Here are a couple thoughts or quotes that my brain has accumulated
over the past week that I like.
"There are only two things that you can control: Your
effort and your attitude." -Sister Porter to Elder Garcia.
"Attitude determines altitude" - Grandpa Graf
We decide whether or not to be happy. Happy is the way God
wants us to be (Moses 1:39 and 2 Nephi 2:25). Regardless of our
circumstances, the choice is ours (2 Nephi 2: 27-28). Much of our
happiness in life will be determined by the way we respond to adversity. Faith
in the Lord will sustain us in every situation. The greater the adversity, the
greater opportunity we have to exercise Faith.
There is a difference between temptation and trial. Temptation
comes from Satan and its purpose is misery. Trial comes from God and it's
purpose is refinement and growth. Oftentimes trial turns us to the Lord
and helps us to trust Him even more. There is much to learn from Alma and
his faithful people... Mosiah 24:10-16
10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that
they began to cry mightily to God.
11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop
their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should
be found calling upon God should be put to death.
12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the
Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the
thoughts of their hearts.
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them
in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I
know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my
people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your
shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are
in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter,
and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in
their afflictions.
15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon
Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that
they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and
with patience to all the will of the Lord.
16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their
patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good
comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.
This was the case with the Spanish zone. Two weeks ago we really
had a lot of opposition and we didn't do our best. But we knew that such
opposition was only a sign of great things to come. We face the greatest
opposition when we are closest to our biggest miracle. So we worked hard and
prayed hard and last week was absolutely fantastic! Elder Garcia and I were
blessed with an incredible week! We got along well and worked well together and
the Lord blessed us for our unity. We had 5 investigators at church and 2 of
them were part of the G… family that we've been working with for so long!
Prayers. Answered. Amen.
So we celebrated and today we went to the zoo and it was
Awesome! The Cincinnati Zoo has got to be one of the best in the states. It was
loads of Fun and I took videos of the Orangutans and Gorillas!!!!!!!! :D
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERI POO! 18? Really? That can't be right.
Also congrats to Justin and Andrea and Liam! New members of the Graf gang are always welcome.
LOS QUIERO!
Elder Graf
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| I think the videos are too big to send so here is me and the lions. |
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| And a monkey :) |
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| Here's a Giraffe... |
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| And a cougar. Okay that's all Love you Bye! |
Here is an email that Sister Porter sent us that relates to what
you were saying about the power of the brain and our ability to train it to
respond positively. This may not be all of the book but maybe look it up
somewhere. It's called "Mind Coach".
Elders and Sisters: this is
just a summary of the book called "Mind Coach". I would like each of
you to go through each of these ANT's and identify the ones that may be
applicable to you. Recognizing where some of your negative thoughts are coming
from is half the battle. They can be introduced by the adversary or by
ourselves. Either way they are not true. I realize that some of you may not be
dealing with this right now. That is awesome. But it doesn't hurt to be aware
of some of the negative thinking patterns so that you can learn to combat them.
Please know how much we love you and are so very proud of each and every one of
you. Love Sister Porter
Mind Coach by Dr. Daniel Amen
Summary
Our brains are like computers; they store everything they hear.
Many people store negative input about themselves in their subconscious and
often express those negative thoughts in their behavior. Unless you are taught
to talk back to these harmful messages, you will believe them.
Every time you have a thought your brain releases chemicals,
then an electrical transmission goes across your brain and you become aware of
what you are thinking. Thoughts are real and they have a real impact on how you
feel and how you behave. Your body reacts to every thought you have, we know
this from lie detectors tests.
Every time you have a negative thought, your brain releases
negative chemicals that effect how you feel. Some symptoms of negative thought
might be tense muscles, increased heart rate, sweaty hands, dizziness,
headaches and upset stomachs just to name a few. Positive thoughts release
positive chemicals and your body responds to those. For most people their
muscles relax, their hearts beat slower, their hands become dry and they
breathe slower.
