Sabbath Day Scribblings - Faith

 Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God?

Mormon 5:23

Sabbath Day Scribblings - Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

 

I ask myself, How does the Savior see my faith?

and I ask you,

How does the Savior see your faith?

What are you doing to strengthen your faith?

Lessons for the Weary- Conference 2018

 

Precious Gifts from God

by President M. Russell Ballard

 

 

How I love conference every six months.  I find myself enjoying it more and more the older that I get.  I find myself focusing on the words and how they apply to me.  This talk was wonderful.  He brought up so many good points.  I love taking the chance to review his words.  

“For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

If we have faith as small as a mustard seed, the Lord can help us remove the mountains of discouragement and doubt in the tasks ahead of us as we serve with God’s children, including family members, Church members, and those who are not yet members of the Church.

Brothers and sisters, life can be filled with faith, joy, happiness, hope, and love when we exercise the smallest amount of real faith in Christ—even a mustard seed of faith.

 

I also loved how he talked about technology and how we spend so much time with it.  How it has good things about it, but also there are bad.  It can be addicting and influence people to never have a real conversation with each other.  Everything is online.  Everything is posted.  Everything is there waiting for someone to find it.  I love how he counseled us to unplug so that we may find the time to hear the still small voice. 

I also enjoyed reading about service.  How important that is for us and how Peter tells us in the scriptures tell us that Jesus, "went about doing much good". 

What a wonderful tribute to our Savior.  His ministry was one not only of teaching, but of serving others. 

Perhaps the words that mean the most to me, are simply,

In our discipleship, we have many demands, concerns, and assignments. However, some activities must always be at the heart of our Church membership. “Wherefore,” the Lord commands, “be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”

 

May we all be responsible for serving those who need us most. 

 

There is Room

I really love to listen to Elder Holland speak.  He reminds me of the person that I should be.  I do not like it when people judge me, and I also do not like it when I find myself judging others.  I used to look at people and judge myself by what I perceived them to be.  I have learned that is not a true estimation of me (or them).  I have found some amazing people who do not fit whatever standards that I set for myself.  It does not make them less or me more.  I should only ever judge myself against myself.  Who I want to be, against who I really am. 

I love this quote because there are so many people with questions.  I have questions.  I have always had questions.  It is just that, as I grow older, I am more willing to wait for the answers.  I guess I am looking forward to the next life when all the answers will be there for me to find.  

When I was younger, I wanted everything to be mapped out for me.  I wanted the answers to be written somewhere that I could read and find.  I thought that every single thing was in black and white.  There were no grey areas in life.  It was either wrong or right.  No in-between.  Now I know better.  There are so many shades of grey that I am surprised when I do find my own answers.  I am learning that it is perfectly OK to see things differently than anyone else.  It is fine not to be on the same page as long as we can reach across the distance and be tolerant and understanding.  

I am learning that kindness means a lot more than being right.  And that it can make all the difference in acceptance and love.  I have learned that we don't have to have all the answers to just love each other.  

None of us have all the answers, and every single one of us have questions about doctrine, gospel, scriptures, commandments and even trials and blessings.  Some peoples questions are more intense than others.  Some struggle to understand what is happening and why it is happening.  Some struggle with things that have changed.  Others struggle with the questions of why bad things happen to good people.  

I think the point of this is that the closer to God we become, the less we will need to know every answer.  Sometimes, it is OK to wait for a while and see what happens.  Sometimes answers come after we have our own experiences.  Sometimes answers come through prayers, or friendship, or reading the scriptures,  Sometimes, the answers may never seem to come.  

There are so many things I used to need answers to.  And some I have actually received.  Others I am still working on.  But the one thing I have learned is to not let the things I don't understand cause me to doubt the things that I know are true.   

There are things that I know as surely as I know the sun will rise and the night will come.  There are even more things that I don't know.  

So hold on and remember that someday, we will have the answers to everything we want to know.  The time will come when I suspect that we will look back and wonder how we ever doubted.  When we will see the hand of God through every moment of our lives.  When we will realize that He did not cause the bad and that he walked through it with us every step of the way.  

