F + D + R(h) = GRACE

I'm Not One For Chemistry, But I've Got Equation For You


F + D + R(h) = Grace

....But first lemme talk for a second...

This week was wild. We went on double exchanges (I went to Mt. Vernon with Sister Manalong, and stayed here the next time with Sister Todd) yup! Sister Todd is serving in Alexandria so she is in our stewardship.  Cool eh? Funny how that worked out. 

We also had a snowstorm.  Some Sisters car got towed so we had to go help hem get it.  It was my fifteen month mark and we also had an MLC meeting on Friday. It was a jam packed week.  We had some sweet lessons shuffled in there as well, but lots of meetings and training and etc. 

Oh yeah, we got our new iPads too. Well the Missionary Leadership Council did. There really isn't much of a difference as far as I can tell. They have 32 GB now, and maybe some new programs. They do not have Facebook however, we will probably be off of Facebook for several months.  President said... as we revamp and restart and get trained on how to be better proselytizing missionaries. I don't even know if I will have Facebook again on my mission because I come home in three months. That's a wild thought. Sister Eddy goes home in three weeks. Time is cruising right along.

IS BIZARRE.

Saturday was nice outside. The sun was out so all the snow that came down all day Thursday was melting away. Which resulted in me having wet feet the majority of the day.  There are puddles everywhere. But I'm just happy the snow is melting and the sun is out. I'm getting incredibly tired of leggings and tights. I can't even tell you how excited I am for summer.

Especially because this summer I get to wear a swimsuit.

Mmmmmm yeah I miss the idea of that. You can bet I'll be getting my skim boarding game on at the river.  I hope Ty has his board and his Go pro ready. Because I'm so pumped. Ah. I've missed that. It's going to be a legendary summer. Probably even a legendary year. 2015. What a good one to remember. 

I hope you liked my guitar video. I was laughing when I was on exchanges we visited this Filipino family and they had guitars.  They were not tuned at all but it was whatever, we jammed anyway. Enrique Iglesias who sings Hero is half Filipino or something so the family was stoked and wanted to play it over and over. Fun times. Anyway I didn't want to loose the video so I sent it to you before iPad checks. That's all.

I can't pass a jam sesh time up.
I'm having withdrawals because I haven't seen Karlee Gooch in forever.
SMH
I do what I can.


I've found a few super great new buys you guys should check out:
1. Blue vanilla almond cereal from Trader Joe's
2. Salted plantain chips
3. Basil hummus from Trader Joe's

Mmmmm. New faves.
I'm getting cultured mom.
Trader Joe's cultures me.
Lolol.

I will try to send the memory card this week... Sorry it's taking so stinking long.

Um if you have any questions please send in list form in an email at anytime during the week so I can think about it and get back to you on Monday. I don't even know what to talk about anymore other then the obvious. Sorry if you're bored but I don't know how to entertain with my thoughts.

I'm out of ideas of things to talk about because I feel like I have no time to think lately. Shoot me some ideas. Or. Don't. Either way I'm not mad and hopefully you're satisfied.

ON AN EXCITING NOTE

Last night we had a really great lesson with J. at the Rothermel's home. We read Alma chapter thirty six with him. Have you ever read that chapter? I can't remember if I've talked much about it before but it is one of my favorites. First of all it is a form of poetry called a chiasmus which automatically makes it super cool. But on top of that I think it's one of those chapters that can relate to anyones life, really.

It's about Alma talking to his son. And he's telling his son about his conversion story. He goes on and on about how he used to be such an awful person and felt so much guilt from the terrible things he had done and the times he turned away from God, but then at some point in his life he had a life altering experience where he used the atonement of Jesus Christ, because frankly he was at rock bottom, and the weight of he world, all his sins and mistakes and guilt was taken away from him. 

He said that his joy exceeded his pain. He said, 

"...I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, 

and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, 

and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me."

I love this chapter because... 
WE ALL SIN.
none of us are perfect people
Face it.

And sin leads to uncleanliness, guilt, shame, remorse, sadness, disappointment, whatever.
But we don't need to be carrying these burdens.
There are things we can let go of, and move past, because of the atonement of Jesus Christ and his grace.

I love that.

It still shocks me that so many people don't know, or don't care about our Savior. Who already suffered for each and every one of us. And some people are not taking complete advantage of the grace that we can have to help us feel happiness and joy. 

J. asked an interesting question as we were talking. He asked why God decided to have an eternal sacrifice of his only begotten son? Why he would allow that to happen? Why did it have to be that way?

Honestly, God is all powerful and I definitely don't comprehend Gods infinite power, and wisdom. But one thing is for sure... I am so grateful. I think all too often we are too casual about the fact that we can be saved through Christs infinite love, mercy, sacrifice and grace.

