Faith Over Fear- A Superman Story

Dear Readers, 

There isn't much more I can say than I said in the title. I want to write a bit about it though. I was reading a talk yesterday and that thought came to me. It is so simple, really--and so very amazing! Can I even really understand what that means to me? Putting faith over fear really is the secret to living a happy life. 

I have a friend that's been going through a hard time and I did my best to give him some advice. He told me that I am one of the happiest people that he knows. You know what? I may be. 

Do you want to know how?

Do you want to know the secret? 

Do you want to know how to be happy? 

Well, you've already read the answer. 

Put faith over fear, and your life will change. It isn't easy to do. It takes hard work. It takes being more afraid than you can even imagine at times. It takes putting yourself out there and being vulnerable. You have to be vulnerable to God, to your friends and family, and to the world. You have to have the same faith that Superman had--faith that he could trust humanity with who he was. Your super power might not involve lifting buildings or laser-vision, but let me tell you that faith becomes a super power. 

Deciding that it is better to love or trust and be hurt than to never feel--that's how you find it. You take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. At times your heart will ache until you think that there is no more pain that you can handle. That's what makes it worth it though. 

There is no way to feel that joy and love that life has to offer if you spend your time worrying that you'll stop feeling that way. 

Superman had to know that his whole world was gone, and he almost lost everything that he cared about. He could have even lost his life. That's how we must live. Not crashing around the world or saving the whole thing at once, but taking that Hero's chance to do something that could make the difference. THAT is how you find happiness. 

That's how you find joy, and live your life. 

We are blessed with so much, SO VERY MUCH. Take a minute to count ten things that you have right now that have made your life better. 

We have no right to complain, no right to make the world darker. Darkness will always come from behind the light, and we will create more of what we focus on! 

My friends--go forth and be awesome. Do great things. The world will surprise you with how much good it has, if you only take the time to go and see it. 

I love you. 

Make today count.

You are infinite. 

You are great. 

You know what to do. 

There is much waiting on you. 

People need your BEST SELF. 

Don't save it for some day in the future, or it will never come! 

Sincerely, 

Doug Knuth

What do I stand for? Some Nights--no, today I know!

Today I feel so nostalgic. I feel a great desire to return to the MTC and I really know that my mission was a special part of my life. Right now I KNOW that if I could conjure a Patronus it would work, from the power of these feelings. I remember the excitement, the love, and the bright times that I experienced! I feel not quite, but a little close to the way Alma felt when he declared "Oh that I were an angel". Oh that I were a missionary again! Oh that I worked at the MTC! I still could! 

Today I want to challenge you to think of some time in your life when you had a powerful emotion that changed you for the better! Goodness--there isn't anything that I can't do! There is so much light!! There is so much to be done in the world!!! 

To quote HeMan- "I HAVE THE POWER!!!"

Or rather, WE HAVE THE POWER!!!

We have time! We have minds! We have resources! We have so much!

What is stopping me today from being so amazing that I change the world? 

What is stopping me from helping someone? 

What is stopping me from making something beautiful? 

What is stopping me from smiling? 

What stops me from doing more?

The answer to all these questions is exactly the same: Nothing. 

Nothing is stopping me from shining and soaring and making the world better than it is! How can I sit around and waste my time when I have so much to do?!?!?!

Let's go and just DO IT! Take chances! Make mistakes! Get messy! 

CHANGE THE WORLD!

You can do it! We can all do it! We are the future! Let us all go forth and be awesome!!!!

The hard things are only the hard things until they are easy, done, and we realize just how much more we can do than we think we can do! 

Don't you get it? 

God MADE YOU. 

He doesn't make failures. He makes successes. He makes geniuses. He makes the movers and shakers. He makes us all to succeed! 

Never, EVER give up. Don't you dare. Don't you even look back or be afraid. Don't you EVER listen to those voices in your head that lie to you.!!!!!

You are amazing!!!!!!!

You have infinite potential!!!!! 

Keep your head up!!!!!!!

Don't forget--God loves you! Christ loves you! I love you! 

You--yes, you. Go out and do it! 

Sincerely, 

Doug Knuth

June means?

Dear Readers, 

June means that we're half way through the year. 
June means that we're finishing up Spring, and that Summer is on its way. 
June means that we've had six months to work on our New Year's Resolutions. 
June means that we're looking forward. 
June means that I'm here. 

I have had a couple of down weeks. Why? I've been down in the dumps because I couldn't give up the one thing that I needed to to know my Savior better. I didn't want to give up my past. I didn't want to see the bright future that June holds for me. Do you know why, my dear Reader? I didn't want to because there is evil in the world that doesn't want me to be happy. 

You know what though? I say FIE! FIE ON YOU EVIL! I am going to laugh in evil's face! HAH! 

TAKE THAT! 

