Monday, January 4, 2016

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it is already 2016. Where did 2015 go?

This week I have been contemplating a lot about what it is I want to accomplish for this year.  What I want for the last 4 months for my mission and what I want to accomplish the rest of the year after I get home.

I loved the theme we had this week in Mission Leadership Counsel and Zone Training about distractions. I've been thinking a lot about that and about what distractions there are in my life right now and what things have distracted me in the past.  We talked a lot about how our distractions are rooted in pride.  For me much of that comes in the form of fear.  Fear about what others will think of me, fear about not being good enough, fear about not knowing what is coming. The list could go on.  
As I have been contemplating my distractions I was lead to think about the concept of the prize and the price.  I would gather to say that most of us have some sort of prize we are seeking, whether it be spiritual or temporal.  As human beings we are driven by prizes.  Why do you think there is a promised blessing attached to every commandment that God gives? Anyway I have been pondering what the prizes are I am seeking and how with each one of those am I willing to pay the price? If I am not then what is the point of having that be in my vision? We are only ever going to achieve what it is we are willing to pay.  I have been thinking a lot about the price I paid to be here on a mission and the become who I am today.  I have paid quite a bit.  I then have been thinking about if I am willing to pay an even higher price, or even worse throw away what has already been paid to become distracted?  

We all experience trials in this mortal life. That is a given.  Those trials help us to get stronger, to prepare us for bigger mountains.  When those trials come though are we going to let them distract us? Are we going to let our pride get in the way of us moving forward and upward? 

As I was making a list of my distractions and what things I need in order to overcome them I kept coming back to the same three things: Faith in the Savior, Humility, and Repentance. So simple but yet so profound. I know that with these three things we can overcome any distractions the adversary trows at us.  This year my goal is going to be to improve these three things and to put of distractions and focus on the prize of eternal life and all that goes with it.

I hope you all have a wonderful year! I hope this helps as you each contemplate what your own goals will be for this year.

I love you all!

Love,

Hermana Carpenter

p.s. you should try replacing the word pride with distraction each time you encounter it in the scriptures. It is quite interesting.


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