For me, I refuse to doubt my faith.  For me, church is for all of us imperfect sinners.  It is the place I go when I need to feel comfort and faith.  For me, there is room in that inn for each one of us.  

Stop Worrrying

 

It is not easy for me to stop worrying.  I worry about everything:  Being late, being early, having money, not having enough money, work, school, the cars, the phone, the bills.  You name it, I have probably worried about it. 

It is sad to me to even try to think about how much of my life has been spent in worrying.  My stomach in knots, but brain whirling, my heart beating fast.  I think I may worry just a little too well!

Take this week for example; I have an 18 year old teen.  She is a really good girl.  However, she went to see a friend in Holbrook.  The road there is a good one, but there are way too many accidents along it late at night.  I planned on her being home by 9:00.  In reality, it was after 1:00 in the morning when she came in.  She did text, so it is not like I didn't know where she was or what was going one, but I couldn't sleep. 

Finally, after tossing and turning, I went out on the couch and watched a TV show.  I stayed up until she arrived home (safe at last!) and then was up for about 40 minutes later to get my anxiety under control.  Six hours of sleep later, and it was time to get up to start the Sabbath day. 

I was exhausted!  Then 6 hours of sleep Sunday night and back to work.  After a very long day (about 14 hours) I came home and finally went to sleep at 9:00 again, only to wake up at 3:00AM to worry and not go back to sleep.  I really have to find a way to stop this!!

Worry is not my friend. 

I know this quote is true, even if it is so hard for me to remember.  I have seen the Lord's hand in my life when things don't work out the way I always planned they would. 

I had so many dreams as a child.  Ones where I was a surgeon, or a rocket scientist, or an astronaut.  I dreamed things that did not come true.  Somehow, I never saw myself quite where I am today.  Yet in all my dreams, I could never have seen the blessings that I would be given instead.  I think that I am right where I need to be.  So, when plans don't work out, when the road is uphill, when everything and everyone seems to conspire against you, have faith.  I believe the Lord's plans for us are so much bigger than anything we could dare to dream. 

 

A Twig of Faith

 

I have learned that choosing to have faith can be hard.  I think, as we grow older and see more things, it becomes harder to choose to have faith.  I remember when I was small, I knew that God would answer my prayers.  And He did.  He took that small twig and made it into a tree.  I would not doubt God.  I could not doubt his answers.  I have been told that I am blessed to believe.  I suppose that might be partly true.  But I know that Heavenly Father knew I would go through hard things in my life. 

He knew that I would need the strength that only faith could bring me.  So I have seen prayers answered (not always in the way I wanted but still undoubtedly answered).  I have felt His presence.  I have felt His love and protection.  I have even been able to escape grave danger, not because of my faith, but because of His blessings.  Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to believe that everything will all work out for the best when we are surrounded by the worst. 

I am a constant worrier.  I worry about things that have happened, things that are happening and even things that just might happen.  Because of that, faith has sometimes been difficult for me.  I constantly have to fight my inner need to KNOW and SEE.  But that twig that was planted when I was small, has led to some amazing moments of faith in my life. 

Heavenly Father works with us in all of our imperfections.  He sees the endless possibilities within our hearts and souls.  He knows how hard it is for us, in this world of quick answers, to trust in His timing.  And so, I hold tightly to the twig from my youth.  I try my hardest to believe that He knows all things.  I anxiously await His growing me to become who He needs me to be.  I let Him plant me where He wants and grow me where He will and as time passes, I bloom and grow, and bloom some more, and my faith continues to grow. 

Heavenly Father works with who I am and makes me into so much more than I ever dreamed.  I don't like the hard things.  I don't like growing pains.  But I do like the person that I am becoming.  And so, I act on the small twig of faith and He continues to grow inside of me. 

Sunday Scribblings - The Details

 

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?

7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.   Luke 12:6-7

What I learned - Fourth Floor, Last Door

God “rewards those who earnestly seek him,” so we need to keep knocking. Sisters, don’t give up. Seek God with all your heart.

Oh how I loved this talk by President Uchtdorf.  He reminded me of the importance of faith. He reminded me that we might not see or know our own worth.  

