#19: Gratitude

Heavenly Father has given me so much.  I post a lot about reasons I know why HE loves ME.  But now, I want to focus on reasons I love HIM.

God has given me a lot.  I am grateful for His blessings. 

I decided today is my last day doing "100 Reasons Why God Loves Me."  Because I need to focus on why I love God.  So, today is a farewell to the forever long posts...

I love God because He loves me.  I am His daughter.  He is my sure rock and foundation.  As King Benjamin says, "O,  How you ought to thank your Heavenly King!"

The way we live is a reflection of our gratitude for all that our Heavenly King has given us.  Do we want to make the journey of life without stopping to smell the roses?  I hope not! 

I hope we can follow the advice of President Kennedy and show appreciation to Heavenly Father by living with a grateful heart.

#18: Weather

God loves me.  How do I know that?  Because it's a beautiful day today!

Outside it is 73 degrees!

Today is a wonderful day.  It's a great day to be happy.  A great day to spread the gospel, and a great day to be a missionary!

During a meeting we had today, we sung the hymn, There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today.  I love this hymn...

"There is sunshine in my soul today

More glorious and bright,

Than glows in any earthly sky,

For Jesus is my light!

Oh there's sunshine, blessed sunshine,

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in my soul!"

Is there sunshine in your soul today?

#17: Man's Best Friend

Number 17 on my list of manifestations of God's love is my dog. 

Brooklyn and I on Halloween of 2009

I have the BEST pooch in the world.  When I was young, I was terrified of dogs.  I would hear the jingle of a collar and instantly be petrified.  I didn't know how I was going to get over my fear. 

When I was about seven, my neighbor gave me the idea to GET a dog.  She said it would help me overcome my fear if I had a dog of my own.  GENIUS.  Buy something I was absolutely afraid of??  No way.

But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to have a dog.  Begging and pleading, I tried to convince my mother to get a dog.  She said "maybe someday."  I took that as a "no." 

In the fall of 2004, my mom began to feel prompted that our family needed a dog.  She didn't understand why, but she followed that prompting.  Right before Christmas, our family got a dog.  I named him Brooklyn.  Girly, right?  I know... in my defense, I was only 14!  But it fits him. 

He quickly became my best friend.  In high school, I loved waking up early in the summer and taking him outside on short walks.  In college I loved to come home from school to a quiet house and take a nap on the couch, with him on my lap. 

Since I've been in college, Brooklyn has faced some challenges.  Some of these include depression, anxiety, chasing a porcupine, being sprayed by a skunk (twice), and having a bizarre neck surgery.  You can imagine I was very nervous about leaving him to serve a mission.  But I knew he was in good hands and that Heavenly Father would take care of him.



Brooklyn-age 5



About a month ago, I received an email from my mom.  Brooklyn had diabetes.  I was stressed about it, but too busy to really let it sink in.  Then, last Monday I got another email from my mom.  Brooklyn was incredibly sick.  He's lost a lot of weight and is up frequently during the night.  Though my parents are watching and caring for him closely, it still makes me sad that I am not there to hold and comfort my little dog.  I pray that he will start to feel better.  If you read this-maybe you could pray for my little dog too? 

I am so grateful that Heavenly Father prompted my mom to get me a dog.  She told me once, "I knew that I needed to get you a dog.  Something told me, 'She'll need this'." 

I am grateful to a mother that can follow spiritual promptings. 

#16: Change

Heavenly Father loves me because He brings me change.  He has given me so many opportunities to learn and grow. 

Before my mission, I always saw change as a bad thing.  I hated change!  It was difficult, and often times stressful.  Then I met Ellen.  Ellen joined the church almost a year ago.  One day as my companion and I sat in her living room, she told us about how she had come into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She told us that she had lost her husband years ago.  It had sent her into a depressed state.  She struggled finding happiness in anything, and felt so alone.  Finally, one of her sons called her on the phone and said, "Mom, change is part of life."  Ellen said she didn't realize that she had been given this incredible opportunity to change her life. Though she was facing a difficult trial, she was able to make change a positive experience.  After she told us this story, she closed her eyes, nodded her head and said, "Change is good.  Change is good."

