Finally!

Never ever ever have I ever been thrilled to talk in church. I nearly pass out every time. I get so nervous for days before. I stress about what I should say or what would happen if I pass out and land in the Bishop's lap. It's a serious problem I have but that's a whole other blog entry.
Anyhow we have moved around enough to know that it's after you speak in church that you feel like people know who you are and know more about you. When we moved here (1 year ago now) we actually were hoping that we could speak soon in church just so we could make a faster transition. Well... the weeks and months moved along with other people speaking in church, even people who moved in way after us. We couldn't figure out why we were getting skipped over and we still were feeling a bit lonely. Well... after a year, the day finally came. Today Jeff and I spoke in church. It was a bitter sweet thing... bitter because I had a bad case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and was a nervous Nelly to my kids all week and sweet because we finally did it and the outcome was exactly what we expected. SO many people came up to us afterwards... people we have never talked to before in a whole year were coming up to us like best friends... people all of a sudden had things in common with us that we didn't know... and people finally knew our names and got to know us a little better. It was liberating in a way. I walked down the hall and people stopped me, put their hand on my shoulder, looked into my eyes and were sincerely grateful for the things that I said. Whew! and I didn't even pass out. We tweaked our topics a bit. I like to talk about things that I am feeling at the moment which this week was about having JOY regardless of trials and stress... I think I am always on a journey to master that one.
Anyway, the purpose of all of that was just to preface why I am now sharing some of my favorite quotes that were included in my talk.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, "Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace."

President Hinckley said, "I am an optimist!... My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we accentuate the positive."

Neal A. Maxwell said, "Christ partook of His bitter cup without becoming bitter. Can we handle our tiny bitter cups without becoming bitter?"

Other thoughts that I had were this... Joy and happiness are gifts of the Spirit. Joy brings the Spirit and the Spirit brings Joy. It is Divine to have JOY. I have a feeling that those who will be in the Celestial Kingdom will be those who have learned to live with challenges and still lived with joy.

Jeffrey R. Holland said, that "we should honor the Savior's declaration to BE OF GOOD CHEER. Indeed we are more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other."

Jeff shared his conversion story which always helps people feel the Spirit. Some time we'll have to get him to write it all out here on the blog so it can be recorded. He's got a great story to tell. So there you have it. Hopefully we're at the bottom of the list now but now we are fully integrated into the ward. We don't have to feel "new" anymore. We found today that we actually have a nice ward with nice people... we were questioning that before today.