Here's to Firsts

The first post of this first blog {that I thought I would never actually start} is about something that I thought I would never actually do... so here's to firsts.

I think I need to go on a mission.

There. I said it. Just typing that sentences brings tears to my eyes and I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe because it's what I've been searching for and it's taken this long to finally hit me?Here's the list of events that lead up to this ridiculous discovery.. an "ah ha" moment if you will.

• Visiting Taylor's mission in Texas
• People asking me {when i turned 19, mind you} if I was going to go on a mission... i was just annoyed at that point but i guess it planted the seed.
• I See The Light from Tangled.. constantly playing through my head? haha
• the biggest thing though is just in talking to my cute friend Heather Taylor like half an hour ago... She was talking about how her mission papers are almost done but she doesn't know if that's the right decision with school and everything and honestly.. that's one of the biggest things that's holding me back. But I think if I did leave for a year and a half I could just come right back and pick up where I left off... guess I needa figure that out for sure.
• After talking to her it sparked something in me I guess because oddly enough my class was canceled so I thought more about it on my walk home...
• then saw my Eternal Marriage book sitting on the counter that Sarah had bought today {I'm in Preparing For an Eternal Marriage institute class which is kind of a joke because it just makes me bothered because I don't really feel like i want to be married right now... maybe that's why this mission idea is seeming so great?} But i decided to pick up the book anyway and read the assigned readings. Instead of finding all the reasons why I should be married all i saw were reasons why I should go... and not worry about school... and being inadequate... and everything else that's freaking me out and holding me back.

• Here are some excerpts from the book that stood out to me...

"It is our responsibility and opportunity to be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his work, and that he will not permit it to fail."

-Pres. Hinckley

"Are we investing, first and foremost, in the things that are eternal in nature? Do we have an eternal perspective? Or have we fallen into the trap of investing in the things of this world first and then forgetting the Lord?"- Elder L. Tom Perry

"A trap to be avoided is the tendency we have -- rather humanly, rather understandably -- is to get ourselves caught in peering through the prism of the present and then distorting our perspective about things. Time is of this world; it is not of eternity. We can, if we are not careful, feel the pressures of time and see things in a distorted way. How important it is that we see things as much as possible through the lens of the gospel with its eternal perspectives..."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"We need to understand we cannot do the Lord's work in the world's way"

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"Seen with the perspectives of eternity, a temporal setback can be an opportunity to develop soul power of eternal significance. Strength is forged in adversity. Faith is developed in a setting where we cannot see what lies ahead."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"May the messages given bless your life." -Elder Richard G. Scott

"If you love the truth you can remember it." -Brigham Young

"Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. That practice expands the likelihood of your receiving further light." {Knowledge of Spiritual Things} -Elder Richard G. Scott

"You will find that efforts to share knowledge are often rewarded with more understanding as additional light flows into your mind and heart."

{Knowledge of Spiritual Things} - Elder Richard G. Scott

Annnd this part kinda just hit me... "you have been given inspired truth without much effort on your part. Make these truths yours through study and thoughtful application." {Knowledge of Spiritual Things} -Elder Richard G. Scott

Weird right? Yeah... it's still totally freaking me out but I feel oddly calm... Guess we'll see what happens.