Monday, August 27, 2012

Called To Serve....................


God knows you perfectly. He loves you perfectly. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, has asked you, "Come, follow me." Thus, in a real and majestic sense, each of us here tonight has been "called to serve"!
"Called to Serve" NEAL A. MAXWELL Brigham Young University on 27 March 1994

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Love Includes.......

Love is doing what is right for our loved ones, that includes ourselves.  What is RIGHT for me?  Healing would be one thing.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Holy/Happy!!!!


Thought for Today
Rick Warren , 'Purpose Driven Life '
"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life; but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes for my life? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know you more and love you better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Scratching Wounds...


The more serious the sin, the greater the effort it takes to repent. But if we work daily at turning completely to the Lord, we can stand blameless before the Savior. The key is to allow the Lord to complete the healing process without reopening the wound. Just as it takes time for a wound of the body to heal, so it takes time for a wound of the soul to heal.
If I cut myself, for example, the wound will gradually heal. But as it heals, it may begin to itch, and if I scratch it, it may open up again and take longer to heal. But there is a greater danger. If I scratch the wound, it may become infected from the bacteria on my fingers. I may poison the wound and lose that part of my body or even my life!
We must allow injuries to follow their prescribed healing course. If they are serious, we must see a doctor for skilled help. So it is with injuries to the soul. Allow the injury to follow its prescribed healing course without “scratching” it through vain regrets. If the transgression requires ecclesiastical confession, go to your bishop and get spiritual help. It may hurt as he disinfects the wound and sews it back together, but it will heal properly that way.
The Meaning of Repentance, Elder Theodore M. Burton, Aug, 1988

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Furnishing Our Mental State.....

God doesn’t give you the people you like; He gives you the people you NEED…to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you the person He knows you were meant to be.

If we want a particular kind of experience out of life and a particular kind of relationship with the Lord, we have to be selective about how we furnish our mental space.
“Light in the Wilderness, M. Catherine Thomas, p106-107

Monday, August 13, 2012

LET GO....LET GOD...... (love this)


One of our sayings is “Let Go and Let God”. This is what it means.


LET GO. . .
To “let go” does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.
To “let go” is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization I can’t control another.
To “let go” is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.
To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.
To “let go” is not to care for, but to care about.
To “let go” is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To “let go” is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.
To “let go” is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.
To “let go” is not to deny, but to accept and move forward.
To “let go” is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and to correct them.
To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and to cherish myself in it.
To “let go” is not to criticize and regulate anybody, but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To “let go” is to not regret the past, but to grow and to live for the future.
To “let go” is to fear less and to love more and Trust God more.
(Author Unknown)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Forgiving Others......

Attachments to the past .... Keep you from going to the future!!!!

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
D&C 6:14-15

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Your "Inner-State"........


“…when somebody says something to you that is rude or designed to hurt, ‘instead of going into unconscious reaction and negativity, such as attack, defense, or withdraw, you let it pass right through you’ as though you were transparent, so that it no longer hits a solid ‘wall’ inside you. That does not mean of course that you don’t tell ‘that person that his or her behavior is unacceptable, if that is what you choose to do. But that person no longer has the power to control your inner state. You are then in your power-not in someone else’s.” (Eckhart Tolle, Practicing the Power of Now, Novato, California, New World Library.)
“Light in the Wilderness,” M. Catherine Thomas, P 83-84

Friday, August 10, 2012

Perfections.....??????


“A parent or spouse who prays, goes to church, pays tithing, has family home evening, and obeys all the other commandments has only one guarantee: that they have become a perfect parent or spouse, not that they will necessarily have perfect children or a perfect marriage partner….It is your primary responsibility to be a celestial mate, not to make your mate celestial.” Hold on to Hope. P. 75

Challenges Design For Spitual Growth......

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that God provides us with challenges that are designed to help us grow spiritually: “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously.  When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11-12).  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.  To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain” (Conference Report Oct. 1995)

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Lack of Desire To Forgive ...


Quotes 2 Nephi 31:20 then..."All the faithful Saints, all of those who have endured to the end, depart this life with the absolute guarantee of eternal life.  There is no equivocation, no doubt, no uncertainty in our minds.  Those who have been true and faithful in this life will not fall by the wayside in the life to come.  ...Though they have not yet become perfect they shall nevertheless gain eternal life in our Father's Kingdom; and eventually they shall be perfect as God their Father and Christ His Son are perfect."  Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign Nov. 1976, p. 107

“In my humble understanding, it can be said that there are only two elements that separate us from the Holy Spirit: First, our lack of desire to repent, and, second, our lack of desire to forgive.”
Unleashing the Dormant Spirit F. ENZIO BUSCHE BYU May, 1996

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Staying Out Of The Way......


Of course, attentive parents and loved ones can nurture many aspects of a child’s potential and teach many skills. But each person comes with plans and covenants and predispositions already in place. As nurturing efforts go forward, parents and teachers soon reach that core of the premortal spirit that will not respond to the most skillful shaping efforts. This girl is going to play basketball no matter how many dolls we give her. It is peaceful wisdom to realize the formative power of pre-mortal events and to recognize the validity of many different attributes, strengths and weakness in the people who cross our path, as they work out their own salvation. Since we can never be sure what the Lord is doing with a person, it is our opportunity to consider staying out of the way.”
“Light in the Wilderness,” M. Catherine Thomas, P71
The will of God never takes you to where the grace of God will not protect you
Do what is right for those you love and then TRUST God
Sometimes RIGHT is hard

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

D&C 61


61~ If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation,knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteriesand peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.

He Can Heal Any Wound...... (love this one)


“It happened on December 16, 1991—our eighth wedding anniversary. On that day our first son died as the result of a babysitter’s actions. He was only two and a half months old.
The following months and years were clouded by sadness, anger, disappointment, and hopelessness. The personal turmoil that overcame me is indescribable. Nothing anyone said or did eased my pain.
I had the rare opportunity to counsel with Elder James E. Faust (1920–2007), then of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
I asked many questions while he patiently listened. Elder Faust acknowledged that what I had experienced was certainly painful and extremely difficult. He shared several scriptures and talked about the need to work through my grief and find total submission to the Lord’s will in order to be reunited with my son again. He said, “Sylvia, this is about you now. I realize you are worried about your son, but in reality, you should be worried about yourself and how to rebuild your life. It won’t be easy, but you can mend your heart through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
I left our meeting still discouraged; his counsel seemed so simple and yet so unattainable. My mother felt hopeless as well since nothing she said to me seemed to help. I recall her saying, “Please have faith and hope in our Savior, and allow time to heal your wounds.”
In my personal journey to attain joy once again, I decided to take to heart the advice I had been given and find out what it truly meant to put my faith in the Savior. Things didn’t change immediately. But day by day and year by year, with the help of prayer and a growing testimony, I came to know without a doubt that the Savior can heal our wounds.”
Sylvia Erbolato Christensen, “He Can Heal Any Wound,” Ensign, Jul 2010, 8