He Lives

In finding the link for my post today, I came across this:

He Lives

I love Easter. I love Easter because I love my Savior--our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Quiet Time

In studying talks from last General Conference, to prepare for this weekend, a section of Sister Matsumori's talk, Helping Others Recognize the Whisperings of the Spirit, really spoke to me. Keeping in mind the title and subject of the talk, I decided to listen. :)

She explains how we help others recognize the spirit by understanding the Holy Ghost, sharing personal testimonies, and providing an environment where the Spirit can be felt. My 'ah-ha' moment came when she spoke of the places we feel the Spirit:

The challenge for each of us is in providing an environment where the Spirit can be felt daily in our homes and weekly at church.

One reason we are encouraged to pray and read the scriptures every single day is that both of these activities invite the Spirit into our homes and into the lives of our family members.

Because the Spirit is often described as a still, small voice, it is also important to have a time of quiet in our lives as well. The Lord has counseled us to “be still, and know that I am God.” If we provide a still and quiet time each day when we are not bombarded by television, computer, video games, or personal electronic devices, we allow that still, small voice an opportunity to provide personal revelation and to whisper sweet guidance, reassurance, and comfort to us.

I have come to know just how important this quiet time is. As always, I struggle with consistency, so I notice a huge difference on the days that I have a few minutes to gather myself and connect with myself spiritually and the days I 'don't have the time.' I seem to have more time to do the things I need to accomplish, feel the Spirit, teach my children, and keep my house in order on those days I take a few minutes and recharge.

So---even though I'm using the computer to tell you this, I want to issue a challenge: unplug for 15-30 minutes each day. Use the time to study the gospel, and begin to recognize how the Spirit communicates with you. Use some of your time this weekend to ponder your feelings about the Savior and the Prophets. After all, it is Easter and General Conference. :)

Happy Passover!

To all our Jewish friends out there...

Happy Passover!!

Interestingly enough, our lesson this past Sunday was on the story of Moses! What good timing! The teacher taught us all about the passover and the story of how the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt. Then we sampled this unleavened bread (called matzo I believe) in tradition of the Jewish Passover.

“Leaven, or yeast, was seen anciently as a symbol of corruption because it so easily spoiled and turned moldy. … For the Israelites, eating the unleavened bread symbolized that they were partaking of the bread which had no corruption or impurity, namely, the Bread of Life, who is Jesus Christ."

Even though we don't celebrate Passover in the LDS religion because of our Christian belief that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, I feel it is quite remarkable that this passover celebration has literally been celebrated by the Jews traditionally ever since the first one. What other holiday has gone on that long? 

Today in our religion, we take bread and water weekly at church (the sacrament) as a way to remember our Savior and the covenants we made at baptism.

• Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked:
  
• “Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?
  
• “With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions”

I hope that for the LDS readers of this blog, that they will take more time to ponder over the sacrament. And for the Jewish readers, that they enjoy their Passover.

An honest heart

Yes, there is a city with this name it is in New Mexico.

Today I want to talk about honesty. Because more and more all the time I get the feeling that people are choosing on purpose to be dishonest. Not just dishonest with other people but dishonest with themselves. People are completely out of touch with themselves because they have been lying to themselves for so long. Also they are choosing to believe lies...from other people...from Satan....or whatever the source.

The more and more we are honest with ourselves, the better of a person we become....the more like Jesus we become. I think that our cells respond to it. We physically feel inferior to someone who has a higher standard of honesty. When we are dishonest with ourselves and/or others we shrink.

The little things each day provide us with an opportunity to be honest. To illustrate: 

My son cries. He wants to be held/fed/etc. I want him to be held/fed/etc. I don't want him to feel neglected. He is the most important thing to me. Yet I may choose to hold off because I am googling something amazing and just can't wait to find the results...which makes me even more curious....and causes me to ignore my son's wishes even more. Hopefully this doesn't happen to anyone else. But I have an intense need to be involved on the internet with finding new interesting things that could possibly enrich my life or give me some sort of pleasure. So sometimes I struggle with that. It is a simple thing but I try to be honest with myself and my son in how I REALLY feel about him.

That example may or may not have worked out well for you. I apologize if it didn't. But I hope that you can begin to realize that it is the little things that we tell ourselves or choose to believe or tell other people that either make us a more honest person or a dishonest person. 

D&C 51:9

9 And let every man deal ^ahonestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be ^bone, even as I have commanded you.

