Wordless Wednesday

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday over at MMB 

Hope to see you there!

A Small Grain of Sand

Tonight, I was watching the news as they talked about the problem of road rage in the metro area.  There are so many people who, when they get behind the wheel of a car, become someone totally different than they are on a normal basis.  As I listened to the report of yet another shooting due to people cutting each other off, making gestures, trying to ram the other car, and even going so far as to follow a driver home, I am finding it hard to understand how anger can become more important than your personal safety.  

What makes people believe that they are invincible and always right when they jump into the driver's seat?  Last I checked, none of us drive correctly 100% of the time (don't tell my kids!).  We all make mistakes.  I guess, I don't understand how normally rational people become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when they get behind the wheel.  

One of the scariest instances of this that happened in my life was when my family was driving with my sister on the freeway.  I truly don't remember what we did when we were driving, but my sister waved the "I love you" sign language sign as a way of telling the driver that we were sorry.  

That driver bumped into the back of our car when we were stopped and then took off.  We had six or seven little kids in the car with us, and it could totally have been disastrous.  No one was hurt, but I learned a lesson I have never forgotten.  

People don't always know or understand what your intentions are.  They become "all right" and "all knowing" when they get behind the wheel of their vehicle.  You really can't trust any other driver's behavior.  So now, I go out of my way to try and not offend other drivers.  I have had too many experiences that have been too close for comfort.    

As the news was reporting on this today, I thought of a poem that is one of the first I ever memorized.  

The Oyster

There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
Who found that some sand had got into his shell.
It was only a grain but it gave him great pain,
For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

                                   
Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse at the government, cry for election,
And claim that the sea should have given him protection?

No--He said to himself as he lay on a shell,
Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.
Now the years have rolled around,
as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny--stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.
Now the tale has a moral;
For isn't it grand what an oyster can do
With a morsel of sand.

What couldn't we do
If we'd only begin
With some of the things
That get under our skin.

~ David Cohen ~

So, my point today is simply this, we can't change or decide how anyone else is going to act.  We can't fix those things that we are not responsible for.  All we can do is take care of our own actions and reactions.  I can't change the fact that drivers get mad at me, but I can change my actions that encourage that type of behavior.  I don't have to behave badly back.  I don't have to get angry or upset at the behavior of others.  I can  make my own pearls out of the sand that life gives me.

This is hard!  But I think it is possible.  I am the only one that can change the way that I react.  It is completely within my control. 

"Don't spend your precious time asking, 

"Why isn't the world a better place?"  

It will only be time wasted.  

The question to ask is rather 

"How can I make it better?"  

To that, there is an answer."  Leo Buscaglia

Last Night, I Ate Potatoes

A long time ago, for Halloween, one of my friends dressed up as a sack of potatoes.  On her back, there was a sign that said:  
"You are what you eat;  last night, I ate potatoes".  
We thought it was funny way back then, but today, I have been thinking more and more about that Halloween from long ago.  
I think there is another lesson here.  I think we take things in with all of our senses and not just tasting.  I think we hear things, touch things, see things, and smell things as well as taste them.  If we are not careful about the things that go into our bodies, or our minds or our thoughts, we will start to tolerate and than accept those things.  They will slowly become a part of us.  They will influence who we are inside.  They will influence the person we become.  When I think about that, I realize that I want to be the type of person that others want to be around.  I want to be an example, but more than that, I want to be Christ-like in all I do and say.  
My daughter taught me this great lesson just last night.  We rented movies this weekend to watch after conference.  We all enjoy a family movie night every once in awhile.  Usually we watch kid oriented movies, but the girls are getting older, and sometimes they like to watch what we affectionately term "chick flicks" around here.  So, there was a movie available for rent that I wanted to see.  It has someone starring in it that I normally like.  It did not have a bad rating (PG is our normal tolerance for movies in our home).  We rented that movie and turned it on last night to watch together.  After less than two minutes, my daughter looked at me and said:  "Mom, I don't think this is a movie that we should be watching.  I think we need to turn it off."  
My husband agreed with her, and I am ashamed to say that I did not.  There was a part of me that thought for a moment, "I really want to watch this, why can't you just wait and see if it gets better?"  I thought it, I resented turning it off, but I did not say anything about it.
We turned off the movie and watched Tangled (for the 3rd time) instead.  It took me until this morning to realize what had happened.  (sometimes I am just a little bit slower than I would like to be!)  
Somehow, in my life, I have eaten the potatoes of movies that have dulled my senses to what is right and what is wrong.  I have let the world tell me what is good and what is bad.  I have let the smells, tastes, touches, sights, and sounds that surround me, separate me from those things which are most important of all.  
We are made up of so much more than just the things we eat.  We can be so much more than the world expects us to be.  But first, we have to choose not to partake of those things that take us away from our Father in Heaven.  
I would never dream of telling anyone else what to watch or read or talk about in their homes.  I would never dream of telling you that you are wrong or right in that choice.  But for me, I am choosing to be a little more conservative in my choices.  I am choosing to follow my sweet young daughter whose internal conscience has not be influenced by the things that surround us in the world today.  
I am choosing not to eat the potatoes of the world.
I am choosing to follow the counsels of the Prophet of God
I am choosing to be different.




