what can you afford?

-tonight after a long day of frustration and studying, i decided that listening to a conference talk would help, among other things. tyler and i decided to listen to Elder Hales' talk on provident living. personally, this was such a highlight for me. i loved this message, loved the principles of the gospel that are dispersed throughout, so i just have a few thoughts.

-first, listening to the talk brings the spirit once more through the power of his testimony. even though he stumbles through some tricky phrases, i find it all the more encouraging. in the scriptures, a prophet is worried about the message that he is leaving because the Lord has made the people mighty in words when speaking, but their hands are weak. definitely in ether. the Lord instructs him that fools will mock, but they shall mourn. what a great way to get back on the path of "the right attitude" instead of looking for faults.

-secondly, i felt so strongly about those 4 caring words that we can say to one another. i was raised in a family like that, and its funny to me to see different life-styles. ultimately, facing the consequences of our personal actions says something about our character. turning to the Lord when we've gone astray isn't a sign of weakness...to me its a sign of common sense, or to put it more politely, its a sign of humility.

-third, wow. what passion Elder Hales incorporates into his message when he talks about the redeeming love of our Savior. I had a thought about being a provident provider. Elder Hales paints a scenario of how going into debt to meet the demands of our passions makes us slaves to the natural man, and in return, we are no longer able to hold strong relationships with friends, family, neighbors, and even the Lord. Our self-esteem diminishes, and we find ourselves barely meeting our most basic needs. President Eyring once spoke on this topic in one of the most impactful talks i've ever read. read this-it fits in so many aspects of our lives.

-ultimately, i know that most people want to read blogs that have lots of fun pictures, filled with descriptive and creative passages to depict the "picture-perfect-life." i don't always write those. instead, i find something i'm passionate about and all of a sudden, it ends up on my blog. i hope you don't find this preachy, as that's not my intent; it was just a message i'm sharing, in the quickest way i know how.

enjoy the week :) fun stuff coming up this weekend...and maybe even a few pictures that may find themselves amidst decorative wording....