This past week we had a much needed girl's night.
Although in the gift shop, every night in the gift shop is girl's night, we needed one that let us sit down, relax and talk about all that drama. We decided to watch the movie "Mamma Mia" and it was a blast to sing along at the top of our lungs to all those classic Abba songs (those songs that I love thanks to my mom who first introduced us oh so long ago.) I am no longer young and 17, but there is always adventure to be had and lessons to be learned. Everyone needs those friends who love our crazy ideas and sing along with our favorite songs. Love comes in all different forms and touches us each time in a different way. We need the people we meet along the way to help us through this crazy journey called life.
Those were the things I was reminded of while watching Mamma Mia.
Trust me, I don't usually sit down and watch a movie to glean life advice.
In other news, I saw my first moose! Or should I say my first six moose! I went on a drive with a friend and within a 20 minute period we saw 6 moose. Let's just say, it totally made our day. We even saw a beaver as well swimming around in a pond. I have a particular fondness for beavers after I did a 4th grade science project on them.
Today at work I overheard a lady from Australia comment on how she had come all the way to Alaska to see a bear and hadn't seen a single one yet! It made me sad, because I wanted to ask her if she had noticed the absolutely gorgeous landscape around her instead of just trying to find a moving blob of brown or black.
On a more spiritual side of things, one of the girls that I work with asked me a question about being "saved by grace" and what we believe in my church about it.
That got me thinking, and I did some studying and pondering. I was reminded of a talk by Elder Bednar and how he said that whenever he thinks about the word grace he substitutes it for "enabling power."
For example, there is a scripture in Jacob 4:7 that I love.
"Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace (enabling power) and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things." Accepting that grace means accepting Christ, and accepting Him is not simply a one time act. It is a lifetime of drawing closer to and striving to become more like him. It is living as He would have us live, because we know that it is truly because of Him that we have a chance to return to the presence of our Father.
As Moroni in the Book of Mormon said,
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God" Moroni 10:32
I know that God's grace is real. It truly is an incredible gift, and one that I am grateful to use each day. That grace is not just an extra boost when our own abilities are not enough. It is a constant source of strength and guidance and one that will not fail when other lights go out.
