God does not look on the outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.
He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked.
What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
October 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
consistency
Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes.
Elder David A. Bednar
October 2009
Elder David A. Bednar
October 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
blessings
finances have been rather tight since we bought our house. it is not something we are worried about long term, just for a little bit while we catch up. um..i take that back. we still worry, but there is light at the end of the tunnel...christmas bonus, tax return, etc. but at this second, i am wishing we had just a little bit more money. especially with the holidays coming up.
well, on saturday paul cleaned out and organized the garage and we were able to fit the minivan in it. which has been wonderful. no getting in and out of the car in the rain. and ava caught sight of storage boxes that hold my stuff from when i was a little girl. and has been pestering us to get them out so her and i can go through them.
yesterday, we finally went through all of the boxes and in one of them, i found a thank you card from years ago when paul and i were first married and babysat the jones' girls {our flower girls} while their parents went away for the weekend for their anniversary. we still talk about this experience and how exhausted we were after feeding and entertaining these girls for two days. yet, how much fun it was getting to experience that. well, in the thank you card was $50.00 cash. i don't know why i never deposited it. or why it was still in there after almost 10 years. but what a sweet blessing it was to find that money. and how very needed it is.
one of my favorite scriptures:
"..take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For your Father in Heaven knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you."
when it is so easy to feel alone in my struggles, what a glorious comfort it is to be reminded by such a small thing as $50 that my Heavenly Father knows little me and is willing to help me and bless me.
well, on saturday paul cleaned out and organized the garage and we were able to fit the minivan in it. which has been wonderful. no getting in and out of the car in the rain. and ava caught sight of storage boxes that hold my stuff from when i was a little girl. and has been pestering us to get them out so her and i can go through them.
yesterday, we finally went through all of the boxes and in one of them, i found a thank you card from years ago when paul and i were first married and babysat the jones' girls {our flower girls} while their parents went away for the weekend for their anniversary. we still talk about this experience and how exhausted we were after feeding and entertaining these girls for two days. yet, how much fun it was getting to experience that. well, in the thank you card was $50.00 cash. i don't know why i never deposited it. or why it was still in there after almost 10 years. but what a sweet blessing it was to find that money. and how very needed it is.
one of my favorite scriptures:
"..take no thought, saying,
What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For your Father in Heaven knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you."
when it is so easy to feel alone in my struggles, what a glorious comfort it is to be reminded by such a small thing as $50 that my Heavenly Father knows little me and is willing to help me and bless me.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
love
In 1st John, Chapter 4, Verse 7 we read:
.. let us a love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God.
Upon returning home from his day’s work, a father greeted his boy with a pat on the head and said, “Son, I want you to know I love you.”
The son responded with, “Dad, I don’t want you to love me, I want you to play football with me.”
Isn’t that true?
That the very most important thing about love is not saying it.
But rather, what we do and how we show that love?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton said,
The world is filled with too many of us who are inclined to indicate our love
with an announcement or declaration.
Love demands ACTION if it is to be continuing.
Love is a process.
A process…
Which to me means,
Love takes TIME.
True love is selfless. It is completely and utterly forgetting oneself in the love of others.
Of course….
When I was writing this talk, I thought mostly of improving my action of LOVE in accordance with those who I am around most..
my children and husband.
Who, unfortunately, in the midst of our busy daily lives are sometimes the ones I forget to
slow down, take time and SHOW love to.
But, along with those I live with, I also thought of others.. friends or family who I see frequently or only a few times a year, those I visit teach or serve in my calling and even strangers I see at the grocery store or the park.
In the book True to the Faith, we are counseled:
Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters. The love that results from this realization has the power to transcend all boundaries of nation, creed, and color.
In a book I am currently reading, called the Creative Family, the author gives the following simple advice:
Take things a bit slower when you’re out in the world so you have the time to say “thank you” with a smile. And thank your children! Simply because something is expected doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be recognized. Tell them you’re grateful for them every single day.
What better way to show love to those around us then by expressions of gratitude?
On Friday I went shopping with all three kids to Trader Joe’s.
Now, if you’ve ever been in Trader Joe’s, you’ll notice that it’s small.
Small aisles, small carts and lots of people.
