It's snowing!

Good Morning. This is my very first blog post, and it is snowing outside. I'm sitting next to the window, and to be honest, it's pretty nice looking out.

I've never had a blog before. This is all so new to me, but hopefully I can express my thoughts and feelings and you all can gain at least something from it. Just so you know more about me, I'm currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Montana, hence why it's snowing, and I love it. My purpose as a missionary online, sharing my experiences, is to help others strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm here because I want to be; I want to share. And I hope I can, in a way that will touch at least one of you.

Let me share an experience that happened the other day...My companion, Sister Rathgeber and I, were visiting a home. They had quite the cute german shepherd dog, or so we thought he was cute. We'll call him Lassie, for simplicity's sake. Anyway, we were sitting on the couch trying to get to know the gentlemen we were visiting, and Lassie came up onto the couch and sat right in between us, like he was a little poodle. He's a lot bigger than a poodle. And that's not all, Lassie kept trying to bite us. Not necessarily in a vicious way, I think he was trying to play, but still, it was as if he was gnawing on our arms, because we were chew toys, me more so. I kept trying to push him away, but he just kept trying harder to bite me. And all this was happening, while one of the men was talking. Obviously, I was quite distracted. I had no idea what had been said. I had been more worried about whether or not Lassie was going to walk off with my arm. Eventually, they let him outside. And after my companion and I left, with scratches on our arms, we laughed about it.

I share this experience, because I learned that it's related to Satan's attack on us. He enters into our lives, with us not knowing just how hard he is going to try to get us to turn away from God. Satan wants us to be miserable, because "misery loves company." The more we try to push him away, the harder he is going to try to tempt us. These temptations may seem like not a big deal, but in reality, they can lead to bigger problems, and they distract us from listening to the Spirit of God. Satan does not persuade us to do good. In fact, it's just the opposite. God wants us to do good. So does His Spirit (Moroni 7:16-17). I know that as we truly turn to God, especially during times when it seems that Satan is so present in our lives, we truly can have peace, and be free from any scratches or other injuries that may come upon us. Heavenly Father loves each and every one of you; you are His child, and He wants you to be happy. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the way we can find that happiness.

Thanks for reading. Until next time...