This experience touched me.  It has taught me to embrace the changes that occur in my life.  It has taught me to love the moments along the road to change, and to see change as a positive thing. 

This week I am excited for change.  Transfers occurred today-meaning I received a new companion.  Her name is Sister Ratuvukivuki.  I am excited for change.  It will bring miracles to our area, a new light and energy to the work, and many blessings. 

I love this quote by Elder Oaks.  In my experience, it is true.  Our Heavenly Father blesses us when we embrace change.  Accepting change takes humility and patience.  We must be willing to be obedient to the Father's will.  It is difficult, but I know it is worth it.

#14: Valentine's Day

I hope you are all feeling loved today!

God loves me for many reasons. Today the reason He loves me is because He blessed us with a holiday to celebrate the love we have for each other.

This is a special holiday for me, because my last name is Valentine.

I use to loathe Valentine's Day.  Not because I didn't have a sweet heart or anything.  But I hated because of my name.  My first name is Joy-and my last name is Valentine.  I use to think, "Why?  WHY? Why would my parents torture me with a name like happy?" 

Every year I was teased, "Joy Valentine's Day!  Joy Valentine's Day!"  So not cool...

But over the years, I realized what a blessing it was to have the first and last name that I have.  My name has become a constant reminder to be happy and to love those around me.

Now, I love my name, and try to live up to it.  I take great pride and honor in being a Valentine.  And today is our day!  I hope my family knows that I am thinking of them on this Valentine's Day-especially my Grandpa and Grandma Valentine.  I'm proud to be their granddaughter. 

Switching gears--today I studied about love.  Fitting, isn't it? I found some incredible scriptures about love that I wanted to share with you, my friends-Because I love you!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

#13: Wisdom

God loves me because He blesses me with His wisdom.

Heavenly Father knows I'm not perfectly intelligent, nor am I as dignified as He wants me to be.  But he places people in my life who are much wiser than I am.  They teach me life's greatest lessons!  Some of these great teachers are prophets who have written in the scriptures. 

This particular scripture has taught me a lot the past few days.  I have a bad habit of speaking my mind!

After I read this scripture, I've been a lot more away of the things that come out of my mouth.  As I study what to say before I say it, then my words will be words of wisdom and truth. 

So, that's my thought for the day... I'm letting my heart study out what to say before I speak.

Have a day FULL of wisdom!

#12: Becoming

One of the greatest ways that Heavenly Father shows His love for His children, is he allows them to become something.  He gives them talents, opportunities, abilities, dreams, hopes, and desires.

I was 3 years old when I started playing violin.  Every day I was required to practice.  I didn't always enjoy it.  I knew I wanted to BE a violinist, but I didn't want to do the actual practicing part.  That was just boring! Practicing was a constant battle.  My mom would sit at the piano and help, but I just hated doing it.  One particular day, I put my violin down and refused to practice.  My mother asked me to pick up my violin and practice.  Again I refused. 

Kindly she walked over to my violin on the floor.  Placing it gently in it's case she said, "Well, if you don't want to practice, you don't get to play the violin." 

She took it away. 

She took my violin away from me! 

I thought, How could she do this to me?  She's ruining my life! She put my violin up high where I couldn't reach it.  I began to cry.  I begged and begged her to take it down. In soft tones she taught me the principle of becoming a violinist. Until I was ready to practice, I was not ready to be a violinist.

I agreed to practice.  I would do anything to play the violin!  So she took down my violin, and we resumed practice for the day.  Practicing was still not something I enjoyed, but I did it because I understood this principle.

It's the same with life.  In order to be something, we must learn the principle of becoming something.  We must be willing to put in the effort to practice, work, ask for help, and grow.  When we get frustrated, and feel we should have already accomplished so much, I picture our Heavenly Father teaching us the principle of becoming something. He does not expect me to be perfect.  But He does expect me to become perfect.

I know God loves me because He challenges me to become something great.  He requires me to work.  Though I do not always enjoy my experiences in this mortal life, I am loved because of the opportunity it has given me to be someone.

#11: Technology

I love technology.

It's great! 

(By the way, I hope some of you are singing the song, "I love technology..." from the Napoleon Dynamite Movie.) 

