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

Chinatown & Charity

  

Chinatown & Charity


We went to Chinatown and ate Chinese food. What a life right? 

On Preparation day we also went to the Botanical Gardens on the mall and took some pretty swe(awkward)et pics. There was a man on the metro singing "I Need Thee Every Hour" to everyone. It was kinda sad because nobody was even phased.  They just kept scrolling through their phones. It was pretty darn great though.

Tuesday afternoon we taught our Zone about Accountability. I think it went well but then again you'll have to ask the Zone.  Not me. I think it's funny the things you have to do to get people to participate in a lesson. Why can't everyone just share their stinkin ideas! That's what brains are for. Not that they didn't... but I was just thinking about that the other day. Anyways.

We went on Exchange number #one with Sister Kennedy and Malufau. I went to Kingstown with Sister Kennedy. She's pretty awesome. She lived in St George for a while and knows everybody there. She is cousins to the Cummings boys that I went to high school with and cousins with Carter Taysom who always hung out with Spence. AND she hung out with Elder Tanner Day, who is one of Spencer's mission friends in Indiana. So we took a couple selfies to send to all of them... and others. It was fun reminiscing with her. She's pretty darn cool.

We have been teaching a lot of less active, recent converts and part member families. It's nice because we went through our Ward list and are visiting everyone we don't know. So it's changed up our schedule quite a bit but we have enjoyed it a lot. We have some busy weeks ahead of us. Plus this next week is TRANSFERS. I'm pretty sure Sister Eddy and I are both staying here. We are praying for that anyhow. It is her last transfer so I don't think either of us will leave. I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE GOES HOME IN SIX WEEKS. We are still going to the transfer meeting though because we are Sister Training Leaders. Woop woop. Props. 

We went on another exchange with Sister Hill and Sister Dallon. I went to Alexandria with Sister Hill. We all went and ate at this most amazing place ever called la Madeleine. It's delicious and there is free bread and jam so I died and went to heaven. Love love love. We have to go there when we come back out here.

It's been freezing cold here because the wind is blowing like "60 mph" Apparently and the wind gets YA. We are hoping March will start to warm up a little bit and start off spring. I'm excited because then I can send all my winter clothes home. 

And shave my legs again.
Hey.

I've been having some pretty wild dreams lately. I don't know why. But it's lame because dreams actually take an immense toll on me throughout my day. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP. For Valentines we made these cute decoration things to hang out on investigators doors. We also began a weekly newsletter that we are sending to our Sisters by mail about Mlc, Mlc Phone calls and etc. It is pretty stinkin' awesome.

Plus, everyone loves mail. I don't think I have much to say. I feel like I haven't been on my area all week because of the double exchange thing. But I'm alive and well and excited for winter to end :)

Dad shared a very interesting perspective on charity with me the past two weeks so I think he's pretty obsessed with it. But I've been sharing it with sisters on exchanges and I had a dream that I shared it with a class of students and everybody was like "ohhhhh dannnggg wassuppp" in a good way so I think I'll just go ahead and uh share it with all y'all bloggies.

Especially because VALENTINES
was Saturday
So here's a late valentine schpeel 
About love.

We seem drawn to those that are like us.

People who have similar styles, beliefs, likes, interests and etc. right? We hang around and befriend those who are like ourselves. In the scriptures it says...

 ..For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence, wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth, virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth his course and claimeth its own." Even the best attributes we can gain seem to seek their own. Like things attract like things.

Except for love (charity)

Charity seeketh NOT her own
(1 Corinthians 13 / Moroni 7)


Charity, is the pure love of Christ. And charity doesn't seek her own like other attributes do. True love, or charity, doesn't only love those who love them back. Charity loves all.

It's easy to be nice to someone who is nice to you.
It's easy to to show mercy on someone who is merciful to you.
It's easy to share wisdom with someone who shares wisdom with you.
And vise versa
It's easy to be mean to someone who is mean to you.
It's easy to discourage someone who discourages you.
It's easy to dislike someone who dislikes you.

Like things attract like things.

It's super easy to replicate what people do to us, back to them. But true love, is Christlike love, which is charity. Christ loved everyone, even those who disliked, discouraged and were absolutely terrible to him. He loved them anyway. 

Real love not only loves those who love them back, real love loves all.


Sometimes in life we will be put into situations where we have to face this predicament. You know, loving somebody who is not exactly easy to love. Where we have to show charity no matter how we are being treated or how we may feel. Because charity seeketh not her own. It's easy to love those who love us back. But the real lesson is learned, and we truly gain charity when we love somebody who has absolutely nothing in common with and who may not show that love in return.

