Savior

 It has been a very long time since I have written anything at all on my blog.  It has been a rough few years, but we are still going strong.  I retired from the Postal Service and am home now.  I have seen three new grandchildren born and was able to babysit one of them for the past 2 1/2 years.  It has been a blessing in so many ways.

I am sure I will have more to write about life at a later date.  Today I want to write about current events and how I am changing because of them.

Every year, I choose one word to work on throughout the year.  I do not do resolutions.  I think those just set us up for failure in our lives.  Life is hard enough without failing every single year.  So, I choose a word that I work on throughout the year.  Past words have included:

tenacity, strength, compassion, repentance and love.  

This year, I am seriously going bigger with my word.  My word this year is Savior.  Not in the way that I want to be Him.  There was only ever one perfect person in the world and I am not, nor never can be Him.  But, I can strive in my day to day like to be more like Him.  

I want to love better, accept more, judge less and learn of Him.  I want my life to reflect His teachings.  

I love my Savior  I want to be a better person.  I want to change who I am and become someone that I can admire and want to be around.  

You see, I know He lives.  I know He loves each of us  I know that I can become more like He would have me be.  

Why We Won't Move

 

I love this one.  I have often heard the one about whenever God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window, but I really love the fact that He knows when it is time to get us moving forward and onward toward His good gifts.  I sometimes feel like I am stuck.  Like life just keeps pushing me down and stopping me.  Perhaps, it is more about how I am looking at it and less about what my perception is.  Perhaps it is more about moving forward and less about looking longingly back.

I have had God close so many doors in my life, and except for the time I am actually going through the trial, I am able to look back and understand the blessings that He had in store for me.  I am someone who likes everything to stay the same.  I don't even move the furniture in my house.  I don't try new things well.  I don't like sleeping in unfamiliar places or being with people I don't know.  But how else and I going to get to know new friends and new places if I don't try.  

Our circumstances can totally be a stumbling block or a stepping stone.  It is up to us to look at them from a different perspective and be willing to change.   

Hypocrites

I really believe this one.  Why is it that we want to be forgiven for our own sins, but somehow we also want to judge?  To say someone else's sin is worse than our own?  To say who or who should not be forgiven.  I don't mean that we have to continually allow others to hurt us or be in abusive relationships.  We have every right to protect ourselves.  But we also have to allow others the chance to repent and change their lives.  We need to allow them the opportunity to get to know the Savior for themselves, repent and change.
I have had amazing experiences in my own life for the change that can happen.  One of the most amazing experiences that I had involved and family who was newly baptized. 
They had a special needs son, whom the father did not like or want to be around.  He did not hold him or hug him or want to be with him at all.  They also had a younger, healthy son whom the father doted on and gave all the attention to.  The man had made a lot of mistakes in his life.  He had been a biker, and involved in gangs.  He was covered in tattoos.  He was very gruff around the edges.  The parents were seriously talking divorce.
I watched the gospel and the love of God change this entire family.  I especially watched the father change as his changes were visible to all of us.  He went from being gruff around the edges to one of the most concerned individuals I have ever met.  He treated his wife like she was his world and started treating his older son the same.  They became inseparable and nearly everywhere the father went the young boy was with him, riding on his shoulders.  I watched them bring so many others to the Savior with their love and acceptance and especially their believe that anyone could change. 
There is so much more I could add about them, but they touched my heart in so many ways.  I knew them for over two years before they were transferred.  His wife and I became good friends and we did many things together.  I saw those changes for myself and it taught me that we can never judge someone else by their past, perceived or known.  Every single one of us is capable of repentance and forgiveness.  It takes and willing heart and a true desire for change. 
I am grateful to have been able to call myself their friend. 

Our Heavenly Connections

My life is being taken over by technology.  The phone is always ringing.  I can nearly always be reached.  I rarely get a moment to put it aside.  Have you ever noticed that someone's phone always rings during prayer?  Have you ever felt like it would be amazing to sit down to dinner and not have someone answering their phones, or the door, or their email, or facebook, or any other number of apps and annoyances.  It seems to me that my life is filled with ring tones.

