Thoughts From Sister Anderson

My Cousin Julia has always been such a great example to me. I love reading about her adventures and love seeing how she has blessed so many lives. She is the kind of girl that has the light of Christ in her at all times and is always happy. Here is a little bit of her blog. The way she words things is amazing and helps make understanding the gospel easier.

Here is her blog if you want to see more: Sister in New Zealand
     I just want you to close your eyes right now and imagine Heavenly Father standing in front of you, Imagine having a REAL conversation with Him.. what would you thank Him for? What would you ask? I know Heavenly Father is real. And we need to talk to him that way. There is a night and day difference in my life when my prayers are sincere and when they are not. It’s a small little thing but it really does make the biggest difference. It's like with anyone.. if you want to have a good relationship with someone you have to sincerely try to get to know them and let them get to know you. And just like any relationship, you have to work at it. It's not always easy, I mean even on a mission it's easy to slip into having not really sincere prayers. But I know it's important and that’s a goal I have for myself is to have very sincere prayers all the time. Continuous improvement is what this gospel is all about.. if we are standing still then it's not working. We need to be moving forward “Prayer doesn’t change Gods will, it changes us.”

I am taking this challenge and making prayer a more important part of my day and working on imagining if he was standing right there. Who wants to take the challenge with me?

Gratitude

        I was reading through my journal and read and reflected on the amazing trip to Fiji I went on. I love Fiji with all of my heart and have learned so much. The number one thing I noticed in everyone is that they aren't afraid to go up and talk to you. It's amazing! No one has their phones to play with or other distractions and they fill their time uplifting and learning about others. Wherever you are, you always feel so loved because nobody is afraid to say bula (hi) to you. You honestly feel like a big huge family. Also, this stood out to me so much but nobody is afraid to share what they believe. I saw this Fijian woman in the bathroom and she asked if we were mormon and told us to circle up to say a prayer with her so we can be safe. I thought, "no one would dare say a prayer with a stranger in a bathroom where I live."  I then asked myself, what keeps me from standing out and not being afraid from sharing what I believe. Is it being afraid of embarrassment? You also always hear them sing or hum hymns or church songs while they are working.
            Right when I got to the village, I just burst into tears. All I saw was smiling faces and realized that these people have nothing. It broke my heart and made me wonder why are they so happy? They are actually happier then me most of the time and they don't have what I have. As the week went by, I became so happy. A happiness that can't be fulfilled with worldly things. This happiness was caused by friendship, love, service, kindness, gratitude, and the love of the Savior. The whole week I found joy and gratitude in so many things I would have never even thought of being grateful for at home. I was so grateful for a comfy bed at home, a nights rest without loud roosters, rats, and dogs, no bed bugs, clothes, carpet, and so much more.
             This amazing trip also taught me a lot about how each and every one of us are sons and daughters of God. You could feel it. God loves everyone no matter where you live, what you look like, or what religion you are. I felt the Lords love for each and every person I met. It made me want to be more like a Fijian.

The amazing Hailey, Brad, and Trevor made a video about the trip! I could go on and on explaining how wonderful they are. I thought they were amazing before but, as I got to know them, it made me want to be more like them. They are so selfless, caring, christlike, and also just love having a good time. The amazing and talented Breea also made amazing videos on the trip too that shows everything perfectly.
Here is videos from the trip:)

Fiji Trip By Tell The Birds (Breea Guttery)

Where are we pitching our tent? Who are we trying to become?

I loved the talks from conference. The talks by Richard J. Maynes "The Joy of Living a Christ-Centered Life"  and  Larry R. Lawrence "What Lack I Yet?" stood out to me and taught me a lesson. In Larry R. Lawrence's talk, he talks about how if you want to perfect yourself, you need to ask what you lack. That is naturally hard to do because people hate hearing what they need to do better. I decided to take that challenge and I asked my Heavenly Father in prayer what I lack, he gave me different things to work on.  It's amazing how the answer came so simple and I felt the need to be better and a determination to try harder. Like this picture above, this example represents both of these talks. The red rose is christ, he is perfect! We are like the white flowers. Many flowers are placed in blue, green or red dye. After time, these flowers become the color of dye they are placed in. As you can see, these flowers are all different shapes and sizes. Many are still small and need a lot of growing. Some are more red then others. Some flowers are in other vases turning blue or green. Our goal is to put ourselves in Christ footsteps so we can try to become like him again. We are striving to be that red flower. 

Like in Larry Lawrence's talk, when we ask what we lack, we are trying to become that red flower. Ask yourself, "Am I putting myself in that red vase? Am I putting Christ in the center of my life?" In Richard J. Maynes talk, he talks about how we need to live a Christ-Centered Life and put our clay (ourself) in the center so we can make a beautiful pot as he exemplifies in his talk. 