So, there I was with my short list that suddenly didn’t seem so short anymore because along with getting all the items on my list, I also had in tow:
a talkative three year old who wanted to touch everything in sight as well as help push the cart in every other directions other than the one it was supposed to go,
a six year old who was obviously hungry because she was asking to buy everything in every aisle we went down whining loudly when I said “no”.
not to mention a four month old who was struggling with every movement to extract herself from the baby bjorn I had her strapped in.
I finally made it through the store with everyone and everything intact and all the items from my list in the cart, {give or take a few.}
and breathed a huge sigh of relief as we got in line to checkout.
Not a moment later an older lady walked straight up to me and said,
“I’ve been watching you and your family and just had to tell you how well behaved your children are. I’ve been there before and know how hard it is and I wanted to tell you that you’re doing a wonderful job.”
Well, the stress of shopping with three kids and the relief at being done and her saying that when I was at my weakest brought instant tears to my eyes. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this kind, kind woman who didn’t just passively observe us and move on, but had the initiative to come up to us and tell us what she thought.
After she walked away I told the kids what she had said and in turn, expressed gratitude to them for being so good. Even though in the midst of the chaos I hadn’t noticed it, they were well behaved.
They were just being kids.
And I was just being a stressed out mom. For the rest of the day, I periodically thanked them for being such good kids. And when I tucked them into bed reminded them of how much I loved them and am grateful for them.
I wonder if that woman knew what a chain reaction she started on Friday? And what an angelic answer to prayers she was?
I wonder if any of us know what would happen if we were to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost to say something or do something when we’re inspired to. To show love to those around us.
In a 1998 First Presidency Message entitled How do we Show our Love? President Monson said:
Of all the blessings I have had in my life, one of the sweetest is that feeling the Lord provides when I know that He has answered the prayer of another person THROUGH me. As we love the Lord, as we love our neighbor, we discover that our Heavenly Father will answer the prayers of others through our ministry.
Paul’s parents just left on Tuesday after spending last weekend with us. They usually come and visit us a few times a year and whenever they come they do the same three things:
ONE They do the dishes after every meal.
TWO They spend time with the kids. {and I mean down on the floor playing cars or drawing with them or reading stacks and stacks of books for hours at a time.}
And THREE they say thank you and give honest, heartfelt compliments of how proud and grateful they are for all of us.
They never do these things half hearted. They are done with their full attention and done the best they know how. Those three things and many other things they do for us, show us how much they truly love us. They are acts of love that will never be forgotten.
There are everyday instances where we can express and practice love the way the Savior taught.
In True to the Faith we are reminded that in serving others we are not only expressing our love towards them but to our Heavenly Father. I quote:
Our expressions of love for others may include
being kind to them, listening to them, mourning with them, comforting them, serving them,
praying for them, sharing the gospel with them, and being their friend.
In all of the scriptures, do we ever read of the Savior declining a chance to teach, to perform a miracle, or to display his godly love?
If we are to follow his example, if we are to show our love to God, we must do the same. When we are with the ones we love, we should forget email, that project we need or want to get done, forget phone calls and texts and our to-do lists and just BE with the ones we love.
All of the other things can wait.
And no, I’m not forgetting about life. I’m not forgetting that laundry still needs to be done, as well as dishes, homework, lessons and housework.
I’m only saying that when you’re with the ones you love, BE WITH THEM.
My disclaimer before I finish, is that I’m not saying I do this all of the time. Or even some of the time. I’m not saying it’s easy. But it’s what we should do if we are to follow the Savior’s counsel.
Once again, from true to the faith, we read:
Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters.
I echo Elder Marvin J. Ashton in saying,
I pray our Heavenly Father will help us to learn the truth that meaningful love is a continuing process that will bring joy and happiness to all participating parties.
May we take the time to show our families, our friends, the stranger, our prophet, and our God that our declarations of love are backed up by performance by our daily lives, that we know for love to be acceptable to God and man it must be continuing and originate from within.
I am grateful for this life and the chance I have to better myself each and every day. I am grateful for Paul who loves me and serves me and who for some reason thinks I am better than I actually am. I am grateful for my sweet children from whom I have learned the value of slowing down and enjoying the little things in life. I am thankful for my Savior and the atonement. Without which I would not have the blessing of repenting and improving myself. And I am thankful to a Heavenly Father who knows me and whom I strive to know and stay close to. I know that without his guidance, I could do nothing.