John 13:17  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Sunday Devotional - To Finish The Race

"In 1968 a marathon runner by the name of John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in an international competition. 'A little over an hour after [the winner] had crossed the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari . . . approached the stadium, the last man to complete the journey. [Though suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration, and disorientation,] a voice called from within to go on, and so he went on. Afterwards, it was written, "Today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in human spirit, a performance that gives meaning to the word courage." For some, the only reward is a personal one. [There are no medals, only] the knowledge that they finished what they set out to do' (The Last African Runner, Olympiad Series, written, directed, and produced by Bud Greenspan, Cappy Productions, 1976, videocassette). When asked why he would complete a race he could never win, Akhwari replied, 'My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.' "He knew who he was—an athlete representing the country of Tanzania. He knew his purpose—to finish the race. He knew that he had to endure to the finish, so that he could honorably return home to Tanzania. Our mission in life is much the same. We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor."

Robert D. Hales, "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure," Ensign, May 1998, 76

A Simple Moment

This Moment

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.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!

My daughter gave me this story today and I loved it.  I don't know if it is really true or not, but I could so see it happening.  I hope it makes you laugh too!!

This is supposedly by Robert Armstrong, MD

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors.  The program provides training of psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support.  The new doctor are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges.
One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knows nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here.  Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was a raging psychosis.

Doctor:  "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications.  Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?"
Patient:  "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams.  They're driving me crazy."
Doctor: (very surprised)  "The sun beams?"
Patient:  "Yes.  I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still.  They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall."
Doctor:  (reaching for a pen) "Have you told anyone about this?"
Patient:  "Of course, I told the president."
Doctor:  "Really!  What did the president tell you?"
Patient:  "She said Sunbeams are like that.  I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them."
Doctor:  "(concerned that he may be missing something)  "I know people who are sensitive to sun beams.  Do they cause you a rash or anything?"
Patient:  (confused)  "A rash?  No."
Doctor:  "What is the biggest problem they're creating?"
Patient:  "It's the noise.  They just won't quit talking."
Doctor:  (astonished)  "The sun beams are talking to you?"
Patient:  "Well, yes.  But mostly thy talk to each other."
Doctor:  (scribbling furiously in the chart)  "I see.  Can anyone else hear them talking?"
Patient:  (after a moment of stunned silence)  "You're not LDS, are you?"

I laugh every time I read this one!  Just in case you are not a Latter Day Saint (Mormon), I will explain.  The Sunbeams are the three year old children.  I just got done teaching that class for the past two years.  They can be quite a handful, still, it is very rewarding as well as challenging.
One of the things about this that I like the most is that this patient was explaining something to her doctor based on her own experiences with the world that she lived in.  She thought he would understand.  On the other hand, he thought he was understanding even though his perceptions of her words were completely wrong.
I have learned that it is totally easy to misunderstand those around us.  Even when we are trying our best to help them.  It is easy to think we know something.  But honestly, we can't possible know unless we have experienced the same types of things in our own life.  I have realized that so many things can be explained simply by asking the right questions and then listening (really listening and not thinking of our answer in return) to their explainations.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
Leo Buscaglia

What I Know For Sure

Linking up with Mama Kats Writing prompts today.

What I Know For Sure

by Patricia A Pitterle

I know as sure as darkness falls, 

Each and every night,

With the coming of the dawn,

Will shine the morning light.

