I Am Back

So is it time that I got back into the blog game?  YES!  What is my reason for staying away so long?  That is easy to answer.  It is something I am very good at.  PROCRASTINATION!  Oh how I need to get that word out of my life and how it just keeps sneaking back in the door once I throw it out.

Wikipedia defines procrastination as "the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, thus putting off impending tasks to a later time."   My plan was to blog on Sunday.  Then Sunday rolls around and I find myself doing more pleasurable things like taking a nap.  Well today I fought the nap battle and won.  Here I am blogging and not the least bit tired.

Now to blog about something important to me instead of the junk I just wrote.

This morning I was listening to a talk by Cecil O Samuelson.  He said something that just keeps going around and around in my head.  He said, "God loves us not because we are good but because He is good."

I love that.  So many times when I make a mistake the thought comes into my head that I am now unworthy.  God will not want me back.  It is too late to turn around and go back to HIM.  Then I remember who is talking.  It is satan.  Because it is too late for him, he wants it to be too late for all of us.  He want us to be as miserable as he is.

God on the other hand is saying it is never too late.  I love you now and always.  I want you back to live with me.  It is not too late to turn around and correct your mistakes.  There is a good video on lds.org called Wrong Roads.  It is by Elder Jeffery R. Holland.  he tell a personal experience that reminds us to always trust God and the direction He gives us.  He says that when we make decisions, God expects us to pray, trust, and be believing and then not to give up, panic, or jump ship when something doesn't seem to be going right.

Satan, on the other hand, wants to deceive us and get us on the wrong path that will lead us away from God.  He wants to overthrow us.  He tries to make the glitter of the world look better that which will bring us eternal happiness.

I know that God lives.  I know that God loves me.  He loves me not because I am good but because He is good.  He wants what is best for each for me and each one of us.

Prayer

I want to work on improving my prayers.  I was thinking of Jared and the brother of Jared.  His family had been promised a choice land, free from bondage and captivity.  All they had to do was serve God.  They came to a place by the sea and stayed there for 4 years.  Then the Lord came and talked to the brother of Jared for three hours and chewed him out for not remembering to "Call upon the name of the Lord." 

I have been kind of wondering about that.  Somehow I keep thinking that the brother of Jared was praying but not with the feeling that he had been praying with when his family thought their language was going to be confounded.  I was thinking about my own prayers.  When there is something that I have a deep feeling about I notice my prayers are deeper, more heart felt.  Then other times my prayers are superficial.  I'm just saying words with no feeling.  I am wondering if the brother of Jared forgetting to use feeling?

Elder Richard G. Scott says, "A key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions.  Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking what He wants for you.  Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it."  ("Using the Supernal gift of Prayer," Ensign, May 2007.)

Now I am thinking I need to honestly learn what the Lord wants for me instead of what I want for me.  D&C 19:23 says:  "Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."  I need to ask in EVERY prayer what the Lord wants for me.

Where God's Full Presence Shines

A couple of weeks ago our 19th grandchild was born. He is beautiful. I have always thought that the veil between heaven and earth is very thin for babies. I have often thought that my babies were looking around the room at someone I could not see. I feel as if the reason babies cannot talk is so they will not tell us too much about heaven.

So, I was holding baby Jacob and talking with his mom about how thin the veil between heaven and earth might be. We were wondering if family that has passed on would be able to visit with him. I even asked Jacob if he could see his grandparents. All of a sudden Jacob smiled. Oh I know everyone says it is gas. I don't believe it for a moment. I have always thought that when a newborn baby smiles he is thinking of heaven. When he cries, he is thinking of birth. I thought, you know I think the veil is a lot thinner that even I think.

Then today I went with my husband to the nursing home to help with sacrament meeting. We helped gather those that wanted to go to church. Then I led the singing. We were singing the sacrament hymn "How Great the Wisdom and the Love." On the second verse it says:

"His precious blood he freely spilt;
His life he freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for guilt,
A dying world to save."

As I looked up I saw a dying world in front of me. Tears sprang to my eyes. When we sang the 4th verse, I felt God's presence grow stronger in the room.

"He marked the path and led the way,
And every point defines
To light and life and endless day
Where God's full presence shines."

I couldn't help but wonder how endless some of their days feel, and yet God's full presence was there in that room, with people who's lives are so difficult.

