How do we get through our trials, and not just squeak by, but grow and become more than we were before?
That's the 100 million dollar question in this day and age. Allow me to share two different approaches. These come from a talk given by Carol Wilkinson at BYU that my mother shared with me a few years ago. It helped me change the way I was responding to my challenges the first time I read it. It did so again when it fell out of a folder that I had taken out from my memory box a couple of weeks ago. 
In her speech, Carol explains the following:
Our Father in Heaven wants us to become like Him, and in so doing He wants us to overcome the world and influence of Satan. Difficulties in life allow us to find out how much we need the divine strength and love of our Father. As we reach out to God, we can find and experience His goodness and want to be like Him. Satan also wants us to be like him-evil and miserable-and so he seeks to overcome us and thwart us. Elder Henry B. Eyring said, "The great test of life is...not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage."

As difficulties come into our lives, there are two ways to approach them. The first leads to allowing yourself to be influenced and overcome by Satan. It consists of not exhibiting any faith, ignoring spiritual promptings, and refusing to seek for divine help and instead relying on your own abilities. When difficulties come and they're not resolved quickly, you may just feel extremely irritated. 
It consists of the following steps.
Step 1: Your plan is thwarted; you become baffled and questioning
Step 2: Faith doesn't bring the desired results; you become hurt and doubtful
Step 3: You set conditions
Step 4: Your desire is not met; you become angry, bitter and rebellious

The second approach leads to overcoming the world and the influence of Satan through having faith in Christ. With this we are obedient, plead for help and exhibit faith. 
It consists of the following steps:
Step 1: Your plan is thwarted; you trust God and ask different questions.
Things are not going according to your plan. You don't understand why things are going wrong. You know Heavenly Father could solve the problem, as He is omnipotent. Yet you don't know the meaning of all things, so, remembering times when He has come through for you in the past, you decide to absolutely trust in God.
Step 2: Faith doesn't bring desired results; you ask for strength
When your faith doesn't bring the results you desire and you struggle with the trial, your need to ask for strength. I love that she doesn't say that your should pray for strength, but that you need to, you must pray for strength.  This is so important, and I realized that it was okay for me to pray for strength, in fact, that Heavenly Father wanted to give it to me, I just needed to ask for it.
Step 3: You are not consumed with the trial; you focus on the good things in your life
Focus on the good things in your life, not what you don't have.  Choose to be happy. This puts our happiness in our own court, for I do believe that to a certain extent, how we feel is our choice.
Step 4: You consecrate your life to God; you draw closer to Him
Continue to feast on the word of God and have faith. Be willing to spend more time with God; desire it with all your heart. Make the time to pray fervently while being willing to submit to His will, serve Him by serving others, spend time in meaningful meditation, and attend the temple with a worshipful attitude.

Shining individuals who are sensitive to others who are struggling-sensitive because of he pain they've felt, which helps them know better how to succor others-mirror in a very small way the way Christ succors us. Ultimately, through this process, we can become one with Him and our Father. So we become like Him and then overcome the world through faith in our Savior.




I think it is imperative that we realize that Satan is the one influencing us to choose approach number 1. Here's a good question to ask yourself when you are going through, well, anything: Whose agenda is this supporting?  If we are angry with the Lord because of what's going on in our lives, we are supporting Satan's agenda; we are giving in to him, exactly what he wants! I hope that in responding to our trials we will each choose to have faith, trust in our Father in Heaven absolutely, ask for strength, focus on the good, and draw closer to Him. 

Lots of Love,

Last weekend was amazing! I look forward to conference weekend every fall and spring and it always goes by way too fast! This gospel is true! The words spoken by our prophet, the general authorities and all the leaders of this church, speak through our Heavenly Father. They are here to guide and protect us in such a world of unrest, disappointment, and trial. They give us hope and light the path for us to find happiness here on Earth as we make our way back to our Heavenly Father. President Thomas S. Monson is an amazing prophet. He shows concern for the Lords children all over the world and brings comfort as he testifies of the things which we should do. As he closed Sunday evening, he stated:

"Let us be of good cheer as we go about our lives. Although we live in increasingly perilous times, the Lord loves us and is mindful of us. He is always on our side as we do what is right. He will help us in time of need. Difficulties come into our lives, problems we do not anticipate and which we would never choose. None of us is immune. The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father, and it is often during the difficult times that we learn the most, as painful as the lessons may be. Our lives can also be filled with joy as we follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

"We offer our heartfelt gratitude to all who have participated in any way. The truths of the gospel have been beautifully taught and reemphasized. As we take the messages of the past two days into our hearts and into our lives, we will be blessed." 