But how much time do we spend on Facebook?  Computer games?  Video games?  Texting?  Do we use our phones as an extension of our arm? 

The prophet Joseph Smith taught, 

"All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not... The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.”

Each of us have our own physical body.  We have the opportunity to progress, grow, learn, develop, love, laugh, smile, cry.... just throw all your emotions in there somewhere.  I'm grateful for my body and I bet you are too!

But Satan, he has none of those things.  He will never enjoy those blessings.  Because he lacks a body, he would do anything to get us to harm, defile, or disconnect from our body.  He has taken the wonderful gift of technology, and used it to pull us away from the present.  We now live in a cyber world.  If we are not careful with our time in this cyber universe, then we begin to disconnect from our present self.  We forget how to have lasting conversations face to face.  We lose track of time, and become dull to our physical responsibilities. 

In a video conference, Elder Bednar talked about the addictions of technology.  We are so blessed to have technological advances.  But we MUST be wary and careful.  We cannot let ourselves be consumed by them.  In his address, he posed the following questions.  I invite you to read them, think about them, answer them honestly, and re-evaluate the time you spend in front of a screen.

To read more, Click Here

Video-Things As They Really Are

#10: Temples are a Beacon

God loves me because He allows me to worship in His dedicated House.  That house is called a Temple.  It is the holiest place on earth.  Dedicated by sacred Priesthood power, it is a place of learning and spiritual growth.  I love going to the temple.  I am excited to go on March 7th!

God strengthens us as we make sacrifices to attend the temple.

#9: Patchwork of Contrast

Life is like a patchwork quilt. Both are made up of different textures, elements, materials, and imaginations.  Just as each patchwork quilt varies in design, color, and fabric, each life is different in experience, relationships, trial and joy.

Here is what a couple of my friends said about their patchwork lives:

Rian:

 It takes time to finish the patchwork....just because we can see a bunch of holes still, doesn't mean we aren't exactly where we need to be.

Julie:

The challenge is in seeing beauty and growth in all aspects of the patchwork of our lives. It is in living with faith, with a knowledge that we are children of our Heavenly Father, that we can enjoy each patchwork square. With faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord, we have an eternal perspective of this life. We know that our difficulties are often our times of greatest growth and increased faith. Through the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we know that troubled times will pass. We seek after those things that bring beauty, love and joy to our lives.

 

I am grateful that my life is like a patchwork quilt.  Some days are difficult.  Others are filled with beautiful joy.  Some moments weigh my heart down.  At other moments, I am so happy that I can't seem to keep my feet on the ground!

 

One thing is definitely certain-God is in all.  Because God loves me, He has blessed me with unbearable days.  These days seem like ugly patches in the quilt of life, but to me, they make the other patches and other days of my life look that much more beautiful in contrast.

#8: World's Greatest Teacher

The last few days I have felt as if my studies have not been effective.  This morning, as I prayed for direction and help, received the answers as to how to make my studies more effective. 

As I sat pondering, I began to think about who I want to be, and what I want to take from my mission.  I realized that for months I've been trying to become a scriptorian and learn all I can about the scriptures.  But what happened to learning from the scriptures? 

The Holy Ghost guided my thoughts today and helped me reconnect with the Savior.  He is my teacher.  He is my guide and my friend.  God loves me enought to chasten me, teach me, and help me develop into the missionary and woman I need to be.  Hats off to the World's Greatest Teacher!

#7: He Weeps With Me

While reading in the Book of Moses yesterday,

I found a tender story that reveals the loving nature of our Father in Heaven.

Enoch is blessed with a vision of the Heavens, in which He sees God weeping.  Confused, Enoch praises God and asks,

"How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?  And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations, and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever...mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?"

Enoch sees that God is all powerful; He has all glory, creations, and dominions before Him, yet Enoch sees our Father weeping.  Heavenly Father answers "with all the feeling of a tender parent" and explains His cause for crying.

"Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency; and unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection."

I can picture our Heavenly Father, pleading with us, "choose me, your Father!" 

For a short period of time in my life, I did not choose Heavenly Father.  I chose another path.  This decision brought me great sorrow. 