Let me close by returning to 1st John Chapter 4 where we read in verse 10:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he love us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
..if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
.. let us a love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth
is born of God, and knoweth God.
Upon returning home from his day’s work, a father greeted his boy with a pat on the head and said, “Son, I want you to know I love you.”
The son responded with, “Dad, I don’t want you to love me, I want you to play football with me.”
Isn’t that true?
That the very most important thing about love is not saying it.
But rather, what we do and how we show that love?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton said,
The world is filled with too many of us who are inclined to indicate our love
with an announcement or declaration.
Love demands ACTION if it is to be continuing.
Love is a process.
A process…
Which to me means,
Love takes TIME.
True love is selfless. It is completely and utterly forgetting oneself in the love of others.
Of course….
When I was writing this talk, I thought mostly of improving my action of LOVE in accordance with those who I am around most..
my children and husband.
Who, unfortunately, in the midst of our busy daily lives are sometimes the ones I forget to
slow down, take time and SHOW love to.
But, along with those I live with, I also thought of others.. friends or family who I see frequently or only a few times a year, those I visit teach or serve in my calling and even strangers I see at the grocery store or the park.
In the book True to the Faith, we are counseled:
Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters. The love that results from this realization has the power to transcend all boundaries of nation, creed, and color.
In a book I am currently reading, called the Creative Family, the author gives the following simple advice:
Take things a bit slower when you’re out in the world so you have the time to say “thank you” with a smile. And thank your children! Simply because something is expected doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be recognized. Tell them you’re grateful for them every single day.
What better way to show love to those around us then by expressions of gratitude?
On Friday I went shopping with all three kids to Trader Joe’s.
Now, if you’ve ever been in Trader Joe’s, you’ll notice that it’s small.
Small aisles, small carts and lots of people.
So, there I was with my short list that suddenly didn’t seem so short anymore because along with getting all the items on my list, I also had in tow:
a talkative three year old who wanted to touch everything in sight as well as help push the cart in every other directions other than the one it was supposed to go,
a six year old who was obviously hungry because she was asking to buy everything in every aisle we went down whining loudly when I said “no”.
not to mention a four month old who was struggling with every movement to extract herself from the baby bjorn I had her strapped in.
I finally made it through the store with everyone and everything intact and all the items from my list in the cart, {give or take a few.}
and breathed a huge sigh of relief as we got in line to checkout.
Not a moment later an older lady walked straight up to me and said,
“I’ve been watching you and your family and just had to tell you how well behaved your children are. I’ve been there before and know how hard it is and I wanted to tell you that you’re doing a wonderful job.”
Well, the stress of shopping with three kids and the relief at being done and her saying that when I was at my weakest brought instant tears to my eyes. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this kind, kind woman who didn’t just passively observe us and move on, but had the initiative to come up to us and tell us what she thought.
After she walked away I told the kids what she had said and in turn, expressed gratitude to them for being so good. Even though in the midst of the chaos I hadn’t noticed it, they were well behaved.
They were just being kids.
And I was just being a stressed out mom. For the rest of the day, I periodically thanked them for being such good kids. And when I tucked them into bed reminded them of how much I loved them and am grateful for them.
I wonder if that woman knew what a chain reaction she started on Friday? And what an angelic answer to prayers she was?
I wonder if any of us know what would happen if we were to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost to say something or do something when we’re inspired to. To show love to those around us.
In a 1998 First Presidency Message entitled How do we Show our Love? President Monson said:
Of all the blessings I have had in my life, one of the sweetest is that feeling the Lord provides when I know that He has answered the prayer of another person THROUGH me. As we love the Lord, as we love our neighbor, we discover that our Heavenly Father will answer the prayers of others through our ministry.
Paul’s parents just left on Tuesday after spending last weekend with us. They usually come and visit us a few times a year and whenever they come they do the same three things:
ONE They do the dishes after every meal.
TWO They spend time with the kids. {and I mean down on the floor playing cars or drawing with them or reading stacks and stacks of books for hours at a time.}
And THREE they say thank you and give honest, heartfelt compliments of how proud and grateful they are for all of us.
They never do these things half hearted. They are done with their full attention and done the best they know how. Those three things and many other things they do for us, show us how much they truly love us. They are acts of love that will never be forgotten.
There are everyday instances where we can express and practice love the way the Savior taught.
