The Greatest Commandments

Recently I attended an event where a group of friends and I got together to hang out for a couple of days. It was fun for the most part, but at night time when I went to bed, I felt deeply lonely. It wasn't just that I had gone to bed before anybody else, and was actually alone. I can handle being alone just fine, and usually love it. I just can't handle feeling lonely.
So I opened my scriptures. I found Matthew 22:36-40, which reads

  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 This is the first and great commandment.

 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Then I realized something. If God loves us, everything he asks of us is meant to make us happy. And if these two commandments are the greatest things he asks us to live by, they will make us the happiest.

I still felt lonely afterwards, but it wasn't nearly as bad, because I had a solution. That solution is love.

Created in His Image

I love receiving and giving letters. To me, seeing a person's handwriting is like seeing a piece of who they really are. I was communicating this to my Father in Heaven one day last week, and I felt him telling me that there was a way to see his handwriting, too.
It is in the trees. It is in how moonlight reflects on the water. But mostly, it is in us, his sons and daughters, who are created in his image, that he communicates himself.
We each have a piece of him in us. We have pieces of his soul. We are his.

Birthdays

I am fifteen. Like it usually does, my birthday has reminded me of how strange the passing of years is (as well as how loved I am and how much love I have). Every year I expect that I will magically be stronger, wiser, and generally better due to the fact that I'm a year older. Then I discover that nothing has changed suddenly.
Rather, I have changed by degrees so small that I myself don't even notice until a few years later. The change from twelve to thirteen, thirteen to fourteen, and now fourteen to fifteen has been marked only by my anticipation of the number that now defines how long I have lived on this earth. I have been much the same from the 10th of January to the 11th. But I am not the same person I was three years ago. If that person and who I am today were put together side by side, they wouldn't be recognizable as the same person (save by physical appearance).
So, all I can do is realize that wisdom is not marked by how much time passes by, but rather by what we do with that time in making ourselves better. And wait for my sixteenth birthday, when I will obviously be so much wiser, because who isn't when they turn sixteen.

A Question for the Scholar

Here's a question to ask as you pursue your education and studies:
How are you going to change your character based on what you have learned about this subject?

Because, really, this is the purpose of the most noble education: making changes in order to become a better person. A person who can change the world for the better.

The Christmas Star

One day a couple of weeks ago I was listening to some Christmas music, and a song came on that talked about the star above Bethlehem. I do not remember which song it was, because a lot of songs talk about that same thing. But it made me think about that star.
You guys probably know all of this stuff that I'm going to write about today, but it was an epiphany for me. Before this I did not really know why people cared about this star so much. Yeah, I was glad that it was there, because it showed people where Jesus was. Other than that  it didn't really matter to me.
Here's what I learned:
That star was visible to everybody. But not everybody who saw it realized its significance.
Christ shows us the way to salvation through himself, as that star led people to him.
Christ gives the world spiritual light, just as that star shining so brightly provided physical light.
Christ provides direction in our life. When we are confronted with different options, all claiming to give us happiness, he shows us what to choose. This star showed these wise men that the way to eternal happiness didn't lie with their gold and riches. He laid in a stable in Bethlehem.

"O Star of wonder, star of light
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light."
-We Three Kings of Orient Are

Elaini Garfield- Fundraising for Orphans in India

Hey everybody, I'm trying to raise money to donate to orphans in India. I am working with Elaini Garfield, who you can learn more about here:
http://therebelution.com/blog/2013/11/misselainious-help-me-reach-100k-for-orphans-in-india/#.Uq_qWvRDuSp

This is a really great opportunity.

Here's what she says about it:
"I partner with Warm Blankets Orphan Care.  Warm Blankets is a non-profit Christian mission, dedicated to the rescue and care of orphans and widows in developing nations. There, children are raised, not in cold institutions, but in loving church orphan homes.  The children become a part of a nurturing family environment where special care is given to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. It is a safe haven.

All contributions go directly to helping the orphans in India and every donation is tax deductible.  Devastated by war, disease, natural disaster or political turmoil, these children receive medical help, protection from trafficking and are given a future and a hope through educational opportunities. The children attend private school with their peers and are taught skills that will enable them to become productive citizens. ESL programs and computer training are just a portion of the instruction that equips the children with skills to further the economic progress in their native countries.  From orphaned or abandoned, to an educated and discipled participant in society, each child learns that they were created with a purpose, hope, and future."

I would so appreciate any donations. If you would like to donate, you can either donate directly to her or give me the money so I can give it to her.

Here's a Facebook page for this:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/India-Fundraising-2013/538240639587655

Words and Music

When somebody says something in words, it is generally difficult to dispute what they mean to say. Words have an objective meaning, so even though there are many different nuances to most things people say, there are not, compared to music, a lot of meanings. Music, though, is different. When you hear a song, there are so many different ways to hear it. The way it was meant to be heard might not be the way a hearer interprets it. It can speak to people in completely different ways depending on experiences, personality, and current mood. When combined, these are beautiful. When the words people choose to complement their music fits perfectly, it is something to be wondered at and respected. And when the words and music are both uplifting, it is truly sublime.