The Atonement Is For All of Us

I was feeling a little down today.  And a little overwhelmed.  Then I looked on my Youtube channel and there was this video waiting for me:

It's about the point in the ancient church when Peter received the revelation that the gospel could be preached to the gentiles.  I love how Peter explains to Cornelius that Jesus Christ atoned for and died for all of us.  Every single one of us.  It made me think of a conversation I had with my sister earlier today.  We were talking about how we don't all have to do all things the same way and it's ok.  I told her about a quote I had read by President Uchtdorf that really impressed me and we looked it up together.  Here it is (if you want to read the whole talk go here):

"Without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, life would be a dead-end road without hope or future. With the Atonement, life is an ennobling, inspiring journey of growth and development that leads to eternal life in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. Even identical twins are not identical in their personalities and spiritual identities."

 

I think this video and this quote go perfectly together.  It doesn't matter where we were born, who our parents are, how we look, how smart we are . . . the Atonement is for all of us.  We have been given agency to receive it and through it become the best version of ourselves.  I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us.  I am thankful that he has given me the opportunity to repent and keep trying to become like him.  I am thankful for agency to go about this in the best way I know how.  I am also thankful for the opportunity to have others in my life who are using their own agency to draw closer to Christ.  I learn a lot from them and it helps me in my own journey.  I love that we are not all expected to be exactly the same.

 

I love the Bible Videos and how they bring the scriptures to life.  And I love the scriptures and how they can chase my blues away by helping me feel the Spirit.  If you would like to see all of the Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos you can go here.

Cookie

I had a bit of a surprise a few days ago when I went out to the garage to get something out of the freezer.  It was this little guy:

I startled him and he ran for cover.  The trouble was, he was only using his two front paws and dragged the rest of his body behind  him.  He was really fast, though.  I called the vet to see what could be done for him (I thought he must have been injured and was paralyzed).  The vet said they couldn't do anything if it wasn't my cat.  Well, I thought he could at least have something to eat while I figured out what to do with him.

You can imagine my surprise the next morning when I went out to check on him and saw this:

He wasn't paralyzed, he just was so hungry and dehydrated he couldn't stand up anymore.  I was so impressed that he kept going and trying to survive even though he could barely move, so I've decided to try and find a home for him.

I've been feeding him plenty of food and water.  He's getting better every day.  He'll even let me pet him.  In fact, he loves the attention.  I've named him Cookie (because he's a tough cookie).  Anyone want a sweet kitty with an amazing determination to survive?

Fast Fact Friday #3

What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
I think it was The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  I love the Chronicles of Narnia movies.  I think this one was my favorite.  I love how it shows how important it is that we have a relationship with God.
What was the last movie you watched at home?
North and South.  It's based on the novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.  It's about a young woman who grew up in southern England and had to move to northern England with her family.  It was a very different place and she had trouble fitting in.  She eventually came to love it there because of the people she met and the friends she made.  It shows that it is possible to "bloom where you're planted."
Who is your favorite movie star?
Richard Armitage (He's in North and South and Robin Hood (the TV series)), Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon,   Kenneth Branagh (He has done a lot of Shakespeare movies.  I love him in Henry V.  He was also in one of the Harry Potter movies.)  Also, Christian Bale (he's been a favorite since I was a teenager.)
What movie can you watch over and over again and not get sick of it?
Any Jane Austen movie, North and South, Our Mutual Friend, Wives and Daughters, Jane Eyre, Strictly Ballroom, Daniel Deronda
What movie will you never watch again?
Nothing comes to mind right now.  If I'm not enjoying a movie I usually just turn it off.

Fast Fact Friday #2

I know it's not Friday, but I wasn't able to post then so I'm doing it now.  :)

Here are the questions for this week:
1. Where is your favorite vacation place?
If I could live in the mountains I would.  Trees and streams and birds just give rest to my soul.  There's a beautiful campground just 12 miles from my house and I love to go there.

My niece, KayLee, at Malad Summit Campground.

2. How long do you like to go on vacation?
I think a week or two is the perfect amount of time.  It's long enough to really get away from it all and it makes coming home so nice.
3. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?
When I graduated from college I went on a trip to Europe with my two best friends, Shalyce and Liesl.  It was such a fun trip and I learned tons!  We went to Ireland first, then Wales, had a short stop in Shrewsbury, and then we had a two week stop in London.  Next we went to Paris and our final stop was Sweden.  I loved how friendly the people were in Ireland and how green everything was.  In Wales the scenery was just breathtaking.  Shrewsbury had a great small town atmosphere and we got to tour a castle there.  I also discovered Cadfael, a crime solving priest.  I have since come to love the movies based in this town.  In London I got to see the Tower of London and lots of musicals.  In Paris we went to the Paris Opera House to see the ballet, Giselle.  We completely dressed up in formals and everything.  We were a little disappointed to find that we were the only ones dressed up, but it was still an amazing experience.  In Sweden we stayed with Liesl's sister's mother-in-law.  She was so hospitable and it was a neat experience to interact with people who live there.  We discovered a small meadow behind her house and had so much fun there.  I am so grateful for all that she did for us, including taking us to Kungelf (I think that's how you spell it) Castle.

