Purpose

EVERYTHING WE DO HAS A PURPOSE....make sure of it...and find it.

SO WHAT? Find out what really matters.

Read from the Book of Mormon everyday. It is a powerful book. I love it....KNOW it. It really is written for our day.

Record your personal experiences....but more importantly figure out from this day what really matters: Purpose, Principles, Patterns.

I LOVE YOU ALL....Let Your Light Shine.

SISTER BRITTNEY OKADA

Become True.

Perfectionist vs. Seeking Perfection

OK YOU KNOW ME: Perfectionist.

Elder Gong helped me realize the difference.

Perfectionist:
This includes looking inside and focusing on bettering yourself only. It comes with disappointments because really none of us are perfect.

Seeking Perfection:
This includes looking to serve others and helping others. This is seeking hope through our Savior Jesus Christ. We know that we can be perfected in him. We have hope.

Seek perfection in Charity.

Seek perfection in Love.

Seek perfection in Kindness.

Seek perfection in Faith.

D&C 132: 24-25.

Desire

OK, this is a little longer blog but I hope it is worth your while.

Let's talk all about DESIRE: More specifically the desires of our hearts.

Yes, go to a talk from Dallin H. Oaks, "The Desires of Our Hearts", Ensign, June 1986, for more.

OK, you can organize this however you want:

Sometimes what we want is not what is good for us.

Sometimes what we need is not what we ask for.

"I got nothing that I asked for, but got everything I hoped for."

Read Alma 29: 1-3 with an emphasis on verse 3.

There is this story of a wise man: A boy asked him how he could accomplish anything. The man took the boy to a stream and held him under water until he almost drowned. The boy jumped out of the water screaming: “AIR! AIR! AIR!”

The wise man said: “Ah yes....When you want to succeed as much as you wanted AIR, just then you will have the desire to succeed.”

Example: King Lamoni's father: Alma 22:18

Sometimes we have inappropriate desires we must evaluate and diminish, then eliminate.

Something that we must do is pray for the right feelings. If we do this and succeed we will have righteous desires and then righteous actions.

Alma 32: Plant that seed...let it grown, let it become a tree which continues to grow and then takes root and then brings forth fruit.

Yes, I think we all can work on having better desires....but more importantly letting our actions align with our desires...and vice versa.

GO AHEAD DO IT:

CHANGE, ACHIEVE, BECOME.

LOVE YOU ALL

Sister Okada

Know God

OH today let's talk about God.

Yep, God.

Do you really know God?

If you could know God what would you do?

Would you give up everything to know him?

And once you knew him what would you do?

Would you listen to him?

So, I was talking to my teacher about people who know God. And I said something like how do you help people know God if they already know him?

This was her response or something like it:

People think they know God. But they know God from a distance. It is not that personal relationship. They don't let God in their lives. They believe in God and say OK I believe in God, but I don't want him that involved in my life.

People don't realize that God can be in our life everyday. And he should be. And it should be that close of a relationship.

And if we love God....like really love God...I mean love him enough that you would do anything he asks of you....this is really knowing God.

Find the scriptures...if you love me keep my commandments.
John 14:15 D&C 42:29

OK me:

I love God. I will do anything he asks of me. If he asks me to believe in something I will...I want God in my everyday life. That's it.

Expand on this. Examine yourself.

Love You All!

Questions

Questions are so key.

My Branch President told me something like this:

People all bring personal baggage with them.

Okay, what does that mean?

Well you have to go through their baggage to understand them. That's it. You have to go through their lives to get to know them and understand their perspectives. They have all had experiences that have shaped them into the person they have become today. That is our job.

Questions are how you do that. You have to ask them to understand them.

AND THEN: LISTENING.

Being able to listen could be the best skill someone could really have. I mean really listening...not preparing what you are going to say...but JUST listening. WOW! That is power.

Wisdom from the Branch President:

"An argument is just an exchange of ignorance."

"A discussion is an exchange of knowledge."

Yeah, amazing right?

Okay, one other things. My great and very smart friend Julia did this... you should to. Take 5 minutes and write down 2010 as if you were going to lose all memory of it. Yeah, see what you say.

I bet it will focus on people...because that is what matters...just try it.

Also humility. Check out the definition in Preach My Gospel..."Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished."

Humility is what is it all about:

1. Be humble.

2. Be prayerful.

3. Be obedient.

That's is all I think.

Much Love,

Sister B. Okada

A Masterpiece

So Christmas Eve was great!

We spent it with this wonderful teacher...Brother Money.
He had us do an exercise that was so great.
He had each of us draw out on a blank paper the first notes of "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief".
We were like WHAT???
Some didn't know how to draw notes or a staff or a key signature, but we all tried our best.
He took us to a room where he said he was going to play the piano.
He started playing our drawings and it turned into this beautiful rendition...
that none of us could even imagine.
He testified to us of the work we are doing and how Christ's grace makes up for our inadequacies...we all put forth different efforts...but he makes it into a masterpiece...WOW!!!

http://lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=29&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=29&searchsubseqend=ZZZ

Hope your Christmas was as awesome as mine.

Love, Sis Okada