Unless you think about your thoughts they are AUTOMATIC or “they
just happen.” Since they just happen they are not always correct, they don’t
always tell you the truth, sometimes they even lie to you. It is important to
think about your thoughts to see if they help you or hurt you. YOU CAN TRAIN
YOUR THOUGHTS TO BE POSITIVE AND HOPEFUL OR YOU CAN JUST ALLOW THEM TO BE
NEGATIVE AND UPSET YOU.
Automatic Negative Thoughts can be called by the acronym “ANT”.
Whenever you notice an ANT, you need to get rid of it by talking back to it with
the truth. Sometimes you might feel that you are lying to yourself with the
true thought but remember, you brain has stored a lie and prior to now you have
just accepted it - so change it to the truth – you will feel better and be
healthier!
Nine examples of ANT thinking: (3, 4, 5 and 9 are most harmful).
1. All or Nothing: Everything is all good or all bad, you have
thoughts like “I can’t ever do anything right.” “This is the worst area ever.”
“There is nothing to do.”
2. “Always” Thinking: You think that something that happened
will always happen. “They will always yell at us.” “The other missionaries
always get better assignments than me.” Using words like Always, never, no one,
everyone, every time, everything.
3. Focusing on the Negative: Your thoughts only see the bad in a
situation and ignore any good parts. Focus on the positive.
4. Fortune Telling: You predict the worst possible outcome of a
situation. “The people will slam the door in my face.” “These investigators
will drop us.” If you are going to predict anything at all, predict the best,
your mind will help make it happen.
5. Mind Reading: You believe you know what another person is
thinking. “They think we are weird” “Those people are mad at me, they are
probably talking about me.”
6. Thinking with Your Feelings: You believe your feelings
without ever questioning them, this usually starts with “I feel…”; for example,
“I feel like a failure, I feel nobody will trust me.” When you have a strong
negative feeling, check it out! Look for evidence beyond the feeling, do you
have reasons to feel this way or are your feelings based on events or things
from the past?
7. Guilt Beatings: Using words like “should, must, ought or have
to.”
“I have to go tracting.” “I should do my morning routine.” It is
better to replace those with phrases like, “I want to do this… It fits my goals
to do that…It would be helpful to do this…”
8. Labeling: Putting negative names on yourself and others.
Whenever
you attach a negative label to yourself or someone else, you
impair your ability to take a clear look at the situation. “I am an idiot.” “ I
am a failure.”
9. Blame: You can ruin your life if you have a strong tendency
to blame
others when things go wrong. “How was I supposed to know…It’s
your fault that…That wouldn’t have happened if you had…” Whenever you blame
someone else for the problems in your life you become powerless to change
anything. Take responsibility; check yourself on the Accountability Ladder.
Lastly, we can all learn a little something from “Jessica’s
Daily Affirmation” as shown on Youtube. Jessica, age three, shared the
following awesome words, (as best as I could understand them) while looking at
herself in the bathroom mirror and saying this “cheer” that has inspired over
13,000,000 viewers:
“Look, I can be a star! My whole house is great! I can do
anything good! I like my school! I like my anything! I like my dad! I like my
cousin! I like my Aunt! I like my Allison! I like my Mom! I like my Sister! I
like my Dad! I like my hair! I like my haircut! I like my stuff! I like my
stuff! I like my room! I like my whole house! (clap) My whole house is great! I
can do anything good, ya, ya, ya, ya, ya. I can do anything better than
anyone…better than anyone!”
Why do over 13 million people like this so much? Because being
positive feels good, it attracts others, it makes other people want to be
around her, be like her. Think of how positive and full of faith the Savior
was, people followed him long distances, surrounded him night and day, waited
for him for hours. One woman knew that just touching the hem of his clothing
would be enough for her to be healed. We can follow the Savior by remembering
our divine identity, that we are the daughters and sons of a loving Heavenly
Father and Heavenly Mother, we have a Brother who made all things possible on
this Earth. They know no fear and have total confidence in us. We have been
told by the prophets that we live far below our potential so let’s continue to
recognize our worth and our capacity to do good in this world.
