Hi there!
I have spent the past few months getting my first book ready to be published. It went live on Amazon.com on March 24, 2012.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007O3QSZ2  I put into it my heart and soul as if I would die tomorrow and was able to leave just one record for the children to show them the path and what I had learned.
It has been an amazing journey. And one that I hope to enjoy over and over again before my life is through. I want to leave a record and an impact on society and the world at large and do my utmost to testify that I know that Jesus Christ lives. I want to do it by what I say and by what I do and how I live, think, and breathe. You may think I am being extreme, but I assure you that I am not. I had a wonderful experience this morning and I want to share it with you. It is rather sacred to me and I trust you with this, or rather, I trust the Spirit that says that it is okay to share it with you.
As I woke this morning There were several thoughts, including the realization of pain in my muscles because I had started my weight lifting program again. About 15 minutes into wakefulness I had the sense of a statement, "I will give you my all, but you must give me your all in return." This is after I had tossed and turned and tried to find excuse to stay in bed. I let the expression settle in my mind and heart and I could not help but feel an immense gratitude and even though it was a "forced" (by sheer will because the spirit was willing but the body was not) desire to get moving I felt the love in that statement and the responsibility that I had to act if I wanted this blessing.
Something else that I want to share is that to prepare to present my testimony to the world at large and to do what I can to bring the Spirit of the Lord into my life and heart, so that he guides me more completely, I have removed sugar from my diet. This is a daily choice but one that I believe has had a considerable effect on me. It is a "sort of" fasting state of mind that I remain in constantly. I find it is an assertive or pro-active choice to put into my body that which will improve its function and not wear it down.
I cannot say that I am great about not over eating but so far I am doing okay. I have lost some pounds that I needed to lose and have even decided that my weight lifting needs to get back into my everyday practice. Health, like everlasting life is a day to day, even moment to moment choice.
I live my life as if each day is Christmas and look forward to the delights that Father blesses me with and for ways to lift others. I delight in talking of Christ and his mission and ours. Everyday I get stronger in my conviction and knowledge that I can stand as a witness for him and I want to do that however and wherever I am able.
One more new thing since I wrote last that is quite large actually, I changed my name. I have gone back to my birth name legally. It is still in the process of getting all bases done but it is legal in the courts as of February 29, 2012. Christa-Ann Faith Godsdaughter will live on though as my pen name. I will be continuing the writing of this evolution of personal growth and hope to get my trilogy of this adventure published by this time next year or before.
Life is fascinating and challenging and dynamic and delightful! Live it as directed by the Holy Ghost and you will have blessings immeasurable!
Till next time,
Bye for now,
Ann

The world, look at it...it is the world that testifies that the scriptures are sooo true!!! The scriptures are full of challenges that people have when they do not remember that God is in charge. When they are left to their own devices they get puffed up and proud and that is when they have challenges or when they do well and prosper. The state of affairs among the children of men is clearly marked and noted in the scriptures. We are here to learn of and do his will. That is where the blessings will be that will bring us eternal life.
I believe that God is more real than we are. Truly, I believe that we are in a dimension that allows us to accept a body of flesh and blood and to learn how to master it so that our spirit directs its path and not the appetite of the flesh. This encompasses all areas of life as well, especially that of relationships. It also includes those things that we allow to enter the body such as food, drink, media, videos, music and how we treat the body in terms of hygiene (cleanliness), exercise, and environments that are inspiring and uplifting or that bring the heart and mind of the individual into dark places that mock the body of self or others and use it in ways that bring shame and sorrow.
Your walk with God is very personal and yet very "communal" in the fact that how you do walk with God effects everything and everyone around you. Literally! There are choices in life daily that lead to light and life or darkness and death and each of us has to make those choices each and every day. I personally think that even God does. It just so happens....he always chooses the light and life.
I could be wrong but I suspect I might be not too far from the truth.....what do you think?

For Moms and Those Who Ever Had Them

I got this poem written for a sister at church, to all those mommy's and children out there in the world now, to come, and those who have left:
Thank You Mommy…
10/14/2011
Christa-Ann Faith Godsdaughter, copyright, feel free to share

Mommy, thank you; seriously Mommy, thank you
For toes and nose and curly hair, that I want to be straight
For tired eyes at 2am feedings
And gentle hugs and kisses for skinned knees

Mommy, please look past my tantrums and my messes
And remember the light of Christ that burns within me
Remember that this is the most important work that you do
And you do it with Daddy

Remember how important it is that we each are able to “be”
Not only me, but you too, your “being” is important, so please, please be
true to you
Remember to paint or sing or do those things that bring you joy, if only for
a few minutes a day
And thank you for sacrifices you made and make that I too may have the
chance to “be”