So I have decided that the veil is thin for a newborn baby. It is also thin for those who are nearing the end of their lives. I felt God's full presence shine. What a wonderful day.

How to Strengthen Husband & Wife Relationships

During stake conference President Staker quoted Elder Callister and gave us a list of 7 ways to strengthen husband/wife relationships. For some reason lists always make me perk up and listen.

1. Adopt an unyielding commitment to make it work.
I like the work "unyielding." It seems that too many people go into marriage thinking what they will do when marriage doesn't work instead of what will I do to make it work.

2. Adopt an "Is it I?" principle.
At the last supper, Jesus told the twelve apostles that one was about to betray him. "...They were exceeding sorrowful, and began everyone of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?" (Matt. 26:22) President Staker said when you have problems in your marriage you ask yourself "Is it I?" and the answer is always "YES!" It reminds me of a song I sing to my kids at school.

"I'm gonna tell, I'm gonna tell.
I'm gonna holler and I'm gonna yell.
I'll get you in trouble for everything you do.
I'm gonna tell on you.
....I won't tell teacher what I did to you,
I'm just gonna tell on you.

Notice the apostles were not looking around to see who they could blame for betraying Christ. Or who they thought might be the one to betray their lord and savior. They were looking within their own souls to see what they needed to fix. They were looking so hard within that they didn't even notice who was looking guilty.

Is it I? YES

3. Make your spouses happy. Make sure they are successful.
Don't spend your time trying to make your spouse guess what you want. President Staker said his mother told his wife that if she wanted flowers for her birthday etc. to go buy them and than thank him for the beautiful flowers. She will be happy with the flowers and he will be happy because she got what she wanted. I am not sure you would not have to go to that extreme but really if you want something tell your spouse what it is.

4. Stay out of Debt!
What more needs to be said than that? Debt binds you down and we must be free.

5. Speak in soft and kind voices and words.
The words spoken in the home are the most important. Some of the wittiest things ever thought should be left unsaid.

6. Make parenting a joint adventure.
Don't leave everything to your spouse. Take turns. Work together. Play together.

7. Pray together.
How can you stay angry at someone you are praying with and for?

Eternal Marriage has become a concept of time rather than a quality of life. It should be a quality of life because you wish to spend time together.

1 Nephi

I have been doing a lot of thinking about Nephi and his brothers. Nephi and Sam looked at the glass half full. Laman and Lemuel looked at the empty half of the glass. I think I would rather be an optimist than a pessimist. I would rather see the full side of things. There are going to be trials in our lives so we might as well decide now that we are going to endure it well and put a smile on our faces. We might as well look for those little blessings that come into our lives each day and enjoy them while we can. I have a lot to be thankful for. I would rather find joy! I will choose to be happy.

Christmas

i have been doing a lot of thinking about Christ's birth. I have most of my nativities out and have decided not to do too much other decorating. I want to focus on Jesus Christ. I will put up my tree and I think that will be it. I want to spend the month feasting on the scriptures and doing some sort of service. We are in a new ward so to speak. It is still called Myton 2nd but most of the people in the ward come from the old Myton 1st ward. While I know a lot of the people in the ward there are also a lot of people I don't know. I think I will start some sort of secret Santa thing that can be passed around the ward. Oh maybe instead of calling it Secret Santa I should call it Secret Savior. I could write some of my favorite scriptures and make some treats to pass on to members of the ward and ask them to pass on their favorite scripture and a treat. NOW I need to get busy. Yea I think this will be great!

"to always remember Him"

While I will not go into detail... this past week I have been doing something good but I have been doing it for the wrong reason. I have been doing this good thing because someone had been displeased with me. Now there is nothing wrong with trying to please others but I have not found satisfaction in the thing I am doing. I have gone through a long list feelings that have included sorrow and even anger. But no real satisfaction or gratitude or joy.

Today in sacrament as I listened to the sacrament prayer I realized my mistake. I still want to do the good thing that I have been doing but I need to be doing it in order "to always remember Him." I need to be doing this thing for my Savior not for my friend. I need to please my Savior, not my friend. So this week I will continue to do those things I need to be doing, those things that I want to be doing, but I will be doing them in order to "always remember Him." Then, I will find the joy in doing. I can actually stop worrying about rather or not I am pleasing my friend. I can stop worrying about rather or not I am meeting my friends standards. I know that my Savior will accept my efforts because He knows what is in my heart. I feel my Savior's love.