chasing sunsets with jay

Christ is THE Reason. For the Season of Joy. The season that we all admire as a time of giving, surrounded by loved ones, and a time dedicated to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This year, the nativity struck me differently than it has other years, and that was because of the striking example of Mary- the mother of Jesus. I studied her character and her magnificent response to the mission Heavenly Father had granted her. She truly placed her trust in God's hand in advance of knowing what may lie ahead. She taught me that God can only transform what you put in His hand. Her confidence stemmed from her faith in what God could perform through her; she was willing to be the vessel in Heavenly Father's miraculous plan. I know she must've felt inadequate, too young, troubled, fearful of rejection and judgment, anxious, and so many more daunting emotions, but she didn't let these emotions overshadow God's capability. I am so grateful for her example of strength, faithfulness, humility, a submissive heart, courage, and pure confidence imbedded in her trust for the Lord in all that He would accomplish. She knew Christ better than anyone on earth; she played a huge role in the miraculous birth story, she witnessed Him preach to Wise men, cherish those around Him, conduct miracles willingly, and ultimately lay down His life. She humbly praised the Son of God and supported Him in all seasons of His life. I hope that we will follow her beautiful example and praise him all the days of our lives. Place our trust in God's hand and draw confidence and strength in Him. Christ is the reason. For the Season. For Life itself.

One of the beautiful purposes of this life is to be proven, tried, and tested. Our God beautifies the valleys that we endure by allowing our character to be heightened. In the doctrine of Jesus Christ, the last principle--Endure to the End--is arguably the most overlooked. Consistency in our faith and trust in God is vital for our overcoming of the seemingly impossible mountain laid before us. I know how daunting our trials may seem, but I know OUR GOD IS LARGER. The adversary hopes to convince us that our trials are useless when really they have the potential to be a stepping stone in our development. The adversary desires for us to isolate instead of reaching out for God's grace! I want to echo the words of God to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail: " Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on High." I know that our valleys are what LIFT us to our Highest Elevation! Our hill! Our cloud nine! I pray that we will all have an attitude of gratitude for the work that God is putting into our Spirit and Character as we endure the turbulence of our rocky lives. HE IS THE SAVIOR WE ALL ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF.

We are not strangers to the battlefield! We must remember that we witnessed the war in heaven and God was VICTORIOUS! One of the absurd lies satan places on us is that we are alone! Another crazy successful tactic of his is WORRY! Worry is when you feel the pressure of doing it all on your own! Worry is a form of idolatry because you believe you have the power to control an outcome when really, only God can!!! Instead of inviting the omnipotent to carry you through, you worry!

The thought of being independent isn't necessarily a defect because God was very intentional when creating us! But He designed us to be weak without His Atoning Power! We need him, there's no other way to conquer life's course without Him!

A blessing of the gospel is knowing that we CAN ALL MAKE A COMEBACK! Even when we are in the battlefield, we can trust that as we come into Him, we will be saved. By His Grace.

There is a contagious tone of joy in my voice and I owe it all to the loving character of Christ. I am feeling more like myself recently so thought I would hop on a pod and share what is on my heart. Silly ol' me has been contemplating what tactics the adversary has (sadly) been successfully tearing me apart with. There is something so humbling about acknowledging my weaknesses within my valleys. It seems CLEAR AS DAY what the Lord has been trying to teach me, yet the obnoxious strategies the devil has played on me have left me feeling like I am in the dark. But don't you worry folks, I am feeling so empowered by the spirit to say bye-bye to giving in to satan. I share raw and beautiful lessons that the Lord has taught me recently. The Joy that I feel when I immerse myself in the gospel of Jesus Christ, is truly UNMATCHED. I highly, highly recommend this way of living. I hope you can walk away from listening to this pod feeling strong enough and able to recognize the counterfeit that satan is offering you!

We are all originated by a spark of light. Light is a force that is so powerful that it can eliminate the fear that the world instills in our hearts. Time and time again we read in the bible that we are to be the light of the world, Jamey takes this call literally as he strives to lighten each moment with his upbeat, energetic spirit.

Jamey speaks on the power of connection, chasing your own dreams and aspirations, normalizing casual conversation with god, enjoying life in God's boundary, contributing to the good of this world, and leaving a friendly impact on others.