There are times, I look around and think, how has this happened.  Technology was put here to help us do the things we need to do.  However, it also makes it easier to do the wrong things instead of the right ones. 

In my day, we only had one house phone.  I had to sit out on the dog house with the phone as far as it would reach in order to get any privacy at all.  Everything was attached by a cord.  In this day of wifi and wireless technology, it is way too easy to get attached to the fast paced world that we need to leave behind every once in a while. 

This past weekend, we went to the campout for my husbands work.  There was no cell reception at the site.  It was wonderful to see the kids play and just be kids.  No electronics or TV or Gameboys or anything else that required charging and phone service.  We took one of our grandsons, and it brought tears to my eyes to see him running and playing all over the camp ground.  Of course, he found the mud puddle, and he bathed in it completely.  I justified it by thinking it MUST be good for his skin.  He had a ball running through the mud and losing his shoes and finding them again. 

Technology has it's good points, but also it's bad ones.  Anything that comes between us and our communications with our Heavenly Father and our family, really needs to be changed.  We need to decide to change it.  So, in your life, what is most important to you?  What are you going to change?

 

Plan A

 

Life never seems to go quite the way we plan it.  I am learning, through my own experience, that is ok.  I used to love to go to Women's Conference up in Utah at BYU.  It is a weekend with speakers who talk about all kinds of things.  I take it pretty seriously and go through the entire schedule to circle the speakers I would like to hear and also back up ones in case the session is full.  It can get crazy there as it seems to me that all the speakers I want to hear, there are several thousand of my sisters who want to hear the same ones.  I can't tell you how many times I have had to go to a class that didn't even sound interesting to me, only to find it was exactly what I needed to hear. 
Life is a little like those conferences.  We go through lots of trials in this life.  Most of us have a plan for dealing with them.  However, if you are like me, often plan A does not even come close to dealing with the problem.  Sometimes, it seems as if I get all the way to plan X or Y before I find something that will work. 
I can get so caught up in my own visualizing of the situation, that I don't take into account what is really needed.  For instance, I get so excited about serving someone, that I forget to take into account others might not want to serve with me.  In my mind, everyone is on the same page.  They all want to do the same things that I want to do.  Of course, that is not true, I just forget and want everyone else to find the same joy that I do in service.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  We each find joy in our own types of service.  We don't all find joy in doing the same things.
I am a planner, and often, when things don't go quite the way I planned for them to go, I get upset and stressed about what is going to happen.  I am not sure that I will ever deal with stress in a positive way, I am trying to see stress as simply more changes.  I keep telling myself that "change is good", right???
Or, if it is not good, perhaps it is good for me.  Nevertheless, much like my experience at BYU, I think that my Heavenly Father knows the things I need to do and He will put them in my path if I will just trust in Him.  He knew I needed to hear those speakers at just that time.  It can be hard to trust when you can't see where the road you are on ends.  It can be even harder to let go and simply believe.  However, I know that He is ever mindful of us.  One of my favorite scriptures, that brings me peace is found in Alma

Alma 36:27
And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from death; yea, and I do put my trust in him, and he will still deliver me.

I might not have been in prison, but I have been made a prisoner because of the actions of others.  I know that He is with me and watching over me.  As I look back over the past several years, I can realize that my Plan A, was never His.  He wanted me to work through it, but He did not leave me alone.  Eventually, I got there. 
I have come to discover that, only after our trial, comes the blessings.  Today, I can be thankful that the Plan A's of my life have seldom worked out.  I an appreciate the struggle.  I can recognize the strength I have gained, and I can appreciate the Love that He has for me. 

You are His Light Bearers

 

It is easy to find faults in others.  It is even easier to find the faults in myself.  To me, part of being a light bearer is to give that gift of life to those who are around me.  A favorite saying of mine, often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi reads, “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”  Implicit in this saying is the understanding that often the most powerful sermons are unspoken.

When we have integrity and live consistently by our standards, people notice. When we radiate joy and happiness, they notice even more.