At Mission Leadership Council we actually talked about grace. My favorite definition of grace is from the bible dictionary it says Grace is..

"Divine means of help or strength given through the bounteous 

mercy and love of Jesus Christ."

Who doesn't need that? It goes on to say...

"It is through his grace that individuals receive strength and assistance to do good works 

that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."

Hmm. Reminds me of serving a mission.

I know that there is no possible way I would be able to serve a mission if I was unable to access Christs atonement and grace to enable me to keep pushing forward. We actually ran into three guys out knocking doors, when we were knocking doors this week. The difference was they were selling security systems. The one guy was persistent that we join his group after our missions because he said Mormons are legendary door to door salesmen. *true*' 

BUT... I refused ten times over because boy, money isn't motivation enough to knock doors all day and entice people to join. It's the fact that this work is the most important work on earth (missionary work) and it's the fact that Christs infinite grace is what gets me through the day. 

It's what gets me through the 
door slams, 
and bible bashes, 
and rude comments 
and dumb remarks 
and name calling 
and angry faces.

 It's also what gives me to motivation to
see the hearts humbled, 
tears shed, 
lives changed, 
perspectives altered, 
spirit felt, 
and happiness seen. 

All of it is through the grace of Jesus Christ.
All of this is made possible through his infinite atonement.

So how do we access grace? 
President Riggs showed us this nice fancy little acronym.
Now I'm Not One For Chemistry, But I've Got Equation For You


F + D + R(h) = Grace

It stands for Faith plus Diligence plus Repentance (and humility) equals grace.

We call this the grace equation in our mission.  We are teaching it to the zone this week. What's the purpose of it? Well, to remember. To access grace we first have to have faith that Jesus Christs atonement, and love and mercy can enable us, and strengthen us.

Next, we have to be diligent. In using it! In acting. In trying. Trying to what? REPENT! 
Repent / change. Jesus Christs sacrifice made it possible for us to repent, to ask for forgiveness. And change. To become better, to strive to be like him. To be a better person. And to do this HUMBLY. Accepting Gods will for us.

When we do these things...
Strengthen our faith
Diligently act
Repent humbly
We will literally feel his grace working in our lives.

As Brad Wilcox said...

"The grace of Christ is sufficient. Sufficient to cover our debt, sufficient to transform us, and sufficient to help us for as long as that transformation process takes. 

The Book of Mormon teaches us to rely solely on "the merits, and mercy, 

and grace of the Holy Messiah" 

As we do, we do not discover--as some Christians believe--that Christ requires 

nothing of us. Rather, we discover the reason He requires so much and find the strength to do all He asks. Grace is not the absence of God's high expectations. 

Grace is the presence of God's power.

God's grace is sufficient. Jesus grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. 

Don't quit. Keep trying. Don't look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and 

His perfect strength. Don't search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and, as you do, you will feel the enabling power and divine help 

we call His amazing grace."

I believe we could spend our entire lives learning about the atonement of Christ and still not fully grasp the concept.  There is always more to learn. But are we taking full advantage of what we do know? And do we really understand how important this knowledge is? How important it is to share it with others?

Like I said earlier it is sad to see so many people not knowing, or not caring about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. But whose job is it to share that information? To share testimony? To share experience? 

We don't talk about it enough!
We don't thank God enough.
We don't use it in our lives enough.

Honestly.

There is so much power in this knowledge that we have.

What are you going to do because of it?

I love you!
Sister Madison Stucki
March 9,2015
Sent from my iPad

How to be Changed by Grace

This is our Beautiful artwork that caused "problems" a few weeks ago

Fall is coming...

Some random dog jumped in our car...

Family & Friends,

Remember the 'complete life turn around' I talked about?

Last week I posed the question....What changed?

We saw that this man received a card, researched a website, met with missionaries, went to church, took lessons, read scriptures, became a happier, kinder human soul.  And these are each great things but did a card change him? Did a website change him? Did the missionaries change him? Did church change him?

What really CHANGED him is the Grace of Jesus Christ.

And His grace is what changes each and every one of us.

So... What is Grace?

A summary definition of the word Grace might be: Divine means of help or strength given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. (Bible Dictionary; lds.org)

We know from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross and was resurrected. And he did this to offer up an Infinite and Eternal Sacrifice, to 'Atone' for our sins. We reference these acts Jesus Christ performed as 'The Atonement.'

His Atonement is what makes it possible for us to receive forgiveness for our mistakes. Strength for our weaknesses, comfort when we feel alone. His atonement and His Grace is what provides sufficient means for us to 'Change' and to 'Become.'