Thank you Mommy for being sure I can read and do my sums
Thank you for the attention you give me with my education
So that I can function in the world of mankind
With tools that allow me a chance at some level of comfort among the
children of men

Thank you for the example you set with dad of manhood and womanhood
And being willing servants of our Lord Jesus Christ
Thank you for showing me that God, personal honor and dignity and your
spouse must come first
If we are to receive the joys and blessings that God has in store for us

This is Heavenly Father’s plan and I need your example of love
And of endurance, benevolence, kindness, long-suffering
Just as much as you need to share it with me, for
That is how God makes us all one in him

Oh Mommy, he loves us so much
We forget, I know we do
But he doesn’t, he knows us and he knows our challenges
He is faithful to us always, but even life he will not force on us

Life is ours to embrace, if we choose.
Mommy, you and I chose life before we came here to earth
And you chose to give me life here, in the flesh
Show me by example that I can and must chose eternal life for myself

Do you remember the joys he showed us!!
Oh, how we laughed for the silly boo boos and how we cried for the hurts
But nothing like the way we cried when we saw the possibility of eternal
life
Sucked out by the personal choices of those who turned from the light and
love of God

We are here Mommy, and God will not give up on us if we don’t give up on him
You and Daddy are sooo important to me,
Oh, God has made a way if you should forget him, but better
If you remember his love for you, for Daddy, and for me and yield to his
will, trusting him with all your might

What joy we will have on the other side…
Of this valley of darkness and death
I love you Mommy, I thank you for giving me life
We have Jesus to thank for this opportunity and for the real choice and hope
of eternal life

Mommy, thank you for giving me life
Thank you for enduring the dishes, the diapers, and the laundry
The chore lists, the curfews, the all night talks, and the time you spent on
bended knee pleading for my safety
Thank you Mommy, for loving me

PS
I love you, Mommy, too, and I always will
Wrinkles and all, even if I get so busy with my own babes and
responsibilities
I will love you and think of you, and maybe think, she knows I love her, I
will get in touch soon

But if time gets by me and it doesn’t get said please know, as I know that
the love for a mommy and from a mommy never ever ends…even if mommy’s get lost
or children get lost it is only because of the mists of darkness in the world
and not because the love and promises are not forgotten…

And, in the end, if we have turned to Christ and remembered him, all those sorrows, forgotten calls, and painful words and misunderstandings will be forgotten and in its place will be love
Pure, sweet, forgiving, and complete love
Thank you…. Mommy ….for giving me life
(this goes for those who serve as mothers, though not through blood as well,
hope you enjoyed it, Ann)

I had a friend on one of my social media sites declare,

“I HATE MY LIFE”. And so I commented:

Teen years can especially bring that out...the "fitting in" part really never works for any of us and if you "fit in" one place you don't fit in someplace else....just gotta be the best YOU you can be and make your place in the world...trust me you are special and unique and don't stress out when "sometimes you really hate your life", you are supposed to sometimes...it forces us to choose who and what we really want to be and can help us find our values...if you find out what your values are and do your best to live them no matter what others say you will have a real chance of being you...and that is the best thing in the world....you can do it...I believe in you, sweetheart! Take care!!

She wrote back saying that she did not have any problem fitting in it was her home life with her parents and their rules that was the pain. I continued:

hmmm, this is not an uncommon human condition either...and it can cause real pain and frustration, confusion... this is the part of the journey where you get to make some really significant choices (and believe me the pain, frustration, and confusion does not get easier in life, in fact it gets more intense, but it is this very thing or stuff that helps you to mold and create YOU and define who you are)...

and you do this by your choices...You can get angry because some things really are just not fair...and while I am sure YOUR PARENTS LOVE AND CARE for you SOME do not because they are caught in their own stuff or really because they do not like themselves so they have no real place to give from...so they try to control the world around them hoping to give the next generation a better chance...what they do not realize (and some do realize and don't care or don't know what else to do) is that until they love themselves they really can't change or direct anything else, not in a good way anyhow, rather they can only continue to create the pain, frustration, and confusion they feel within themselves for others...I do not think that all parents who feel like this do not love and care for their kids, they just do not know how to express it so the child can feel safe and loved…

soooo...the teenager (and all of us for the rest of our lives) get to decide if we get angry and SHOW THEM, if you know what I mean...and we do that lots of ways. You know how you do it and you see it in school and community everyday how people deal with life from a place of anger...there are addictions of every type, ...whew....but seriously, true Happiness comes from a place of being true to yourself and I believe we all came from a place of love...so the choice becomes remembering where we come from and making our decisions from a place of love and loving those who mess us over...no matter how frustrating, confusing, or painful those people or circumstances outside us may be.... because this is the source of personal peace and happiness...not that there won't be moments of frustration, pain, and confusion where we need to VENT ARGH"/, lol, yet because we come from a place of love we get "back in there" and be the best "me" we can be : )