"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
"And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage." Mosiah 24:15-16


For the past 9 months, I have been studying for my PTC (personal training certificate) test. When I first began, I didn't know how to study the material I was handed. My brain wasn't functioning the way that it was supposed to. Let me back up a little bit....
In February of 2009, I was involved in an ice skating accident. I fell forward while trying to attempt a Walze Jump, smacking my head on the ice. One quick ambulance ride and 9 hours later, I woke up in ICU. Thats right, the blow to my head knocked me cold for 9 hours. I don't remember a thing. It took some digging to figure out who I was since I didn't have my ID with me and I was alone. Luckily there was a girl there who recognized me from class, first miracle. The paramedics called my Aunt Sandi who happened to have the whole Inkley clan at her home for a sibling dinner and they were able to contact my mom this way, miracle number 2. The whole family drove down to see how I was doing but the doctors weren't saying much. They were all pretty much preparing for the worst. After scans and tests, they confirmed there was no bleeding in my brain, no fractures, and that I suffered a major concussion with a moderate brain injury...third miracle considering it could have been a LOT worse! I had to drop most of my classes that semester and was out of work for a little over 6 weeks. I basically had to allow time for my brain to heal. I attended therapy and rested a lot! because of this injury, I have had jaw issues including surgery, continuing headaches and migraines, and I have had to re-learn new ways of studying.

I have been given a priesthood blessing that I will make a full recovery and that I would be ok. It has been almost 4 years and I am still fighting the symptoms caused by this traumatic fall. I decided during my last fall semester I needed to go back to therapy. I was put on a wait list and didn't get in until after I had already begun this course through NASM. By this time I was so frustrated and nothing was sticking. I didn't know how to study and was running out of options. Ally, my therapist at TOSH Neurology has been great! She helped me get back on track and has geven me ways to work on improving my short term memory, multi-tasking, and other little study tips.
Over the summer I became distracted. I have never been the one to take courses through the summer. It is my favorite season and I just enjoy playing and going on vacation and having fun. Well, I started this internship in June, plus I was trying to study like mad. This didn't give me much time to have fun for myself. I missed our bear lake trip! I feel as though I have been studying non-stop, and the time has finally come. My test is just around the corner. I was supposed to be taking it as we speak, but the testing center somehow didn't get me on their schedule, so now I am taking it Tuesday morning. This gives me more time to study and prepare, however, now I have to take time off work to do it. But the more I think about it, this was a blessing. I really wasn't ready to take it today and now I have more time to really get down the things I need to know to be successful...
I have prayed for strength and understanding of what I am supposed to learn. I have prayed for an increased knowledge as I put in the time and effort and discover new ways of studying. I have had to work at it and as I do my part, I know my Heavenly Father will bless me. 
This week, I have had many other wonderful things happen...I got approved to refinance my car and this has been a HUGE blessing in my life. I have made many mistakes when it has come to buying cars and I am learning my lesson...the hard way. But now I know what NOT to do when it comes to buying a new car. I also successfully passed my CPR and AED training and am certified! That was such a great feeling of success! Just the thing I needed to boost my confidence knowing that I CAN DO THIS! The Lord is there in time of need! I have felt his presence so strongly in the past couple of weeks as I have moved my scripture study time to the morning. It is a great way to start my day and this way I know I will have time for it. 

"If you put Jesus Christ first, he will tell you what comes second."

Well, I have to get back to studying, but stay tuned for more....I have plenty more to share relating to general conference! 

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be truly humble by recognizing our nothingness compared to God. Just when you feel you finally "get" something about life, or that you just "get" life, you learn something else that makes you "get it" again. Translation: We as human beings aren't even beginning to scratch the surface of God's knowledge and marvels.
When I think I've seen the most beautiful sunset and that I'll never experience anything to top it in this life, when I feel depressed because that moment is gone, another moment occurs and I see a more beautiful one. When I've had an experience that's amazing and think life can't get any better, the Lord proves me wrong by showing and blessing me or those around me with an even more amazing experience.

There will always be more. More sunsets, more calm spring nights, more crisp mountain mornings, more enchanting holiday seasons with snow and lights all aglow. There's more revelations, more inspiring words, more moving music, more touching portraits and photos, more scriptures that speak to you in a new way. God always has more. There is never an end to His glory, His works, and His love.
I have sooooo much to learn here and I want to ask, seek and open myself up to all that He has to offer.

Look for the sunlight in the sunsets Y'all!

At times in our life, things can become so hectic and chaotic that we forget to see the tiny miracles and blessings in our life. Our Heavenly Father is so aware of us and what we are dealing with day to day. He wants us to be happy and he wants the best for us. As we make our journey through life, we will have bad days. We will have disappointments and frustrations. There will be times we may want to give up. Stop! Look around and try to see the positive. Try to look at a horrible situation in a positive light. I promise, you will find good in every situation. Sometimes it may take a bit of deeper digging to see and understand. But our Heavenly Father will never leave us alone.

There are so many little things in which He blesses our life with. Sometimes, we don't take the time to realize how blessed we are. Life is not easy. We will be asked to do many things and endure many trials. But as long as we keep believing in faith, knowing he will provide a way, we will be blessed. Open your eyes and see your own blessings in your life. 
“[The Lord] will not permit us to fail if we do our part. He will magnify us even beyond our own talents and abilities. … It is one of the sweetest experiences that can come to a human being” Ezra Taft Benson