I will NOT settle for mediocrity in my life! I WILL NOT! I WILL NEVER! I WILL PERSEVERE! 
There is nothing for me to fear. I KNOW that my God will see me through. I know that I am more than enough to take care of business. 

I will not damn myself! I will be a river, and I will flow on! 

C.S. Lewis had the following to say. It brought me to tears yesterday and it's helped me to gain a little bit of perspective;

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

I will be that palace that God wants me to be! 

I will be amazing! 

I will be awesome! 

I will succeed! 

I will do it! 

I can do it! 

I know that God lives! 

I know that I am a Son of God! 

I know that I am good enough for the things that I want to do with my life! 

Now, my dear reader, apply these things to yourself. 

YOU ARE amazing! 

YOU ARE awesome! 

YOU WILL succeed! 

YOU WILL do it! 

YOU CAN do it! 

YOU KNOW that God lives! 

YOU KNOW that you are a Son/Daughter of God! 

I know that YOU ARE good enough for the things that you want to do with your life! 

Don't let the world get you down. It sucks. 

Remember that you are amazing. 

I will never give up. 

Nothing can stop me but my own weaknesses, and today, those won't get my down. That's a CHOICE I'm making. 

I CHOOSE JOY. 

I CHOOSE a brighter future. 

I CHOOSE June!

I love you all. 

Go forth and make impossible things happen. 

Love, 

Doug Knuth

Carry On!

Dear Readers, 

This week! I'm back in Rexburg after a long weekend, and I am ready for what I can do! I'm finding more strength to pass through hard things, and as I find it, I see that it comes from within. As I exercise faith in God and in the promises I have in my life, I find that they are always fulfilled. I can always find a way to make it through the hard times, and not by cheating the rules or doing anything less than I should. 

I find that I'm becoming who I want to be, one day at a time. I can't be perfect at everything all at once forever, but I can be better than I was yesterday. I can be more than I was a week ago, a month ago, a year ago. I can be the man I want to be, the father I hope to become, the husband I want for my wife, just by doing my very best--and nothing less! 

I will be that man! I can do it! I know that we can all be the person that we want to be by doing little things each day. In a talk I read this week, Richard G. Scott said, "...little things lead to big things..." I have a testimony of that in my life. Doing little things one day at a time is really how we make it in the end, and I am so very grateful for all of the blessings I have for what I do! Calling a friend I haven't talked to in a while, helping out somewhere, or in general just serving anyone I can brings me closer to the Savior! Doing my homework brings me closer to being the provider for my family. 

I am learning each day how to be less selfish. It isn't easy, and requires that I look frankly at who I am, what I am doing, and what I need to change, but I can see that it's working. I can see that, albeit I am flawed, my flaws can diminish a little bit as I work to be better! It's such a good feeling! 

We can all carry on. We can all find that part of ourselves to better. I know it, and I know it about you! You have a great work to do, wherever you are. You have people to save. You have a family to raise. You have friends that need you, and that you need! You can't give up on yourself if you really think about how important each of us is in the grand scheme of things. Sure one person could somehow not make a difference, but if more than one person thinks that way, we're done for! We have to be the strong link sometimes, and sometimes we hold on to the other ones. Never let go though! 

 

I know that you'll do great things, and I plan on being there with you to do them too! 

Happy May everyone! I hope that June brings forth as many blessings as blossoms for you! 

Sincerely, 

Doug Knuth

The Wrong Side of Bed, or the Right Side of Life?

Dear Readers,
I woke up totally unenthused for today. I wanted to go back to bed. I wanted to cover myself up and just not exist for the day. I didn't want to look at the pile of homework I have to work on, think about the laundry that I need to fold, or in general deal with the world. I was rather less than excited about my day.

I got up any ways. I took a shower, and it helped a little bit. I went to the I-Center to study a bit before class, and the balcony that I wanted to use to be alone was locked and so I had to sit in the lobby up there instead. I went to class, and that helped a little more, but I was still a little down. In fact, I might still be a little down. You know what though--that's okay.

I don't have to be 100% all the time. I may not be okay, but that's okay. A friend of mine taught me that this week.

I know though, this phrase can be a little misleading, so I want to elaborate. I have struggles in my life. I face my own dragons and although I know that they can be beaten, some days they look much tougher than others. Even if my best just means getting out of bed in the morning, that's what I'll do. I can do hard things, and some days that's a lot less than others. There are days where I can practically fly I am so happy. There are other days that a smile weighs a ton to wear.

I will never give up on that though. Things may be hard, and I know that at times my life may be hard. I am learning that I have to acknowledge my own hardships, and I feel that I am being drawn closer to Christ through that.

I will never, ever give up, and I will never, ever give up on any of you. There is ALWAYS another day tomorrow, even if that day isn't in this life. We will always be capable beings that can change, for the better or for the worse.