Liesl, Shalyce, and I in Sweden.

Shalyce and I at Shrewsbury Abbey.

Shalyce and I at Kungelf Castle.

Me in Paris.

Me at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Ireland.

Westminster Abbey in London.  Some of my ancestors are buried here!

4. Where was your most recent vacation?
My last vacation was to Malad Summit campground, one of my very favorite places.  I was there with my nieces, nephews, and my brother, which made it even better!  We had tons of fun having a tea party up there.  Read more about it here.
5. If money were no object, where would you like to go?
I still have lots of places I would like to go.  I have always wanted to go to Israel so that would be my first choice.  I would also love to go visit friends I have in South Africa.  They said they would take me to a park there to see the wild animals.  I would sure love to see a giraffe!  I also want to go to Scotland and see where my Miller ancestors came from.  I also think it would be really fun to take a tour of the United States and visit some of the places my family is from like Missouri (where my grandpa Aldridge grew up), Pond Creek, Oklahoma (Isn't that a fun name?  It makes me think of Little House on the Prairie.  That's where my grandma Barnes was born.), Kansas (my mom was born there), Star Valley, Wyoming (where my great-grandpa Harrison grew up), Kirtland, Ohio (where my ancestor, Rosel Hyde was converted to the LDS Church), and Nauvoo, Illinois (where several of my ancestors lived).  I better get busy!! :)

Fast Fact Friday

One of my favorite blogs has a list of questions to answer every Friday.  I'm going to try doing at least this every week.  We'll see how it goes.

This is Ashley with one of my cats, Yzma, as a kitten.

1. Do you have any pets?  I have four cats.  My sister and I picked up a stray one night and she stuck around.  She even figured out how to open our door.  We would come home every day to our door being wide open.  She had some kittens.  We gave away as many as we could, but ended up keeping some of them.  We also made sure there won't be any more. :)  I really love having them around.  There's always one in need of a cuddle!
2. What's your favorite animal?  My favorite animal is the giraffe.  I don't know why.  I just like them.  :)
3. What animal scares you the most?  Definitely spiders.  In my first apartment on my mission (in Paraguay) there were constantly spiders about the size of the palm of my hand.  I really wondered if I could make it.  My companion was scared of the lizard that kept appearing in the kitchen so we made a deal.  She took care of the spiders and I took care of the lizard!
4. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?  I'd probably be a dog or cat.  I think I would enjoy hanging around people and being their friends.
5. What's the most exotic animal you have ever seen before?  While on my mission I got to visit Iguazu Falls.  There were some animals there called Coatis.  They kind of remind me of raccoons.  We put our bags down and they started going through them looking for food.  They showed absolutely no fear of people.  I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

You Matter to Him!

     I have been taking an Institute Class the last few weeks.  It is especially for the mid-single adults in the Pocatello region.  We have been studying The Pearl of Great Price and we started on the first chapter of Moses this last week.  One of the things our teacher said that really hit me is that if we really know that we are children of God, we can resist the temptations Satan sends our way.  I've been pondering that a lot since then so you can imagine my ears perked up when President Uchtdorf started talking about that same chapter in General Conference yesterday morning.  I loved his talk.  It was exactly what I needed to hear.  If you would like to hear it go here.
     When I was talking to my friend, Shalyce, about Conference we discussed that moment when Moses came to realize how we are nothing in comparison to God's creations.  I suddenly realized I have been there.  When I was in the eighth grade I learned in science class that the universe is so vast that we could never get to the end of it and even if we could, it is constantly expanding so that when we got to the end there would be more.  At the time I lived too far from a church building to be able to attend church and I had forgotten that Heavenly Father is right there.  Ever since I was a little girl I have looked up to the sky at the moon and the stars and they somehow comforted me and helped me remember that I am not alone.  I remember, that year in eighth grade,  I would sit outside with a quilt my grandmother gave me and I would just look at the sky and feel so tiny and insignificant and lost.  A few months later I was able to return to where I could go to church again.  That first time I walked in the building I felt like I had come home.  I remembered my Heavenly Father and that He is there.  Now when I look at the sky I feel that connection again.  I know that He is somewhere out there and that I matter to Him.  And the beauty of it all is that if you ask, He'll let you know the same thing.

The ABC's of Me

Here's another idea I got from This Is Me Challenge.

If you click on the image it will show up large enough to read.