In True to the Faith we are reminded that in serving others we are not only expressing our love towards them but to our Heavenly Father. I quote:
Our expressions of love for others may include
being kind to them, listening to them, mourning with them, comforting them, serving them,
praying for them, sharing the gospel with them, and being their friend.
In all of the scriptures, do we ever read of the Savior declining a chance to teach, to perform a miracle, or to display his godly love?
If we are to follow his example, if we are to show our love to God, we must do the same. When we are with the ones we love, we should forget email, that project we need or want to get done, forget phone calls and texts and our to-do lists and just BE with the ones we love.
All of the other things can wait.
And no, I’m not forgetting about life. I’m not forgetting that laundry still needs to be done, as well as dishes, homework, lessons and housework.
I’m only saying that when you’re with the ones you love, BE WITH THEM.
My disclaimer before I finish, is that I’m not saying I do this all of the time. Or even some of the time. I’m not saying it’s easy. But it’s what we should do if we are to follow the Savior’s counsel.
Once again, from true to the faith, we read:
Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters.
I echo Elder Marvin J. Ashton in saying,
I pray our Heavenly Father will help us to learn the truth that meaningful love is a continuing process that will bring joy and happiness to all participating parties.
May we take the time to show our families, our friends, the stranger, our prophet, and our God that our declarations of love are backed up by performance by our daily lives, that we know for love to be acceptable to God and man it must be continuing and originate from within.
I am grateful for this life and the chance I have to better myself each and every day. I am grateful for Paul who loves me and serves me and who for some reason thinks I am better than I actually am. I am grateful for my sweet children from whom I have learned the value of slowing down and enjoying the little things in life. I am thankful for my Savior and the atonement. Without which I would not have the blessing of repenting and improving myself. And I am thankful to a Heavenly Father who knows me and whom I strive to know and stay close to. I know that without his guidance, I could do nothing.
Let me close by returning to 1st John Chapter 4 where we read in verse 10:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he love us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
..if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Christ
i know i've probably blogged about this chapter before but i just read it in my daily reading this morning and it touched me once again. i love the word of God.
He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.
Behold hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.
Behold hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
blessings
after watching that advice from elder eyring, i started to think of the things that we have been blessed with lately and had to write them down.
today my sweet friend came and took max and ava for the day. this is the second time she has done this and what an enormous help it is. i am able to get the laundry done, i am able to relax, it is wonderful. i know that they are in good hands and are having a wonderful time with her, so i have peace of mind.
we are buying a house. that, in and of itself, is an enormous blessing in how things have just fallen into place and how good we feel about this house. but since we will not be living in the city anymore, we will be very far from a busline for paul to get into seattle to work. it is possible for him to take a bus but the commute would be very, very long. so, we have been praying and hoping for some way to get a commuter car. a cheaper than cheap commuter car since we already have our van payments and will now be buying a house. paul has been stressed out and worried and constantly looking on craiglist and just last week i was talking to my sister and she mentioned that grandpa is giving away his car. for free. i just knew it was meant to be. i knew it was an answer to my prayers. so, instead taylor will give us back our car which we gave to him and he will take grandpa's car. i have no doubt that the Lord's hand was in this.
today my sweet friend came and took max and ava for the day. this is the second time she has done this and what an enormous help it is. i am able to get the laundry done, i am able to relax, it is wonderful. i know that they are in good hands and are having a wonderful time with her, so i have peace of mind.
we are buying a house. that, in and of itself, is an enormous blessing in how things have just fallen into place and how good we feel about this house. but since we will not be living in the city anymore, we will be very far from a busline for paul to get into seattle to work. it is possible for him to take a bus but the commute would be very, very long. so, we have been praying and hoping for some way to get a commuter car. a cheaper than cheap commuter car since we already have our van payments and will now be buying a house. paul has been stressed out and worried and constantly looking on craiglist and just last week i was talking to my sister and she mentioned that grandpa is giving away his car. for free. i just knew it was meant to be. i knew it was an answer to my prayers. so, instead taylor will give us back our car which we gave to him and he will take grandpa's car. i have no doubt that the Lord's hand was in this.
