i even bring snacks!! :D I am grateful for those friends who do come and have supported me and my choices.

I hope to see you all at church! Good luck with the week. Tuesdays are tough.