"Faith is a strong conviction about something we believe—a conviction so strong that it moves us to do things that we otherwise might not do. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

While this makes sense to believing people, it is often confusing to nonbelievers. They shake their heads and ask, “How can anyone be certain of what they cannot see?” To them, this is evidence of the irrationality of religion.

What they fail to understand is that there are more ways to see than with our eyes, more ways to feel than with our hands, more ways to hear than with our ears.

It’s something like the experience of a young girl who was walking with her grandmother. The song of the birds was glorious to the little girl, and she pointed out every sound to her grandmother.

“Do you hear that?” the little girl asked again and again. But her grandmother was hard of hearing and could not make out the sounds.

Finally, the grandmother knelt down and said, “I’m sorry, dear. Grandma doesn’t hear so well.”

Exasperated, the little girl took her grandmother’s face in her hands, looked intently into her eyes, and said, “Grandma, listen harder!”

Oh, if it were only as easy as listening a little bit harder!  Faith for me is something that is necessary.  It is something that I feel and that I think and that I believe.  It is a natural to me a breathing.  It doesn't mean that I don't doubt things every once in a while.  But it does mean that I trust where to get my answers.  

I loved that President Uchtdorf talked about how faith will not violate the free agency of another.  That was a lesson hard learned in my own life.  Sometimes, what we want feels so right!  And if someone else could just see what we see, they would want the same things.  But I have learned to pray for my own understanding.  I have learned to pray for the love and compassion I need to help them through their trials.  I have learned to pray for His blessing to be upon me as I learn to accept His will.  That is a hard prayer to mean.  

Faith is trust.  Trust that God sees what we cannot.  That He knows what we do not yet know.  That He will bring things to pass in His own time.  Trust is that even though something we want right now doesn't work out, there will be something else in our lives that will.  Faith is to believe that all things will work together for our good, no matter how we feel right this minute.  

Faith is believing, that if we just keep knocking, the door WILL be answered, even if it is not quite the way we imagined.  

More Faith

 

I love the scripture from Matthew:

“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”     Matthew 17:20

Just a little bit of faith.  Just a tiny amount, and we could accomplish so very much.  I think that He used the mustard seed specifically for a reason.   It is a very small seed, yet it grows into a very large tree.  I think that if we have even a small amount of faith, the Lord will help it grow within us until we can accomplish many great things in His name.  We have to plant faith through study and prayer.  We need to ponder upon the words and the scriptures.  We take those things into our lives and live as if we have faith.  We start to grow and learn and grow some more.  We come to know Him and as we do, our lives are changed.  We become blessed to see and to live and to become. 
There are so many blessings for each of us in these trying times.  It becomes easy to focus on the one big thing that is wrong, instead of the multitudes of small things that are actually right.  We become blinded by what we are looking at, instead of focusing on the other things that surround us. 
I believe that we all have just a little more faith that we think we have.  We have a little more belief, a little more hope, and a little more love.  Most of us are struggling, right where we are, to do our very best.  To become our best selves.  Many times we feel as if we are failing because we look to others to gage our own success. 
When I focus on where I have been, and what I have overcome in my life, I am amazed at the blessings that God has given to me.  His love and compassion overwhelms me.  It is only when I change my focus to "where I should be", that the doubts creep in.  I know that I "could've, would've and should've" myself right into the ground. 
I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me.  He doesn't compare me to anyone else.  I am loved because of who I am and whose I am.  I am cared for and appreciated.  I am blessed in spite of myself.  Since He loves me, I know that He wants me to succeed in this life.  I am not quite sure what success for me will look like.  You see, I think that is only something that He can judge.  The things that I do, just might look much different than the things that you do.  It doesn't mean that He loves me less and you more. 
I believe, that just as I love each of my children for their own individuality and their own unique struggles and commitments, that He also loves us.  He is a much better parent than I will ever be.  He knows each and every one of us.  He knows our thoughts, our minds and our hearts.  He knows the things we have done, and He also knows the why. 
I think, that as I struggle to find that teeny tiny bit of faith within my heart, I also struggle to become just a little more like Him. 
Perhaps that is what makes all the difference.
 

