What I learned - Careful versus Casual

 

 

by Becky Craven

 

 

"We have a dear friend who was a train engineer. One day while he was driving a train on his route, he spotted a car stopped on the track ahead of him. He quickly realized that the car was stuck and unable to cross the track. He immediately put the train in emergency mode, which engaged the brakes on each boxcar that extended three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) behind the engine, carrying a load of 6,500 tons (5,900 metric tons). There was no physical chance that the train would be able to stop before it hit the car, which it did. Fortunately for the people in the car, they heard the warning of the train whistle and escaped from the car before the impact. As the engineer spoke with the investigating police officer, an angry woman approached them. She shouted that she had seen the whole incident and then testified that the engineer did not even try to swerve out of the way to miss the car!

Obviously, if the engineer had been able to swerve and leave the tracks to avoid an accident, he and his entire train would have been lost in a derailment and the train’s forward progress would have come to an abrupt stop. Fortunately for him, the rails of the tracks on which his train ran kept the wheels of the train snugly moving toward its destination regardless of the obstacle in his way".

 

We have the same opportunity to keep moving forward toward our own eternal destination.  There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything.  Are we careful about the way we live the Gospel?  Or are we casual in our own beliefs.  This talk made me focus on perhaps changing some things in my own life that I have come to be a little bit casual about. 

 

John 14:15  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

 

Perhaps we should be a little more careful about keeping His commandments and a little less casual about the process.  Am I careful about keeping the Sabbath day holy?

Am I careful about my tithing?

Am I careful about my words and deeds?

Am I careful about serving others?

Am I careful about reading the scriptures or saying my prayers?

In other words, am I careful about the more important things in life, or am I casual in those pursuits?

 

Deep and lasting happiness comes when we intentionally and carefully live the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Wordless Wednesday - Tender moments

 

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.

What I learned - How Can I understand?

 

 

"When we earnestly, heartily, firmly, and sincerely seek to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ and teach it to one another, these teachings may transform hearts".

 

Twice a year, we have a General Conference, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It is a time when we actually watch conference at home on the TV, or go to the church and watch it on the Satellite broadcast.  It is done over a two day period of time on Saturday and Sunday. 

The very first talk was titled, "How can I understand", and was given by Elder Ulisses S. Soares.

I loved this talk.  The takeaways for me, were pretty simple. 

 

"As recorded in the book of Acts, Philip the evangelist taught the gospel to a certain Ethiopian who was a eunuch in charge of all the treasures belonging to the queen of Ethiopia.¹ While returning from worshipping in Jerusalem, he read the book of Isaiah. Compelled by the Spirit, Philip came closer to him and said, “Understandest thou what thou readest?

“And [the eunuch] said, How can I, except some man should guide me? …

“Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”

 

The talk was simply about teaching us to focus on Jesus.  To talk about Him, study Him and preach about Him.  To learn of Him and accept His invitation to us to "Come and See". 

I find that it can be so easy to get lost in the everyday problems of the world, that I don't take the time I should to study Jesus.  I want to become more like Him, but I need to find out more of what He is like to do that. 

May we all follow the council to Come and see!!

 

Wordless Wednesday - Grandkids

 

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.

Remember!

When I was younger, I used to wish that God would answer every prayer and guide my every step.  I really wanted to return back to Him, and thought the only way I could ever manage that is if He took control of my efforts.  Most of the time, He didn't seem to be listening.  Bad things continued to happen.  Worse things than I could ever imagine came my way.  So often, I could not feel Him in those dark places.  But you see, mixed in with all the darkness, were the few times full of light. 
There were times my fervent prayers were answered.  There were times the light broke through the darkness.  There were times of peace in the midst of sorrow.  There were friends found among the enemies.  So many little things that all bore testimony to me that He lives and that He loves me.  So many times where I felt His spirit there and when I was embraced in the arms of His love.  So many times, when I knew He was watching out for me. 
I learned, that He doesn't answer every prayer, but that He always listens.  I learned that He never gives us a trial, without a blessing.  I learned, that even in the hardest times of my life, at the very darkest moments, He was still there and I did not walk that way alone. 
An so, when life brings me even more darkness, as it is ever willing to do, I remember those feelings that I experienced and when I don't feel God right here in my life, I still know that He is there watching.  I remember the answers that have already come and am more willing to wait for the answers I want to come now.   Even if they are not here today, I know that they will eventually be there for me.  I remember the yesterday's of the past when my vision was blurred and the feelings of my heart that came with the answers to my prayers. 
He loves us.  He is there.  You are not alone. 