"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people;..that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." -Alma 7:12

Because Jesus Christ took upon himself our infirmities... And our trials and tribulations and sicknesses and weaknesses and heartaches and pains and stubbed toes and failures... 
He knows exactly how we feel! Each of us, all the time. He's been there before. He's walked

our path. He knows how to 'succor' us, his people, and we are never alone. It is through his Infinite Atonement that we can receive mercy, strength, help, guidance and ultimately... 
His Grace.

Because of Christ's grace we know we never walk alone (see previous blogpost 'not alone 2.0' for more info) we know he is always there, and we know it's never too late to become anything we desire to become. So how do we use, or feel, or apply his grace?

Brad Wilcox gave a CES BYU devotional a while back, that has stuck with me forever. It is called 'His Grace is Sufficient' (full length talk on BYU.edu.org) he starts off his devotional with a story about a young woman who didn't "get" Grace.

She said, “I know I need to do my best, and then Jesus does the rest, 

but I can’t even do my best.”

He replied “The truth is, Jesus paid our debt in full. 
He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.”

She said, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”

To which he responded:

“Oh, no, you have plenty to do, but it is not to pay that debt. 
We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence to be 
judged. What is left to be determined by our obedience is how comfortable 
we plan to be in God’s presence."

That was a thought provoking response that hit me. How comfortable will we be in Gods presence? How comfortable would you be in Gods presence right now? Are you doing all that you can with all that you have been given? I realize that's vague, but think about it. Think

about the things you've been blessed with.  Are you utilizing them in your life? Are you utilizing the greatest gift of all that we've been given, Christ's atonement? Everyday? And are we using it to progress and become better? Or do we have the attitude of..

"like, I don't have to do anything?"

We have plenty to "do" beginning with using the Atonement for what it is there for. 
And using this life for what He originally intended us to do.... to change.

(And by "Change", according to previous blog posts, I'm suggesting the terms of improvement, growth, learning & gaining knowledge, Becoming a more Christlike person... Day to day.)

This past weekend in General Conference, Jorge Kliegobit had great insight when he said, "repent quickly and thoroughly. Use the Atonement Daily. It never runs out!" He rejoices when we apply his atonement!

"Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. 
Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. 
What is it? Practice!

Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No.

Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No.

Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used--seeing her child

improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice."

"If the child sees Mom’s requirement of practice as being too overbearing (“Gosh, Mom, why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! I’m just going to be a professional baseball player anyway!”), perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with Mom’s

eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane."

"In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say: “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19); “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15). If we see His requirements as being way too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us." (Wilcox)

The Miracle of the Atonement isn't just that we can receive forgiveness as a sinner, so that we can feel good about ourselves and start over every day on square one just to make those same mistakes again. Sure it happens. But the Miracle of the Atonement is that when we make these mistakes or when we discover our weaknesses, we CAN actually receive "Divine Means" of Grace not only to start over, BUT TO CHANGE.

"The Miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled... 

but that we can be transformed.'

So the question we ever so often hear is

"Have you been saved by grace?"

Which we can confidently respond, Yes! Absolutely.

But today the question we can each be pondering is

"Have you been CHANGED by grace?"

That's a big question in simple terms. I feel like I need to take a pause break and just think about it for a solid hour because when I think of it that way it makes me really wonder. Have I been changed by Grace? I have a confident assurance that I have been saved by His Grace, that there is more to this life and I will see him again. No doubt! But will I be comfortable there? Have I given my best shot in following Him and doing what he has asked of me?

It makes me really think. I know there is room for CONSTANT improvement, but am I making a conscious effort to improve? Or am I laying back saying "I don't have to do anything."

In my mind what it ultimately comes down to is letting Grace change us, and change our HEARTS. So when we stand before Our Savior at that great day, we can honestly say that the desires of our HEARTS was TO FOLLOW HIM. And that Yes, we had weaknesses, we made mistakes. But we learned from them, and we were constantly striving to Become

Better. To Follow His will. To Use His gift. To Rely on His grace. To change!

Brad Wilcox has another depiction which I find incredibly interesting to think about. 
He says..

"I had a picture in my mind of what the Final Judgement would be like. And it went something like this. Jesus standing with a clipboard, and Brad standing on the other side of the room looking at Jesus. Jesus checks the clipboard and says "Oh shoot Brad, you missed it by two points." Brad begs "please check the essay question! There must be two points you can squeeze in there! Please let me stay!"

"That's how I always saw it. But the older I get, the more I understand, the Wonderful Plan of Redemption. The more I realize.. I understand that in the Final Judgement it won't be the unrepentant sinner begging Jesus "let me stay"

"Knowing Christs character, I believe if anyone will be begging on this occasion, it will probably be Jesus begging the unrepentant sinner "please choose to stay. Please use my Atonement, not only to be cleansed but to be changed. So you will want to stay."