Everyone wants to be happy. When we, as members of the Church, radiate the light of the gospel, people can see our happiness and sense the love of God filling and overflowing in our lives.
I think that being a light bearer is reminding people that they are worth loving.  Not only because of who they are, but because of whose they are. 
Bearing His light is acting as much as possible in the ways that He would act.  It is giving the gift of light to those who wander in darkness.  It is acting as His earthly angels while we are here upon the earth. 
It might mean buying dinner or bringing dinner to those in need.  It might be treating someone with kindness when they themselves are unkind.  It might mean forgiveness and understanding when people make mistakes. 
To be a light bearer means to keep myself worthy to have His light within me.  To bring that light to others means to treat them as He would treat them.  Even when we doubt that they deserve kindness, it is remembering that every single on of us really does deserve kindness in our lives.  We only see people in the here and now, we don't see what has brought them to this place, but our Heavenly Father knows both the past and the present.  He sees not only what we do, but why we do it. 
May each of us seek to bring His light to all those who fall within our sphere of influence. 
May we seek to heal others and not the hurt them. 
May we find within our hearts forgiveness and love. 
May we ever be light-bringers and light-bearers on this difficult journey of life. 

Wordless Wednesday - New Hair!

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.

Controlling the Way you Respond

The last three years or so, have been hard.  There are so many things in my life that I absolutely have no control over.  Things that happen through no fault of my own, yet I am drawn out of my comfort zone and into exactly where I don't want to be, like a fish on a line, I even feel sometimes like I might be someone else's dinner!
Live can be very hard.  It doesn't change just because you want it to either.  I often find myself feeling out of control with my world.  There are people who act as if their greatest desire in life is to make me as miserable as possible. 
One of the things I am learning is that it is impossible for others to make you miserable.  It is also impossible for them to make you happy.  We are in total control of those emotions.  We choose to let others influence us, for good or bad.  We choose to let them have that kind of power over us. 
In my struggle with the demon depression in my life, I am trying to learn that I don't have to be in control of anyone else but myself. Sometimes, others actions affect me, but there is nothing that I can do about it.  One of the biggest problems that I have is that I want to be in control.  When something is wrong, I want to fix it and have it be right.  When someone is unjust, I want to show them the error of their ways and have them change their actions.  It has been incredibly hard for me to learn to let go of the monkey that belongs on someone else's back.  Especially when it has to do with my children.
I struggle with a great desire to be happy and to see those I love happy too.  But I am learning that my happiness is not dependent on the choices that others make.  I can be happy even though someone hates me.  I can be happy even though I am wronged.  I can be kind even in the face of unkindness, and most of all, I can feel gratitude to my Heavenly Father, when there is a lot around me to not be grateful for.  I am learning to find joy in the small things.  I am learning that He really does know what is going on and that He knows I am innocent of accusations and others bitterness. 
I am learning that I am not always in control of someone else.  I am in control of how I respond to them.  I get to choose to hate, or to love.  To hold a grudge or to forgive.  To be angry or loving. 
I have the power to choose, and that is helping me to change. 

Consistently Becoming

Have you ever tried to play piano?  I have, and it is HARD!  As far as I have ever found out, it is not possible to just sit down and play something without ever having played the instrument before.  You have to practice for years.  You have to work at it, and really love it. 
I tried to give my girls the gift of piano.  They are better than they used to be, but none of them have really ever played it like they could.  It is not what or who they want to be.  It is what I wanted them to be. 
On the other hand, I have a daughter who has never done any art in her life.  In our small town, there are no art classes in school (unless you count graphic art, which she never had an interest in).  She was a singer, and she loved it, but when she went to college, she decided to try something completely new and picked art to study for one class a day. 
The amazing thing for me is to see her blossom and grow in her art.  She loves it.  It is so fun to watch her practice different mediums and grow as she experiments with something that she loves. 
Everything that we want to become in life takes practice.  As we work on the things that we want to become, we become a little better each day.  We can work on any of the traits and attributes that we would like to better utilize. 
Imagine if we all became a little more kind, compassionate, loving, willing to serve, and even more grateful.  Think of the difference we could make in our own part of the world!  Just remember that we need to work at those things every day.  I believe that we all have something that we can work on that will make us better.  I know that I do.  As I seek to become, I am hoping that I find peace in following Him. 

