Repentance isn't scary!

As a child I always that repentance was something scary and should make me feel bad. That is so not the case! Sin is scary and makes us feel bad, repentance makes us feel better!

I am walking, living proof that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. That it works. I am eternally grateful for Him and His sacrifice.

My favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon is Moroni 6:8. It says, "But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness with real intent, they were forgiven." I love this scripture because I am CONSTANTLY messing up. But I don't mean to! Jesus Christ understands that. And as long as we are TRULY trying to become better and not sin anymore, we will be forgiven no matter what.

I was reflecting on my life and some of the major mistakes I have made. I realized that I had a lot of regrets. I knelt and prayed because they were weighing on me and I didn't realize they were. As I was praying to God, a thought entered my mind, that as long as I learned and am trying to be better, then they cannot be regrets. In fact quite the opposite. They are GOOD learning opportunities. I pondered that thought a lot and came up with a quote, it is:

"Regrets are made into good learning experiences, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." 

-Christine Eastwood

I don't know if you like it, but I do! Through Jesus Christ we are able to gain ultimate happiness through EVERYTHING. Please go to Him in your hard times, don't turn away. Another cheesy quote by me:

"When you look back, don't be ashamed. That person in the past made you who you are today. "

-Christine Eastwood

If I could teach only one thing for the rest of my life to others, I would tell them about Jesus Christ and his Atoning sacrifice. It is the way to have ultimate happiness now and in the eternities. It is the way that we are able to live with God again. It is the way that we can have our burdens taken from us. It is the way we can be forgiven. It is the way that we gain strength.

So I want to relate a little story of what happened today to repentance.

Today I totally biffed it hardcore on my bicycle. I landed on my knee, and rolled, scraping up my knee really bad, my hands, elbows and legs as well. I got back up and we finished our ride to the Library. We went to the bathroom so I could clean up. Well let me tell you, It HURT! Here is a picture collage of the whole experience!

It really doesn't look too bad in the picture... Well now I feel like a pansy, but still! I am going to post this...

Anyways, me failing to ride a bike can be related to repentance. :)

So I was hurt and everything right? So we are in the bathroom and I assess the situation. I'm not bleeding to death, so I run my leg under water to wash it. Well Daddy always taught me to be prepared, so I had an alcohol wipe, neosporin and band-aids with me! So after I rinsed off my knee, I cleaned it with the alcohol wipe. After that I put the neosporin on it to keep it from getting any worse and to help it heal. Then I placed band-aids over it. (Yes I used a lot of band-aids because they make everything feel better, just ask a 3 year old.)

We are going to fall, sin and mess up constantly, but because of Jesus Christ, we are able to lifted and cleaned up and healed. We are not promised instant cures. We have slower healing processes because we can learn better that way. We will remember the lessons we learned from them more. As I was prepared with simple band-aids and neosporin, Jesus Christ had prepared for us the ability to be forgiven and lifted.

I want to just bear a simple testimony that because Jesus lives, we don't have to scared of the unknown. He is our healer. He is there for us when we need him. He will never abandon us. Jesus is the way. He is truly our Savior.

Marriage... From The Point of View of a Kid.

I am not married, but I hope one day I will get the chance! I am just a 20 year old kid. But last night I was reading in a Church Magazine about blessing the lives of your kids by strengthening your marriage and it really got me thinking, I would like to share some of my thoughts!

Here is a blurry picture of my parents! 

As I reflected on what I read, I looked a lot at my parents marriage. My parents are not perfect by any means, but they have very loving Marriage!

My parents always say loving and kind things about one another to us kids. I never have heard my parents bash on each other, they only praise each other. When I talk to my dad he talks about my mom as she is the most beautiful woman on earth. You can tell the love and respect he has for her. When I talk to my mom, she tells me about how smart and successful my dad is. You can tell she respects and loves him. I have been able to see the good qualities in my parents amplified by the way they talk about each other.

My parents hug and kiss a lot. Gross right? Well only when you are a kid it's gross, but as I am a little more grown up, I can see that it was one of the many ways that they express their love. A hug and kiss hello and goodbye was comforting to me, to know that my parents loved each other no matter what. It was also their way of getting us kids to leave the room! Ha just had to throw that in there! But seriously, they weren't afraid to show  their affection in front of us kids. So we knew that no matter what they were united and in love.

Me at Graduation Day with my Two AMAZING parents who helped get me their, through love and support.

My parents go on a date every Friday night without fail. As a child it really bugged me, because I wanted to go on those dates! They seemed so fun! But no, my parents always made me stay home with my brothers. I can see now how important those few hours were to my parents. To be together, to talk and spend quality time together. It is something that I want to apply in my future marriage. I think it is incredible how much those few hours every week blessed my family.

There are many reasons my parents have had a successful marriage, but the main thing I believe, is that they focused on Jesus Christ. They both work on are their relationship with God and Jesus. Because they do that, they are able to grow closer to God, each other and us kids. As they pray for our family and for each other, love and peace increases. As they keep the commandments and strive to guild a strong bond with God, they bring so many blessings to our family! I am so grateful for my parents and their example to me. I love them so much! They are incredible.

Like I said before, I am just kid and this is my perspective. My parents are not perfect, but they do a few things right, that's for sure!