"The Miracle of the Atonement isn't just so we can Make it Home, but to Feel at Home. 
To desire to be there. To begin now living on that higher plane."

"To begin now with trying to abandon sin 

and become more comfortable with God and His presence. 

Rather than trying to abandon God 

and become more comfortable with sin."

"Like the mother asking her child to practice to become a pianist...

if Jesus didn’t require "practice," then we would never become Saints."

"And fortunately for us it's never to late to begin."

"However late you think you are,

however many chances you think you have missed,

however many mistakes you feel you have made

or talents you think you don’t have,

or however far from home

and family

and God

you feel you have traveled,

I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.

It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of

Christ’s Atonement shines."

(Elder Jeffery R Holland. The Laborers in the Vineyard April 2012 Gen Con)

We are not expected to be perfect.

We will never reach perfection here, in this life.

But we are expected to try.

We WILL slip up, we WILL make mistakes. And that's OKAY because the purpose of this life is to Learn and Grow. But if were constantly making mistakes, not to learn from them but to just "have fun" because "we don't have to DO anything" what are we going to become? Where is your heart going to be?

So often in life we say or read or hear.. Or post Pinterest quotes that say things such as...

"Actions speak louder than words"

So why does this somehow become superfluous or redundant when it comes to living Christ's gospel? He asks us to obey Him, He asks us to change, He asks us to have faith, to repent, to reach out to FOLLOW HIM and DO AS WE HAVE SEEN HIM DO.

So.... Why don't we?

When you're ninety years old looking back on YOUR life, what do you want to have become? You have your agency and Christs grace, you can become

..anything.

Take responsibility for your spiritual well being! 
(-Jorge Kliegobit, favorite gencon quote 2014)

I know when I see him again I want to have become changed. and to honestly say I've used His sacrifice, His atonement, His infinite love and His grace to improve, to change the desires of My Heart and to become what God intended for ME to become.

"Christs grace is sufficient. Sufficient to cover our debt, sufficient to transform us, sufficient to help us as that transformation takes place. We then realize that Christ doesn't expect nothing of us, rather we discover the reason he expects so much from us and the reason he gives us that strength to do all he asks. Grace is not the absence of Gods high expectations rather the presence of Gods power...

...God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’s grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Don’t quit. Keep trying. Don’t look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don’t search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. 

Seek Christ, and, as you do, you will feel the enabling power and divine help we call 

His amazing grace."  (Wilcox)

If I've learned only one thing these past ten months as I've been out here serving, I've learned this. That His grace is sufficient. That His work is done. That no matter who we are where we are or what we've become... It's okay... We can begin again . I've seen the effects of

Christs grace in my own life, in my families life, in my friends lives and I've been so fortunate to have seen Christ grace completely change the lives of those I have been blessed enough to meet and teach since coming out into the mission field.

I've seen complete lives turn a round. I've seen little day to day improvements and each are so important and beautiful and amazing to watch as people change. And change their desires to match Gods.

Like Elder Christofferson said in General Conference

"We are not Gods puppets.

He will not make us become something we choose not to become.

It's up to us, to consciously choose to follow him."

I know, that my Savior lives.

That he loves me.

That he cares and he knows all about me.

I know we came here for a reason, this isn't random, this isn't unfulfilling.

We are here for a purpose

And we can find that purpose in Christ.

I know he makes all the difference in our lives.

If your struggling, if your hurt, if your confused

HE IS THERE

And we make the choice whether to open the door to him and welcome him into our lives. But he is always there. His grace is there, it is sufficient, it is enough.

And we can ALWAYS change

To become better,

To become Saints.

Share this post on Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or facebook by copying and pasting the link!

Love you guys!

S. Stucki

PS

Readers: If you are interested in reading further the sources I referenced throughout this post, I highly recommend you download the "Gospel Library" app on your smart phones, tablets, etc. It is a free app that has all the information I have used downloaded into a

library of scriptures, talks, speeches and highlights from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

If an App Store is not available to you, you can also use the websites lds.org

Mormon.org

Contact Your local Missionaries

Or message me on Facebook :)

If you have questions, comments, criticisms, compliments, complaints

or concerns I would love to talk about them with you when I get a spare

minute. 

Message me at Sister-Madison Stucki on Facebook 
or email me at madison.stucki@myldsmail.net and we can talk. I love hearing your

ideas, insights or questions and implementing your improvement

techniques into this blog. Thank you!

Sent from my iPad
(October 6, 2014)