New blog name!

So you probably noticed that I changed the name of my blog. I love the motto "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve," and it will always be one of the goals of my life, but it didn't seem to reflect my blog anymore.

So I thought and prayed and brainstormed and finally it hit me: Have we not reason to rejoice?

The phrase comes from one of my favorite Conference Talks, a talk that helped me through a very hard time in my life. It helped me to learn that despite the challenges that life brings, there are always blessings to be found. Or as Isaiah put it, "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee." (See Isaiah 54:10).

I feel that that principle is the theme of my blog. Every day is another battle in the quest for eternal perfection, but that does not mean that every day is dreadful! President Uchtdorf tells us:

Enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life's difficult circumstances or "hanging in there." Ours is an active religion, helping God's children along the strait and narrow path to develop their full potential during this life and return to Him one day. Viewed from this perspective, enduring to the end is exalting and glorious, not grim and gloomy. This is a joyful religion, one of hope, strength and deliverance.

I write about my challenges, yes. But I come to see my challenges as great blessings because they transform me, they bring me closer to the Lord, they help me become the person He wants me to be.

And so I testify, and will continue to testify, that in the midst of afflictions each of us truly does have reason to rejoice - because as Corrie ten Boom wrote, "in darkness God's truth shines most clear."