The article I read was about parents blessing the lives of their children by having a strong and successful marriage. As a kid, I KNOW THIS IS TRUE! I am so grateful for my parents who are willing to put a lot of things aside and on hold so they can grow stronger together. Because they are strong and united in love, our lives our blessed.

BLACKMAIL! Just kidding. This is a big joke in my family, but we always know how to laugh and have a good time no matter what!

There is so much love in our family and that is due to my parents loving relationship they have with each other. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and my Parents for the life that I have today!

Read the Article Below!

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/09/blessing-our-children-by-improving-our-marriages?lang=eng

My Testimony For Life :)

For the past 17.5 months I have been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This has been the best experience I have had my whole life. I have been reflecting on my testimony of the Gospel the past few days.

Please read my testimony below.

I have read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. I know that it is the word of God. I know that God let us have additional scripture to the Bible so that we can know even more how to follow Christ in our lives. As we follow the teachings of Jesus we will be able to gain eternal happiness and glory in the life to come. I love the Book of Mormon with all my heart. I can not explain the joy and the knowledge it has brought me. It is my favorite book on the earth. I can not, nor will I ever deny the powerful truthfulness of it. Because of the Book of Mormon, I don't just believe in Jesus Christ, but I KNOW for a fact that He lives and loves each one of us. 

I encourage EVERYONE to read it. 

When Jesus Christ was on the earth he established his church and how we were to uphold it. Some of those things he established are: 

• That it bears the name of Jesus Christ
• It has a foundation of Apostles and Prophets and they must be called by God
• It has divine priesthood authority from God
• It has no paid ministry
• It baptizes by immersion
• It teaches that we need to receive the gift Holy Ghost
• It practices divine healing
• It teaches that God and Jesus Christ are separate individuals
• It must teach that Jesus Christ and God have bodies of flesh and bone
• It claims revelation from God
• It must be a missionary church
• It practices baptisms for the dead

Once again those are some things that when Jesus Christ was on the earth he established. But as the people in the times back then were wicked, they killed the Apostles of Jesus Christ and those teachings were lost. There were many people who wanted to follow Christ and knew a few of the teachings, so they followed what they remembered, but no one had EVERYTHING that Christs taught because His authority was gone from the earth. There began to be many churches built up trying to follow what they remembered from Christ. Thousands of years later, when people were humbled enough to receive the Church of Jesus Christ again, it was ready to be restored.

There was a young boy named Joseph Smith who was wondering which of the many churches was true. He kept hearing from all different religions that theirs was true, and yet their doctrine disagreed and so on. He was so confused and honestly just wanted to know which church was true so that he wouldn't be damned to hell. He read in the Bible in James 1:5 that says. "If any of ye lack wisdom let him ask of God..." So that is what he did. He knelt down with a humble heart and asked God which church was true. God the Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph Smith and told him many things. To read about his account click here: https://www.lds.org/topics/joseph-smith/testimony?lang=eng 

Joseph Smith restored Jesus Christ's church in these latter days. Joseph Smith was called of God to be a prophet in these days. He was chosen to restore Christ's original church. I don't know why it was Joseph Smith, it had to be somebody right? But I am so very grateful for him. I know that he was called and chosen by God to bring about this amazing Church of Christ we have today. All those things that Christ established thousands of years ago are BACK. They are here today for each of us. Christ and God want us to have the blessings that we will receive as we follow him. They love each one of us and have given us a chance to partake of such pure joy, all we have to do is take the opportunity.

Take the opportunity to find out if this church is Christ's true church.

Because God is the same yesterday, today and forever, there are prophets and apostles on the earth today. Today Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of God. Once again, I don't know why it is him, but it had to be someone right? I am so grateful for Thomas S. Monson. I didn't know if he was a true prophet, but I prayed and asked God, and I know in my heart with out a doubt that He is a prophet chosen of God. 

I am so eternally in debt to Jesus Christ. He is the best brother anyone could ask for. He sacrificed everything so that each one of us can be forgiven of our sins, be resurrected and have the chance to live with Him and God again for eternity. I can't put into words how much I love our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one who makes everyday possible. He is the one who I can turn to when times get hard. He is always there for me. He is the reason I can do hard things.

             It is all Jesus Christ.

Everything in my life is possible because of Jesus Christ. I am so eternally grateful for His sacrifice and for His church he established thousands of years ago, that has been restored today. I know He lives. 

I am total goober. I don't know a whole lot of anything in this world. BUT I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is true. I know that it is here today on the earth. I know Christ Lives. I know we have prophets today. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know God answers our prayers. I know that this is the way the Christ has asked us to follow him. I know all these things because I have prayed about it. 

Pray to God and ask him about the truthfulness of the things I have testified about. I know He will answer your prayers and you WILL be blessed. 

As I said at the beginning, I have been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I may only have a few weeks as a full time missionary, but I will always and forever be a disciple of Christ. I know He lives and I will always strive to testify of Him. I am so imperfect that I know I will mess up, but that is the beauty of Christ's Grace, we can be forgiven. 

I am a life-time follower of Christ. 

(Shout out to Michelle Belnap for the Awesome pictures as well as LDS.ORG)