"If you really want to know what love is, and if you have Christlike Love (Charity), God will allow you to be placed in those places where your true feelings can be tested. Even the most extreme acts of service will profit us little unless that service is motivated by the pure love of God.  If our service is to be of most worth, it must be out of love for God and His children. No matter which child it is.  Charity seeketh not her own." (Dad)

In second grade, I remember there was this specific girl I would always see around my elementary school. For privacy reasons we will call her Annie. (although this is not her real name) Annie was nothing like me. In fact I didn't really know Annie's story but I imagined it was a bit more difficult than my own at the time. We were both eight years old, so pretty young children.

I don't think Annie knew who I was but I knew who she was. She had raggedy long black hair and a white face. She always looked tired, and sad. And she was always alone. At recess time all the kids would go run around and play. Everyone had friends. Except for Annie. She would go sit on the jungle gym and want to get involved but kids would run past her, look at her and run away. Nobody talked to Annie. And as most eight year old kids are, they didn't quite notice how sad and lonely she was, or recognize how she felt.

Annie also had a speech impediment. She was always being pulled out of class to go to speech therapy or something. She was always super embarrassed by it. But what do you do? Because she was embarrassed she didn't talk. Ever. Which made it all the more difficult to make friends.

One day my friend that I hung out with at recess recognized this. And we talked about it. We watched as Annie sat on the playground alone as all the other kids played freeze tag. They paid no attention to Annie. My friend, as awesome and courageous as she was decided "Hey! We should ask Annie to play tag with us and see what she says!" So she did! She marched right up to Annie and said "hey! Wanna play freeze tag with us?"

I have literally never forgotten her reaction. Nor the look on her face. 

I honestly think for that whole school year, and maybe years previous, 
NOBODY
EVER
talked to Annie.

And why would they right? Because like things attract like things. Annie didn't wear the trendy neon colors that all the other girls wore. She didn't talk and scream and giggle like all the other eight year old girls. She was incredibly shy and sad and lonely, and nobody else in our class felt that way. They were simply different. So what attracted my friend to her? They were different people all around.

The one thing that drew my friend to talk to her was charity. Or Christlike love. Because charity seeketh not her own. She recognized Annie was lonely, and wanted to help. She recognized how she felt and wanted to share her love with Annie.

And when she did, Annie looked up, shocked! And SMILED. and not only did she smile but she SAID yes! She actually talked, despite the fact that she was shy and embarrassed and had struggles speaking. And that smile, despite the fact she was terribly sad and lonely.

As I watched this all play out I felt something different in side of me. That night I went home and I laid in bed. I could not fall asleep because the only image in my mind was Annie's smile that day at recess. And it's stuck with me ever since. I'll never forget Annie.


Looking back on my mission I've realized I've met lots of people that I've had little to nothing in common with. Even people I've lived with and companions I've had. And sometimes it was not easy to get along with them. And sometimes I did a terrible job at showing charity! But in order to know what true love is... that is what we must strive to do.

To be a disciple of Christ, we should be striving to become like Christ.

And charity is the catalyst of all Christlike attributes. So try to show a bit more love today. Try to become a bit more charitable. Charity not only blesses yourself but those around you. Because yes... like things attract like things, but charity seeketh not her own.  


I love you guys!
Sister Madison Stucki
Sent from my iPad

It's not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves...

Merry Christmas - Call home.

#spoiled



so long burkians.

oh yeah guys we found sister Sydney wathen at the DC VC
dhhs sistas.



#CATLADY shout out to @madiwoahh

(we are the cat ladies)

(but not really)

(but the door signifies so)



Christmas caroling

hi Christmas

todds camera does cool things



in action.

2013Christmas Card

THE DC VC



HEY GUYS

I know there are a lot of readers of this blog from all walks of life and different backgrounds with different stories. If you have a particular topic or subject or question or interest you would like to read more about, shoot me an email at

madison.stucki@myldsmail.net

I would love to elaborate on the matter. I have gotten several emails about
WHY I DECIDED TO SERVE (type of questions)
I will share that story and post it in two weeks from today(ish). If you have any further questions or ideas arise shoot me an email and I will get on it.

As for this week,
Holy. Shnikey.
We got spoiled.

I'll give you the rundown because I know you all wanna know what the missionaries did for Christmas. ;)

Monday:
We went on a mini exchange with the Sisters. In the apartment complex we live in.  There are six of us English Sisters. The YSA Ward Sister Training Leaders, Us and Rolling Valley. We all met up at Target and switched companions so we could buy a gift for our current companion. We had a time limit and a budget. It was fun. Besides the fact that I had a manic coughing fit. THIS COLD. We also bought white elephant gifts for our District. Monday night we went to the DC temple with a family in the ward. We were supposed to have four investigators meet us there. But there was a crazy bad wreck on 495 so they turned around and went home. BUT since we were already there we watched the show. It was Todd Thatcher performing.  His family lived in my first area. So I got to see the Thatcher family and give them all hugs which was a fun time. It took us forever to drive home.