I found this off the church website under honesty:

When we are honest in every way, we are able to enjoy peace of mind and maintain self-respect. We build strength of character, which allows us to be of service to God and others. We are trustworthy in the eyes of God and those around us.

On the other hand, if we are dishonest in our words or actions, we hurt ourselves and often hurt others as well. If we lie, steal, cheat, or neglect to give the full amount of work for our pay, we lose our self-respect. We lose the guidance of the Holy Ghost. We may find that we have damaged relationships with family members and friends and that people no longer trust us.

Being honest often requires courage and sacrifice, especially when others try to persuade us to justify dishonest behavior. If we find ourselves in such a situation, we can remember that the lasting peace that comes from being honest is more valuable than the momentary relief of following the crowd.

Make a goal to be more honest today. Start with what you tell yourself.  

Dedicate Your Home

Quick Question: Have any of you dedicated your home?

If your answer is no or you are wondering what in the world I am even talking about then you MUST read this post! If your answer is yes then you rock, way to go you!

Dedicating your home is a wonderful thing to do! It is very simple and it helps you create a home where the spirit can dwell constantly! My husband and I have been meaning to dedicate our home for months, but somehow we kept forgetting. We finally were able to dedicate our home last Sunday evening. It is a simple priesthood ordinance that is much like a prayer. You women who are reading this go tell your husband's that you would like them to dedicate your home.

“Church members may dedicate their homes, … as sacred edifices where the Holy Spirit can reside” (General Handbook of Instructions, p. 11-5). If your husbands do not know how to dedicate your home then have them refer to their General Handbook of Instructions under Priesthood Blessings.

If you are single and would like to have your home dedicated then you can ask either a family member who holds the Priesthood or a home teacher. I highly encourage all of you to dedicate your homes so that you can better be guided by the Spirit of the Lord each day!

PS: Remember that you don't have to own your home to dedicate it. My husband and I live in a little 2 bedroom apartment but it is our current "home" so we have dedicated it as such! This would be a perfect Family Home Evening lesson tomorrow night!

Cherish Each Day

I got this in the Family Gems a couple days ago:

"Near the end of his life, one father looked back on how he had spent his time on earth. An acclaimed, respected author of numerous scholarly works, he said, 'I wish I had written one less book and taken my children fishing more often.' Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are grown, perhaps with children of their own. 'Where did the years go?' they ask. We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present."

Thomas S. Monson, "Dedication Day," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 66

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Ashley G. and her daughter came to visit us this past week and it was fantastic. It was so nice, I ended up moping around yesterday (they left that morning) wishing the week hadn't gone by too fast. Then I looked at my son... the boy who is about to turn two and began to mope some more. He's growing, changing, (along with his little sister) and some days I forget to stop and enjoy the little things that mean much more than finishing the laundry.

I seem to relearn this lesson every few weeks, and I hope to never stop. I want to live the best I can in the present, so I can cherish my memories and look forward to tomorrow. So---don't forget to cherish each day because what you have right now is most important.

Spiritual Bugs

Last week while visiting family in Utah we heard a talk about temptation. The sister sharing the message quoted from the following New Era talk:

When I went outside that Saturday morning, I didn’t say to myself, “I hope a bug flies into my mouth today.” But as I was jogging, it happened. A bug flew right into my mouth! It wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I didn’t even see it coming.

What do you think I did when that insect zipped between my teeth? Well, I didn’t swish it around and savor it. I didn’t leave it there just to see what would happen. I didn’t swallow it. I didn’t even take time to think about it. I just spit it out and kept running, sputtering along the way.

Have you ever had a “bug” fly into your mouth? Have you ever innocently come across an inappropriate picture or song or word or idea? You probably have. Evil influences are all around us, and while we can do much to avoid them, we will probably be exposed to them through no fault of our own. These spiritual bugs are deadly—much more harmful to our spirits than that little insect was to my body.

What should you do if a spiritual bug flies into your mouth? You should give it the same treatment I gave the bug that flew into mine: Spit it out! Don’t hesitate. Walk away. Run away if you have to. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Turn off the computer. Throw that book or magazine in the garbage can where it belongs.

I thought that this image was absolutely perfect and one that every single person could relate to. When temptations are thrown our way, as they always are, we need to spit them out and keep running towards God. Lets not take a peek, or savor the spiritual bugs in our lives!

Check out the rest of the talk HERE.