Don't be impressed

This is one that we all need to be aware of.  It is easy to be impressed by what we perceive others have accomplished.  It is easy to look at the visible signs of success and wish that we had the same.  But those things that we can not see, are so much more important.  I know that when I am having problems myself, it is the simple things that bring me the greatest blessings.  The kindness of a stranger, the generosity of a friend, the integrity of someone who finds something I have lost, and last, but not least, the humility of those around us. 
Our world is impressed by all the wrong things.  We look at success as something that is physically tangible, instead of something within.  We use things to determine whether or not we are worth something.  We use money, status, toys, titles, business, even people to show that we have worth.  The thing is, worth is not determined by what you have.  It is determined more by what you do. 
Once, a long time ago, I had a job interview.  The interviewer asked me what I could bring to that office.  I told him of all the things that I have done in my career.  He replied, "I don't want to know what you have done in the past, I want to know what you will do for this office to improve it". 
I learned from that interview.  Our past really doesn't matter as much as we think.  Our current status really isn't important.  There are more important and pressing issues for each of us.  I prefer to think of it as: what can I do to change what is going on around me for the better.  What can I bring that is different and unique.  I have learned that kindness is always welcome, there is never enough integrity to get things done, humility goes so much farther that pride, and generosity brings some of my greatest joys. 
I hope that we all start to become impressed by the things that matter most, instead of the ones that really aren't that important.  Remember that you are truly better than you think you are. 

Becoming Like Him - Day 28 - Wake

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

One day, someone is going to hug you so tight, 

that all the broken pieces will stick back together.

Today the prompt is:

WAKE

START

When my older children were teenagers, they often had a hard time waking up in the morning.  Every single one of them did not like getting out of bed, getting ready for school, or eating a decent breakfast.  I usually made oatmeal or grits or even rice breakfast.  Those ones were filling and I could make a lot, but I really got a little grouchy when the teens would not listen to me and wake up and rise out of those beds.  

As a matter of fact, several mornings saw them pull covers tightly over heads and snuggle back down for more sleep.  It probably wouldn't have been so bad, except they kept missing the buses and making me late for work.  I could not afford to lose a job because they didn't care whether or not they made it to school on time.  

I tried everything I could think of to make it easier for them to get up, they all had their own alarm clocks, I would turn the lights on, we made everyone go to bed earlier and we even went to bed ourselves.  

It never seemed to matter.  When it came to sleeping in, those kids were right on top of it.  Finally, in desperation, I threw a glass of water on the heads of two of the biggest culprits.  The boy, leaped out of bed and shouted "MOM!  What are you doing?"  The girl cried big alligator tears because she just knew that I ruined her bed.  

However, they do joke about it today.  They could both swear that I took a garden hose to the beds and nearly drowned them in ice cold freezing water, (in reality, it was about 4 oz of water, lukewarm out of the tap and not even cold).  They have told all the younger siblings, so I have never again had difficulty getting anyone else out of bed in the mornings.  The youngest girls get themselves up even if we don't do it for them.

I really wasn't trying to be mean, I just needed those teens to respect what I was doing for them.  As much as they complained at the time, they never made me late to work in the rest of the years they lived at home.  They have grown into responsible adults who wake themselves every single day.  

It makes me wonder if Heavenly Father ever gets tired of telling us to wake up and look at what is going on around us.  The scriptures tell us many of the same things over and over again.  I am guessing, that the reason we have to hear things more than once, is because we too can be just like my sleeping teens.  We don't always want to open our eyes and wake to reality.  We don't always listen when we should.  Sometimes we have to be reminded.  We need that startling wake up call that makes us remember those things that are most important.  

