My wish for you...

I am feeling completely overwhelmed with gratitude. I am not good at putting things down in words but I hope this can reach someone. I have always underestimated the blessing of my testimony of the Lord. But I want to share this with you, whoever you are.

I have never felt so blessed in my entire life. I feel like I am finally mature enough to understand the incredible blessings I have been granted. I live in America. I am free to write, say, and do so many things. I go to one of the most incredible schools on the planet. I have an eternal family. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I have a testimony of this beautiful gospel:

Heavenly Father lives! He really does. You are His precious son or daughter. He loves you more than you could ever know. You are never alone. He is always there for you. Even in the hardest of times He is standing right beside us holding us up when we feel like we could fall at any second. Even if we make mistakes He waits patiently to receive us with open arms. He is NEVER out of second chances. He desires for us to be SO happy. I know that the temple is the house of God. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. I know that the power of God is on the earth today through the holy priesthood. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of this dispensation. I know with every fiber of my being that this church is true. I am not brainwashed or naive. There is no way to deny the feelings I have about this gospel, my Heavenly Father, and my Savior.

My wish for you is that you can know these things too. I promise it will change your life. You will be incredibly happy. You will have peace in this troubled world. It is so true. It is beautiful. He lives!

(:

this is who i am.

seeing as the title of my blog is "simply me" i feel that i should write a post about who i really am. the things that are important and the things that define me.

my name is melissa ashley fitzen.

i am the daughter of david and donna fitzen. i am the oldest of six children.

i have one sister (Kimberly) and four brothers (Jonathon, Nathan, Parker, & Logan).

i love my family with all my heart.

i am a child of God.

i know with all of my heart that I am a child of God. I know that He loves me. I know that he loves you. We can't truly comprehend it but it is real and I feel his love daily through his tender mercies.

i am girl.

i do stupid things like eat ice cream while watching chick flicks and crying. i care about what others think. i dress up for guys. i watch wedding shows on TLC. i am a girl and i do girly things.

i am optimistic.

i know without a doubt that things will always get better. i know that our loving Father in Heaven is ALWAYS looking out for us. He will not rip us off. He cares so much about us and he ultimately wants us to be happy. Everything he asks us to do or allows to happen to us is to strengthen us and make us SO much happier in the end. life is good. (:

i am a musician.

i love music (maybe that is why i'm majoring in it). i love love love it. i love being able to share the gospel through music. i love playing piano. i love feeling the spirit that music can bring. i love to express myself when i play. it is something i have complete control over and can make personally mine (: it is incredible. i love singing. i love to smile and make people happy when they hear music. it is such an incredible blessing to have music in my life.

i am passionate.

i care deeply about the things that are a part of me: the gospel, music, family, friends. i don't know how to describe this but i am passionate in all that i do. i try to do things to the fullest.

i am loving.

i truly open up my heart to people. i love people. i don't need to know them. Heavenly Father loves them...that should be enough for me.

i am a teacher.

i find indescribable joy in teaching other people. i love to teach the gospel, music, or just things i have learned in school. it makes it feel like there is a purpose to all the learning i have done. i love to share that with other people.

i am confident.

i know who i am. i know that Heavenly Father loves me. nothing else really matters in the end. i am melissa ashely fitzen. this is who i am. take it or leave it.

"hope ya know, we had a hard time"

there are periods in our lives that are full of joy and laughter. times of accomplishment and pride. times of deep spirituality and reflection. times of sadness.

in hard times we are supposed to make a list of our blessings or things we are grateful for. here are some of mine:

family.
friends.
house.
food.
cell phone.
laptop.
camera.
internet.
email.
music.
piano.
the gosple of jesus christ.
calling (sunday school teacher).
car.
fully functional body.
lack of allergy to chocolate.
holy ghost.
scriptures.
jay patrick valle.
temple.
testimony.
education.
opportunity to sing in general conference.
opportunity to sing at president's club.
jazz choir.
chemistry.
nail polish.
pillows.
my own bed.
shoes.
mom.
dad.
technology in general.
shampoo AND conditioner.
church building.
TV.
brain.
ukulele.
graphing calculator.
candles.
headbands.
letters.
tender mercies.
socks.
the sun.
kites. (especially owl ones named roberto).
fruit.
grocery stores.
electricity.
pictures.
tears.
quotes.
mormon messages.
.........

i could go on and on. it's amazing how this simple act can make such a difference in a person's life. there is a mormon message based on a talk given by quinten l. cook. it is titled "hope ya know, we had a hard time." watch it. even though i am having a hard time this summer there is always so much good in the world. we may not know why everything happens the way it does, but there is someone who does know and he loves us more than we know (: