Holla from Houston!: THE BERG #15

why hello lovelies!!! i wanna get straight to the good stuff...

so i was studying repentance, and the atonement, and more specifically grace and i was having a rough time with it...again...i swear ive studied and "got it" but then i forget and confuse myself...i was mostly confused with grace and how it works exactly...so i decided to take it and put it into a context i CAN wrap my brain around...i pray that the spirit will help me express my thoughts in a coherent manner ;)

so i love dancing right? so i will use dancing to explain how i understand grace....

ok.

so in order to get ready for a performance, there are hours and hours or practice and rehearsal to learn the steps and be familiar with the beats etc so that when the performance comes, its almost effortless..its beautiful..and you can just SHINE on stage! even though practice takes a lot of time and effort, every time you make a mis-step, or go off-beat, the practice and correction allows you to grow stronger and improve. muscles are strengthened and stretched, movements are memorized and mastered, and before you know it you are performing with ease and fluidity...

for someone who has not come to practice and simply shows up for the performance,,will find themselves awkardly flailing on stage..feeling very out of place..and would much rather get off stage..

the parents watching their children perform--both the practiced and the unpracticed--love their children equally. have given them equal chance for their success (in paying for classes etc) but one child has taken advantage of the opportunity, and is glorious!!

similarly, God has given us all equal chance to return and live in his presence. Jesus Christ paid the price. it is up to us whether or not we take advantage of the opportunity..for those that practice and practice, or in other words, try to live the commandments and keep covenants, will make mistakes--of course--but with each mistakes comes grace. which strengthens us, stretches us, enables us, to improve and feel more comfortable with christlike behavior. it transforms us from awkward flailers to marvelous dancers...aka grace transforms us from corruptible sinners to glorious angels! its like Brad Wilcox says in his talk "His Grace is Sufficient"...we arent EARNING heaven...we are LEARNING heaven...so when we die, we are comfortable in Gods presence and deserve celestial glory! we know the steps, we feel the beat, and we become flawless at the routine ;)

for those who think they can slide through life without trying to repent and change and follow the commandments..lose out on a lot of grace--first off-- and secondly, since they havent "learned heaven" they will feel awkard and out of place in God's presence and want to GET OUT.

my prayer is that we all keep practicing-despite the many mistakes we make--allow christ's grace to enable us--and ultimately be made flawless/glorious in Gods presence :)

did that make sense??? haha

anyway...along with that epiphany this week...more awesome stuff happened!!! including three exchanges (i got to go to Victoria!!! which is like two hours away from rosenberg...#roadtrip!), saw a parade..(kicking off the fort bend county fair--which we are going to today!!), held two snakes, and a geico!! bonded with some horses..started teaching a man from england..AKA I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK. FOR REAL. ITS THE BOMB!!! hope yall enjoy the pics ;)

ps SOOO STOKED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!

paz y bendiciones

hermana hull xoxo