Our True Identity

Today you readers are going to do a little activity with me. Yay! (I know, you love it!)

If you want to leave your answers in the comments, that would be great! I know you will help others with your testimony! But if they are too personal to share, then by all means, it had better go in a journal or something. I won't be offended :)

Fill this out in your head or on a piece of paper (or in my comments. That's great too!)

(Alright people, don't quit! I promise this is an uplifting exercise! I'm not trying to be gloomy)

Wait wait! But this post isn't supposed to be gloomy!

Soooo..... What I like/don't like about myself______________________________________________

Names I have called myself in the mirror (keep it PG, kids) _____________________________

What I wish I could be like______________________________________________________

What I would do if I weren't scared_______________________________________________

Now do this part honestly:

Times I have complemented myself today (hard to remember?) ______________________________

Times I have thought negatively about my situation, appearance, skills, gifts, etc today _______________

If you are anything like me (and the rest of the world) then there are a ton of things you would change about yourself, tons of opportunities you hold yourself back from because of fear, little good about you that you see, lots you wish you could have, and there are more negative thoughts about your life than there are positive.

Why is this? It's sad really.

There is so many more uplifting things you can do than point out the wrong in your life. But we do it all the time, self-consciously. When you look in the mirror, give yourself a break! Nobody is perfect!

So, now, wipe all those negative thoughts about yourself away. (Thanks Eliza. You just made me unhappy. Now what am I supposed to do?!) It might take a little work. Need some help? Watch this video: (Please, it is only like 3 minutes long, and I promise it will help change those negative feelings to positive ones)

Okay, that was a tear-jerker. But it is so true! Who has ever felt like the ugly duckling? Like no one loves him/her, like they are unusually large (I am SO there with you, bro) or ugly or untalented. The world taunts you because of your imperfections. But that is because they don't know who we will be.

Heavenly Father sees us as we truly are and who we can become. When you look into the mirror next time, I hope you can see beyond imperfections, and see the true beauty that lies within you.

So try this again:

What I like about myself_____________________________________________________________

What I can do to remind myself of my true worth (like putting a sticky note on the mirror to remind you to not let those criticizing thoughts creep up on you, but that you are a child of God) __________________

What I will do now_________________________________________________________________

Things I am grateful for, reasons I am grateful for being me____________________________________

If I were to meet Uchtdorf, what I would say to him :) ________________________________________

How I can help others realize they are swans________________________________________________


I feel like I use this topic a lot, but I think it is really important. Remember that God made you who you are, that all trials will work together for your good, and that you are a swan. Even if you feel like an ugly duckling, you truly are a swan!!

<3 Eliza

Lessons from the Principals Office

So today during the last ten minutes of school, I find myself sitting uncomfortably in Mr. Fidelibus's office (isn't that an AWESOME name for a vice principal? Anyway...). This morning started out kinda stormy, I felt sick, seminary wasn't too great (I hate it when that happens), I had a quiz later that I hadn't studied enough for, yadda yadda yadda. The end of the day was the only part that was actually fun for me, hanging out with friends during activity period, and now I was missing it.

He was dealing with another student, so it gives the next victim (me) time to have the wheels in my head turning about what I did wrong. Frantically, I grasped about what I could've possibly done. I hadn't skipped fourth period lately (or ever), I didn't cus at a girl or punch a boy. But still, being in that office scares me. It felt like the walls were going to close down and tell me all the mistakes I had done and that I would have to stay after school for the forsaken detention. Scary, right? (I think I've actually had nightmares about the principals office)

Well, nothing was wrong! I was only being asked to stand as a witness in an act that I had seen happen. I had thought I was innocent, but to hear him tell me "you're not in trouble" was so nice.

I was thinking about that. Life is like this. It starts out a little troublesome maybe, there's some mistakes and trials we need to go through, but by the end we should be all clean and joyful, with a strong family and testimony and joy and peace because we've repented. Then all of a sudden, we are summoned away (however, it will probably be joyful, not "bummer I don't get to talk with my friends." Although... I guess we will miss our family members for a short while...). Anyway, we die. We go to the spiritual "waiting room" and then we finally get called into God's office. I don't know about you, but I think it would be the most amazing thing to hear "you're not in trouble" from my Father in a Heaven. I want to stand as a witness for Jesus Christ.

To make sure we can have that peace in this life and in the next, we need to constantly be reflecting on our actions and faith. Are we on the path God would have us be on? Are we praying? Is there anything we need to repent of?

I want to be ready.

I am so grateful for my Savior, who makes it possible to be forgiven of our sins and to have the peace and feel the Spirit.

<3 Eliza

Ps. Oh! And I finally added pics and memes to the pics and memes page! Thanks for bring patient. :D