Monday, January 28, 2013

Pic attack

MY FAVORITE OF THEM ALL!! ALL THE GAUVIN KIDS!! LOVE THIS FAMILY SO
MUCH!! they have changed the course of so many people lives because of
the decision they made this weekend!!



graham is 7 and sky is 14!! love em!!




This is hunter and rose gauvin!! both baptized!!


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Email for blog - 1.28.13

Brothas and Sistas!!

What's going on?! This guy gets to stay another transfer in the Edmond 3rd ward and he couldn't be happier!! That means I will spend 1/4 of my mission in the Edmond area and I couldn't be more blessed. The miracles we get to witness everyday in this area and this ward is so humbling! The Lord is great and He truly is standing at the head of His Church directing it through divine revelation given to a modern day prophet. That I know.

So anyways, this transfer is just about over. I have been with Elder Byrd for 6 weeks almost and so we thought that I would be leaving the area because I have been in Edmond for 5 months and that's unusual...usually (see what i did there?) haha ;). So I got a call from President Taylor on Sunday night telling me that I would be staying one more transfer in the Edmond area with Elder Byrd. We are so excited because this area and this ward is on fire and we have so much yet to accomplish. It is going to be an exciting transfer. My stomach...i mean, heart(?) is happy...haha just kidding. 

I want to tell you all about the experience we as a ward had this weekend. We were able to witness the Gauvin family be baptized. The whole family except for their 7 year old entered the waters of baptism and opened the gates to start on the path to the Celestial Kingdom. Wow! This Gospel of Jesus Christ truly is the greatest thing we can have on this earth. The knowledge that this life is not the end, is the best feeling in the world. While at the baptism, I couldn't help but picture us all as children of a loving Heavenly Father who is watching over us and giving us guidance through His spirit and angels so that we can come back to His presence someday...but only in and through Jesus Christ. How awesome is that? The spirit was there testifying to all present that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that God so loved the world "that he gave His only begotten Son". "How great the importance to make these things know to the inhabitants of the earth".

Right after the baptism we also held a fireside. Me and Elder Byrd organized it this past transfer with the help of the ward members. We were really nervous about how it would go. This is besides the point. The point is, without going into huge detail, I have never been more tired or busy in my life as I was this transfer, but with the Lord's help if we trust Him, we can do all things if "we have faith in Christ". Sometimes we really just need to have "Jesus take the wheel"(as my girl carie underwood puts it). I can't tell you how many times I have needed to just completely go out on a limb and just hope that everything will work out. Every time I have done that, the Lord teaches me a lesson. The lesson is this. Everytime we exercise faith, we are inviting the spirit into our lives which allows for miracles to happen. I challenge you all to put yourself out of your comfort zone this week and exercise a little more faith in Christ and see the miracles that result. I promise you they will be there. :) This is the real motto "drake". If you are comfortable where you are right now, you are not growing and allowing the Lord to teach you how to be better. Get out of your comfort zones, exercise faith and let the Lord teach you how great and powerful He really is. 

I love you all!! I love this gospel!! I love being a missionary, but most importantly I love being a child of God. I have a testimony that Jesus Christ lives and has power to save us all if we continue to exercise faith in Him!! :)

Write me!! 416 SW 79th St. STE. 210 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73139

Elder Dallin Cutler

Monday, January 14, 2013

"You'll get lucky" - Email 1.14.13

What's going on?! You will get lucky! :) haha the quote of the week!! #goodTimes #swag

So this week was crazy!! Man I have never been more busy in my whole entire life. I can't believe how much you can fit in one day, its kinda getting ridiculously great. The Edmond 3rd ward is going to be hard to leave cause let me tell you, I love every single one of the members like they are my own family. It's truly amazing how simple and true the statement is "you love the people you serve". 

Me and Elder Byrd moved this week to a new apartment, now we're "pimpin" in a new "suite" with two bedrooms and two bathrooms...we don't even know what to do with the space or the new furniture that we got. Our last apartment was apparently the smallest in the mission according to the people in charge of housing. Missionaries had been living in it since who knows when, and it literally is the size of our closet that we have now. Don't know why i am telling you all this, but it just comes down to the fact that we are so blessed in the first place to have a place to sleep and eat and be warm and not have to worry about that. I realized this week that we really do take a lot for granted when there are people we meet out here who are not sleeping in houses or apartments...with no heat and no electricity. 

This week I have been doing alot of thinking/pondering on this one question. Why do people not accept the things that we are teaching them and why do we continue to let ourselves be distracted by the worldly things? I've realized that it is pretty simple if you think about it. 
1. We, as children of God, do not recognize our potential to "become"/ We don't truly know who we are
2. We don't understand well enough the potential we can have in our personal relationship with God

So I was thinking to myself and asking myself this question. How can I learn more about my potential and how can I make the Gospel of Jesus Christ more relevant in my life and then transform that into teaching other people? After studying Mosiah Chapters 2-5 I have come to the realization that if I
1. Recognize all the blessings in my life and express my gratitude constantly for them
2. Humble myself and submit to my Heavenly Father "just as a child submits to his father"
Then He will continue to teach me "line upon line, precept upon precept". The coolest thing is that we were created after the image of God. We look like Him, except He is a perfected being. He loves us, and He knows us personally. We can literally have a relationship with Him exactly like we have a relationship with our "earthly" father, except its better because our Father in Heaven is omniscient, ominpresent and omnipotent...enough said. I think sometimes I falsely assume that prayer is so much different from talking with my earthly dad and that I really can't have quite the personal relationship that I do with my earthly dad. Prayer is simply talking with our Heavenly Father, it is something we should look forward to doing. We must also realize that our relationship with our Father in Heaven is personalized. It is not going to be the same as someone else. That's the cool thing about it, because He knows us perfectly even though we all have our different "personalized" imperfections. How comforting.

