All Merciful.

One of my favorite quotes after reading through this month's General Conference addresses for my church, was this quote by Elder Holland:

"Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful - especially to those who don't expect it and especially to those who feel they don't deserve it."

This is surely where the atonement plays into our lives. We all depend upon that forgiveness and that comfort which makes us feel whole again. It's so very relieving that we have such a merciful God whom helps us to acknowledge our eternal potential and the importance of it.

To have been the recipient of God's mercy, on more occasions that I dare try to count... all the while not expecting it, nor feeling like I deserve it, has truly made me want to dig deeper and find a way to be better and more deserving of His love and goodness.

What a great quote.

When you are in your thoughts all alone, just trying to understand the significance of feelings within your heart... often times you judge yourself. You label yourself as weak, incompetent, and broken.

Thank goodness that LOVE itself is so very very very real. Love changes the patterns of our lives. When you come to know both your Heavenly Father and the Savior for yourself, you gain a full knowledge of what love truly is and what YOUR love is truly capable of.

I have been looking over and reading some of April's Conference articles HERE and a quote that completely stood out to me today was this, by Paul E. Koelliker :

"The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him.... I am confident that our Heavenly Father’s arms are constantly extended, ever ready to embrace each one of us and say to each one with that quiet, piercing voice, “I love you.”

Do you ever feel you have so many problems, such real concerns, and that you get overwhelmed with the challenges of life?

I do.

I loved reading this very specific and optimistic suggestion from our prophet, Thomas S. Monson: seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised, “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.”

Take one day at a time... or an inch if you will and truly strive for greatness.