STOP

Becoming Like Him - Day 24 - Dare

Today is Friday.  Five - minute - Friday to be exact and I can't wait to share.  This is where a group of bloggers gather together over at Kate's Place every single Friday to share their writing on a single prompt, without worrying about whether it is just right or not.  To find out more, or just link your own story with ours, join us over at Heading Home with Kate.

"Let us dare

To read,

Think,

Speak,

and Write."

John Adams

The prompt for this week is:

DARE

START

I spent so much of my life afraid.  Afraid to be who I am, afraid to speak out, afraid to be offended, afraid to dream, afraid to become.  In my struggles, I have learned that I only grow by being challenged.  Life, all by itself doesn't always teach us.  It is when we have to develop the courage to step up and speak out that we really start to learn.
I have learned that it is okay to be different and not like everyone else.  I have learned that none of us are perfect, no matter how much we pretend to be on Sunday.  I have learned to love, in spite of the choices of those I care for.  I have learned to forgive, even when it is harder than I ever imagined.
Sometimes, we just have to dare to be more than we thought we could be.
Today was a hard day.  Someone was in the office yelling and screaming at me.  They called me names and were just plain hard to deal with.  I left that confrontation with hate in my heart.  It is hard to get rid of hate when it wants to take up residence.  So, now, I am working on forgiving.  I don't know how successful I will be, but if it puts me in a better mood to deal with tomorrow, than I will have been successful.  I think that daring to be outside your normal self is not that easy.  It is a challenge.
I write because I dare to share my heart.  I dare to put my words out there to be judged.  I dare to share what He means in my life.  I struggle often to be the person that I want to be.  I have to put aside so many old habits and embrace new ones.  Sometimes, I slip back into yesterday and find myself lost for a time.
Yet, the more I dare, the surer I am of my direction and my path.  The less that I allow fear to govern my journey.  As I seek to become more like Him, I find myself daring a little more often to choose the right.  I find myself seeking those things which are true.  I find myself thinking things through, speaking up, and even speaking out.  I find myself daring to be just a little more like Him, one moment at a time.  One marvelous word.  One tiny thought.  One single step right into His arms of love.

STOP

Now it is your turn.  What can your write for your own version of Five-Minute Friday.  Don't forget to link back with the rest of us at Kate's Place.  

Becoming Like Him - Day 17 - Long

Oh yes!  It is Friday again.  Still one of my favorite times of the week.  This is the day that a bunch of us write for five minutes without worrying about whether it is just right or not.  Then we link up our posts over at Kate's Place.  This month, there are also a bunch of us that are writing for five minutes all month long, every single day.  I am really enjoying the efforts!  I hope to see you over at the link up for your very own version of Five Minute Friday.  This week, the prompt is:

LONG

Don't let something that is long gone 

continue to control you.

It is time to let it go.

START

When I was very small, I longed to be like the big kids and never need a nap.  That two hour period of time seemed forever for my small body, and I was desperately afraid I would miss something while I slept.

When I was a child, I longed to have friends.  I longed  to be liked and loved and appreciated.  I longed for people to want to be with me.  Instead, I found myself the outsider, the one that was always in fights defending myself.  The one that was picked on, the one that was bullied.

When I was a teen, I longed to be anywhere but my house.  I longed to drive and drive and never come back.  I longed for escape and sometimes found it in the pages of the books that I loved.

When I was a young adult, I longed for a husband to love me, children that would be a blessing and a real home where I was never lonely or afraid.

I always thought that life would be a long, long time.  I never realized how short it really is.  

You blink and the toddler is a child.  You yawn and the child is a teen.  You sleep and the teen is a young adult.  Life happens, time passes, it is not nearly as long as I thought. 

Now I am older and realize that I long to let the past go.  I long to forget the bad and just remember and take joy in the good.  I long to forgive and forget and put it behind me.  I long to be better than I have been before.  

I have learned that we choose those memories that we carry with us.  As we long for something else, they become more easily recalled.  As we long to forget the bad time, they become closer to the surface of our minds.  

If we don't let go of the bad, we will never find ourselves in the places we have longed to be.  I am learning to let go of all the things that have happened to me and focus on the blessings that He gives me.  I long to become more like Him and less like the past.  I long to give it up, let go and trust that He can carry all the burdens for me.  I long to belong to Him.