I am leaning more about changing for the better. We can't just deny that a part of ourselves may exist. Saying that we aren't something that we truly are is akin to saying that there are less rooms in our home than there are. Saying that it isn't there doesn't change that it is there, and we can only be complete when we see it as a whole. We can change what we put in the room, or what it's for, but we need to be okay with it being there.

So, that's where I'm at right now, my dear readers. I'm going through it as best I can, and that's all I need. Thank you so much for acknowledging me, thank you for taking the time to read. I wish for you the best day you can have today, and that as you walk along your path you can feel whole with all of your life. After all, it's the only one you've got!

DFTBA!
With much love!
Doug Knuth

On the Corner of the Gall of Bitterness and the Boulevard of Not so Broken Dreams

Dear Readers, 

When the day is long and the shadows fall upon our paths, the clouds gather and we feel the rain adding an extra pound onto our already unbearable load. When the light at the end of the tunnel is dim, and when it seems as though our present struggles will consume all of everything that we have and are, we stare at the world and think. When you can't wrap around the problems you face, and you know that no one could possibly know how you feel, not really, or feel truly alone, sometimes you cry. 

I know these things because I have felt this way. I have had many a hard day in my life. I don't pretend that they're the same as anyone else, or that I can understand the same pain, but I know what mine is like; and I know how hard it can be. I know what it feels like to have the weight of my world on my shoulders, and not in a good way. I know what it feels like to hurt so close to the center of your heart that you don't know if it will ever get better. I know that feeling the way I've felt it, and I know that it sucks. That's the best way to say it that I know. It just sucks. 

I know what it's like to think you'll never be happy again people. I know what it's like to think that everyone hates you just because you're the way you are, or because you messed up. I've done plenty of that in my life, plenty more than I needed to ever do. I've been sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I am tired of it! 

This world will try to kick your butt and shove you around, and push you down until you never want to get back up. I know how that feels too. Not the way you do, but I know it. 

You know what else I know though? I know the following; 

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. Because they were holding on to something... There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it's worth fighting for."

-Sam, Lord of the Rings

I know that deep in my soul, my friends. Today may be a damned dark and horrid day, but that doesn't change who you are for even a minute. You are a Child of God with a capital C because you are important. The battles you fight are real wherever they may be, and I sure as heaven and hell know of the truthfulness of that. 

Don't you dare give up. You owe it to your parents, friends, children, spouse, to the angels in heaven, to those you love that have passed on, and in general to every single person that ever fought for your freedom to make it. 

There have been too many lives lost, too many chances untaken, for you to give up where you are right now. I love you. I know how hard it is. I'm fighting too. Every day I fight to love myself, and to love my neighbor. I fight to live a happy life that is full of meaning. I fight for the right, for the good, for the beauty, for the joy of life, and I'll fight for yours. 

I never give up. I never will. 

Neither should you. 

Believe. 

Live. 

Love. 

Have joy. 

I love you. 

-Doug Knuth

Just Another Day-Or not- and Homework is a Blessing!!!! Oh, and Happy Thursday!!!

Dear Readers,

We're in to the semester now. We're past the first two weeks and we've hit the chorus to "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel" now. There is a lot of work to be done, and it doesn't seem as though there is enough time to do it all in. It's a little cloudy today, but that's alright! I have amazing friends, a good work ethic (for the first time in my life), and I have God on my side. I know that it's just a Thursday, but that's what makes today so amazing. I can have one of those days that is just another day in my life. I can have a day where nothing goes horribly wrong, and I think that we need to be more grateful for those days!

I mean to say that if the fact that it might rain is the worst part of your day then you're doing pretty good! If there isn't anything huge that's tearing your life apart (and homework does NOT count!) then you should be grateful! That's what I want to focus on! Thank you God for a normal day, one in which I can just be me and--oh wait, I'm going to see the PIANO GUYS TONIGHT! Today is NOT a normal day! It's better than that! Even if it was just another normal day though, I believe that it being a completely normal day makes it that much more special! We can live!

Homework is a blessing, I've come to believe. Please don't misunderstand--I'm still not the best at it. I'm not grateful enough for it, but think about homework. It's there for one reason, so that we can learn! In its very essence homework is an amazing blessing in our lives!!!! We have the chance to work to better ourselves and the world around us, so why should we bemoan our fate? We can enjoy it and even in the case of my math class where I have to love it with a little bit of a forced grin on my face, I'll make myself love it until I do so more freely! I know that it will benefit me!

I hope that everyone's having a great Thursday! Even if it isn't Thursday when you read this, I hope that the nearest Thursday treats you well and that you'll love it!

YOU are great! YOU can do this! YOU are amazing! YOU have a strong heart and a strong will. YOU can go and make the world better, just by being your best self. Don't settle for less than that of yourself or those around you!

I love you!
-Doug Knuth