Archive for June, 2008
Buy It Nearby.com – My Project
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008Hello again to everyone who reads my blog (I know there’s gotta be someone who reads it). I have been keeping pretty busy recently with my new job as a FreeLancer. I have also been working on a personal project on the side, BuyItNearby.com. This has been really fun to work on and it has also been a great learning experience for me. I have really started working on making it look nice now that I have started to advertise it a little. It is a pretty cool program which lets you search for eBay auctions and then plot them on a map so you can see where they are. You can use this tool to find local auctions in your area. Anyways, go check it out and let me know what you think! I am always looking for suggestions.
Study Journal Again
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008Romans 8:28, Alma 36:3, D&C 90:24
I have always loved D&C 90:24. I used to share it with members on my mission. Today while studying, I found Romans 8:28. I love this verse and the others because of the promise contained in them that “all things shall work together for your good“. I love that promise and how it is worded. It would be wonderful to have all things work together for my good.
What must we do to earn this promise? Paul says simply that we must “love God“, and be “called according to his purpose.” God has said in John “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” He also has said, “If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work…” (D&C 4)
God again mentions this promise in D&C 90:24. This time he says that we need to “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing” and also “walk uprightly, and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another.” The promise is again that “all things shall work together for your good”. I like to think of searching diligently as studying the scriptures, and when he speaks about the covenant, I think of the baptismal covenant which all members have made.
Both of these verses are basically saying that we must be righteous and follow the commandments, and all things will work together for our good. This is truly a great promise, and a great incentive. Does it mean we won’t have trials? Absolutely not. Look at all the righteous people in the Book of Mormon and the Bible and the early Saints. They had many trials. But these trials worked for their good in the end. So you can see the promise is fulfilled. It is the same with us. Even our trials will be for our good if we are righteous.
Alma also adds another requirement. We need to trust in God. This is one of the most important ones, because often when we are faced with trials, the first one we remember is God, but many times we don’t trust him like we should. Remember the examples of the Saints and Prophets of God. They always trusted in God throughout their trials, and they were blessed because of it.
Tribute to our Troops… and Sharon
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008I was thinking about Sharon today, and I remembered the song “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver. I went to find it on youtube and found this one. It is geared towards the American Troops that are overseas and away from their loved ones. My heart goes out to them. I also know what it feels like to be away from someone you love very much. This song describes how I felt on the day I took Sharon to the Airport. I still remember it clearly, helping her check her bags and get to the right place, making sure she had everything, then came the part where she had to go and I had to stay. I stayed and watched her as she moved up through the line, then when she was out of sight, I went upstairs to watch her from the balcony. She didn’t know it, but I watched her as she had her bags scanned, then as she walked down the long hallway amid a throng of other travelers. When I finally couldn’t see her anymore, I closed my eyes and turned around and sighed. I knew that I would miss her. I knew that it would be hard. I slowly made my way back to where I had parked the car, and began the long (7 hour) drive back to Utah alone.
Here is the video that describes how I felt:
The Free Lancer!
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008Well, it’s been a little while since I have written anything on my blog, so here is a brief update on what is going on. I have been trying to find a job, so I decided that in the mean time, I will be a freelancer. I started last week doing projects for clients that I found on GetAFreelancer.com. This site is really cool and it is free to join. It has freelancing opportunities for all kinds of work, not just Web Development (which is what I specialize in). It also has Graphic Design, Copywriting, And everything in between. It is really cool so if anyone out there is interested in Freelancing, I really suggest this site. Just sign up and see what jobs interest you. You tell the people how much you can do the job for, and if they like you and your price, they will hire you. In the first week, I made $700 and I got a lot more lined up for this week. It is really cool and I get to stay at home and choose my own hours.
Anyways, that is what I have been doing the past week.
Here is an update on me and Sharon: We have decided to apply for a Fiance Visa so that she can come to the USA and we can get married here. The problem is that this application usually takes around 6 months to process. So that is why the previous post. I am planning to go see her and stay with her in August, so that I can meet her family and we can have an engagement party there with her family. We are going to have the party on August 8, 2008. Isn’t that cool?! Anyways, I am working hard until then to save my money so we can do a lot of cool things there. I miss her and love her soo much.
Study Journal
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008When I was on my mission in Sri Lanka, I started a study journal there to record my thoughts and feelings about certain scriptures I read. I updated it throughout my mission. When I returned home, my study journal got left in the dust. Now, almost a year later, I am starting it again. I have renewed my goal to have meaningful scripture study each and every day, and record something from it in my study journal. But since I am a ‘blogger’ now, I figured, why waste such intellectual property by just putting it in a book? So I am going to write a few of my Study Journal entries from time to time here on my blog as well. Here it goes:
Proverbs 13:12 - Hope and Waiting
While I was talking with my fiancee, Sharon, on the computer I felt impressed to find a scripture about hope and share it with her. I looked on http://www.lds.org and searched for a scripture about hope. The first one I found was Proverbs 13:12, which I really liked. I liked it because in my mind it also talks about waiting for something that is important to you. It says “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick;”. I have experienced this myself. Waiting for something, hoping it will come, then when it doesn’t come when you hoped, it makes your heart sick. I know how this feels because I have been waiting a long time for Sharon, and then when i found out I would have to wait even longer, it made me feel sick. But the rest of the verse has a promise that says, “when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” Wow. That is really cool terminology. A tree of life. I know that when I finally get to be with Sharon, it will be a tree of life to me, and I will be so happy with her.
The next day in Sacrament Meeting, I felt impressed to share that scripture with my mom. She loved it too and marked it in her scriptures. Later, she told me that she remembered it throughout her week and it really enriched her.
Well, that is the direct excerpt from my study journal. I will be making an entry like that every day, not necessarily on the blog, but at least in the journal. I have found that this is an effective way to increase the quality and also the quantity of your scripture studies, because it helps motivate you to have meaningful scripture studies and also motivates you to do it every day. Also, putting your thoughts on paper preserves them for future reference by you and your posterity so that all can be blessed thereby. Anyways, that is my first Study Journal Online entry. Hope you enjoyed it.