Hardest to love

 

This one is so true.  As a mom, I have come to understand it in a very personal way.  All children need love.  They need to know they are cared for and cared about.  They need to know that their voices matter and that their opinion counts.  I can be very hard to raise a seemingly rebellious soul. 

A very long time ago, I asked an apostle why Heavenly Father sent children that were difficult to us.  His words change my entire perception of those children.  He said, "Sister, Heavenly Father sends you those children because He knows that you will love them exactly like He does".  I have learned that those who seem hard to love are still loved by their Heavenly Father.  That He cares for them and wants them to return to Him as much as He wants the rest of His children to return to their Heavenly Home. 

Sometimes, we get so busy looking at the problems, that we forget to look at the person and love them through it anyway.  Life is hard enough without making someone else feel like they are unloved and unlovable. 

May we all reach out our arms and hearts to those that at hardest to love. 

Tune up your life!

 

I love music.  It makes my heart sing.  At least, it does when it is the right notes at the right times.  We have all listened to a recital or a concert where the notes are wrong, or the squeak and squawk, or they are just out of sync.  It is not pleasant to sit through and I always feel bad for the person performing. 

I have a guitar that I am hoping to have more time to play soon.  It gets out of tune for different reasons.  Sometimes, it is because it is sitting there for too long without being played.  Sometimes, it is due to a bad string.  Sometimes, it is because the peg won't hold and needs to be fixed.  There are different reasons in life that make that guitar out of tune when I need it to be in tune. 
Our lives are just like that.  Different things make us out of tune with the gospel.  It can be the words and actions of others, the lack of participation in ourselves, the lost opportunities, the lack of effort, or the failure to study and ponder.  Pretty much anything that blocks us from living a righteous life can prevent us from being in tune ourselves. 
Most things are totally within our control to change.  We just have to realize that they need to be changed and then step up and work on them.  We need to be willing to put the effort into following God's plan, instead of our own.  We need to lose ourselves in His service and teachings.  Basically, we need to tune ourselves up to be doers of the word and not hearers only. 
We need to live our lives for Him.

What I Learned - Be Not Troubled

This was a great conference talk from the last general conference and we talked about it a few Sunday's ago in Relief Society.  I loved this talk.  We live in a crazy, mixed up world.  It seems to get worse every single day, and as much as I love it, I am sometimes very afraid for what the future might hold.  Especially for the children and youth of the world. 
We have so many technological advances available to us.  Things that can bring us great joy, or great sorrow depending on how they are used.  This talk was comforting to me because he reminded me that fear is a choice we each make.  If we are living righteous lives, we do not need to fear the eternal outcome of life.  It won't matter what the world does, it matters what we do and what we choose to follow. 

"Since ancient times, fear has limited the perspective of God’s children. I have always loved the account of Elisha in 2 Kings. The king of Syria had sent a legion that “came by night, and compassed the city about.”² Their intent was to capture and kill the prophet Elisha. We read:

“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?”³

That was fear speaking.

“And [Elisha] answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”⁴

But he didn’t stop there.

“Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”⁵

We may or may not have chariots of fire sent to dispel our fears and conquer our demons, but the lesson is clear. The Lord is with us, mindful of us and blessing us in ways only He can do. Prayer can call down the strength and the revelation that we need to center our thoughts on Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. The Lord knew that at times we would feel fear. I have been there and so have you, which is why the scriptures are replete with the Lord’s counsel:

“Be of good cheer, and do not fear.”

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.”"

 

Do not fear has ever been the message of a loving Heavenly Father to us, His children.  I think it is important to not only remember who we are as we struggle through this life, but to also remember and acknowledge "whose" we are. 

May we ever be without fear. 

Wordless Wednesday - Chocolate Falls

 

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.