STOP

Now it is your turn.  What can you write in your own five minutes of fun?  Don't forget to join us over at Heading Home with Kate and link up!

Becoming like Him - Day 16 - Adjust

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

We Can't Direct The Wind

But We Can

Adjust The Sails.

START

This is one of my favorite quotes.  I love it because it reminds me that life is all about how we adjust.  We don't control any thing that happens to us, certainly not the weather, or events, or even the feelings of others.  But we always get to choose how we adjust our sails and change our own course.

I used to have my own small sailboat and took it out on the lake from time to time.  I learned to sail, usually with one other person.  As someone who lives in Arizona, I found out quickly that you really, really want to have wind when you are out sailing.  

On a calm day, the boat can be a little hard to move, and oars are not so pleasant as a sail.  

Most of the time, you can find a wind by adjusting the sails and tacking from one side of the lake to another.  You have to be careful of the boom though, or you will end up in the water when it moves!

In a lot of ways, sailing taught me about life.  

Adjusting can be so hard.  Usually, it means to change.  For me, change is not something that I look forward to.  Actually, I tend to be a little on the pessimistic side.  I know it will probably be good for me, but still, I like the known quality about the place I am currently in. 

I am surrounded by change and adjustments.  Every.  Single.  Day.  There is no way that I can escape any of it.  If I try and stay still, the boom of life will knock me right into the waters of discouragement.  Moment by moment and step by step, everything changes.  I worry too much about the meaning of things instead of just enjoying the moment.  

I cannot direct the wind, I cannot change one part of anything that has happened in my life, but I still have power.  I have the power to choose how yesterday affects the rest of my today and my tomorrows.  I can choose to do better, to live better and to become better.  I can choose to adjust the sails.  

STOP

Becoming Like Him - Day 7 - Go

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him. My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

Maybe you have to

Let go of who you were,

To become

Who you will be.

START

One of my favorite Scriptures is found in 1Nephi 3:7

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

I will go and do.  It does not say that he had to think about it first.  It does not say that he had to see what his friends were doing.  It simply says that "I will go and do".  I think those words are amazing.  

We can't let go of anything in our past if we don't go and do something different.  We have all sinned. We have all made mistakes.  We all have excuses from time to time, but if we don't go and do something else, we will just keep going in the same circle over and over.  

Letting go of the person that I used to be has been hard for me.  It has taken all my life to get to this one point.  I still don't always do things right.  I make mistakes every single day and need to ask for forgiveness.  My past was often hard, but it was familiar to me, and I find myself identifying my strengths by the things I have overcome.  Sometimes, I find myself excusing my decisions because of the past that I have had to live through.

Really, I am learning that I need to let go of the past instead of dragging the weight around like a burden to continue bearing.  I need to let go of the bad habits I learned, the bad examples I saw, the names I was called and everything else that happened.  

The atonement was for me, not just my sins.  Christ suffered for my infirmities as well as my weaknesses and my pains and my sorrows.  He truly knows exactly how I felt.  He was bullied, beaten, and spit upon too.  

When I remember the things that He had to endure, I am so very grateful for His mercy in my life.  His example reminds me to continually, "Go and Do". 

STOP

Becoming Like Him - Day 4 - Learn

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester. There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge. Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing. You can use the prompts or write about anything you would like, you just need to write.

I am sharing my journey for 31 days as I strive to become more like Him.  My prayer is that you can find hope and peace in my words.

Today the prompt is:

LEARN

START

"Learning is the only thing 

the mind never exhausts, 

never fears, 

and never regrets."  

Leonardo Da Vinci

I was a youth, I learned a scripture that has stayed with me my whole life.  It is simply this:

Mosiah 2:17  "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God". 