I was reading in Genesis and chapter 13 and 14 fits this example and lesson so perfectly. In Genesis 13:12 it says, "Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom." Sodom is a wicked place and Lot decided to pitch his tent toward Sodom. He wasn't in Sodom but, he could see how it was like to be there. NEVER!!! Even get close to the line. Even though you are only pitching your tent by the place, you will be surprised with where you will end up. In Chapter 14:12 it says, "And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed." It started out with just pitching his tent by Sodom and now he is departing to move into Sodom. In Mosiah 2:6 It talks about pitching your tent towards Christ it says, "And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them;" 

Where are we pitching our tents? What vase are we putting ourselves into? Who are we trying to become?

This mormon message from the talk Elder Jeffery R. Holland sums this up perfectly talking about pitching your tent the right way so you aren't swayed by temptation. 

God Is Real

I absolutely love conference weekend. In between sessions, me and my sister grabbed some snacks, our polaroid, and binoculars. We drove up the mountain and sat there and just talked, listened to the beautiful sounds of nature and looked at the amazing view. I sat there reflecting on the amazing talks I heard and had another confirmation that God is real. He is there for me and you. As I looked out at the beautiful view, I had no doubt in my mind that God was real. The coolest thing is that we are his greatest creation. That knowledge makes me feel important in life even though I am one out of millions of people, I have a purpose. You have a purpose and are important too. Don't forget it!

God exists. The proof is in his creation~ Romans 1:20 

BE BONA*FIDE

Shirt: BE BONA-FIDE

B O N A • F I D E

adjective.

    1. real, genuine 

LET'S GET REAL~  

nobody is perfect. On social media, there is a lot of comparing. I am guilty of it myself. 

"She has the perfect hair!"

"Why can't I have her style?"

"Her life is so perfect, she is always so happy!"

"Why can't I have a car like that?"

"I really wish I had her life. It's perfect!"

"Her baby is always happy!"

"Can I please have her nose" 

"Why does everything come easy to her?"

We are all guilty of this! Comparison can kill you! I bet you haven't ever though of it but, people think the same things about you, you just don't see it. 

Many girls compare their bad qualities to others good qualities because it's harder to have confidence.

"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."
-Audrey Hepburn

"The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in others." ~ Unknown

"If the whole world was blind, how many people would you impress?" ~ Unknown

Be Bona-Fide is such a wonderful company that helps encourage girls and lifts their confidence like they have to mine. I joined the club and bought a shirt. 

This LET'S GET REAL shirt means to show your true beauty from the inside. To be more loving, caring, and gentle. Spend more time complementing others then comparing yourself. Love yourself. Have confidence. Don't be afraid to be yourself even though it may be embarrassing. Don't hide who you really are! 

I definitely need to be better at this so I am going to focus on my CONFESSION which is that "I am too hard on myself." I am always getting mad at myself when I do something dumb or say something that sounded silly. I am hard on myself when I don't get as many likes, comments, or compliments during the day. I am hard on myself when I fail. I am honestly the clumsiest person and it is very embarrassing sometimes and I am hard on myself with that also. But, I need to realize that not everyone is perfect and I need to love the clumsy person I am:) 

Everyone is so beautiful. They just need to recognize it for themselves:) Help them by complimenting them. Little things can go a long way. 

So join me and love yourself and don't be afraid to show who you really are because that is real beauty!!! 

I also love the dove commercials they have done with beauty:) 

Standing As A Witness of God

Value Bracelets: http://www.hayleezdesign.com

WE ARE DAUGHTERS of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. WE WILL “STAND as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

WE BELIEVE as we come to accept and act upon these values, WE WILL BE PREPARED to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation. https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress/young-women-theme?lang=eng

The young women theme that we say every Sunday means so much and is so powerful. I am so grateful that I was able to earn my medallion a couple years ago. I have learned so much from it and have used different things I have learned from it in my life. 

Here are some good scriptures that has helped me understand and grow from every individual value. 

Faith: Hebrews 11:1

Divine Nature: 2 Peter 1:4-7

Individual Worth: D+C 18:10

Knowledge: D+C 88:118

Choice and Accountability: Joshua 24:15

Good Works: 3 Nephi 12:16

Integrity:Job 27:5

Virtue: Proverbs 31:10

Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and you are all sons and daughters of god!!!! 