I know no matter how strong the winds

That blow upon my life,

The Lord with send the calm and peace

And guide me through the strife. 

I know that hurt will fade away,

And that true faith will start

To mend and teach to love again

A tender, broken heart.

But most of all I know that sin,

And sorrow and doubts and fears,

Can all be healed, washed clean again,

Through His gift of blood and tears.

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up for Wordless Wednesday over at MMB.

Hope to see you there!

Love where you are

This Sunday, I heard a talk and it reminded me of a moment in my life.  About six years ago, I was in a very different job.  It was hard for me, I was unhappy, I did not like what I was doing.  I used to come home at night crying because I was so unhappy.  My husband (who has always loved me and supported me) wanted me to quit.  The problem was that I had nearly 20 years working for the same company, and I was the main support for our family.  There was no way that I could walk out.
So, we started to pray.  We prayed that I would find a job where I could work and be happy.  We prayed that our family would be safe.  We prayed that Heavenly Father would guide us.  Within a week, a job posting came out for a small town up in the mountains.
This town was somewhere that we drove through several times each summer.  It was a place that we had often dreamed of retiring to.  It was in the mountains, in the cool pines, and in a small town.  I asked my husband what I should do.  He said simply, "put in your application".  I worried about what he would do, but he promised that he could work anywhere and it would not matter.  So I sent my application into the personnel office.  I waited, and after several months, I still had not heard anything.  By this time, I knew that I had to do something, so I started putting in for lots of different jobs and I kept praying and I planned on doing whatever my Heavenly Father wanted me to do.
I interviewed several times and no one hired me.  I was pretty discouraged.  Then I had two interviews back to back.  One was for the job in the small town, and one was for a job two miles from my house.  I thought that I wanted to one close to my house because I would not have to move, my husband could keep his job, and I would be closer to my grand-children.
It was a few months later before I was finally offered the job that I have today.  I was so worried about it.  I had people who told me that I wouldn't like small towns.  That my children wouldn't get a good education.  That they had more of a chance of being on drugs and getting pregnant.  That they would never get into good colleges.  In short, all I heard about the upcoming move was that it would be negative for my family.
To make matters even worse, the housing market crashed and houses weren't selling.
We had never stopped praying, and we felt so strongly that we needed to proceed with the move.
So we did.  I moved up first, John sold the house (which sold the first week in a market where homes weren't selling)  John worked until the fall and then moved up with me and the girls.  We discovered that we love small town life.
We discovered our family time again.
We discovered that mom could be calm and peaceful.
We discovered that God would provide a way.
We discovered great teachers and wonderful friends.
There are bad things about living anywhere.  But I really believe that our own attitudes make or break the place we choose as home.  Our Heavenly Father wanted us to live in this small town, and He opened doors and provided the way for it to happen.  The most amazing thing that I have learned is simply to trust.  To believe that He knows what is best for us.  And to trust that He will calm the winds and waves of the storm in our lives.
The most important thing that we have realized in all of this is how much joy there can be in living and learning together.  For me, trusting my Heavenly Father has made all the difference.

Dancing

So today, I am posting over at MMB.  It is a story about my youngest daughter Anya.  Hope to see you there!!

You Must Believe

"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future--to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities... God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe."  ~Jeffrey R. Holland~

A Simple Moment- Three Sisters, Three Friends

This Moment

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.

Behaving Badly

"Speak when you are angry,

and you'll make the best speach you'll ever regret!" 

Dr. Laurence Peters

Today was not a good day!
I had a customer this morning who was very angry with me.  To start with, they called on the phone and wanted personal information.  I can not give that information over the phone.  It has to do with privacy laws and it is something that is just not done.  She got angry on the phone and started yelling at me and telling me how rude I was.  Then she came into the office.  It just escalated from there.  She would not let me say why I couldn't tell her.  She would not let me explain.  She just proceeded to tell me how I obvously don't like my job, I have no business being in customer service, and I must be a truly miserable person. 
This has bothered me all day.  I love my job.  I love being in customer service, and I don't think I am miserable (at least, not most of the time). 
In thinking about this today, I can't help but wonder how many times does my own personal state of mind, my own attitude, impact how I approach others and what I say to them (especially when they might be telling me something that I don't want to hear). 
I believe that getting angry is one of Satan's most effective tools.  It is a cunning part of his strategy to dissociate anger from free agency.  He works at making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We often hear, “I lost my temper.” To “lose something” implies “not meaning to,” “accidental,” “not responsible”, we might be careless perhaps, but “not responsible.”

