Optimism & Confidence.

What a fantastic Sunday! Sundays give me headaches, I'm not gonna lie. I'm usually happy to get out of church, get some dinner, and have a nap, which was my plan for this Sunday, too.
With it being ward conference, we had ward council meeting with the stake presidency. . it was awesome! They had given us a copy of a talk given by Henry B. Eyring titled "The Wise Optimist". He had given it at a Regional Stake Conference on Oct 28, 2007. When they gave it to us about a month ago, they requested that we read through it, and pray and ponder it, being ready to discuss it in ward council meeting on this particular Sunday. Instead of talking to us about it, President Merrell asked us to go around the circle and talk about the things that most impressed us. It was a very spiritual meeting. . and everyone had such profound thoughts. The talk was really good anyway, but to hear the thoughts & opinions of the people in our very own ward was so uplifting. The spirit was amazing.
The rest of the meetings were nice, too, but after church my head was really pounding. I was starving, and I needed some meds to fix the head. Shane had worked 9 twelve-hour graveyard shifts in a row, and Sunday night was his only night off before he worked two more. We were planning on napping after church. I had actually gotten home, traded all church attire for my comfy sweats, and was trying to throw something quick with nutritional value together for a dinner, and my good friend Arlene called to see if I wanted to ride with her and Chris to the Stake youth fireside. Thank goodness she called because I probably wouldn't have gone at all.
It was an awesome fireside! Brother Olsen is an amazing speaker. I wish I could be as interesting as he is when I'm speaking or teaching. He talked about having confidence. The way to increase our confidence is to work hard to give up one of our vices. Just overcoming a small weakness gives us better confidence. We feel better about ourselves knowing we can overcome that and gain more self control. And having more confidence helps us to give up another bad habit and we gain even more confidence. He also talked about how things around us now are instant gratification. We don't have to wait for anything anymore. The youth today are so used to getting everything right now. They don't have to learn patience. In this digital technological world we get instant photos (no waiting for film developing), instant movies & music (just download from the internet). . we have to teach them that waiting and patience brings better things. They think they have to be grown up now, have boyfriends now, have nice cars now. He showed a picture of Lehi's family on the boat crossing the sea to get to the promised land. . and wanted us to think of how they felt after they had given up their nice home, all their money, etc. They had traveled in the wilderness for so long, endured so many trials, built a boat when they didn't think it was possible, hunted for food without his nicest bow. . think of how they felt when they finally saw land and knew that the Lord had promised it to them. What kind of confidence do you think they gained?? What do you think each of them were thinking? It was awesome! I felt empowered after being able to attend both of these amazing meetings.
I feel so blessed for the opportunities that I get, and all strong people that I associate with. I have truly GOOD friends and neighbors that make me a better person. I'm going to do my best to try and stay optimistic and confident every day. I'm going to post my goal here, and if you read it, I'm holding you responsible for helping me to do better. My goal for now is not to murmur and gossip. Sometimes I can get so caught up in things and complaining about something that I hear about someone else. If it's not a problem of mine, I'm going to try not to waste my time on it. I hope it benefits all of you, too. You won't have to listen to my griping. Have a great. . peaceful week!!