All sorts of feelings

My mind is a melting pot of feelings today:
I feel excitement as I await my upcoming mission call.
I feel a twinge of sorrow as I say goodbye to good friends, some I may never see again.
I feel a smidgen of homesickness as I anticipate going home this summer.
I feel a hint of boredom as I wait for time to pass at work.
I feel a bit of tiredness as I prepare mentally for the long day ahead.
I feel a little sore as well after some hard physical activity the day before.
I feel nervousness as I await the arrival of test-time in dance class today.
I feel a bit sad for the loss of a dear friendship from months past.
I feel anxious, awaiting peace to enter my soul and calm these other feelings.
I feel gratitude, knowing that my Heavenly Father still loves me.
I feel joy as I acknowledge my Savior Jesus Christ and the saving ordinances he performed.
I feel encouraged as I remember that my weaknesses can be made strong with faith.
I feel love as I remember my friends and the other special people in my life.
I feel happy just knowing that I am and that I live and that I feel.

I hope they call me on a mission!

I think that in my previous post I failed to mention that I am planning to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I shared the testimony I have about this church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I feel so strongly about it that I have determined to spend the next 18 months of my life serving the Lord and spreading the good news about this gospel to wherever the Lord would have me go. I officially submit my mission papers to the first presidency of the church on Wednesday, April 29! President Shollenburger told me I should receive my official call in about two weeks! That means next Wednesday or Thursday I should receive it! I am very excited about it and wait with anticipation! I have begun preparing for the rigors of missionary life by starting to exercise, planning a more effective scripture study plan, studying teaching for my new Relief Society teacher calling, and trying my very best to make every hour of my day spent worthwhile. I will soon be on the Lord's time and not my own and must train myself to be able to work and serve from sun-up to sun-down. It is a daunting task, requiring me to be better in areas that I have a history of being poor in, but I KNOW that with the Lord's help, I can become stronger and more able to fulfill the work that he has for me to. I am really having to train myself to get up on time, get to bed earlier, study the scriptures more, etc. Spring term has definitely helped me to make great leaps in each of these areas! Boy am I thankful for Spring term! It is so nice to be free of a life with no spare time... a life that is controlled by teachers, papers, exams, etc. Now I have the freedom to choose what I will spend my time doing and I have a greater desire to not let that time go wasted. How precious time is! I hope that as I continue to prepare, I'll be able to better manage my time and understand the scriptures and gain more knowledge and light about life and the gospel. Hopefully future blog entries will be focused on the things I am learning and feeling and will be in some way enlightening to read. Stay tuned! Next week I should be one step closer to serving: receiving my official mission call!