Have Faith in Others

    Ever Since I was little, I have wanted to be a teacher and to work in a candy shop hehe (because of the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). In 6th grade, I was really struggling in math and according to tests, it says that I was suppose to go into the lower math as I entered Jr. High. My teacher, Mrs. Bremer who is in my ward had so much faith in me and told me that I was going to go into a higher math, it was just going to take work. She would stay during lunch, after school, and before to help me with my math. The day of the final test, I was so nervous that I was going to do bad. She took me aside and said a quick prayer with me and she gave me so much courage and motivation to take the math test.
     Thanks to Mrs. Bremer, I have gotten mostly A's in math honors throughout Jr. High and High School. I have also learned to love math because of her influence and faith in me. I am also wanting to major in math because of Mrs. Bremer that had faith in me.
Because of Mrs. Bremer, I also want to be a teacher and make a change in students lives like she did to mine. All it requires is faith. I gave up mentally knowing I wouldn't improve but, she saw something better in me.
     Now, I have the wonderful opportunity to be her intern. in her 1st grade class. My little sister Miley is also in the class and I absolutely love it. I have already learned a lot and have such a strong love for every kid.
      I have been working with a kid that has a problem learning and cooperating with the class. I have learned to love him and have patience with him. I have already seen improvements in his learning and decided to have him go work with the class and I told him I believed that he could do this by himself. He then started doing his work with the class and it was amazing to see how he finally got it and loved learning.
      Mrs. Bremer came over to me with tears in her eyes and she told me that she has been praying for him because she loves him and that I was an answer to her prayers.
     I was shocked because she had been an answer to mine and my parents to help me in math when I was younger.
      The Lord is the same. He loves everyone so much no matter how many times they won't listen or are not obedient. The Lord also sees so much good and potential in us that sometimes we don't see in ourselves. He wants us to improve and will work so hard with us even though it seems impossible.
I have already loved learning from these kids and have learned that if you have faith in someone and see what they can become or what they can do, that person will learn and grow in ways they never knew they could.

Finding Joy through Service

~Turn to the Lord in prayer and he will answer you through scriptures 

I call this my happy wall. Whenever I have a hard day, I look at it to remind me of the good things in life. 

I have to admit, life is hard sometimes. I have realized that there is a good and a bad out of every situation. For some reason, it’s so easy to look for the bad in things. It takes a little stretch to be looking out for the positive things. 

One thing that I have realized that has helped change my perspective is if I start my morning with a prayer asking Heavenly Father to show me some way to serve someone. Every time I remember to ask him to help me, I have found so many ways to serve even if its something little. 

I feel like sometimes in life we get caught up in ourselves. This is called pride. Everyone has some sort of pride in their lives. The media makes it look like we need to always be making sure we look the best. It is almost like a competition. I feel like everyone is striving to reach perfection. What is that perfection though? To have the perfect clothes, house, cute boyfriend, hair, face, body, and so much more. One day, all of those things we were focusing on won’t matter. What will matter is if we try to perfect our self on the inside. “Pride is a spiritual disease; it eats up the very possibility of love, of contentment, or even common sense” - C.S Lewis. 

I had a great experience on pride the other day. I was having just a rough day and woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I was so grumpy and school didn't make it any better. I was so prideful and was just thinking about MYSELF. I wasn't thinking about others at all. It was all about ME! I went to the grocery store after school to get things for ME! I was walking back to my car and I realized an older women sitting in her car crying. She looked like she was in a lot of pain. She was also just shaking and looked scared. I was guessing that someone ran in the store to grab some sort of medication for her. It broke my heart and I felt a sense of love for this old lady that was going through something really hard. It changed my perspective around and made me feel bad that I was being so prideful on a “bad” day when in reality it could have been a wonderful day if I looked at the positives of it. I then started to pray in my car on the way home for this old lady. I prayed that she would have comfort and she wouldn't be in pain. She never knew I prayed for her but, it was a great lesson to me to always be looking for different situations to serve. 

I have also had many experiences where I am frustrated with someone and I have learned that service has helped me with different relationships when it comes to family and friends. Focusing on others changes your whole perspective and makes you so happy. When you read in the scriptures, Christ is always around those who need it the most. He is always around the sinners trying to help them. It made me realize how by serving and uplifting those who are in need, you are doing what Christ would want you to do. The hardest thing to do is to reach out to others when you need someone to reach out to you. 

Prayer is another wonderful thing that can heal and help you. I was having a hard day this week and was just crying and felt lonely. I had a strong feeling to pray. I did and received the answer to turn to my scriptures. I was flipping through pages and 3 scriptures stood out to me and helped me feel love and comforted. 

• Alma 36: 3 “And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”
• Mosiah 29:20 “But behold, he did deliver them because they did humble themselves before him; and because they cried mightily unto him he did deliver them out of bondage; and thus doth the lord work with his power in all cases among the children of men, extending the arm of mercy towards them that put their trust in him.” 
• Alma 34:26 “But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.” 

Hey Everyone!!

Hey Everyone!!! My name is Kallie! I have been wanting to journal amazing lessons I have learned through church, seminary, personal studies, and from friends. I am starting this blog and sharing cool experiences that has helped me grow through out my week. I will be sharing scriptures, experiences, videos, and more. My goal is to help people and myself get closer to Christ. I also want this to be uplifting and help everyone find joy in every situation.
Shirt: http://www.sophiakaye.com