Also, random thought, the priesthood is the authority to act in God's name and is the power whereby the Heavens were created. How dope! It is so real and if we stay worthy of it as "chosen vessels of the Lord" then we will be able to see its power as we serve others in the name of Jesus Christ! It is real! I have had the opportunity to use my priesthood and serve others. It has the power to heal "according to our faith" and I know that is true. I have seen many people healed through their faith and the priesthood power. Stay worthy of it. It's such a huge responsibility but such a huge privilege. Don't be "frivolous" about it. 

Well I love you guys! Miracles are happening in Oklahoma, but also in your everyday lives. I have a strong testimony of the power of God and the power of gratitude and humility. Be grateful and humble and you will begin to see how blessed you truly are and how indebted we are to Him. Its awesome! :)  Be happy and remember #EternalLifeOrDie #swag

Love yall,

Elder Cutler

Monday, January 7, 2013

"cheeeeese" - Picture 1.7.13


"Sup McThugginssssss. this is right before studies in the morning!! suh happy"

Email number billion - Email 1.7.13

What's going on my children!!

This week has been like a whirlwind man!! It's unbelievable how fast time has gone. I know I say this every week but really...its ridiculous. Me and Elder Byrd are halfway done with the transfer and it already feels like we've been brothas for a lifetime!! He is the man...he is my man!! We have had a very successful transfer so far (success is measured by commitment to the Lord and how hard you work) ie, we have worked harder than ever before. We literally are out from 11am to 9:30pm every day teaching and walking and knocking on doors and talking to people. I have never been more tired in my life and it is the most rewarding feeling ever. We have seen our eyes open to the "multitude of tender mercies" that the Lord has bestowed upon us. Miracles happen on a regular basis, its our job to recognize them :)

So first of all, if you have never heard of Kari Jobe...you are missing out my friends. Her voice is angelic and I am in love. She is the only one who has unlocked my heart while on a mission....sikeeee. Heart is still locked for two years!! But really, look her up!! So good :)

Back to business. This week I have learned so much but I want to tell you about some experiences I have been having and some things that I have learned. Never have I felt so strongly that God is in control of every little aspect of our lives and then some. When I "repent" everyday, and like we are commanded to, it puts life into perspective a little more. We are able to take a look at our lives and find ways to re-commit to aligning our will in a more perfect way to the Lord's will for us. Think about it this way, re-penitent. We are commanded to re commit to be a little more penitent every day, a little more humble, a little harder working...which all comes down to one thing. Are we living in a way where our will is completely aligned with God's? There are certain ways that we can make sure of this but one thing is prayer.

I have learned alot of about prayer this week and I wont give you all the details but I will ask you this question in hopes of invoking some thoughts of your own. If God already knows the thoughts and desires of our hearts and knows what we need better than we do...why do we pray? If God already is willing to grant us those blessings that He already knows we need, how do we know what to ask for so that our will can be the will of God's? My simple answer to you is that prayer is an act of humility that shows our Heavenly Father that we
1. Love Him
2. Depend on Him
3. Are grateful for His hand in our life
Prayer is such a deep yet simple concept, it is a way to communicate directly with divinity and a Father in heaven who has created us and all things. What a blessing! What a tool! Its amazing!! Use it!! :) I encourage you all to think a little bit more about prayer and to study a little more in depth what it truly means to pray because as I have studied it all week, I have realized some pretty amazing things. Read Romans 8 and the Bible Dictionary definition of Prayer to get you started :) Once we establish and come to realize a little more everyday the kind of relationship we have and can have with our Father in Heaven, prayer will become a natural instinct on our part, the children.

I also want to challenge you all to do something, not for me, but for your own happiness (crazy right?). Instead of kneeling down and always asking Heavenly Father for blessings upon you and others, take some time to simply pray one time a day and do nothing except express your gratitude. You will see a change in the way you think about yourself, God and others and life in general and you will be happier if you do that everyday. The last thing I want to cahllenge yall to do is to simply pray that your eyes will be opened to the many miracles and the tender mercies that the Lord shows forth everyday. I can promise you that He will open your eyes and you will begin to see things as you have never before seen them. You will begin to realize who God is, how He works, and how much He truly loves His children. Of that I can testify because I see it in my own life a little more each day. We are so blessed and our Father in Heaven loves us individually. He is all knowing and all powerful!! Trust Him and get to know Him, He wants you to. :)

Well anyways guys, Oklahoma is the bomb.com. Edmond 3rd is the greatest ever and I couldn't be more blessed to be here right now. Be good and rep CTR whenever you can!! :) Also, yall are slacking on the letter writing, cmon now...I'm not that scary or weird yet!! :)

ALSO! I am moving this weekend January 11 to a new apartment so the Kickingbird address is now VOID so send everything to the mission home until I can get a new address out! :)

Love you guys!!

Elder Dallin Cutler

#eternalLifeOrNothing #swag