BUS 110-Ashley Alexander

One of the key principles that resonated with me during this past week is found in Matthew 6:33- "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." When I was little in children's church, (that's what they called it, I grew up Pentecostal) I heard this for the first time at church, through music. And though it didn't make sense to me then, it has stuck with me throughout the years and now, as an adult, is very relevant to how I attempt to live my life each day. When I am busy with work, school, or family, it's simple to let other priorities take precedence over putting God first. However, this last week helped remind me of what the Savior teaches. By putting God first in our lives, the remainder of our priorities will seem easier to manage. Christ taught many lessons on the mount in addition to teaching us specific actions. He also taught us about becoming certain people. To have a heart that is meek, p...

One thing that kept running through my mind this past week was when Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. Jesus had fasted for 40 days and then he was tempted. What I kept thinking about was how Jesus not only taught us about how to deal with temptations, but more importantly, He actually dealt with them himself. To me, this is important, as life can be overwhelming at times. As a mom of four; a full-time employee; while I am completing school, I know I have days (or weeks) where I may feel overwhelmed. I recently experienced one of those days. On this day, everything seemed to come due at the same time. All of my children needed me at some point during the day. I had multiple work deadlines coming due and I truly felt like I was "losing" everywhere I looked. By the end of that long day, I was both very frustrated and quite physically exhausted. My first instinct, as many people do, was simply to go at it head on and hope for the best. But a few hours later, once things ...

I learned something really beautiful about who God is from Hosea 11:8–9 . The Lord talks about His people who have turned away from Him many times. But He doesn't get mad or give up. Instead, He says that His " heart is turned within " and His " repentings are kindled together ." That feels so personal to me. This proves that God's love stays with us even when we fail. When we do something wrong, his kindness doesn't go away. It stays, waits, and keeps trying to reach out to us. I got a better understanding of the Atonement after reading this. Christ doesn't just forget about us. He loves us even as we work to improve. Instead of waiting for us to be perfect, he works with us while we are still flawed. This helps me remember that I can always go back to God because He never leaves His children. His love gives me hope and makes me want to teach the truth with more kindness, just like He treats me with kindness.

This week, as I studied the Old Testament, the reminders in Jeremiah and Lamentations to turn to the Lord when things get too much helped me. The people in these chapters had made decisions that caused real pain and had real effects on their lives. The Lord still told them to come back to Him, and He promised that His kindness would be there for them. Lamentations 3:22–23 really remained with me because it says that the Lord's blessings "are new every morning." It made me think of a song from my childhood as soon as I read it. As a child, I remember singing a song in church called "New Every Morning." The words always made me feel better. Reading this verse in the Scriptures made me feel hopeful again, as if the Lord were gently telling me that every day is a new chance to start over. The Lord is telling us to come back. "I can fix this." When I turn to Him, I have felt that peace many times in my own life. I'm thankful that I can start ov...

The Lord says in Isaiah 55:1–3, "Come, all ye that thirst, come ye to the waters." I feel like the Savior is calling me personally every time I read these verses. It reminds me that God's compassion and kindness are not only for a few people; they are for everyone. He only wants us to come as we are. We don't have to be flawless before we can talk to Him. We don't have to "earn" His love or check off a list of things we've done before we may be worthy of His presence. The phrase "without money and without price" reminds me that the blessings of the gospel are free gifts of grace that come from His never-ending love. When I'm emotionally drained or spiritually stretched thin, this verse means even more to me. The Savior really is the "living water." His peace restores our souls when life gets too much, He knows what my heart needs even when I can't say it. This verse reminds me to slow down and make time for Him in my life ...

This week I really focused on Isaiah Chapter 6:8. For me, this verse means that God has given power to anyone he wants to use for his work. In Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah quickly says, "Send me" in response to God's call. I think this verse means that if God asks you to do something, He will give you the strength to do it. The fact that Isaiah replied, "Here I am," shows that he was ready and trusted God's plan. This is how I felt when I first joined the church. At first, I didn't believe I was strong enough to do what God asked me to do. But this verse gave me hope because it told me that if I listen to God's call with an open heart, He will give me the help, faith, and direction I need to do what He has asked me to do. I’ve experienced this in my life when I was asked to help others, or take on roles at the church. The Lord always took care of me and led me, even when I didn't know where to start. These past few days, I've been thinking about...