Women of Faith

This one is so true.  Women, throughout the modern world have fought to become more like men, and they have succeeded only too well.  As the years go by, it gets harder and harder to find the differences between us.  I think that is sad.  I believe that being a woman is a gift.  It is an amazing journey.  In all our struggles to be "equal" we have lost our ability and willingness to be different.  We have lost our uniqueness.  In our willingness to gain what we think we need, but have lost so much of what we were.  I will never understand how willingly we have changed from women of God to women of the world.  I wish that every single Daughter of God, could understand how unique she is, how valuable she is, how loved she is.  I will never understand why, as women, we are so willing to judge one another harshly, to put each other down, to criticize and condemn.  We have to stop trying to be worse than we are.  We have to love each other, lift each other up and share each others burdens.  Women of God can never, ever, be like women of the world.  We are so much more. 

A Leap of Faith

I have felt this way so often in my life.  Especially in the past several years.  It seems as if I am tossed and turned by every wind that blows by.  Often, I feel like I can't possibly survive or escape.  I can't find my way out of the darkness that surrounds me.  Sometimes, you just have to trust that somehow, it will all work out all right.  You have to believe that Someone Else, has your best interests at heart.  It can be nearly impossible for me to see and to be patient enough to wait; yet when I do, things change, and I am amazed at the outcome that I never imagined.

Often, those things don't turn out the way I wanted, but they end up being just what I needed.  One of the hardest lessons that I ever had to learn is that God does not take away the free agency of another for me.  He allows all of us to make our own mistakes.  Even when those mistakes affect others in a negative way. 

Eyes refuse to see, lips speak angry words, hearts get broken, and still He lets us make our own choices.  I have learned that the choices of others can be devastating to me.  But just because I hurt, doesn't mean that they don't have the right to choose.  And so I wait, and watch and pray and hope.  Sometimes I even get to see the change, sometimes I have to let it go, but no matter what happens, I get to choose too.  

I choose the power that I give another person to change my life. 

I choose what kind of person I will become because of it.

I choose to forgive. 

I choose who I want to be. 

I choose to follow HIM.   

Sabbath Day Scribblings - Be Strong and of Good Courage

Joshua 1:9 

Have not I commanded thee?

Be strong and of a good courage;

be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:

for the Lord thy God is with thee

whithersoever thou goest.

Believe in Miracles

This is our little miracle boy.  He is an amazing testimony to me of perserverence and strength.  He has overcome so many obstacles to get where he is today.  He is now a welcome member of our family.  We can't be more pleased that he is with us. 

My life has been pretty difficult these last few years, but I look at him and realize that it doesn't really matter after all.  Families are what matters most.  Loving each other in spite of our differences.  Those are the things that are most important.  Because of things, I have wanted to back away and not participate in life.  A wonderful person gave me some much needed advice.  This life is but a couple of minutes in eternal time.  I am changing myself into someone I am not because of a few minutes of eternity.  I am just starting to glimpse how vast eternity really is, and although I still think that there are many things that are unfair, I am realizing that there are even more things that are great blessings. 

This person told me to cherish the blessings, to talk about them, be involved with them and to post all about them.  Only by being myself will the difficulties be overcome.  And if not in this life, I can have faith that in the next all will be revealed. 

I know in the next lift this little guy will be just as amazing as he is now.  He is perfect to us and a very long awaited blessing, one we have waited anxiously for.  My grand-daughter Sadie has been praying for a baby brother for years, even when her mom and dad told her that there wouldn't be one.  She believed in spite of the difficulties to overcome.  This little guy is literally an answer to a young girl's faith and prayers. 

What a beautiful testimony to me about the love of a Heavenly Father who absolutely listened to a small girls desires and found a way to bring them to pass.  We are eternally blessed with this beautiful baby boy. 

Into our hearts!