Harmony

Sometimes, we think that happiness is something we buy, or something we receive.  It is the new house, or the new car, or the new toy.  We start to think that happiness is more about things than about the life we are living.  We forget that happiness is something we have to find from within.
Happiness is a state of mind and being.  It is not and never has been about things.  It is not even about people or those we love.  It is not about feeling lonely or lost or useless.  It is about changing the way we are thinking and the parts of life that we are looking at.
I tend to focus on too much negative in my life.  Believe me, if you look for it, you will find it everywhere!  We are surrounded by negative things.  There are always those who seem to have it better than we do.  There are always others to compare ourselves to.  There is always something we want and can't get.  There are always things going wrong and it can seem as if not enough is going right in our lives. 
I suffer from depression and anxiety.  Those are two diseases that make it so that I can't even begin to explain how many negatives I experience any given day.  I constantly focus on that negative and on my internal thoughts and feelings and feel a complete lack of happiness in my life.  There are moments, but it is not a constant state for me. 
I am trying to change myself to get better at find the harmony within.  The things I do and say are usually good.  But it is the thoughts that continually bring my focus to the problem places instead of the joy.  It is my thoughts that I need to change.
So, what am I doing?  I am trying to remind myself that a bad moment is simply a moment.  It is not my entire life.  I am trying to surround myself with reminders of joy.  Pictures of grandchildren, papers they have drawn for me, cards and notes and pictures of events. 
When the negative intrudes (as it will) I am trying to shift my focus to one of those joyful things.  I have thoughts and quotes on my bathroom mirror and around my house.  I am reading uplifting material.  I am starting to write again and draw and allow myself to post and do something that seems imperfect to me.  I am trying to focus on the good inside myself instead of the person that I think I SHOULD be.  I am letting go instead of holding on. 
Happiness is available to each one of us.  I am learning that it is more focused on the way I look outward and inward than it is a real state of being in Harmony with yourself. 

Perfectly Put Together

I think this is easy to forget.  Sometimes we feel so bad about ourselves and our prior choices, that we think we are unworthy to go to church, or to worship God, or even to pray.  We forget that not a single person in this world is perfect.  We have all made mistakes.  We might assume that some are worse than others, but that judgment should be entirely left to our loving Heavenly Father. 
Church is not just for those perfectly seeming people that we might know and think about.  You know the ones I mean!  The ones who are always there, always serving, always involved.  The ones who outwardly seem to be practically perfect in every way. 
Sometimes, it takes everything we have to roll out of bed, grab the first thing we find in the closet and manage to drive to church. 
Sometimes it is all we can do to face other people in our own brokenness. 
Sometimes we feel like we wear a very large tattoo that says SIN across our forehead. 
But church and worship are very much for each one of us.  It doesn't matter what place we are at in our lives.  It doesn't matter what we have done in the past, or even what mistakes we are making now.  What matters the most, is that we want to change our heart and nourish our spirits.  We want to become.
When you see someone who looks differently than you do, someone who is all alone or separated from the group, someone who is quite and not participating.  Someone who is hurting, someone who is scared, someone who is crying, someone who is struggling, someone who is not you. 
Welcome them in with open arms and open hearts. 
We should be a sanctuary for any and all who are seeking the Saviors love.  We should be a healing shoulder and a loving arm.  We should be truly Christian in our actions and not just in our professed beliefs.
We need to be a resting place for the weary and a sanctuary for the broken.
Remember that we are all Children of God and he loves each and every one of us.
He knows you.
He loves you.
He wants you to return to him.

Sabbath Day Scribblings - John 14:1

"In the crucible of earthly trials, patiently move forward, and the Savior’s healing power will bring you light, understanding, peace, and hope."  Elder Neil L. Andersen

He didn't bring you this far

 

This is a good one for me to remember.  I battle with both anxiety and depression on a daily basis.  One of the things that causes me to do, is to worry about everything and everyone.  I can end up feeling so alone, so lost and so very broken.  I worry about things that have happened, are happening and even might or might not come to pass.  I constantly battle to silence my mind and my thoughts.  It helps me if I can focus on the Love of a Heavenly Father and remember that He has never left me.  I might turn my back, but His back never turns away and His arms are always reaching out.  Today, I hope you remember how very valuable you are!  He loves each and every one of us and wants us to return to live with Him again. 

Let the Roots Stretch

Seems to me, like there has been a lot of wind in my life!  I don't always feel like I have stood as firm as I might wish.  Sometimes, I am pretty sure that I have wavered and bent and maybe even broke a few branches.  It is true though, that we will all have to face difficulties and trials.  Life is hard.  It is full of pitfalls, sin and choices.  I have learned though, that we never face a heartache of a lesson where there is not also a reward.  It might come soon, or it might come later, but it always comes. 
This year, I am learning how not to yield to all the winds that blow me from one side to the other.  I am learning how to stand tall and bend in the wind.  I am learning to let my roots sink deep within the soil of His love and resist the temptation to yield. 
I am learning to let my soul seek Him. 