One day, the burden I carried became to heavy to bear.  I sat, curled up in my bed, and cried to my Heavenly Father.  I begged for Him to forgive me for turning away from Him.  I asked if He could still even love me.  At this moment, I felt as if my Father in Heaven cried with me.  I knew that He loved me.  He was so sad that I had made poor choices, and He wept with me as I suffered the consequences. 

But just as our Heavenly Father weeps with us in times of sorrow, He also rejoices when we do repent and come back to Him. 

Never underestimate the love God has for you.  He will never abandon you.  He will rejoice in your successes.  He will sorrow in your heartache.  He will weep as we weep.  He will plead with each of us to choose Him, our Father. 

#6: Called to Serve a King

God loves me because He trusts me to preach His gospel. 

In September of 2010 I received a large envelop in the mail. 

With a pounding heart and shaking hands, my dad and I ripped the envelope apart!  We both skimmed the lines on the paper as I shouted, "Dad!  Where am I going? Where am I going?"

Just then, his finger slammed down on the page and he said, "Tennessee!  You're going to Tennessee!"

And so it was.  I had received my mission call.  Serving a mission has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.  I am a witness of God's miracles.  I can testify that He loves each of us.  The task of teaching the gospel, knocking on doors, moving around every 6-18 weeks can be hard and exhausting.  Yet somehow, I am always given the strength to keep going.  Why?  Because God loves me.  He has called me as an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, to bear His name, and share the Book of  Mormon, another testament of His Son, with the people of the Nashville.

To learn more about missionary work, Click Here.

#5: The President & His Wife

Heavenly Father has blessed me because He loves me.  He placed a wonderful family here in Tennessee that I have grown to love very, very much. 

Our Mission President and his family came to Nashville last June.  I have become close friends with their daughters, and have been blessed to be able to serve so close to their home.  Every transfer that rolls around, I expect to be transferred somewhere far away from them.  So it has been a blessing to be near them for almost 7 months!

President is one of the most loving and understanding men I have ever met.  I have watched him as he cares for the needs of his 5 youngest daughters, treating them with respect and continually expressing his love for them.  I know he is the same kind of father that our Heavenly Father is.  I see so much of God in this wonderful man.  Not only does he care for his 10 children in this manner, but he cares for each of the missionaries this way-all 140 of us!

His wife is incredible.  One particular day I was struggling with my physical health.  As I opened up to her about my struggles, she reached over and gave me a long hug.  Expressing her love for me, she told me that I could handle this.  She also told me she would fast for me.  Her fast meant so much to me.  It gave me great hope!  Since that day, I have still struggled with some health issues, but my ability to endure has been strengthened.  I know it was because she selflessly fasted for me. 

I wish I could accurately describe how much I love these two individuals and their 5 young girls.  My mission would be so different without them.  They are my family.  I will ALWAYS have them close to my heart.  I hope I can raise my children like President and his wife have raised their family. 

I know Heavenly Father loves me because He sent this family to bless and strengthen me.

#4: Yoke'd

Reason #4 that I know God loves me is because He lightens my load.  When I feel like I can't go any further, I trust that God is there. 

He always is.

An ox cannot pull a wagon or cart on it's own.  The creature is not strong enough.  When two animals are applied to pull, they tend to go at different speeds, making it difficult for either to pull the cart. 

But, when a yoke is applied to both animals, the weight is distributed, and they can pull the burden together.

We cannot pull the burden of life on our own.  We may make it a few feet, then fall exhausted.  If we yoke ourselves with the Savior, and work by His side, we can accomplish all that is asked of us.

As you allow Jesus Christ to help you pull life's many burdens, you will feel that your load is more bearable. 

So folks, consider yourself Yoke'd.

#3: A Sister Called Kate

The third reason that I know why God loves me is because He gave me a sister.  Her name is Katrina but she goes by Kate.  I have my own nicknames for her, but for her sake, we'll stick with Kate. 

Now, she's no ordinary big sister, she's MY big sister!  And she's pretty cool.  She's a news producer for a big local station in Utah and she's only 23!  Not only that, but she is one of the hardest working women I've ever seen.  When she was blessed as a baby, my dad blessed her to be a hard working daughter.  She definitely is! 