Monday, June 1, 2009
fasting
i think these verses of isaiah, regarding the blessings of the fast, are so beautiful and poetic. i have received countless blessings from fasting and and am so grateful for this commandment.
is not this the fast that i have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke?
is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thy house?
when thou seest the naked,
that thou cover him;
and that thou hide not thyself
from thine own flesh?
then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
and thine health shall spring forth speedily:
and thy righteousness shall go before thee;
the glory of the Lord shall be they rereward.
{protection}
then shalt thou call,
and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and he shall say,
Here I am.
if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and they darkness be as the noonday:
and the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought,
and make fat thy bones:
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
and they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places:
thou shalt raise up the foundations
of many generations;
and thou shalt be called,
the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of paths to dwell in.
isaiah 58:6-12
is not this the fast that i have chosen?
to loose the bands of wickedness,
to undo the heavy burdens,
and to let the oppressed go free,
and that ye break every yoke?
is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,
and that thou bring the poor
that are cast out to thy house?
when thou seest the naked,
that thou cover him;
and that thou hide not thyself
from thine own flesh?
then shall thy light break forth as the morning,
and thine health shall spring forth speedily:
and thy righteousness shall go before thee;
the glory of the Lord shall be they rereward.
{protection}
then shalt thou call,
and the Lord shall answer;
thou shalt cry, and he shall say,
Here I am.
if thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke,
the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted soul;
then shall thy light rise in obscurity,
and they darkness be as the noonday:
and the Lord shall guide thee continually,
and satisfy thy soul in drought,
and make fat thy bones:
and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
and they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places:
thou shalt raise up the foundations
of many generations;
and thou shalt be called,
the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of paths to dwell in.
isaiah 58:6-12
Monday, May 18, 2009
control
a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
d&c 123:16-17
therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.
d&c 123:16-17
Sunday, April 26, 2009
ether
"neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith."
ether 12:18
in all my preparation for what lay ahead i constantly prayed for faith. the other word that hung in the air, fear, was one that i never even allowed to enter my mind or reach my lips. i was adamant that i would allow the power of my mind and my words to control the coming situation. so fear was not in my vocabulary. and shouldn't ever be, really.
and when i've read this scripture before, i've always considered the enormous miracles. instead of the little ones. for good reason, though. the entire chapter is one verse after another of miracles coming because of the faith of various prophets and missionaries. ammon, lehi and nephi, alma and amulek. all very substantial and amazing miracles.
not to say that childbirth is not a substantial miracle but today while reading this chapter and this verse in particular, i applied it to me and my situation. and the months and days leading up to my choice to remain focused, faithful, calm and in control when the time came to give birth to my child. and i did. and that miracle came because of my extreme faith. i don't think i've ever prayed as much as i did while i was in labor.
"for if they humble themselves before me, then will i make weak things become strong unto them."
i felt so unbelievably weak and incompetent at the time. and scared. but i had those months of prayer and those months of determination and those feelings throughout that i could do this. and it was truly miraculous that i conquered and did it and the Lord answered my prayer and helped me through it.
that afternoon while holding my hours old baby, my miracle, i said a fervent prayer to my Heavenly Father, thanking him for the help i knew i could not have done without. He strengthened me when i was at my weakest and i love the knowledge and comfort i have that i can call upon Him anytime, anywhere for any reason.
ether 12:18
in all my preparation for what lay ahead i constantly prayed for faith. the other word that hung in the air, fear, was one that i never even allowed to enter my mind or reach my lips. i was adamant that i would allow the power of my mind and my words to control the coming situation. so fear was not in my vocabulary. and shouldn't ever be, really.
and when i've read this scripture before, i've always considered the enormous miracles. instead of the little ones. for good reason, though. the entire chapter is one verse after another of miracles coming because of the faith of various prophets and missionaries. ammon, lehi and nephi, alma and amulek. all very substantial and amazing miracles.
not to say that childbirth is not a substantial miracle but today while reading this chapter and this verse in particular, i applied it to me and my situation. and the months and days leading up to my choice to remain focused, faithful, calm and in control when the time came to give birth to my child. and i did. and that miracle came because of my extreme faith. i don't think i've ever prayed as much as i did while i was in labor.
