Monday, December 2, 2013

For These Things I Am Grateful


Hello hello!
This may sound repetitive but it was an amazing week! And I'm shocked to report that! I've been dreading the Thanksgiving Holiday since the moment that I decided to go on a mission, just because I could think of no worse time to be away from my family; but to my surprise, it was a day that I will never forget! The best part about Thanksgiving, we all know, is being around loved ones, eating food, but most importantly it is the time we have to reflect about what we are most grateful for. I realized this year that this is the only time in my life I will be grateful to be "Sister Beasley".
Yesterday in Sacrament we sang "Count Your Many Blessings"... This year, I recorded something I am grateful for every single day through the month of November. So, like the classic hymn reads,  Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your many blessings; see what God hath done.
This year, I am grateful...
  1. For bold testimonies. What an amazing thing it is to see people have strong faith in the Savior and act on that faith; to come out with the missionaries and share the things they know with such conviction to those who are learning about the Gospel.
  2. For King Benjamins address. I love the scriptures more than I can say, especially the Book of Mormon. What a gift it is to each of us to have people from thousands of years ago share their experiences with the Savior Jesus Christ . I especially love Mosiah 4: 19-21.
  3. For not getting a ticket. This one time I parked illegally. Oops. I was especially grateful for that kind cop that day.
  4. For my family & for the empty place in my heart because I am not with them. For a father who is simply a good man; who loves the Lord, his wife, and his family with everything  that is in him. For his support, his good choices, and his heart. For a Mom who is not only my Mama, but my best friend as well. Who is perfect in every way and who always put others before herself. For her sacrifices, for her faith, and for her good example. For Zach, who has always been a good kid, a good friend, and a good brother. For his sense of humor and his light.For Nick, who is tough and sweet. Who always seems to have my back. For his tenderness and his sharp mind.  For Kara; the Sister I prayed would come to Earth, who ended up being exactly who I needed to help me keep those brothers of ours in line. For her genuine spirit, her sweet testimony, and beauty that extends from the inside out. For her completion to our family.
    Mom said it best, "Without all y'all, why would any of it matter?"
  5. For the First Vision. There are no greater words ever spoken than the words Our Heavenly Father and Savior spoke to Joseph Smith. I love the Restored Gospel.
  6. For President and Sister Wolfert and the times we get to hear from them! I know that they were called of God to look after this area. I know that President receives revelation that will best help this part of the Lords vineyard. I love them so much, and I am grateful for the love I feel from them.
  7. For the Plan of Salvation. For being able to see both ends of it, feeling of the excitement and joy that comes into a family when a baby is born and the heartache when a loved one leaves this earth.
  8. For Companions. I have been put with only great girls!! I have learned so much from each one, and I am especially happy to be with Sister Chapman now.
  9. For letters, packages, and emails. The love I feel from them helps to push me along. I am so grateful for all of you who have taken time from your busy lives to remember me!
  10. For Primary Programs. There is a fine line between singing and screaming, but either way the Spirit is always so strong in these meetings!
  11. For Dinners in homes. Even if there are cockroaches all over the kitchen. #extraprotein
  12. For BYU Mens Chorus. Have you heard the song "I Love The Lord" that is sung to the music of "Be Still My Soul" - if you haven't... you are missing out! What would I do without their music? And the other great and uplifting CD's I have. A girls gotta jam!
  13. For Human Beings. I just love people so much!! I love the people here, I love the people in my past areas, I love my companions, I love other missionaries, I love my family, I love strangers I see, I love creeps, I love ward members, I love investigators, I love you!
  14. For Opposition, because, lets face it, you can't know the good until you've experienced some of the bad. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And more grateful. And more willing to do what the Lord wants. And well, it just makes you a lot more of a lot of things.
  15. For Good Heath. A lot of the time I take this one for granted and forget how important this is. I am grateful for a strong healthy body that houses my Spirit. I am grateful for the opportunities it provides me. I am grateful that it's still working, even after I eat at the Waffle House in Stathem, Georgia! Yikes!