What I learned - Lift up your Head and Rejoice

As we face hard things in the Lord’s way,

may we lift up our heads and rejoice.

by M. Joseph Brough

I love General Conference.  I love the spirit and the message of the talks there.  I love listening and learning and partaking of the good words. 
In the talk, Lift Up Your Head and Rejoice he tells the story about going to Alaska for a camp out and boxing up all their supplies so that they would not have to carry them.  They dropped them out the airplane and then landed in another part of the wilderness and hiked to where they dropped their supplies.  He says they never did find all the supplies and he learned two very valuable lessons from this experience;  one is don't throw your food out the window, and the second is that sometimes we have to face hard things.  Isn't that the truth!
He gave many examples of hard things that others have endured, including himself and his family.  We are all asked to do hard things.  We all get to choose how we face them.  I think that one of the hardest things we might do is to learn to face them with joy and thanksgiving. 

He ended with these words:

In President Russell M. Nelson’s worldwide devotional for youth, he requested some hard things of the youth. President Nelson said: “My fifth invitation is for you to stand out; be different from the world. … The Lord needs you to look like, sound like, act like, and dress like a true disciple of Jesus Christ.”  That can be a hard thing, yet I know you can do it—with joy.

 

Remember that “men are, that they might have joy.”  With all that Lehi faced, he still found joy. Remember when Alma was “weighed down with sorrow”  because of the people of Ammonihah? The angel told him, “Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, … for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God.”  Alma learned a great truth: we can always rejoice when we keep the commandments.

 

Remember that during the wars and challenges faced during the time of Captain Moroni, “there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi.”  We can and should find joy when we face hard things.The Savior faced hard things: “The world … shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.”

 

Because of that loving-kindness, Jesus Christ suffered the Atonement. As a result, He says to each one of us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”   Because of Christ, we too can overcome the world.

 

May we all strive to face our own hard things with rejoicing. 

Wordless Wednesday - Babies

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.

Enjoy the Simple Things

I am trying so much to live this way right now.  I am constantly focused on work.  I am focused on what needs to be done.  I like to be in control of what I need in my life.  The hardest thing for me, is to realize that I am not ever completely in control. 
I had to give up some of the things that I enjoy a lot to try and simplify my life.  I am no longer an EMT.  I have lived for years without sleeping and with overworking myself.  When I married my husband, I worked three different jobs.  It has always been a crazy schedule that I have kept.  We moved up to the mountains, and I really thought that I would slow down; somehow, that did not happen.  Instead, I looked for a volunteer job to get involved with the community, and discovered a love of helping people. 
I have loved being an EMT and providing a service to my community.  I am grateful for the many things it has taught me and for the opportunity to serve that it has given me.  I am actually trying to do just one job now, and maybe manage to take care of my home and family at the same time. 
I am trying in every way that I know to slow down.
I have been very blessed to have people that I love in my life.  I have my family (bigger and crazier than every) and I have my friends.  I live in a small community, where people know each other by name or at least, by sight.  I love that most of the time.  However, as the past couple of years have happened, I have discovered myself becoming more and more exhausted.  I am always tired.  I have no energy, and I recognize in myself the need to slow down. 
I also recognize the need to remember how very blessed I am.
So, this is me, slowing down and recognizing the simple blessings that I am the recipient of.  This is me, trying to breath through the chaos of ordinary life.  This is me, taking joy in this moment, this day and this week. 
This is me, finding simple in the messiness of living and learning to enjoy the daily simple things. 

Compassion for Sinners

Every single one of us have made mistakes.  Things we wish had never happened.  Things we wish we could change.  Things we are ashamed of.  For some, the sins are visible, for others they fester deep inside.  One thing that is most important is that we realize that we can not sin so far that the love and mercy of God cannot reach us. 
Our Heavenly Father loves us.  Today, tomorrow and always.  We are His Children, no matter out past.  He wants us to return home and partake of His love. 
He is full of compassion and love for each one of us.  Remember that you are worth all that love. 
Remember Him. 

