Day 8... Miracle Formula (Feb. 17th)

Mental:

Today I had the day off of work. That meant I was doing my best to enjoy thinking about other things! I slept in till noon and took my time getting ready, I ate a healthy lunch and then spent an hour in Crate & Barrel. Anyone who knows me, knows that entertaining and home decor will put me in the greatest mood. My mind just kicks into full gear the minute I start planning events, dinners, etc. I slowly examine every shelf in the store and imagine them on my table at home. I think of all of the meals I could put on a serving platter and then think of color schemes for the table linens. It's a problem, I recognize that, but for now it makes me happy. With a day off, I just wanted to do something that would make me smile and scouring my favorite home decor store was just the thing to do!

Aside from making myself happy with home decor, keeping up relationships with close friends will really boost me up. I spent a couple of hours in Provo and visited my dear friends Jillian and Darin Tuttle. These two are such great examples of love and of marriage. They are so kind to one another and serve each other without even having to think about it. I admire the way they care for one another and for other people.

Watching them made me reflect on the type of marriage I want. I desire to have a marriage where serving each other and the Lord is our top priority. I believe committing to a marriage is one of the most selfless things we can do. Getting married is different than being in a marriage. A marriage, to me, means setting aside yourself and focus on joining with someone else. This doesn't mean you subject yourself to them, but I think joining in with someone means admitting you can't walk this life alone, that you will let yourself be vulnerable to let someone else care for and love you, and that you care enough to see to it that they experience the joys of eternal life as well. 

Spiritual: 

Today I thought a lot about miracles. Nearly 4 years ago, a friend told me about the "Miracle Formula." This can be found in the Bible Dictionary. 

Prayer + Felt Need + Faith = Miracles

"Miracles were and are a response to faith and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith."

I am always amazed at when miracles occur in my life. I guess if it wasn't that way, it wouldn't be a miracle. The most recent miracle has been the blessing of my job. I am still at the same firm, but moved into a new position. I had been praying since last year to move into this position for very personal reasons, most of which had nothing to do with my career. The more I prayed, I found that this would not only benefit my personal life, but would actually in the end better my career path. The opportunity came when I wasn't expecting it, but it was clearly the right moment. It may not seem like a miracle to some, but to me, it brought great blessings. I think most of those are too personal to share with everyone, but it brings me to tears just thinking about it. It has been an experience that has testified to me that the Lord hears my prayers. This wasn't something I had originally planned on, but when the initial desire came, I knew I needed to be prepared for it. Never have I felt more thrilled to go to work, mainly because I know it is a blessing for me to experience the joy of my job.

I have used the Miracle Formula as a way to align my will with God's and to ask for things that I know he will see fit to bless me with. The prayer aspect has helped me to understand things as God would like me to. I am a child to Him and need to learn from Him. Understanding my relationship to my Father in Heaven helps me to walk a path that He would have me walk and to embrace it. I challenge everyone to apply this formula and to watch miracles happen in your life!

Physical:

Tonight I was upset because I know how important sleep is, but it just wasn't happening! I couldn't fall asleep for hours. It wasn't until 1:30am that I FINALLY got tired. I love sleep and I was beyond upset that I couldn't sleep. By midnight I was too afraid to take any sleep aids for fear of not being able to wake up on time. So then paranoia kept me up... Not cool. After thinking about miracles today, it would've been a real miracle to have fallen asleep...