“He made me mad,” is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This implies that someone else is accountable for your feelings.  No one "makes us" mad. No one "makes us" angry. There is no force involved.  Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision.  By virtue of the fact it IS a choice, we can also make the choice not to become angry. We get to choose!
To those who say, “But I can’t help myself,” there was an article in Reader Digest by author William Wilbanks.  He responds: “Nonsense.  Aggression, … suppressing the anger, talking about it, screaming and yelling, are all learned strategies in dealing with anger.  We choose the one that has proved effective for us in the past. Ever notice how seldom we lose control when frustrated by our boss, but how often we do when annoyed by friends or family?” (“The New Obscenity,” Reader’s Digest, Dec. 1988, 24).  Mr. Wilbanks then went on to tell the story about when he was in his sophomore year, he tried out for the high school basketball team and made it. On the first day of practice his coach had him play one-on-one while the team observed. When he missed an easy shot, he became angry and stomped and whined. The coach walked over to him and said, “You pull a stunt like that again and you’ll never play for my team."  For the next three years he never lost control again. Years later, as he reflected back on this incident, he realized that the coach had taught him a life-changing principle that day: anger can be controlled.

By this short true-story, we learn that we really are dealing with learned behavior, either our own or someone elses.  Anger is simply yielding to Satan’s influence by surrendering our self-control. It is the direct cause of road rage on the freeway, flare-ups in the sports arena, and violence in our communities and our homes.
Unchecked, anger can quickly injure tender hearts and feelings.  In our last stake conference, I heard a reference to one of or past Prophets, President David O. McKay.  He spoke on this subject and once said,

“Let husband and wife never speak in loud tones to each other, ‘unless the house is on fire’” (Stepping Stones to an Abundant Life, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay [1971], 294).

I love that phrase!  I wish I could say that I have never raised my voice in my home.  I am working on it though.  It matters to me how I sound to those that I love the most!  I can control many things.  But I cannot control someone else's perceptions.  I can't control their happiness, or their misery, I can't control whether other's like me or not.  I can't control how they perceive my phone messages, or what they say to my employees.  The only thing I can control are those things that I am directly responsible for.  I can control my own tone of voice (although I can't control what anyone else "thinks" they heard).  I can control my own response.  I can control the fact that I am angry.  We can choose not to become angry. And we can make that choice today, right now.  I can let go of the anger and move on. 

"Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame." 

Benjamin Franklin

Where are your feet?

Our standards are determined by the Lord,

Not by the direction of the Wind.

Many years ago, I used to be a letter carrier.  This is the person who delivers letters to your house everyday.  My route was in a very old neighborhood, with small houses and doorslots at every address.  This means that I walked through yards, over fences, around bushes, shrubs and trees, and finally arrived at the house where I would have to stuff the mail into a tiny slot in the door. 
Don't get me wrong, I totally loved my job, even with all the things that I had to watch out for.  We used to be required to "finger" our mail.  All this means is that we had to go through the letters when we were walking.  We had to have the mail ready to put in the slot when we got up to the door so that we did not waste time and energy.  I did this job day in and day out for eleven years. One of the most difficult accidents that I have ever had to recover from, came during the day when I was simply fingering the mail. 
I was in a hurry (extra mail takes extra time) and walking fast.  I arrived at the door slot, stuffed the mail inside and turned to go, already fingering the mail for my next delivery and not paying enough attention to my feet.  Suddenly, I stepped off the porch, into the grass which was hiding a hole just a few inches deep.  This should have been a simple step down and out, except that I did not see it coming.  That one, small step, complete twisted my ankle.  I collapsed to the ground in amazing amounts of pain.  Lets just say that I would rather not repeat the experience.
Anyway, I had a severe sprain on my ankle that required the use of crutches for a few weeks and left me unable to deliver my route until I was mostly healed.  That one, tiny, small, mis-step, caused pain, agony, and suffering that lasted for weeks.  In actuality, it lasted for over a year as I developed the tendency to roll that ankle again and again over the course of many long months.  I finally had to wear an ankle brace and high top shoes until I was able to strengthen it enough to cease having problems with it again. 