Do it with Feeling

Such a wonderful quote for me today.  It reminds me that, no matter how I feel, it is ok.  No matter if I am sad, happy, depressed or anxious, as long as I am feeling, I am alive and living.  I am in the moment even if it hurts.  Hopefully, living right here in this moment will help me to realize even greater joy.   I really need to learn to trust my Heavenly Father with all the feelings of my heart. 

The past few years have been hard.  One thing seemingly after another and most of them bad.  My heart hurts, I am exhausted, I want to be numb.  I don't want to feel anymore pain.  But right now, I am trying my very best to live in the moment, no matter how it feels.  I am finding that there are little joys that surround me if I focus on finding them.   There is kindness, there is love, there are moments of satisfaction and healing.  There is heartfelt prayer.  There is grief and gratitude and happiness.

When we shut ourselves off from feeling, we might shut out some of the pain, but we also shut off a great amount of the joy.  We shut out friendship and love.  We shutout fellowship and service.  We betray that nature within our selves that feels compassion and love.

No matter what we are feeling, we are in the right place for this time in our lives.  Our Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered for each one of us, loves us in spite of ourselves and we can not run far enough of fast enough to escape His love and mercy. 

My you feel, really feel, that love in your life and in your mind and in our heart.  May you remember, no matter what has happened, that He knows your pain and stands ready to walk with you through your deepest trials.  You are so very loved. 

What I learned - Conversion to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ

Our purpose is to balance the Church and the home experiences in a way that will greatly increase faith and spirituality and deepen conversion.

I love listening to Elder Cook.  This is the talk where the new Sunday curriculum was explained.  I am in love with going to two hour church on Sundays.  I especially like the idea of studying myself and learning through research and reading what is essential for me to know.  Life is a balance, like my grandchildren on the monkey bars.  There are so many different things that require my attention.  It is a relief to spend some of the time on the Sabbath day actually doing things that help me to be a better person.

Don't get me wrong, I have actually always loved church.  I like the chance to learn and grow and be around others.  But it can be hard with all the assignments and teaching and just doing.  Sometimes, I am exhausted on Sunday.  It is easier to turn everything over to someone else and expect them to teach me or teach my children.

What I like most about the new program is that it puts more of the responsibility for learning and teaching right back on the family.  I feel like I can grow this way better than before.  I love the idea of bringing the gospel home and spending the day learning even more.  

Live in the moment

Live in the moment.  Something I am trying desperately to learn.  I live and breath in the world of worry.  In the world of what if's and should have's.  I am not so good at being right here in this place and time.  There always seems to be more I should have done and should be doing.  Better choices I could have made.  More good I could have done.  In short, I never seem to be quite enough.  The monster of "comparison" has me tightly by the throat and I am really trying to shake him loose!
For Christmas this year, my sister bought me a subscription to Hilary Weeks "Live All In Today" year long program.  I am loving it.  Not only am I a huge fan of her music, but I love the chat group and the assignments every day to help me live in this here and now moment of my life.    I love the way I am starting (just barely) to focus a little more on what is happening around me.  I love how there are small changes that I am starting to notice, as I truly try and live in the moment instead of in the past or the future of my life.
I am learning to rejoice in music I love.
I am learning that there is never going to be another moment quite like the one I am in right this minute. 
I am learning to make the most of it.
I am even learning that it is ok to be myself! 
The most important part, is I am learning to live, right here in this most important today of my life.

Thank you Sandi, for this amazing gift of love!

https://www.liveallintoday.com/

Light and Goodness

This one is so true.  I found some today.  I have been run ragged with work lately.  We are busy and the prices are getting ready to go up and everyone wants to buy forever stamps before they have to pay more.  I work at a small office and went through 100 coils in the past 2.5 weeks.  Normally, it takes me a month to go through 50 coils, so it is a pretty big increase.  I ordered coils, but they did not come in.  All the other stamps did, but not my coils.  I reached out to a couple other Postmasters I know and found some within 50 miles of my station.  Today, I drove down to pick them up so that my customers have the stamps they need.
When I got there, my fellow Postmaster took me out to lunch and we talked and he got me 50 coils to sell.  By the time I arrived back at the office, we were out of coils.
This may seem like a small thing, but to me it really made my day.   I gave me a break from work, it got me out of the office for an actual lunch, and it reminded me that I am surrounded by good people everywhere.  I just have to look a little harder to find their welcoming light in my own world.
It is easy to feel surrounded by the difficulties in life.  It is easy to get lost in the darkness of the day to day trials.  But in the midst of them, there is someone willing to share their light with us.  All we have to do is look.

