Ok Why I Haven't Posted

Ok Ok my blogging abilities have gone so down hill its kind of sad. All I can say is this....I have gotten so caught up in the problems of my own life or at least what I thought were problems that I couldn't see all the good around me.

I kind of started catching on to this sad pity party I was living in a few weeks ago and said it was time to something about it. All I could think about was to stop praying for me and focus on solely prayers of gratitude...with prayers for others mixed in as needed.

My frustrations have stemmed from 3 sources....1) Not knowing when or if my job will become permanent... 2) Living in a very confusing dating life (trust me this is the easiest way to post it cause I swear the Jared and I thing is ever changing) ... 3) These two leading to stress, overeating and laziness which has lead to oh so many bad things being pounds now needing to be lost.

But that is all negative. And no more of that.....

So how did my experiment of only offering prayers of gratitude go? Well I can say this much...I often avoided praying on the days which were just hard because I could not find anything to be greatfull about. But on those days I was avoiding praying God still found a way to teach and reach me. I also found that my strength to continue forward kept growing and problems seemed less and less because I wasn't focused on them.

The biggest lesson I learned during this little experiment was simply this...God knows what we need and will not leave us. He will give us the strength we did not believe we had. He will comfort us when we need it. He will remind us of his love and that he his looking out for us. He will find ways to teach us lessons from things all around us.

Some ways these lessons came are this:
1) Needed conversations with Friends
2) Preventing cars from killing you in the gym parking lot
3) Getting to be involved in supporting Sklyer and his fight against cancer (I learned a lot her about strength and hope)
4) My little bro challenging us mid November to read the entire Book of Mormon by Christmas
5) Simply feeling the spirit burning in your heart
6) And so much more.

So this catch up blog came first for a few reasons....its negative and I wanted to explain the lack of posting. Because I have a lot to catch up on the posts are probably going to come by lots of pictures and some words but who knows.

I apologize in advance for the onslaught of posts

Please Pray for Skyler and All Other Children Battling for Their Lives

I know that I am more then over due for a blog post about me...that will be taken care of this weekend I promise.

However this post is to ask you to please pray for Skyler and his mom Crystal. Crystal is a dear friend to my dear friend Roger (I get it complicated connection here.) Crystal has gone through so much she lost her husband to a heart tumor two days before Skyler's 2nd birthday and now her 4 year old son is fighting for his life. In August he was diagnosed with Leukemia. His battle for life as been long and hard with many ups and downs. Currently he is fighting infections after infections. Please pray for Skyler.

Also please pray for all children fighting for their lives this Holiday season. Pray that they can grow to adulthood. Pray that their families can have strength to support their child during this battle. Pray that they can see Gods hand in their lives and that he gives them strength when it is most needed.

I work at Ronald McDonald House. Every shift I work I see the families who's children are fighting for their lives. Its amazing to see the strength and determination in their eyes. But the best part is seeing the pride and pure excitement and relief when their child gets to go home with them. What I have learned the most from working here is the power of Hope! I can see that God is supporting and strengthening all these families during their battle for life. The quote on the wall of the room I stay in at work says it all right "A little Faith, A little Hope, A lot of Healing."

This Thanksgiving please BE GRATEFUL for the HEALTHY CHILDREN in your life.....and PRAY for those children FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES....PRAY for THEIR FAMILIES that they have the strength to continue...PRAY FOR SKYLER.