One of my favorite quotes is by Abraham Lincoln and says simply: 

"Be sure to put your feet in the right place, and then stand firm". 

I could have avoided so much pain by following that one peace of prudent advice. 

Life often plans for me a hole or two along that way that, if I am not watching for, will trip me up.  It takes a conscious effort to make make sure that I avoid the pitfalls along the way.  The right choice often requires that you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm in that choice and follow it through.    Each of us stands for something.  It might be strong or not strong.  It might be good or not so good.  But we stand for things simply by the decisions that we make every day. 
Let us arm ourselves with faith and stand firm in our convictions.  Let us never forget that we are building a foundation for our family upon the rock of our redeemer.  Let us put our hand in our Heavenly Father's grasp and stand for His principles and His teachings.  He will help us as we stand firm in defense of our homes and our families in the world today. 

Helaman 5:12
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Hope

I am trying something a little different today and linking up with Mama Kat's writing prompts for this week.  This one was to write a poem about hope.  Believe it or not, it is a lot harder to write from a prompt as opposed to writing what I feel at the moment.  

HOPE

by Patricia A Pitterle

In this life that I am living

Things don’t always work out

Quite the way I planned.

Sometimes, it is as simple

As a choice gone wrong.

Often, it can be

More complicated than that.

Other people get involved,

I get my feelings hurt.

Trials happen,

Tears fall,

Disaster beckons

and despair leers over my shoulder

like the neighborhood bully

from my childhood.

But, through it all,

A glimmer of hope

Anchors me to the people 

Most important

In my life.

With grasping tentacles, 

Hope clings tightly

To those that I love.

Hope for the future,

Hope for the present,

Hope for love lost

And love found.

Hope gives me the courage

To keep trying

No matter how rough

The road I am traveling on

May be.

Hope gives me the confidence

To continue on

Into the twilight

Of tomorrow’s dreams.

Gnomeo and Juliet

Today has been a good day.  The girls and I left the cold mountain (it was snowing when we drove out of our driveway last night) and came down to the desert for a couple of days.  Miracle has been sick, and so has my daughter Lori, so the zoo trip that we planned did not happen.  Instead, we have just relaxed, watched TV, and finally, tonight, I took all the girls and my sweet little two year old grand daughter to the movies.  We went and saw Gnomio and Juliet.  I thought it was a fun movie.  I especially loved the ending.  It follows much of the old Romeo and Juliet line.  Two different "families" at war with each other.  The feud has been going on so long they can't even remember how it started or why they hate each other.  Sometimes one side gets "ahead" in the war, and sometimes the other one does.  There are some members on each side that are meaner, and cheat more.  They keep adding fuel to the fires by their attitudes and their behavior.
As I  watched this animated cartoon movie with the girls, I couldn't help but think how like this we can be sometimes.  I have known people who hate, people who make fun of, people who are always angry.  I have known people who love to stir things up, people who gossip, people who spread rumors, people who don't like others because of race, color, nationality, or beliefs.  I have known people who criticize and belittle those around them.
It amazes me how people who profess to be sons and daughters of God with one breath, are so willing to find fault and belittle one another with the next breath.  As I watched a silly, little, cartoon type of movie, I couldn't help but reflect on how these funny little gnomes are like real people.
The lesson is to look behind appearances, open up your heart, and learn something new.  I think when we are willing to do that, we will find out how much we really have in common.  How little are our differences and how much love can truly heal.
So today, reach out to someone who is a little different than you.  Someone who needs you, but might not even know it.  Someone who needs the love and compassion from one of Heavenly Father's  earthly angels.  No matter what our differences, our hearts can join together and we can help make the journey just a little easier for each other.  I can't help but think that maybe that is what life is really about after all.