Tuesday:
District meeting. During District meeting we played a white elephant game and exchanged gifts. We also had a Facebook training that morning which was neat. For District meeting we all meet up at a church building as a zone. So there was probably about thirty plus missionaries gathered to have a meeting. Tuesday evening we went BACK up to the Washington DC Temple lights and watched another performance. It was a saxophone quartet. We went with another family in the ward and W. it was fun. The visitor center at the DC temple is so high tech. There are iPads and touch screen tv’s everywhere and its huge. They have a really cool Nativity display with over 90 different nativities from different countries. And Christmas trees everywhere. Then you go down to this huge auditorium and watch live performances. Outside you can see the temple and over 900 thousand Christmas lights.  It’s pretty. W. enjoyed it. On our way home he gave us these really kind Christmas cards.

Wednesday:
Christmas Eve! We went to lunch with the G. family. They took us to this authentic Latin American restaurant and had us try a little bit of everything. We had papusas, which is this popular El Salvador food that looks like a pancake but has cheese and sometimes pork in it with salsa. Yuka, which is a root of some sort, it looks and tastes like a giant, tough French fry with ultra spicy ranch or something. Plantanes, which is this fruit that looks like a giant banana cooked with those Spanish homemade runny beans on it. And then this other dish......which had all kinds of sea food I don't know what to describe it as. And horchatas.

FELIZ NAVIDAD AMIGOS. WELCOME TO THE DISTRICT of COLUMBIA

We went to a couple different members homes for treats, gifts and dinner.  Then we went Christmas caroling with our District. After that the Sisters met up at the Sister training leaders apartment and ate pizza, opened a present and reenacted the Nativity which was great.

Thursday:
CHRISTMAS DAY. We had a Sisters breakfast at our apartment.  It was cute. We opened presents, showered, wrote thank you cards, skyped home, ate at the G.'s home.  We played catch phrase with their family. Watched He is the Gift.  Went to a different church and socialized and fed homeless people for the rest of the night. It was quite the epic day.

thanks to the membs for the overlarge contribution of fruit.

notice how all they eat is bacon and cin. rolls.

the struggle

The rest of the weekend was average. Except we did have a Mission conference on Friday and we found out who the New Mission President is going to be! President David (and his wife Michelle) Huntsman. Like the guy who ran for Presidents brother. He comes in June. I actually leave the same transfer the Riggs do. So I won't have him for a Mission President but he sounds like a boss!

Things are pretty much back to the way they were before now.  The Holidays are dispersing.


...well....yeah...PRETTY much.

This next week is New Years! And with New Years comes NEW Resolutions. RIGHT? Remember when we would set New Years goals in elementary school? Do people still do that? I believe setting goals is important.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE A BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOAL. AND BELIEVE IN THAT GOAL. AND IN THE FACT THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. -Jack Canfield


My companion said that was a gross quote. But a quote is a quote and that's all I have to work with so excuse the hairy part. Srry. Not srry. Blame Jack.

What's the point of a goal?

I don't think I did much goal setting back at home. But I have learned if you don't have a goal to work for you are just air balling it in any direction. Even if you don't end up accomplishing your goal, its better to be working towards something rather than nothing. If life takes you a different direction, so be it. I found a quote in a little book a friend sent me for Christmas by Earl Nightingale that fits perfectly, he says

"all you have to do is know where you are going. .

The answers will come to you of their own accord." 

So even you FREE SPIRIT HIPPIES can set goals and still be a free spirit. It's good to always have a plan formulated, to constantly be striving for something. To constantly be changing and improving.

So my conclusion is the reason to set goals, is to improve upon,
To NOT become a fence sitter.
To drop being 'mediocre'
To shoot for the stars!
To have a plan or idea
To try a little harder, to be a little better
To push ourselves, to stretch ourselves
And to experience and accomplish things we otherwise might not have thought we could accomplish beforehand.

At the Mission Conference this weekend, President Riggs was talking about "Becoming." Our ultimate 'goal' is to become more like our Savior, and to return to live with God. He shared this quote about a young man who wished to Receive his fathers inheritance. His father wanted to give him all that he had too. Not only his possessions but his stance, and what he had become. And he read a quote that stuck out to me, it was the father saying..

"What I have I can easily give you. 

What I am you must acquire for yourself."

It's very fitting in the context of our Heavenly Father. He can easily bless us with whatever he wants whether it be riches or our burdens lifted or whatever. But who we are, what we become here, what we do with the blessings we have been given is up to us. We acquire and choose the type of person we eventually become. This also relates back to goal setting because "Becoming" happens one step at a time. One goal at a time.

