iNsPiRiNg...

The other day, I was talking with my dearest friend. We live so far apart, she is in Utah, and I am in Kansas, but we were placed together while she was on her mission here. We are so similar in thought, similar in life situations, so similar that I find it SCARY some times. It is the kind of friendship that when one is struggling, even in the middle of the night, the other one knows and is prompted to reach out....it is that kind of friendship. I treasure this woman so much! I know that when I am struggling, she is the one that I can count on to offer me just the right support I need at that time. She also isn't afraid to tell it how it is, knowing that I wont be offended (I hope she knows!!!) I love her to death.

Anyway, she gave me the best advice the other day...though it was quite puzzling to me. She told me that I need to leave certain trials at the feet of the Lord. Give HIM my struggles and trust that He will take them from me, through my faith. I thought on that for a while and realized that I don't know how to do that. I have been praying for guidance, praying to figure out just how to do that, how to let go....I think it is a controlling nature about me...something I NEED to be working on. Ironically, none of what is bothering me and causing me so much stress is within my control at all...So why am I trying to control it?

I got an email from an LDS Women's List I am on. It reminded me so much of Cori Ann's (friend) council. Here is what it said:

TWENTY THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. Faith is the ability to not panic.

2. If you worry, you didn't pray. If you prayed, don't worry.

3. As a child of God, prayer is kinda like calling home every day.

4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

6. Do the math. Count your blessings.

7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

8. Dear God: I have a problem. It's me.

9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

10. Laugh every day -- it's like inner jogging.

11. The most important things in your home are the people.

12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.

14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

15. He who dies with the most toys is still just as dead.

16. We do not remember days but moments. Life moves too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.

17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it;otherwise it's just hearsay.

18. Its all right to sit on your 'pity pot' every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out it's neck.

20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting. Leave gentle fingerprints on the soul of another for the angels to read. I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

If this isn't direct inspiration to me...I wouldn't know what is...