Shortly after I started my study at BYU-Idaho I went through a terrible struggle in my life. There were a lot of reasons for this, but one of the most significant ones was that I kept feeling the Lord was stretching me to do things I wasn't ready to do. I felt overwhelmed. I felt bored. I felt lost. I knew the answers, but it was too hard, too strange, too different from the culture and the world I had grown up in. Yet, it was the only way to be able to spend my time in a Christlike way.

I am a very creative person. I love to imagine new worlds, to create stories, to envision anything artistic I could create. I used to spend hours putting together role-play games for friends and family. I thrive on creativity. Without it I feel dead inside. No matter what was going on in my life I always wanted to have something creative going, not just anything, something very absorbing. I wanted to be transported to another realm where I could feel free to be whatever I wanted to be and to explore uncharted worlds of splendor and wonder.

Through many experiences in my life, including my mission, I had come closer to the Holy Spirit. I had come to know His voice. Sometimes what He tells me isn't comfortable, isn't easy, isn't standard behavior. When I started my studies at BYU-Idaho, away from my family, I kept feeling impressions leading me away from video games and from my very absorbing creative pursuits. I couldn't shake the feeling. I knew I needed to stop. I knew there must be something better to revitalize my energy. I should clarify, I am not telling you there is no place for creativity and fun. In fact, I think it's an important, but poorly executed, part of life. Most recreation is self-centered and pleasure-centered in nature. There is a better way to use recreational activities, a way guided by higher purpose, and I think a properly guided life is not filled with pleasure-centered activities.

Later on, I was given a different priesthood blessing related to this. The most poignant thought proposed in the blessing was, how would the Savior spend his time? It's funny that we grow up as Christians learning the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?" but perhaps never really delve deeply into what that means for how we spend our time. I decided to finally make up my mind on this, through pondering and prayer. I realized that it's a very different task to try to imagine Jesus's life if he were born close to the birth of the 21st century.

What would Jesus do? What would he not do? What can you honestly picture him doing? I can't help, but imagine a life absorbed in service, teaching and care for others, with a close walk with his Father in Heaven. I can't help but imagine him increasing in wisdom, getting as much education as possible, and being an avid reader. I can't imagine him failing in his work. I can only imagine him putting all his heart, might, mind and strength into all he does and making it a work of the highest quality and commitment. I can only imagine him infusing all he does with love and inspired direction from Heaven.

I wondered sometimes what it would be like if I met the Savior as a mortal on the earth if he was born in this time. I believe the content of our meeting would be wondrously and miraculously inspired. When he met people, I believe he often had immediate inspiration as to their needs. He knew who to bless and how to help them. The stories he told were perfect for those he taught and filled with wisdom. Every encounter we read of was a miracle of inspiration. There was no challenge too great that he could not meet by revelation from his Father. If we met in such a context I have to believe that it would be memorable not only because he is Jesus, but because the content is so thought-provoking and the event filled so unmistakably with revelation and the hand of God. It would certainly answer a personal prayer, probably one I had never revealed to anyone. I would never forget the encounter.

Now, we try to compare our life to the life of Jesus. It's easy to be overwhelmed. Life is a process of growth and development. God knows that's how it is. Our struggles each teach us a new lesson and each new day is another opportunity to change. I think, however, that we need to do more than just want to be better. We need to plan and work and pray with the intent to shape our lives after the Master. Our lives are like a small old house with little space, unkempt and unclean. We don't just need to clean it up and make it prettier. We don't just need to expand it with a new room or patio. We need to tear down the life we have, completely, and start from the bottom. C.S. Lewis made and observation that God wants to make us into a palace. In fact, He wants to make us into the most majestic palace you can imagine. Imagine the most beautiful castle you've ever seen, now imagine it glowing with marble stone, bright white light, angels coming to and fro, gardens surrounding of all colors and types, mountains behind, and a sky of a million bright stars, filled with nebula and galaxies. He doesn't want your life to be just any palace, He wants it to be the palace of the Almighty.

We may think that a Christlike life is too difficult, too much of a stretch, yet that is the bar we must reach for. We should not be willing to settle for less. Our lives could be so much greater than they are. We have more power to do good than we could imagine. We limit ourselves so much! With God, nothing shall be impossible! Every day can be filled with love, learning and miracles. Walk close with God, come to know Him, seek His inspiration in all you do, dedicate and plan your life so that every minute of your time is used to glorify Him and serve His purposes, and your life will be greater than anything you have ever imagined. I have experienced many miraculous and special blessings in my life, many too personal to share in an online article. However, I have seen the hand of God guiding me in my life, I have been blessed with special miracles and witnesses from God, and I know the path the Lord wants me to take in my life, a path that leads me to live dreams I never thought I could actually live.

We idolize these great powerful heroes in fiction, the Jedis, the superheroes, the magic wielders. You are better than all of that because God's power is that much greater and that much more perfect in it's influence. You think you have only a spark of influence you can exercise. Yet, with the inspiration of Heaven and a willing heart and mind, you could have a blazing sun of power. Reach for that. There is no shame in it. Let go of the fear. Don't limit yourself. Don't put yourself down. Don't worry about failure. Your life is a little budding tree that could grow into a great Redwood.

We can start by praying and listening to our hearts and minds for the inspiration heaven gives us. We can ponder and study about important questions in our life and seek inspiration about them. If we have faith, there will be some revelation. Full answers come in time, but I find that quickly there will be something, even if just comfort. If we pray always we will come to the point where every day has revelation. I know this because it has happened for me. We may be led to people we can help. We need to think about what we can do though, and take it to God. We need to go and be with people, even if it's only on social media. If we take the first step in righteousness, and wait on the Lord in faith, He will always be there! Miracles will come to pass! Lives will be affected! I receive inspiration on my articles and videos I make. Everything you create can be an inspired miracle. It can affect someone's life for the better, if you only have faith and work for it. The impact you have may be a small miracle, but it will be a miracle because Heaven will be guiding it.

I want every encounter I have with another person to be inspired, to be a miracle. I want it to be a sacred moment. I want as much as possible for it to be a teaching opportunity. I want the other person to be happier because of it, or wiser because of it. I have dedicated my hobbies to the Lord and I hope that all I do with these hobbies blesses the lives of others. Coming back full circle to my focus on recreation, God's love is the best recreation of all. Being an impact in other's lives is recreation. I don't need amusement to be happy. I need God's love. Games of course can be a way to connect with others and build relationships, and sometimes to exercise our bodies, but I don't need them anymore for my happiness. All I need is to do something of value for others. I believe that's all any of us needs. I am not against recreational games if you want to build connections with other people or exercise your body, but I just can't picture Christ spending much time on those things. For what recreation he may have sought, I imagine it would probably be an outdoors activity or a game to connect with family or friends. It probably wouldn't be a violent video game. It probably wouldn't be watching James Bond. It probably wouldn't be indulging in large amounts of unhealthy food. Everything would have a higher purpose. Everything would be done responsibly. Everything would be devoted to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth. No moment would be wasted.

I believe we can become much more Christlike than we are. I don't think these goals are too much to seek after in our daily life. We can be so much more than we are. We can be so much happier than we are. With God, nothing shall be impossible. We need to stop tinkering with pleasure-centered pursuits and reach for the heavens. We need to dedicate ourselves to rejecting the status quo and reaching for a kind of life that is largely unknown. The path of the Lord is straight and narrow, and few there be that find it. If you are like the masses you are off-course. The way of Holiness is peculiar to the world. Embrace that calling to be Christlike, no matter how strange it makes you seem. You can bring to pass miracles. You can be a force for good. You can be a hero. You can be Christlike.