Kate is an incredible cook.  If she wants to figure out something to make, she'll make it.  In one letter she told me she had attempted to bake a delectable cheesecake that took 7 hours to cook!  Talk about talent AND patience.

She has done so much for me.  I love her.  Kate has been an example to me.  I remember one night I had a particularly rough day.  She invited me to come over and watch a movie with her.  To this day, that night remains a precious memory for me.  We just sat and talked.  She made homemade popcorn, let me cry a little, and spent the rest of her evening hanging out with me-her little sister.  There were probably a million other things she could have been doing, but she chose to spend a few hours comforting and consoling me. 

Some might find this picture embarrassing.  This was taken the day before I left for my mission, right as I was saying goodbye to my beautiful sister!  So ya, I bawled like a baby...  And she still has her dazzling smile on!

She's always encouraged me to be the best I can be.  Her letters always lift me up-not to mention they are hilarious!

Here are some of my favorite notes she has written me:

"Time flies.  Enjoy each moment of your life because if you don't you'll miss something."

"Did you know that you can't bring water to elephants?  Instead you have to bring the elephant to the water!"

"Thanks for giving me courage and strength this week.  Let me explain."  While running the half marathon this week our song came on.  What's our song you might ask?  It's 'Stuck Like Glue' by Sugarland.  I know it's a love song, but if you think about the lyrics, it's actually a song about sisters.  So our song gave me strength to get to mile 10."

"Ever wonder why...

• The sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? 
• 'Abbreviated' is such a long word? 
• They are called apartments when they are all stuck together?"

And my favorite....

"Sister Joy, I'm so grateful we're sisters and friends!  Chance made us sisters, hearts made us friends!  Love you..."

I'm so lucky to have her.  I know God loves me because he sent one of His most precious and choice daughters to my life, to lead me, to comfort me, to write me sweet letters, to run half marathons thinking about me, to bake cookies for me, send me random packages full of trinkets and chocolate, but most importantly to show me that she loves me. 

I'm grateful for my Sister Kate.  She is my best friend in the whole world.  She's the most Christlike person I have ever met in my life.  Though I miss her, I know we are each where God wants us to be.  We will bless each other as we serve in the Lord's cause.   

#1 & 2: Protection and Promptings

When I was little, I was afraid of the dark. 

(The previous sentence may or may not still apply today.)

My parents taught me to pray when I was scared.  I got in the habit of praying every night.  I worried that if I did not pray, then something bad would happen to me at night.  I prayed every night to be protected.

As I have gotten older, I became invincible.  Or at least that's what I thought.  I didn't need to pray for protection--I'm tough!  I'm a big grown up kid!

The past couple of weeks, every time I have prayed before we've left the house, I've felt the need to ask God to protect Sister Jensen and I.  The words just kept coming out every time I prayed, "Please protect us today..."

Now I know why.

God loves me.  How do I know this?  Because this week He protected me. 

While driving to an appointment on Tuesday night, Sister Jensen and I were stopped at a light.  I noticed she was parked a decent 15 or so feet behind the car in front of us.  I thought it a little odd that she would brake so far away from the car ahead of us.  Just as I was about to tease Sister Jensen for being parked a double-wide away from the car in front, we heard a loud bang as both of our seat belts locked and our heads slammed forward. 

We pulled over and got out to assess the damage.  A sweet little woman had rear ended our car.  Though Sister Jensen and I were a little shaken and our necks rather sore, our car had suffered little damage.  The impact felt hard, but we had been protected. 

I know God has been prompting me to pray for safety.  I know He prompted Sister Jensen to stop the car so early so that we didn't hit the car in front of us.  God loves me, and I know it because He protects me and He prompts me.

Side note:  I am grateful to my awesome friends in Nashville who continued to check on us to make sure we were okay!  (E.L., A.W., J.S.,)
And also for the great policeman that came to our aid.  Nashville Pride!  :)

100 Reasons

So last month I did 25 days until Christmas.  That was fun!  The next few weeks I'm going to try something new...

Follow these posts to see how and why I know that God does in fact love me.