I think it is easy to struggle with this one.  I have watched so many others try and reconcile their heads and their hearts.  Sometimes, we think we know something with out heads, but we just can't feel it in our hearts.  But I don't think belief is something that we find in our heads.  It is something that grows in our hearts. 
I have had people that I love ask me how I can have faith in spite of this or that being "proven".  I really feel like science is all about theories.  Anything that science finds as fact will show there is a God.  People who don't believe in God spend too much time in their own heads and not enough time in their hearts.  All good things, and I really do mean all good things, bear witness of Him. 
Evolution is a theory, it is not a fact.  Man coming out of fish, or apes or anything else is a theory.  You can't find a single thing in recent history that proves beyond any doubt that evolution is currently happening across species. 
In order for us to believe anything, we have to think about it, then take it to heart.  I believe because my heart and my head bear witness to me.  I don't have to see all the facts in order to accept it.  There was a time in my life when I wanted someone to tell me what was true.  I wanted to understand all the mysteries.  I wanted to know all the answers.  And I wanted answers that could be irrevocably proven. 
Here's the problem with that, faith can not be proven.  That is why it is faith first.  As things change, I believe that faith can become knowledge.  But first, you have to believe.  As I have gotten older, it is easier for me not to need all the proof that the world requires.  I have learned the value of prayer and that answers do come with a still small voice and a burning in my heart.  That is enough for me to keep the fire of belief kindled even when I don't know all the answers.  Even when I lack certain proof. 
As you struggle with your own questions and concerns, remember that faith in something comes long before knowledge.  Just because we can't see in the darkness doesn't mean something isn't really there.  I wish that I had the words to explain how deep the feelings run in my heart.
Instead of looking for reasons why you shouldn't have faith, maybe we should look for reasons why we should, maybe as we strengthen our faith we can overcome our unbelief.  I love that Heavenly Father knew we would struggle with belief.  He knew that it would sometimes, be seemingly impossible for us.  And so He councils us to turn to Him.  He shows us how to gain belief in our hearts. 
Or, as the scriptures word it:

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

Patience to understand

I have a hard time waiting.  I want it all explained.  I want know exactly what I can and cannot do.  I want to understand everything.  I am not very patient.  However, I am learning that I take in things so much better when I wait until the Lord teaches me to understand.  I can accept many things on faith, that is not a problem for me.  But I really like to understand.  To have that witness.  To be able to explain. 

There are so many things that make it hard to understand what is going on.  There are people I love who don't live the way that I would wish them to.  There are children who are not being raised in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  There are those who are bitter and angry, and blame me for their own sins.  I really don't understand it at all.  So my prayer is for the Lord to give me patience until that time comes.  Honestly, I am not even sure it will come in this life.  I am not sure it will happen in the moment when I think I need it, but I am trying to put my trust in Him that it will all work out in a way that is the best for everyone involved. 

I am starting to figure out that it is not necessary to understand everything.  Sometimes, the Lord is waiting for my perspective to change.  Sometimes, I need to learn something for myself before I can even begin to understand.  Sometimes, my own feelings need to change.  Sometimes, I need to forgive before I can move forward.  All I can say, is that I know the Lord will help me to understand in His own time.  It might not be now, but someday, I will understand. 

I have been doing a lot of reading.  I have a psychologist now who is helping me to work on some things.  It has been a hard road.  But in my reading, one of the things that has happened recently is that I am starting to understand that the Lord does not give us all the answers.  He expects us to question and ask and look for them ourselves.  It makes me wonder if part of the learning is in the seeking. 

Luke 11:9 - 10
9    And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I believe that we will come to find the answers.  I believe that He wants us to find them.  He wants us to learn and grow and seek and become.  He wants us to have patience to wait until we are ready to understand. 