God's Blueprint. is better than ours. Our desires change and evolve ALL THE TIME, but God's intentions and desires are constant. That is why He is so kind to take the responsibility of laying out the blueprint for our lives with His heightened eyes instead of our lowly minds and hearts. Do not be condescending to our god and His calling to design the structure of our lives by believing you know best, He has been a god for a long time and has easily and effortlessly earned our trust. God is a knowledgeable architect who knows best. He can reveal His designs to us through the direct lines of prayer, which requires us to open our channels to Him. I invite you to come down to reality and understand that you are not speaking to a wall but actually to the creator. David A. Bednar addresses the natural tendency with prayer to approach it like a grocery list, we are beggars to God and see prayer as an opportunity to ask more from God instead of understanding how we can prove our loyalty and faithfulness to Him. We are entitled to believe that God will give us everything we want when we want it. But God doesn't deserve to be tested like a grocery list. Don't be shallow and stubborn to God, let Him answer your prayers with His perfect grace, let Him surprise you! He will answer our prayers and take care of our desires within His mercy, will, and bounds. Favor His blueprint for your life with confidence that His plan is much more beautiful than yours.

Miracles. We have almost made them out to be this fictional idea, we put God in a box and expect that miracles ceased when he left this earth. That the earlier Saints and stories in the Bible were the last of Christ's miraculous works. But I say no. I am so blessed to have a firm belief that Christ is continuously blessing us with miracles. The breath we have in our lungs is a miracle. The sun rises and sets each day, that's a miracle. Technology allows us to communicate with a person in seconds, yet another miracle. A small seed transforms into a mighty tree, what a wonderful miracle and the components in our body allow us to breathe, grow, evolve, and live!! Our life within itself is a miracle. I am so grateful for a lifetime full of miracles and more to come. I know that miracles are manifestations of divine or spiritual power. God has no limits so let's stop the cycle of placing Him in a box. He knows what miracles we need to understand they're from a heavenly individual, He knows what angels we need in our lives, He knows that as we acknowledge him and his goodness we will feel an immense sense of joy, peace, and solitude. There truly is stillness in appreciating the daily miracles. In all your ways, acknowledge him.

In this world, it has almost been a trend to leave and abandon your faith which literally makes my heart break. So imagine the intensity of God's heartbreak and sorrow as he sees His beloved children leave. There is no benefit to deserting your beliefs. On the other hand, there are ONLY BENEFITS in pursuing and cherishing your religion and God. A faithful walk of life brings fulfillment, satisfaction, strength, courage, security, value, purpose, light, hope, and SO. MUCH. MORE. I can stand up straight knowing my identity, I can look towards the heavens in my valleys, I can live a life of service and feel strengthened by the spirit, I can feel free from the chains of the adversary as I envision the sacrifice of my Savior, I can live knowing there is hope for a better more elevated life ahead, I can view ANYONE AND EVERYONE in my life as a blessing, I can continue with no regret walking upright as a Christian. Even if my belief was a lie, it gifted me a BEAUTIFUL life as I embarked on a life in harmony with Christ. EVEN IF ALL ELSE FAILS, I AM GLAD TO STAY BY MY SAVIOR'S SIDE AND REMAIN FAITHFUL.

We often only give God power over the margin of our story. We limit what edits God is able to make in our life, which is the biggest mistake we could make because ultimately that is keeping us from experiencing a joy we never knew was possible. He is a master creative. Our story has the potential to be so beautiful as we hand our will over to him.

In the world that we live in, our activity and productivity often are seen to determine our identity and value but God teaches that "WHO YOU ARE determines WHAT YOU DO". When you lose sight of who you are, you end up being someone you never wanted to end up being! If you are unsure who you are, I call you to fall to your knees and ask God to make it clear to you, He truly is eager to speak truth into you. Let me remind you that God refers to his disciples as "the salt of the earth", in scriptures salt was seen to be useful and valuable. The Israelites used salt as a reminder of WHO THEY ARE!!! We too are valuable because we are God's REASON.

Hurry kills intimacy with the Lord. There is a reason "walk" was referred 212 times in the bible. Waiting produces patience. Your suffering truly does bring experience and hope. As we hold on to the hope which god embodies, we are no longer paralyzed by shame, fear, and anxiety. Let God write your story and walk with you, make more than a margin for the Lord! Let him WRITE YOUR STORY.