Be Positive

Good one to remember.  We all can get overwhelmed with negativity.  We all struggle, we all have issues, we all hurt, we all are doing the best we can in a very negative world.  The only way to combat the negativity is to find the positive and surround yourself with it as much as possible.
I did an experiment a couple of years ago.  I tried to change every negative thought into something positive.  I tried to find the good in every single moment, (no matter how much it made me want to cry).  I did not succeed all the time, but by focusing more on the positive, I discovered that I felt a lot less negative with myself and the world around me.
By choosing not to dwell on the negative, I found myself feeling more positive every day.  Perhaps, it is time to resurrect that experiment again.  The more we focus and dwell on the negative, the more we find that accentuates that negative in our lives.  The more we try and focus on the positive and be grateful for it, the more the positive is accentuated in our day to day existence.
In other words, we literally find that which we seek.
So today, try and be a little more positive with yourself and with others.  Try to find things to appreciate.  Try to look just a little harder for the bright side of things.

Wordless Wednesday - Tuckered out!

A single photo 

– no words –

capturing a moment from our lives.

A simple, special, extraordinary moment.

A moment

I want to pause, savor and remember.

A moment

that brings a smile to my lips, 

and joy to my heart.

Always Go For What Makes You Happy

I forget this sometimes.
For me, it is so easy to spend my time, efforts, and money on helping everyone else be happy.  It is much harder for me to spend those same things on myself.  Sometimes, when I focus on other people, it helps me to be happy.  I love doing things for others and taking time for them and working to provide for their needs and wants.  I love finding the perfect quote, or the perfect gift for them on the day that they need it.
But in doing everything for someone else, it become easier and easier to lose track of me.  I feel lazy when I try and take care of myself.  I feel like I don't have any worth.  I feel selfish.  I am not entirely sure where all those feelings come from, but somehow, they can be incredibly overwhelming to me.
Today, I am trying to take care of me.  I am going to the dentist and the doctor.  I am cleaning my floor and tidying the computer area.  I am reading a book.  There are so many other things that I need to do, but just for today, I am going to do what needs doing to help me feel a little better about me.

Sabbath Day Scribblings - Cheering you on

Revelation 3:10

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience,

I also will keep thee from the hour of  temptation,

which shall come upon all the world,

to try them that dwell upon the earth.

I am Bigger

 

I needed this one for myself today.  Each day of our life is a choice.  We can't choose the trials, or the heartaches, or the tears, or the problems, but we can certainly choose how we are going to live with them.  We can choose to be surrounded by fear, or by courage.  We can choose to be positive or negative.  We can choose to be scattered or focus.  We all get to choose. 

I like that word unstoppable.  I like the idea of letting the strength of others inspire me.  In short, I like the idea of remembering who I am and where I have come from. 

Life is hard and messy.  It is not an easy road.  It has bumps and bruises along the way.  Some things get broken and can't possibly be fixed, but we never know until we look back, just what it was that Heavenly Father was leading us through and to. 

Sometimes, for me, the hardest thing to learn is to simply let go and trust God that all will be well. 

Sometimes, being courageous is simply being willing to put one foot in front of the other and keep going forward toward a new ending. 

Being unstoppable, doesn't mean you do not have problems and concerns.  It simply means that I choose to take a step forward in spite of them.  It means I am making my choice to live. 

 

Happiness is Something We Are

Too often, we think of happiness as a goal.  Something that we are supposed to get.  Something that someone else makes us feel.  Too often, we don't realize that happiness is always something that is within ourselves.  No one else has the right or the responsibility to make us happy.  It is something within ourselves.  It is our own opportunity to become a little better.
I have noticed, that when I was younger and did not know any better, I would expect those around me to help "make" me happy.  In the same way, I would tell my children when they "made" me angry, or "made" me sad.  I had to grow up to realize, that in reality, they never had that power over my emotions.  Only I have that kind of power. 
It is easy to focus on the should have's and could haves.  I am learning that the only way to be truly happy is to focus on the present, exactly how it is, in all it's mixed up, craziness and overwhelming glory. 
We might not be perfect, the place might not be perfect, our families might not be perfect, and neither are our friends and neighbors.  But we can each have nearly perfect moments along the way and choose to be happy.