Every July my community hosts a hot air balloon festival. I love to go take pictures, but I think it would be amazing to actually ride in one someday. I’m naturally scared of heights, but I’ve worked on that fear over the past few years, and I think I could set that aside and actually enjoy the view and the ride in a hot air balloon. It would be fun to take photos from the other perspective for a change.

(Read and Follow the Directions)

I have to learn I can’t afford to sit around and just chill during the quiet, peaceful times in my life. I need to actively prepare for the difficulties that may come my way in the future. I know what my weaknesses are and need to make the effort to seek God’s help to strengthen myself in those areas, like my fear of heights. When the crisis is upon us, the time for preparation is past. But if I do all I can to prepare, and ask Heavenly Father for help, if or when the crisis comes I may not feel nearly as difficult as it would have been without the preparation. Even if no crisis comes, I can have better peace of mind the rest of the time and find greater joy in life. This applies to spiritual preparation as well as physical preparation. Captain Moroni had the people work on both areas.

Book of Mormon, Alma 49

And behold, the city had been rebuilt, and Moroni had stationed an army by the borders of the city, and they had cast up dirt round about to shield them from the arrows and the stones of the Lamanites; for behold, they fought with stones and with arrows. 3 Behold, I said that the city of Ammonihah had been rebuilt. I say unto you, yea, that it was in part rebuilt; and because the Lamanites had destroyed it once because of the iniquity of the people, they supposed that it would again become an easy prey for them. 4 But behold, how great was their disappointment; for behold, the Nephites had dug up a ridge of earth round about them, which was so high that the Lamanites could not cast their stones and their arrows at them that they might take effect, neither could they come upon them save it was by their place of entrance.