What He Sees In Me

Sometimes I find myself wondering: "Do I believe in Christ?"

The answer is always a resounding "Yes." Then I realize that the real question on my mind is: "Do I believe in myself?"

Christ is pure and powerful and perfect. He has healed and forgiven and blessed people throughout all history, in all books of scripture, and even in our world today. I, on the other hand, have quite the different track record. I stumble. I fall. I mess up. I make mistakes. I sin.

When I start thinking these things, I remind myself of a quote that got me through a rough patch in my life. It goes:

"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming." (Joseph B. Wirthlin)

This beautiful statement gives me hope. God is perfect and sees me perfectly, and even despite all my flaws, He still loves me and will never give up on me. So when what I see in myself doesn't seem like enough to believe in, I decide to believe in what He sees instead, and that is enough.

Phoebe Month Six

This month, Phoebe...

• ...Ate her first veggie and fruit solids. She hates peas, doesn't mind green beans, and loves fruit. At first, she just took what she didn't like with a sour face. Now, she utilizes her cleft to spit distasteful foods out.
• ...Had her first Christmas! She got books and bibs and clothes and a few toys.
• ...Met Aunt Jessica "in person" over Skype.
• ...Can sit up all by herself without any help.
• ...Is becoming much more aware. She's learning what she wants, and when she wants it, SHE WANTS IT! She can't say any real words, but the closest is "Nah! Nah! Nah!" when she doesn't want something. (Great--her first word is going to be "No.")
• ...Learned she has a tongue and made us laugh for a week by sticking it out at us.
• ...Started riding in the stroller forward facing without the car seat adapter. 
• ...Got the surgery for her cleft scheduled. It's going to be on Tuesday, March 13th. 

I love taking the time to put together these photo collages because it forces me to slow down and really think about Phoebe as a person. Sometimes in the route monotony of daily living, taking care of Phoebe can feel like a to-do task. But when I slow down and think about her like today, I feel immensely grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with such a sweet little girl. For the most part, she's very happy, ready to giggle, wanting to see the world, excited to meet new people, and loving her mommy and daddy. Sometimes I have to remind myself that baby Phoebe isn't going to stay baby for forever, so I better soak it up while I can. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

I have a daily quote book I'm reading this year and yesterday's quote was from Mark Twain, and goes: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I find it serendipitous that the first of the two days mentioned in this quote--"the day you are born"--happens to have been that same day for me. Yesterday was my birthday! But what made me stop and think was the second half of the quote--"the day you find out why" part.

I feel grateful that as of yesterday, I've lived 26 full and wonderful years of not having to stress over and wonder about and find out why I was born because I've always known. I born into a home where the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught, and as such, I've always known my purpose here on earth.

That purpose stems from the knowledge that I am a daughter of God. I know that He sent me here to learn and experience for myself the bad from the good, to gain a body, to prove what I'm made of, and to return to Him because I love Him. I am grateful for the energy and purpose this knowledge gives me.

If you are reading this, that probably means you know me and I consider you a friend. If there's one thing I could give all my friends after all they've given me, it's a knowledge of these things that I've just talked about. If you don't know what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches about our purpose here on earth, I invite you to find out why by checking out Mormon.org. If what you read peaks your interest, you can find out more by talking to someone in person. If not, no harm done!

Thank you to everyone for making the past 26 years fabulous! Besides the lack of brain power I'm already experiencing (just ask my husband about the key fiasco that happened yesterday at church!), I'm really looking forward to being one year older and wiser too.