"for if they humble themselves before me, then will i make weak things become strong unto them."
i felt so unbelievably weak and incompetent at the time. and scared. but i had those months of prayer and those months of determination and those feelings throughout that i could do this. and it was truly miraculous that i conquered and did it and the Lord answered my prayer and helped me through it.
that afternoon while holding my hours old baby, my miracle, i said a fervent prayer to my Heavenly Father, thanking him for the help i knew i could not have done without. He strengthened me when i was at my weakest and i love the knowledge and comfort i have that i can call upon Him anytime, anywhere for any reason.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
humility
in the book of helaman, nephi the prophet is trying desperately to get the nephites to be obedient. even after he prophesies of the killing of the chief judge, they are still wicked and prideful. at one point he is feeling rather down and out. he feels like he is not making even a dent of success in his missionary work when the Lord speaks to him from heaven saying,
"blessed art thou, nephi, for those things which thou has done; for i have beheld how thou hast with unwearingness declared the word, which i have given unto thee, unto this people. and thou has not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments."
~helaman 10:4
the Lord goes on to bless nephi "forever" and to make him mighty in word, deed, faith and works. and to bless him with the sealing powers of a prophet. basically the power to call on God to strike the nephites with war or famine or to remove the war or famine, etc.
my first thought was that i love that the Lord told nephi "i have beheld" thee. he had been watching nephi and all his good deeds and hard work. nephi preached the gospel with unwearingness and it did not escape the Lord's notice. i would like to think the Lord is observing me. sometimes i would rather he not, when i lose my patience with my children or choose to go to sleep instead of read my scriptures at night. but for the most part, it brings much comfort to my soul to be reminded that he is aware of me constantly and knows of my good intentions.
the story continues as nephi asks God to send war upon the nephites, which he does. but after a time nephi notices that it is not making a difference on the nephites humility. they still are prideful. so, he asks God to then send a famine upon the land. and almost instantly the nephites humble themselves, repent and ask nephi to call upon God to remove the famine. and this is what struck me most. nephi is a prophet of God. he has been blessed with the sealing powers. he has already called down a war and famine upon the people, but when he supplicates God to remove the famine, it is not a casual, quick prayer,
"o Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away the band of gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth. now, o Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou turn away thine anger, and let thine anger be appeased in the destruction of those wicked men whom though has already destroyed. o, lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, they fierce anger, and cause that this famine may cease in this land."
~helaman 11:10-12
those were three verses of supplication and there are four more of him pleading with the Lord to remove the famine from the land. this pleading and praying and supplicating the Lord by the prophet nephi was such an example to me in how we should pray to Heavenly Father. he wants to bless us, he wants to help us, but no matter who we are, we need to work hard and show our faith and humility.
"blessed art thou, nephi, for those things which thou has done; for i have beheld how thou hast with unwearingness declared the word, which i have given unto thee, unto this people. and thou has not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments."
~helaman 10:4
the Lord goes on to bless nephi "forever" and to make him mighty in word, deed, faith and works. and to bless him with the sealing powers of a prophet. basically the power to call on God to strike the nephites with war or famine or to remove the war or famine, etc.
my first thought was that i love that the Lord told nephi "i have beheld" thee. he had been watching nephi and all his good deeds and hard work. nephi preached the gospel with unwearingness and it did not escape the Lord's notice. i would like to think the Lord is observing me. sometimes i would rather he not, when i lose my patience with my children or choose to go to sleep instead of read my scriptures at night. but for the most part, it brings much comfort to my soul to be reminded that he is aware of me constantly and knows of my good intentions.
the story continues as nephi asks God to send war upon the nephites, which he does. but after a time nephi notices that it is not making a difference on the nephites humility. they still are prideful. so, he asks God to then send a famine upon the land. and almost instantly the nephites humble themselves, repent and ask nephi to call upon God to remove the famine. and this is what struck me most. nephi is a prophet of God. he has been blessed with the sealing powers. he has already called down a war and famine upon the people, but when he supplicates God to remove the famine, it is not a casual, quick prayer,
"o Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away the band of gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth. now, o Lord, because of this their humility wilt thou turn away thine anger, and let thine anger be appeased in the destruction of those wicked men whom though has already destroyed. o, lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, yea, they fierce anger, and cause that this famine may cease in this land."
~helaman 11:10-12
those were three verses of supplication and there are four more of him pleading with the Lord to remove the famine from the land. this pleading and praying and supplicating the Lord by the prophet nephi was such an example to me in how we should pray to Heavenly Father. he wants to bless us, he wants to help us, but no matter who we are, we need to work hard and show our faith and humility.
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