Learning for me has become more than knowledge.  It is more than finding out something new.  It is so much more than books or lectures or talks or even the internet.  As much as I love all those things (especially reading), I love learning more about my Heavenly Father.  I love getting to know Him through the scriptures and through prayer.  As I struggle to know Him better, I feel peace in my heart and soul.  I find comfort in the simple things that surround me.  I start to see Him in the beauty of a sunset, the love of my children, the helpfulness and compassion of my husband.  

As I continue to learn about my Heavenly Father, I find myself working harder to become more like Him in every way.  There is also a beautiful scripture in Psalms.  (Is there anyone that doesn't love Psalms?)  It says:

"Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments".  Psalms 119:73

This one teaches me that I need understanding so that I can learn the commandments.  It is not enough to read them.  It is not enough to memorize them.  We need to absorb them into our hearts and our minds so that we can truly live the spirit of the law and not just focus on the letter of the law.

How many of us can truly say that we never bear false witness?  How many of us don't covent what our neighbors have?  I am as guilty as anyone.  So today, I want to learn wisdom.  I want to learn of Him.  I want to become like Him in my heart and my soul.  I want to make His commandments a part of my everyday life.  

Today, I want to become just a little more like Him.  Today I am learning His ways. 

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Becoming Like Him - Day 1 Moving

For my 31 days of writing, I am linking up over at Heading Home and over at the Nester.  There are several of us that are taking the 31 day writing challenge.  Kate has suggested that we spend 31 days of Five minute writing, The Nester lets you write about anything you would like, you just need to write.  I like that idea, as I really have enjoyed Five Minute Fridays.  For my 31 days, I wanted to write about become more like Him.  I am planning on using the prompts everyday, but tailoring them to be along the lines of Becoming more like Jesus.  I want to keep my mind focused on those things that matter most.  Today the prompt is:

Move

START

We all have to start somewhere.  Life happens.  It can be quite an adjustment at times.  It is easy to get lost in the shuffle if we just stand there.  We have to keep moving onward.  Moving forward.
Some mornings it is all I can do to put one foot in front of another.  I need to get out of bed.  Then, I need to start my day.  Lately, my day has not been going so well.  I think that moving for me needs to start by moving in the right direction toward Him.  I am going to start and end my days this month by reading the scriptures.  I am not going set an assigned amount of time, because I really want to study.  I want to feel the spirit surround my soul.  I want to feel the peace that happens when I am moving in the way I should go.  I think it is time to quit expecting Him to meet me, and to strive a little bit harder to move toward Him.
So, today, I am starting the process.  I heard once that life is like a down escalator that we are all trying to move up on.  If we stop trying, we will be carried downward.  If we walk, we will stay in the same place.  We have to put some real effort into moving forward and upward in our lives.  I think I need to put a little more effort into the moving part.
So my moving today is reading.  Reading His word.  Feeling His spirit, and partaking of His love.  Moving toward Him.

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Now it is your turn.  Are you going to join us over at Kate's place and at The Nester's for your own 31 day journey?  I hope you do!

Five Minute Friday - Change

Today is my favorite day of the week.  It's Friday once again.  This is the day that a bunch of us gather together over at Kate's Place to write, without worrying about whether it is right or not.  The rules are simple, write for five minutes about the assigned prompt, link back over at Kate's Place and leave at least one comment for the person that linked before you did.  Enjoy yourself and experience writing the way it was really meant to be!

The prompt this week is: 

CHANGE

START

Change

By Patricia A Pitterle

A baby is born

Not able to do anything

And we love them

Anyway

she changes a little

And soon

She is scooting 

Cross the floor

Then crawling 

On all fours as 

She hustles into

A whole new world.

She changes again 

Into a toddler,

A child who stumbles 

Walks, and learns to run

One who asks questions

 And loudly yells, NO!

She changes again 

Into a child

Growing day by day

And starting school.

Learning to read 

And write

And understand 

Just a little bit more

This life that she is living.

Soon she becomes a teen

With all the doubts

And lack of self-esteem

Friendships that begin

And end

Like a summer rain.

Heart that gets broken

Over and over

Yet still she goes on.

She becomes a woman grown

And looks back at her past;

She sees the good times,

More often than

The bad ones.

Life, cannot pass

Without heartaches 

And pain.