What I learned - Keys and authority

Where are the keys and authority of the priesthood?
by Elder Gary E. Stevenson

So this talk was a little harder for me.  I don't know exactly why, but I know that there is something that I am supposed to learn from it.  I loved his story about losing his keys after skiing for the day.  About how the car was waiting there to be turned on and warmed up.  I can totally sympathize with this one.  I have lost my keys too many times.  Once, I even had to walk to work in the cold and snow because my daughter had my keys and took them to school.  I was a little grouchy about it, although his family seems to have handled it much better than I did. 
You don't realize how important keys are until you lose them.  I love the fact that we have the keys of the priesthood upon the earth today.  I too, have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the wonders that have been restored to us.  I love how Elder Stevenson talked about some of the Church History sites.  Our family has also visited many of them and felt the spirit that surrounds us there.  I love learning about history, especially church history.  It makes it all so real for me and it strengthens my testimony by learning more about the great men and women that lived before me. 
I love how he councils the youth to do missionary work, attend the temple and go forward with faith.  For me, the last example is really key to this life.  We don't always understand what is happening or even why, but we each have to sometimes go forward with faith even though we don't understand.  It is so hard, but when we do that, we learn so much and I find in my personal life that my testimony grows and my faith is strengthened if I just keep moving forward. 

"I testify that priesthood authority and priesthood keys start the engine, open the gates of heaven, facilitate heavenly power, and pave the covenant pathway back to our loving Heavenly Father.

I pray that you, the rising generation of young men and young women, will “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,”¹² that you may understand that it is your sacred privilege to act under the direction of those who hold the priesthood keys that will unlock blessings, gifts, and powers of heaven for you".  Elder Stevenson

Venting

 

Ouch!  Yep, this one just might be for me.  I have been having a hard time with forgiveness lately.  There are people in my life who have done their very best to make sure that I "pay" for what they perceive are my wrongs.  Problem is, they are not my wrongs.  So, I end up dealing with something that should not be mine to deal with and many, many other people get hurt.  So, I keep asking myself, does Jesus still love them?  The answer would be a resounding, yes. 

As a mother, I know that I love my children no matter what choices they make, no matter what trials they go through, no matter whether I agree or disagree with their life style.  I also know that loving them and accepting them is part of my calling.  I know that Heavenly Father expects that of me.  The problem comes when I am dealing with people who are not my children, who I trusted and cared about, and they manage to find the worst possible ways to hurt me and my family. 

That is really, really hard to forgive.  But having met Brother Cook, I know that he really believes we need to be more Christ-like in our lives.  We need to be less judgmental and more forgiving.  We need to become more like our Savior.  So, as hard as this lesson is to learn,  I know that I cannot vent that anger to others. 

I know that I need to conduct myself more like Christ did every single day.  I know that He did not condemn, even when people walked away, even when they mocked, even when they called for His death and imprisonment.  He loved them through their own anger and weaknesses.  He loved them in spite of themselves. 

I am not perfect, but the more I seek to become like Him, the more I feel impressed to behave likewise.  It is not enough to not say anything.  It is not enough to simmer and keep it all inside.  Somehow, I really need to learn to let it go and Love them anyway.

Remember that Jesus Himself was despised and rejected by the world.  In the Book of Mormon we read about Lehi's dream.  In that dream, those coming to the Savior also endured “mocking and pointing … fingers” (1 Nephi 8:27). “The world hath hated [my disciples],” Jesus said, “because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14). But when we respond to our accusers as the Savior did, we not only become more Christlike, we invite others to feel His love and follow Him as well.  We set the example.  Maybe right now, they can not see, or don't want to see, but someday, I have to believe, they will. 

Sometimes, true disciples must show Christian courage by saying absolutely nothing at all. 

And that can be very hard indeed. 

 

Faith in God

To those who have strayed:
I know that life is hard.  I know that sometimes people we love make wrong choices.  I know that sometimes people we respect behave badly.  But I also know that people are not God.  They are not perfect.  They are simply doing the best they can at this moment to try and hold it all together.  Sometimes that means that we are really falling apart. 
We can all say that we know someone who is unworthy, or even hypocritical.  That person can also be ourselves.  I found a long time ago, that I am the one responsible for my own testimony and faith.  If I am doing the things that are right, what someone else believes or saysdoes not influence me.  I love it when people share the positive.  I dislike it when I am always on the defense with those I care about because my beliefs are different, but all the arguing in the world does not change my faith, my hope or my own belief.  Even when I can't defend those beliefs, it just makes me study harder so that I can be more prepared next time. 
I have learned that none of us have the power to convince someone to believe when their eyes are not opened and their hearts are far from Him.  Then I resort to the scriptures.  I especially love the one that says,
Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, might, mind and strength.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like unto it; Love thy neighbor as thyself. 
I don't see anything there about only loving those who believe the same as me, or who are easy to love.  I only see that we are supposed to love each other. 
People in the church can hurt you.  I have had that happen to me in very hard ways.  But you should know that God always loves you.  Why in the world do we let others who might not even like us, determine our own relationship to our Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally? 
He is my anchor.  People are nice to have around, but I worship always to get closer to Him. 

