Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life

This song goes out to all the Darek Heims.

 "You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens." -Rocky Balboa

 Rocky Balboa faced the odds his whole life, he fought when he thought he couldn't, and he won. He never backed down, he never lost heart, even when he fought the most challenging fight of his life. In the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a champion named Ivan Drago, the strongest fighter in the world. He was a giant, a Goliath, and he fought and killed Rocky's best friend Apollo Creed. Rocky was afraid, he was sad, and he fought anyways.

 Rocky said to his wife Adrian "No maybe I can't win. Maybe the only thing I can do is just take everything he's got. But to beat me he's gonna have to kill me, and to kill me he's gotta have the guts to stand in front of me, and to do that he's gotta be willin' to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that. I don't know. I don't know."

 "Well might we look carefully into our own lives and judge our courage, our faith. Is there a Goliath in your life? Is there one in mine? Does he stand squarely between you and your desired happiness? Your Goliath may not carry a sword or hurl a verbal challenge of insult that all may hear and force you to decision. He may not be ten feet tall, but he likely will appear equally as formidable, and his silent challenge may shame and embarrass."-President Thomas S. Monson

 Everyone has a Goliath, everyone has an Ivan Drago, someone who's bigger or stronger. Your Ivan Drago doesn't have to be a person, maybe it's smoking, drinking, or depression, maybe it's an uncontrolled temper; But there's not a single person on this planet who isn't afraid of something. Being afraid doesn't make you a coward. Being afraid just means that you have something to overcome. It means that there is something in the way of your happiness.

 We don't have to face our Goliaths alone, "Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good." (2 Chron. 19:11). Our Lord will always fight for us, if we rely on him. "Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s." ( 2 Chron. 20:15)

The scriptures give us many examples of courage: "And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." (1 Sam. 17:32) "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7) "Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it." (Ezra 10:4)

"Like David of old, 'our cause is just.' We have been placed upon earth not to fail or fall victim to temptation’s snare, but rather to succeed. Our giant, our Goliath, must be conquered."-President Thomas S. Monson

And we can, like Rocky Balboa when he overcame, say "Yea, I love yous too. I just also wanna thank God. Except for my kid bein' born, this is the greatest night in the history of my life. I just wanna say one thing to my wife who's home: YO, ADRIAN! I DID IT!"



This Blog is dedicated to Darek "Plum Tea" Heim

One armed Judo Fighter

  Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who who decided to study judo despite the fact that he lost his left arm in a car accident. This boy began lessons with a old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

 "Sensei." the boy finally said, "shouldn't I be learning more moves?"
"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know." the sensei replied.
 Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

 Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

  This time, the opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared over matched. Concerned the the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.
  "No." the sensei insisted "let him continue."
Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his one move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

  On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.
  "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"
  "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered, "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."
The boys biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.*

  Jesus Christ once said "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27) Everyone has a weakness, but if we trust in our Master, or our Savior, that weakness can become a strength. Who knows what we can accomplish when our weak things become strong! I know that personal challenges have strengthened me, and made me better than I have ever been. And I know Jesus Christ loves all of you just as much as he loves me. Trust in him, and see what you can achieve!

*I got this story from Mike Alford

Gospel! Defender of your Universe!

GOSPEL!

DEFENDER OF YOUR UNIVERSE!

  When the universe is in danger, 5 heroic pilots go to battle in giant robotic lions. Each lion is powerful and capable of doing great things, but when the enemy is too strong the pilots combine their forces to form a fighting robot more powerful than any evil force. Voltron! The Defender of the universe!

 
  When we are in danger, when we are confused or depressed or afraid, when our universe is in peril we have our own way to conquer evil. There are 5 spritual protectors who we can rely on when we need to be saved from the problems that we face everyday. Each one is strong but together they form a defense from the world that no evil can defeat. These are the first 5 principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  Faith! - Faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement is our first line of defense, it gives us hope for better things. Its something that comforts and strengthens us. With faith we can do and be better all the time.

  Repentance! - When we act on faith and turn ourselves toward God, and away from sin, we are forgiven. This is repenting and it relieves us of feelings of guilt and shame that keep us tied down.

  Baptism! - Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins washes us completly clean. It gives us a fresh start and shows our willingness to follow our Heavenly Father and keep his commandments. After Baptism we can renew these promises by taking the sacrament every week at church, which is taking bread and water in rememberance of Jesus Christ.

  The Holy Ghost! - Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38) The Holy Ghost guides us through life, and helps us to feel the love that God has for us. The Holy Ghost tells us in our hearts what is true and good, and helps us search for those things that will make us happy.

  Enduring to the end! -  Once we have had faith and repented so that we can be baptised and recieve the Holy Ghost its not over. We will still face trials and have challenges, but by using the first 4 principles we can live the 5th.

  These first five principles are the spiritual protecters that we can all make our own. They are here to fight the evil in our lives, and together they form! Gospel! Defender of your universe! With Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end, there is no evil that can stand against you. You will still be tempted, but there will always be a way to conquer it.

  I know this works, because I have tried it. I know that we have a loving Father in Heaven who wants us to be the best we can be. And He has shown us how. I challenge everyone who reads this to pray to know if this is true, and you'll get an answer.