And growth

And grace.

STOP

but I can't quit without finishing what I started, here is the rest.  I hope you like it.

Change is

The process of becoming 

Something totally different

Than the person

I used to be.

It is growing up

And learning those things

That help me to survive.

Change is not allowing

My environment, 

Or sin,

To dictate the person

That I will choose to become.

It is believing that the past

Can truly stay in the past,

And that the future

Is as big as my dreams.

It is knowing 

That we are each

Guilty of sin;

That we have hurt others,

As well as ourselves.

It is believing 

That His tender mercies

Will be enough

To wipe away 

The red stains

On my soul.

I have learned that

We all have hurts

We all have pain

We all suffer

We all sin

But as we move forward

In our journey,

We can choose to change

We can choose to become

Whoever 

We might want to be.

As we seek 
To walk with Him; 

We can find strength,

We can find love,

We can find peace,

We can find grace,

We can, at last, find Him.  

Now, what can you write in your own little world of Five Minutes?  Don't forget to link back over to Kate's place and let us read your work.  

Five Minute Friday - Begin

Today is not just another day.

It's a new opportunity,

Another chance,

A new beginning.

Embrace it!

Today is the last Five Minute Friday hosted over at Lisa Jo's place.  She has passed the baton onto someone else.  Today is a day of Good-byes and New Beginnings.  
The rules are always simple:
Write for five minutes without worrying about whether it is just right or not.
Link up over at Lisa Jo's.
Go and read and comment on the person who linked up before you.
Let’s write on one word for five beautiful, sacred, unrushed, unedited minutes —-> the word is BEGIN: 
GO

I can't tell you how many times that I have had to start over, to begin again.  There is one thing that I have learned in my life and that is that no matter what happens to us, no matter what choices we make, no matter what others think or act like, we always have the choice to begin again.  We get to choose to forgive.  We choose to move on, past the hard place, to find the promised joy at long last.  
There are times in my life when i have wished so hard that things would not go the way they were heading.  I have had to learn that endings are most often difficult.  But with the ending is always a chance to begin again.
I love that idea when I think about my Savior and how much He loves me.  He will take my sins and remove them from me.  All the red stains become as white as snow when I am willing to turn my life to Him and begin, once again.  
Hope is in the beginning.  It strengthens me and carries me onward through my trials.  Through the endings that are so very hard.  He comforts my heart, eases my mind and lets me start over to become.
The sweetness is always in the ability to begin. 

STOP

Now it is your turn.  What can you write in your own five minutes?  Don't forget to go over to Lisa Jo's this week and join up with the rest of us.  I hope to see you there!

Seven Days Without God Makes One Weak

I am loving this saying today.  Although I do think that "Fightday" just might come around more than once a week!  Of course, I have teenagers, so that seems to go with the plan. 
Actually, I love this because, in our busy lives, it can be so easy to take our Heavenly Father for granted.  It can be so easy to put Him aside for other things.  Sometimes, without even meaning too.  One of the things that I have noticed in my own life, is that when I let things go, for instance I forget to say my morning prayers, it becomes easier to not do my prayers the next time.  Soon, I am saying them in the car on the way to work, and pretty soon after than, they just disappear from my life all together. 
Satan doesn't tempt us with the big things.  No, he tempts us with the small things first, than as we move forward, he keeps tempting us.  At any time we are free to change, but change can be so hard.  We don't go from a covenant keeping, faith abiding people, to wickedness and evil in one action.  No, we think about what we would "like" to be doing first.  Then we watch those things, than we believe that one time won't hurt us, and soon we have lost our hold on the iron rod and wondered into the mists of darkness. 
We took the first step in taking God out of our lives. 
So, no matter what you are doing today, take a step back and thank Him for being there for you.  Put Him first and foremost in your heart and in your plans.  Involve Him in your day, and in your week.  He wants to be there for you.  If you feel that He is not, I guarantee that it isn't from anything He has done.  Invite Him back into your life.  Invite Him into your home and your heart.  He is waiting, hands outstretched, to meet you.