  16. For the Power of Prayer. How amazing it is to pray with people daily. People here love prayer! I'm convinced that no where else in the world could you knock on someones door, tell them you are there to bless them and their home, and then have them not only listen to the prayer and be touched by it, but then turn around and pray for you as well! Oh, and it's also great to know that you don't have to wait til the end to get an amen - the people here "Praise The Lord!" "Mmmmhmmmm" and "Thank Jesus" through the whole thing!
  17. For Numbers. In mission work we have to be accountable... Sometimes people get a little freaky about this and it seems that is all they are driven by. But I've realized that when we try and reach our goals to talk to as many people as possible that you understand these numbers represent people the Lord loves dearly.
  18. For Elder Beasley and all my friends out serving.  It's not always easy out here.. and knowing that I am not alone in this great and challenging work gives me greater strength. I will forever feel blessed to not only serve a mission, but to over-lap with my baby brother and amazing friends.
  19. For The Spirit. I could go on about this for days, but it is through the Spirit that I have a testimony, because the Spirit has spoken to my Spirit! I love what Joseph F. Smith says, "The Holy Spirit of God has spoken to me—not through the ear, not through the eye, but to my spirit, to my living and eternal part,—and has revealed unto me that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of The Living God. I testify to you that I know that my Redeemer lives. Furthermore, I know that I shall see Him on this earth, and that I shall see Him as He is. … The Lord has revealed this to me. He has filled my whole spirit with this testimony, until there is no room for doubt."
  20. For a Car. There is happy Sister Beasley.. and then there is Sister Beasley on a bike. Need I say more?
  21. For The Armor of God. I know that this world is getting scarier each day and that the adversary's influence becomes stronger each moment, but I also know that as opposition fills the earth, that the Spirit of the Lord continues to get stronger and stronger. We aren't alone in this battle.
  22. For our Heavenly Father. I love Him. I am grateful to feel his love.
  23. For Covenants. For the promises that I have made and for the time I have to help the people in Georgia to make covenants or to live up to what they have agreed to do. Covenants testify of Gods love for us, and for the potential and worth he knows and sees in each and every person on the earth.
  24. For our Savior Jesus Christ. For his example, for his love, for his life, and for his sacrifice. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine... to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine. I am grateful that the Atonement works specifically for me and for my many weaknesses.
  25. For Target & TJ Maxx. Look...whether a missionary or not, a girls gotta shop! Ya feel me?
  26. For Humor. Without it, this work would be a lot harder, and a lot less fun. Laughing is essential. Life (& missionary work) aren't only to be endured.. but enjoyed as well!
  27. For service projects and red velvet cake. Especially when both are combined!!!
  28. For Thanksgiving. For the family who took us in and made us feel like part of their own. For the massive amounts of food . For sweet Abraham,  who took us out for dinner at Golden Coral  so we all wouldn't be alone! For the fact that the people in Georgia have become my family. And even, for the separation from my family back in Utah. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
  29. For the temple. I love the Lord's house and for my chance to enter into it! Some of the missionaries in the GANM had the chance to attend a session. It was a cool experience being there with so many people I know, and also for seeing two families from my two past areas. The temple is about families... as I sat in that beautiful place I realized that my family far extends my Beasley people and reaches out to all those whom I love. Is there anything better than eternity?
  30. For emotion. It's pretty incredible to be able to experience so many different thoughts and feelings while out here.

This is just a fraction of all the things I have to be thankful for. I know that even if I was to make a detailed list of thanksgiving, that I would be missing many things because the Lord blesses me in ways that I don't always see and in ways I haven't yet been experienced!  D&C 78: 17-18 reads, "Verily, verily I say unto you, ye are little children and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you; and ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."
The Lord is good
Life is good.
What's ahead is good.
Bottom line, it's all good.
I love y'all!
-Sister Beasley

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