what I am talking about is not giving away your personal power and freedom to be YOU...when you go into the anger place you lose your freedom and become a slave to the influences of others...instead, return love and helpfulness when you are asked to do something that is or seems unfair and show kindness for cruelty or meanness, it allows YOU to maintain YOUR FREEDOM of choice...., what you really need will be met and when you feel especially frustrated with someone leave them a note of gratitude for who they are and it will diffuse the effect of the "wrong" they have done to you and real love and appreciation will grow inside of you for them and you will be very grateful for that someday, if not today... love ya...hope this makes a bit of sense....ARGH,:/ :/  been there done that, REALLY!!!  : D

What does this have to do with scriptures? Well, it comes from there. It is the foundation I build my life on. It is the hope I have in Christ and the atonement that he gave that I might have life everlasting and abundant. And knowing this I have a great desire to share that with others.

Seriously the council I have given is foundational in the scriptures. And this is why I live and why I write.

Till next time. Ann

I want to share some thoughts on Romans 5 in the New Testament. I have read this many times but a special message that I do not always think about came through so clearly this week. That is that by one man, Adam, all mankind were thrown into the Valley of Death and by one man, Christ, all mankind are delivered. How awesome it is to no that God is consistent and orderly in his interactions with this world where chaos seems to rule. I am so grateful for the plan and its simplicity. As I have grown in years of study in the scriptures I have come to feel as if the very scriptures are living and are friends in the truest sense. And that they ring with a truth and clarity that is not to be found anywhere else.
It is General Conference today, I am so excited! You can watch it on LDS.org. See you there!!

LDS General Conference The Purifying Power of Gethsemane - Bruce R. McConkie - April 1985 General Conferencehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4L6qmfoYq0Text of the talk: http://lds.org/general-conference/1985/04/the-purifying-power-of-gethsemane
I agree that the atonement of Christ is the most important testimony that can be born. And I add that Christ endured more than mortal can in all his life. He had the literal DNA of God and his endurance simply had no end. My testimony is that as you grow in righteousness you do not lessen in your ability to feel pain but rather that it is more poignant and searing, but the power of God gives ability to endure. My gratitude and astonishment at what Christ has done for us grows as I seek to live as he taught. It is truth and our denial will not make it less than truth. Please, come unto Christ.
 I hope my children know that they are loved by me and that I would value their thoughts and questions and that I seek their well being through prayer continually. I hope they also understand I will not trespass their agency and right to be independent and sovereign. I pray they have or will gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and nurture that so that it may grow inside them because he is the way to life and there is no other way we can come unto God, the source of all love truth and life. Actually this is my prayer and hope and offering for all of God's children.
Life is tough everywhere. That is really one of the signs of the last days. Zion, peace, is to be found in the heart of man and not in his surroundings. Rather, the scriptures teach to put on the full armor of God (see Ephesians 6:11-18) so it is for all of us. Our prayers for each other help bring the angels that are needed in each of our lives to help us keep on keeping on. And lining up our personal lives with the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is what allows the powers of heaven to see us through and sustain us through what we will be called upon to endure in this life. And it was never meant to be easy for any of us. The promise we have is that as we stay close to him will will have the Holy Ghost to comfort and direct and that is a most significant and powerful treasure. One that is worthy of all of our attention because if that is in alignment the rest will follow. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

President Ucktdorf General Relief Society Meeting from 24 September 2011

FORGET ME NOTS

1)      Do not forget to be patient with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others.

2)      Do not forget the difference between a good sacrifice and a poor sacrifice and choose the better part.

3)      Do not forget to be happy now. Do not continually look for the golden ticket like was found on the chocolate bar in Charlie’s Chocolate Factory and miss out of the enjoyment of the candy bar.

4)      Do not forget the why of the gospel. It is the why of the gospel that sanctifies us. The why is life and existence and that more abundantly.

5)      Do not forget the Lord loves you. 

When I heard this talk I felt full affirmation and confirmation from the Holy Ghost and my Heavenly Father that I was on the path that I was called to be on. I knew that I was not seeking after that which was contrary to his will. (Even with the confirmation I got a priesthood blessing the next day at church and this also continued to affirm the direction and course that my heart is drawing me in and my life is taking.

With all my heart I desire to teach and testify that God loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life.

AND this means that:

Life is something we are to embrace, enjoy, and delight in. God gave us life so that we might have joy and value and that we might savor the experience moment by moment and not something that we simply have to endure.