Current Read?

My friend Brynnly suggested to me to read this book, and so far I love it. It's basically about being excited about your life and excited about being a woman. It's about seeing your life as a vast array of choices that can bring you closer to the person you long to be. I LOVE the motivation and how she always brings God into her situations and choices. It's a wonderful 'pick me up' and helps you be more excited about life, and making your own opportunities.


Great read, thus far.


I know how it is to get into a groove with your daily life, and often times you forget to stop and realize what you have. I have a caring husband, an amazing family, a loving heavenly Father who knows my needs personally, and plenty of other blessings. It's nice to have a reminder of those things from time to time.

Alex and I have been on such an organizing power trip lately, and I must say it's only getting worse from here. I have an addictive personality, and now that Alex has turned me on to cleaning/organizing/re-organizing/re-arranging/etc, I feel I'll never get away from it. And ya know, I'm okay with that. :) I think that my favorite thing in the world are these storage tubs. How could something so plain, so simple bring such joy into my life? I've been gung-ho about wanting to put everything in these. It's the simple things in life....

Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

I always thought simplifying was just throwing away clutter and giving away clothes you don't wear anymore.


But.


I read an excerpt from a book about simplifying your life, and it showed me a whole different perspective. You can emotionally simplify! What an incredible concept! Having your mind cluttered with bad thoughts are just as bad- if not worse- than papers, books, old clothes and shoes.


What feelings do I harbor? Feelings of envy, anger at something a friend said in a thoughtless moment, variance of opinions, negative attitudes, regret, untrue assumptions, pride, hurt from feeling slighted, anger, resentment? Sadly I admit that all of those emotions I have been feeling. And not just recently, it's been over the past few months. It is hard for me to 'let go' of hurt, resentful feelings.
So I decided to do a emotional cleansing. I'm trying to not speak ill of anyone. Whether it's about someone from a long time ago that I don't even talk to anymore- or my every day interactions with friends, family, co-workers or strangers. I started on Saturday, and I've found that my anger about situations dwindle, my mood is enhanced, and I'm a lot more positive.

"Conversion basically represents the transformation from the 'natural man' to becoming the 'man of Christ'. It is labor that takes more than an afternoon."- Neal A. Maxwell

Since I began reading "Not my Will, but Thine" by Elder Maxwell, I've learned a lot about not only myself, but the Lord. My relationship with Him has grown in such a short time, and all it took was simple steps that I oft forgot to do. Remembering to pray, frequent temple worship, trying to improve my thoughts and actions, doing my best to pay attention and feel the Spirit during church.

I've been on such a spiritual high these past few weeks, and I find myself always starting my blog entry with something ordinary, and ending with me bearing my testimony of Christ. That's the wonderful thing about the Gospel! It can be attributed to any situation in life we are in, big or small.

Anyway, it will be a long process, but an amazing one. :)

Warning:

Don't read this book if you're not willing to listen to her guidance, if you're a feminist or easily offended. Eh, on the other hand, maybe you should. Dr. Laura is one feisty woman! She speaks how she feels, and I love her all the more for it. She's got a good head on her shoulders.

I've always had the attitude that when you marry, you treat your husband like a king. You live to make his day just a little bit better. You don't criticize or belittle them. You help lift them up. You are affectionate with them, you allow them guy time, you love them for who they are.

My brother bought me this book as a gift. I think he knew how much I loved self-improvement books, PLUS he is a current huge fan of Dr. Laura. I have been waiting for it to come in the mail, and I got it just last night and have already read half of it. I love it!!

I'm so glad that my parents taught me the way they did. We rarely saw them fight. They were always affectionate and always loved eachother. They raised us in a loving, secure environment and it has directly affected my marriage to Alex. To be a wife is a wonderful thing. I haven't experienced being a mother yet, but I know that when I do- I will work at my marriage just the same. I recommend this book to ANY woman. These days there is such a "feminist" movement. Women who are mere housewives or treat their husbands well are weak, and are missing out on what's "truly important."

"How many women's mags talk about women's obligations to their men and children? Not many. The typical article is about deserving freedom: Day care vs. child rearing, sex out of wedlock vs. marriage, affairs vs. fidelity, and solo parenting vs. two parent homes are offered as entitlements for women." -Dr. Laura

I love my husband, and therefore want our marriage to be successful. I want there to be love and commitment. I want us to be eachother's first priority always. I'm determined to live that way to the best of my ability.

My new love.

If you know me, then you know that I am a self-improvement book fanatic. Anything that motivates me to think more positively, lose weight, build confidence, learn new money skills, or whatever else that could ultimately change my life for the better... I love.

My fantastic sister and brother in law lent me this book yesterday. I've barely begun it and I already have fallen in love. If you know of any good motivational or self-improvement books, please give me a recommendation. I'm interested!

I am excited about this book in particular because we're moving out September 12th. Yes, you read correctly. :) On Saturday, after going to my friend's endowment session (which was amazing, btw) we decided to just look around at apartments with no intention of leaving this soon. The first place we went turned out to be just what we needed and the price was affordable. The Lord truly blessed us. I'm not an easy person to deal with, I'm very impatient.. so I'm grateful that this opportunity to start a new chapter in our lives is knocking at our door. We want to be financially stable for our future kids. Hopefully we can read, sacrifice, and take to heart what this book has to offer.

I'm so ready to leap into the unknown.

Alex: "I can't wait for our first Christmas together in our little apartment."
This is why I love the man, he thinks like I do. ;)