Learning to Swim

When I was much younger, I did not know how to swim.  Actually, if truth were told, I did not want to try.  I was afraid of the water.  I just knew if I let go of the edge, I would drown.   When I was eleven years old, my mother married again to a rather interesting man who did not know much about raising children.  He came from a rather harsh school of life himself, so I suspect it is not surprising that he treated us the same way he had been treated. 
One afternoon, we were visiting my grandmother in California and swimming in the pool at her apartment.  Mike decided that I needed to learn to swim and promptly picked me up and threw me into the middle of the deep end.  I was terrified!  I was crying!  I was a mess!
He stood at the end of the pool with his arms folded and told me that I had better learn to swim because he was not going to come in a get me.  So, I dog paddled furiously, bearly treading water, and made my way (finally) to the edge of the pool.  I think I swallowed most of the water in there, and I know it made my stomach hurt later on in the day.  But I did swim!  I actually made it to the edge.  Along with lots of tears, there was born in my young mind a great feeling of pride and satisfaction that I could really do it.  I could work around my fear and succeed. 
It was one of the best lessons I have ever learned.

We all have things in life that scare us.  Sometimes, it is something that actually happens to us or those we love.  Sometimes it is our own fears of what might happen.  Being afraid is part of our human nature.  But with this experienced, I also learned that being afraid does not have to keep us from learning and growing.  It does not have to hold us back. 
Anciently, the Lord spoke to Isaiah and said, "Fear not, for I am with thee".  (Gen. 26:24).   The Lord was very clear and direct in His speaking.  Yet, fear still surrounds us today.  It stiffles creativity, saps our strength and weakens our faith.  It causes doubts and mistrust.  It is a completely negative emotion. 

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee. …

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:6–7.)

I don't think that there are any among us that has not felt fear at one time or another in our lives.  There are so many things to be afraid of.  But I think it is important to realize that fear itself can cripple us and keep us for accomplishing those things in our lives that we want and need to do.  I love that the Lord does not give us the spirit of fear.  But He gives us love.  Fear is the opposite of faith, and the opposite of hope.  The power of His love tells us that we are sons and daughters of God.  We have a purpose in our lives here. 
We can overcome fear, doubt, discouragement and worry through the sustaining power of love.  Love of family, love of friends, love of the gospel,  and the greatest love of all, that of our Savior Jesus Christ. 
Let us find strength in the strength that comes from Him.  Let us find peace in the peace that He taught.  And let us find His love in the multitude of blessings that surround us. 

Many of our fears are tissue-paper-thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them. ~Brendan Francis

There is much in the world to make us afraid. There is much more in our faith to make us unafraid. ~Frederick W. Cropp

Sunday Devotional - Joy in the Journey

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

Thomas S. Monson, "Finding Joy in the Journey," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 85

A Simple Moment - Yoda - Tiny and Mighty

This Moment

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.

Fasting - Isn't very fast

Does fasting make you HUNGRY?

If so…

"Feed" yourself spiritually
"Feast" upon the scriptures

We are a family that tries our hardest to do the things that are right.  Most of the time, it is not easy.  As a matter of fact, trying to choose the right can be downright hard!  One of the more difficult things that we do is fast.  I taught a lesson on fasting in Relief Society a couple of months ago.  So, since I was teaching, I often use the things I am learning on my own family.  We talk about the different principles and how to live them together.  

My youngest daughter listened to the lesson, then she came over and climbed on my lap, put her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear.  "Mom, do you remember when I was still a little girl?" 

(I smiled because she is still pretty little to me).  

"Of course I do Nie nie, why?"  

"Well", she said, "I used to think that fasting wasn't something you did.  It was just something that meant the day went by really, really fast!"

I laughed at her.  "Does the day still seem to go by fast?"

"Oh no, mom, sometimes it is really, really slow."

I love my children.  They are so good about trying to do their best.  Sometimes Sundays can be very slow when you are hungry and you want to eat.  But, this gave us a wonderful opportunity to talk about fasting for others and fasting with a purpose.  We have been able to fast for family members and for each other.  The girls have been able to see prayers answered and lives changed.  They know that fasting is hard, but it is also something that can bring the Spirit into our lives and help those we love.  

Fasting has to be with a purpose.  We usually find someone to fast for.  As we turn our hearts and prayers toward others, we are blessed in our own lives.  This year has been an amazing experience for our entire family as the girls have added their own fasts and prayers to those who need them.  They have been able to see and experience the results of their own simple faith. Sundays have become a day of joy, worship and family for us.  Sometimes they go a little slow, but other times, it is a day that passes very, very fast.

  

Fasting without a purpose is called starvation.  

It serves no spiritual purpose.