Preach My Gospel says:
"Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans our hopes are transformed into action. Do everything you can within your power to achieve your goals while respecting others. The ultimate measure of success is not in achieving your goals alone. It is in the service you render and the progress you make."

Or as sir Edmund Hillary puts it
"It's not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves."

goals = to change, to progress, to become.
It's not necessarily the fact that we can check a box on our goal list and say we did it, but it's what we have incorporated into our life and the experiences that came along with it.
It's about conquering ourselves
Not just the mountain.

I have lots of goals for twenty fifteen believe me. Something tells me this year is going to be a year I won't ever forget. Lots of CHANGE but also lots of progression and learning experiences and beautiful memories. I'm ecstatic for what 2015 will bring! Last year at the beginning of 2014 and beginning of my mission, Sister Riggs gave a talk about having a one word goal. Meaning you pick one word you want to become. Rather than having a million things you want to try and change and improve on, to just pick one and really focus on it. Last year I chose the word

Discipline

I knew 2014 would be the bulk of my mission.  The full year that I would be out here serving. Before I came out and when I first became a missionary I felt discipline was something I struggled with. In every aspect I didn't like to be disciplined or particularly understand the purpose of it. But as I was listening to Sister Riggs one word talk this specific word kept popping into my head.

The definition of discipline that I liked the most was
"activity or experience that provides mental and physical training;
of the mind and body to produce obedience and self control."

or in other words, President Riggs defines discipline as
"doing what you don't want to do, when you don't want to do it, because you know you should."

and that is something I struggled with.
example a: My alarm clock goes off in the morning. Do I get out of bed? Or hit snooze?
example b: I need to workout because I'm gaining weight. Do I sit there and think about it? Or do I do it?
example c: Grandma sends me twelve boxes of double stuff oreos. Do I stow them away and eat them all myself? Or leave them on the table where my companion will eat them and get fat rather than me?

DISCIPLINE
Among many other things there are some favorable examples I will claim. Over the past year I hung a big quote above my desk reminding me to be Disciplined. In my thoughts, actions, daily routine, schedule, performance, tasks, teaching, time, passions etc. It's something I have really strived for this entire year.
AND it has really worked.
Picking ONE thing to focus on, one thing to apply to MY life daily.

DISCLAIMER:
I am not perfect at Discipline. I still slip up and I still get lazy. I'm not perfect at anything. BUT I have gotten better. It is something I have learned and will keep with me for the rest of my life.  The power behind being disciplined. The amount of work you can get done if you are disciplined. The kinds of success you will have. in life, as a missionary, whatever it may be.

For more about discipline click here


But because I liked the idea so much I decided to use this one word Goal Challenge again this year.
This year my word is:
CHARITY.
You probably read my last post on charity two weeks ago, and the importance of it. That is what I have decided to take on this year. I have been so caught up in being disciplined I think it has had a reverse effect on me slowing down, chilling out, smelling the roses, and loving life. and others.

I have always been fast paced.

You know the kid in kindergarten who takes their coloring page and scribbles all over the entire paper in 35 seconds then slams the crayon on the table and proclaims BOOM DONE. While all the other five year old children are learning to color inside the lines. Ya. That was me.

I like things done quickly and promptly. My life has always become a big task list where I'm continuously adding more checks and more check boxes. I've always felt I needed to be accomplishing something to be successful. Lately I have felt the need to slow down and experience things... Rather than simply accomplishing them. And truly loving and enjoying it along the way.

President Riggs also read a quote about Charity at the Conference. He said,

"the reason charity never fails, is because charity is not a single act, it is a state of being... 

a succession. something one becomes."

So in order to work on CHARITY this year.  I am gonna be toning it down a notch. Slowing down. Living and loving and enjoying the beauty around me. To not just Conquer a mountain by doing something charitable.  Rather my aim is to Conquer myself and BECOME a charitable person. To reach that state of being, or living, where charity is what I truly believe and live by.

Don't expect this to happen in a week. This is a year goal. Maybe a five year goal. SUCCESSION #chill

AND
With that I challenge you to find your own one word goal to improve on this year. Evaluate your life. Organize your priorities. Find something you can change and improve on. Don't worry about the impossible mountains to be conquered because that's besides the point.

It's not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.
~Sir Edmund Hillary


As for next week, my Dad will be posting a little something about priorities, responsibilities and life lessons. So stay tuned for that.  You will hear from me in two! (weeks) If you have any preferences on what more you would like to read about on this blog.  Shoot me an email and I'll get back to ya!



love you!

Happy New Year
*horns & whistles*




s. stucki

Sent from my iPad

(12/29/2014)