Week 4: Be Prepared

This week went by so fast! Every week seems to be getting a little better so that has been a blessing. On Sunday I had a little mini heart attack.. The branch President stands up every Sunday and just announces who is speaking. The idea is that everyone will come prepared with a talk. Since my companion and I were giving the Relief Society lesson we figured we didn't need to prepare talks.. we figured wrong. President Dowling stood up and said, "We would be pleased to hear from Soeur Johnson..." I literally almost cried because there is no way I could have just come up with a talk in French on the spot. After waiting a couple seconds to see my reaction he continued his sentence,"...the one going to Canada." Luckily, there are two "Soeur Johnson"  in our Zone. He concluded by saying, "The closing prayer will be offered by the Soeur Johnson going to Paris." The prayer went much better than the talk would have. What I learned from Sunday.. Be prepared.

So close yet so far... BYU Creamery from last week

The General Young Women's President (Bonnie L. Oscarson) was one of the speakers at our devotional this week. She talked about moving forward with faith knowing the Lord will do his part to help us. She also talked about how sometimes we will be redirected so that we can become what the Lord wants. The Lord will make much more of us than what we could ever do for ourselves. Faith is such a basic principle of the gospel but it is so important. Most of the actions and choices we will make in life are based upon our faith. We must act in faith before we receive blessings. "Faith always proceeds the miracle" (Elder Bednar) When we move forward with faith the Lord will make miracles happen in our lives. I have been reading the New Testament and I just finished reading about Peter walking on water. That was no doubt a miracle that came as a result of having faith. I can't imagine how much faith he would have had to get out of the boat and put his feet on the water. I thought it was interesting that he only started to sink when he started to look around instead of looking directly at the Savior. I think that sometimes happens to us. When we start looking at the world around us we may begin to doubt or become fearful. The world around us is full of doubt and temptations. The ideas of the world will make us think that all hope is lost and that we are not capable of accomplishing what the Savior asks of us. However, if we keep our eyes and goals fixed on the Savior our faith will remain strong and he will allow miracles to happen in our lives. Miracles Happen. I know that he will calm the waves in our lives and prepare a way for miracles to occur as we are faithful and keep our eyes fixed on him. Happy Holidays!

Temple days are the best days!

Soeur Johnson