“O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”

What does it mean to give ALL your heart, might, mind and strength? How much is your all? What does it truly mean to do our best?

I don’t know the answer to that question yet, but I am working on it! I have learned a lot this week about hustling. “Hustle while you wait” is my new motto, along with “When you can’t walk, run.” I have found it is the key to success! Athletes say that when you ‘give it all you got, you still have 40% left in you to give.” I think we can say the same in all aspects of our life. Emotionally (heart) Spiritually (might) mentally (mind) and physically (strength). Are we living up to our potential or are we simply floating through life?

Every transfer is a grind for sure. This transfer has stretched me further than I thought possible- and in such a way that I found great joy! It is almost like Starbursts. When you try to break them at room-temp, they are hard to break and usually just snap in half. But when you hold them over the fire for a bit, they become all soft and stretchy, until eventually they are almost liquid! That fire is the refiners fire that God blesses us with! It is a burn of struggle, followed by the sanctifying fire of the Holy Ghost that softens our hearts until they overflow with joy and love! I feel constant burning and joy throughout my days in Albany 🙂

One way I have been stretched and softened is through some of the leadership responsibilities. This week was straight fire! Started with last Sunday, speaking in sacrament, (keep in mind, public speaking tends to give me a lot of anxiety… many prayers were being said) then we gave a 50 minute training to the Zone then we went to Utica for an MLC then that night was blitz (where another set of sisters comes to our area and works) and today we will have another blitz! With all of that, Sister Smith has been going through the wringer with preparing to go home and the death of her grandfather she is very close to. But after the fire, there comes the blessings! I feel much more comfortable speaking in front of large groups, I was able to feel the enabling power of Christ as I prayed hard to speak with the spirit, I have grown a deep love for the sisters in our area as I have studied with them and prayed for them and worked with them. I have come to realize that happiness has nothing to do with our situation and everything with our attitude. I have found healing and strength through service and have found that because of God, I can do anything I set my mind to! I have been able to recognize my own nothingness, things I need to improve on, ways I must repent, I have learned from the other missionaries, the teachings of the prophet and the ancient scriptures. I have felt great joy in the success of those I love- in our investigators progression and in sharing this great message with new faces! (Laurie and Aaliyah are doing incredible by the way!) As I contemplate all the Savior did for me while suffering in the garden and willingly giving His life- fully giving His ALL to the father, I am filled with deep gratitude. I will never understand the least degree of what He went through. No one can! But what I do know is that He gave His all to God to help us give our all. I know I can do better! With high love comes high expectations and I will always strive to do my very best. Christ set the perfect example and asked us all to follow Him.”

In conclusion, I will share an experience from MLC. President Rogers gave us a training on leadership. We watched some ‘game film’ and as I watched ‘the death crawl scene’ tears started flowing. Broc, the team captain makes some discouraging comment about the upcoming game. The coach in turn has him come to the end of the field. He asks him to do the death crawl to the 50′ mark. He looks him in the eyes and says “I want you do give me your very best.” He then blindfolds him and has another teammate hop on his back. As Broc begins, he goes strong, but soon he becomes weak. He says he cant go anymore but during the whole scene the coach gets down by him and yells words of love and encouragement. As Broc yells, “It hurts!” the coach says, “I know it hurts, but you told me you’d do your best, keep going.” When they reach the end, Broc collapses in the END ZONE. The coach leans down and says, “If you walk around defeated, so will they,” and more advice continues. As leaders and as children of God we cannot walk around defeated! I don’t have time to connect the analogy to life, but please watch the video and think of what it means to you!

I invite you all to do your best, give it your all! Go hard! When you’ve given your all, give 40% more! I know that we have such a higher potential than we think! Pray- ask God to help you. I know that He will show you you are far more able than you dreamed! Jesus Christ is our coach. Trust Him! Follow Him!