Just Because We Cannot See

We live in a world where seeing, is believing.  A world that would have us cast aside those things we cannot see, understand or explain.  However, I have learned that just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. 

The sun sets every night and rises in the morning.  It isn't visible to the naked eye in the darkness.  The storms will come.  The wind will blow.  The raccoons will eat my chickens!  Just because I don't see it right now, doesn't mean it is not going to happen.  So many people are so caught up in needing proof.  They need physical evidence to understand and believe. 

However, there are so many things around us that bear testimony of Him.  So many things to see and hear and recognize.  Just because you can't explain it, doesn't mean it isn't so.  I believe that when science is proven, it too will speak of God and all the creations that He has made.  I believe in choosing the best things for me. 

I can't see love either, but I know it is there.  My husband is amazing to me.  He is willing to work through things with me that are hard to deal with.  He can't see those things, but he can totally see the results in my own attitude and willingness to change.  You can't see a voice either, but you can hear the meaning in the words.  Ask any mother and she can tell you when her children are happy or unhappy, just by the tone of their voice when they speak. 

I can tell my daughter hates to do dishes, by the way she stomps her feet.  I don't have to see them.  I can feel the vibrations all the way to my room.  God speaks to our hearts.  He touches our minds.  He allows us to see through the spirit.  I Feel when something is right. 

I don't have to see in this world, I know that there will be other times and places in which to ask my questions and receive the answers.  It doesn't have to be right this moment.  I know that everything will be explained and we will finally understand the wonder and grace that are such a part of this wonderful earth upon which we live. 

I can't always see the why's, but I can see the consequences of the why not's.  I can see the difference that kindness makes in the life of a struggling child.  I can see His love in the actions of others.  I can receive answers to prayer in the words of his teachings.  I can find His gifts all around me.  I just need to open my heart and really see. 

Elder Charles W. Penrose said: “Some people will not believe anything they cannot grasp with their human reason or cannot see with their natural eyes. But blessed is the man of faith, blessed is the woman of faith! For by faith they can see into things that cannot be discerned by the natural eyes. They can reach out to the regions of immortality, grasp eternal realities and lay hold upon the things of God!”

Gratitude for the blessings - What do you talk about?

Talk about your blessings

More than you talk about your burdens.

This little guy, is my hero.  I wish that I could show you a picture of his beautiful face, but that time is not yet.  He was born with so many problems that it would have been easy to focus on all the things he was never supposed to do.  Instead, we focus on all the wonderful things that he is learning to do.  He is such a blessing and inspiration to our family.  His smile will light up my heart each and every time I see it.  This guy, only focuses on the blessings in life.  He reaches out for them and grasps them tight with both hands.  I am not sure that I can ever be that optimistic, but he is teaching me to do a little better every day.  

We all have blessings.  The surround us in every part of our lives.  For some strange reason, it is easier to focus our efforts on the problems and burdens than it is to remember and focus on our blessings. I suppose that is the pessimistic side of my personality coming out.  I am working on that.  I am seeking to find the blessings that surround me in every part of my life.  I have a job that earns enough money to support us, I have the most amazing family.  I have people who love me no matter what.  I have friends.  I have a home.  I have a testimony.  I could go on and on, yet somehow, when things go wrong, my eyes only see the burdens and forget to focus on the blessings.  That is what I want to change.  I want and need to be a blessing type of woman.  I am exhausted in the trials.  I need to be uplifted in the blessings.  

The Lord has promised us:   

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you".   Luke 11:9

I believe that that works even for the blessings.  If we look for them, if we seek them, we will find them always in our lives.  They might not be the ones we want right this minute, but I can promise that they will be the ones we need.  So, open your heart, open your mouth and talk about your amazing blessings.