I am thankful for....

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  I wasn't one of the wonderful people who posted a 'gratitude' each day during the moth of November.  It wasn't because I wasn't grateful for the incredible amount of blessings bestowed upone me, it was due to emotional reasons.  In July my world turned upside down.  Mother's illness and the possiblity of losing her destroyed me to my very core.  Since the miracle of her recovery, my heart has been filled with emotions impossible to describe.  I can barely speak of my thanks without tearing up and crying a good portion.  Life has changed for me in a very tangible way.  The colors of the world are more vibrant, the air is different, my love and compassion for people have increased a thousand fold.  My view of worldly objects and my desire to have them have changed.  I am not interested in things that can become outdated or worn out or discolored.  I am only interested in the really essential things like the gospel and my love for my family.  Those are two things that I can not live without.  As much as my spirit needs the 'bread of life' and other important elements that will help me to maintain the 'straight and narrow way'...I  also need my family and the unconditional love and support that they give to me.  We were part of a family before we came to this earth.  Our Father in Heaven gave us a tremendous gift in providing a family here on earth for everyone.  I realize that not everyone born was given as wonderful a family as mine and that makes me appreciate them all the more.  My sisters are my best friends.  I love them with all of my heart.  They are a constant joy to me and provide me the strength and encouragment that I so desperately need. I love my brother and the sweet and sincere heart that he has.   I have been blessed with 'goodly parents' who love the Lord.  While my father may not be perfect or the way that I would like him to be, he has always loved the Lord and suported the church and all things pertaining to the gospel.  How easy it would have been for mom and dad to fall away from the church after their conversion.  They didn't have much knowledge, the church was not predominant in Louisiana and provided little friends and encouragement.  They did not have their families support in their quest for truth and knowledge.   They simply had each other and the testimonies born in their hearts.  They took their testimonies and grew in the gospel and their love of the Lord.  They raised their children to be strong and to gain their own personal testimonies.  Now their grandchildren are being raised in the church and are discovering their own personal relationships with the Lord.  My parents legacy is in their faithfulness to the gospel and to the Lord.  My life has been blessed by the decisions they have made.  Their courage to accept the gospel and bravery to never go down an easier path.  My child and future grandchildren will benefit from their single choice to not only be baptized but their singlemindedness to obey the commandments.  This Thanksgiving gives my heart great pause.  I realize and feel things in a whole new way.  My mind has been opened to a different perspective on the really important things in this life.  I am aware that we are on this earth for only a short amount of time.  As I get older and see people I love go on to the other side of the veil, I appreciate those around me whom I love.  I am most grateful to have my mother with me for a while longer.  The possiblity of the future without her in it fills me with dread. Her whole family loves and adores her.  She has touched so many lives.  She has lived a selfless life.  Our Father in Heaven has seen fit to give her the miracle of life.  I know that He gave that miracle to me and my siblings.  We still have so much to learn from her.  This Thanksgiving I am simply and humbly grateful.  I acknowledge my Father in Heaven in all things, but most importantly, in the miracle of life and the blessings of family.

This is what the ordinance is all about....

This picture was given out during a Relief Society talk a few months ago.  It hit me like a rock.  How often do we tend to overlook the young men passing the sacrament, or think of things other than our Savior (like thinking about the lesson you are to give or the person you want to speak with right after Sacrament meeting)
rather than concentrate on the ordinance you are making?  I love how this picture shows the young toddler running to the Savior with outstretched arms. He knows the Savior!  The mother is obviously spiritually prepared to witness him but the husband is oblivious.  How much I want to feel and 'see' the Savior in the small and simple things that we have a tendency to take for granted. 

Today I want to share my testimony of Him.  I know he lives.  I know that he created this world and all those who are a part of it whether it be human or animal or plant.  He knows each of us individually.  Elder Holland stated "He knows your name and knows your circumstance.  He hears your prayers.  He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations.  And He knows what you can become through faith in Him."  I love him with all of my heart and soul.  I can never repay him for the kindness and mercy he has extended to me.  However, I can wake up to the covenants I make each time I partake of the Sacrament.
I can take upon myself the name of Christ and always remember him and keep his commandments. This is something I CAN do everyday.

Wonderful blessings....

I wanted to post a quote from Vaughn J Featherstone.

This quote is placed in the Orlando Temple and I read it everytime

I go there...without exception.

"I promise you that all who faithfully attend to Temple work

will be blessed beyone measure.

Your families will draw closer to the Lord.

Unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when

Satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be

thin, and great spiritual experiences will

distill upon this people."

Examples....

Dana shared with me a blog called LDS Chatter.  It is a wonderful site and I only had time to glance at it this morning before I left for work.  I came upon this quote and loved it immediately.  While it simply mentions daughters, in my heart, I feel it can apply to all of our children.  Enjoy!

Temples....

Have you seen the October Ensign Article from President Thomas S Monson?  I truly loved this special edition of the Ensign but what caught my eye (other than the magnificent photos of the temples) was the caption at the top of the page for President Monsons talk..." As we touch the temple and love the temple our lives will reflect our faith.  As we go to the holy house, as we remember the covenants we make therein, we will be able to bear every trial and overcome each temptation."

I just love the imagery of our hands touching the temple and the temple touching us...

Meaningful prayers...

I loved this poster of Enos.  It makes me think of the article written by Elder D. Todd Christofferson  in the October edition of the New Era.  His message was how to make daily prayer more meaningful. His message went straight to my heart.  In Alma 37:36-37 it states: "Cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord;yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever."

I read this scripture captured in the article and pondered about my own personal prayers.  Do I follow this counsel?  Sadly, my prayers are lacking this direction.  Then I went on to read the next verse, " Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. 

I know my prayers have become more like wish lists rather than an actual accounting to the Lord.  Elder Bednar gave a talk on prayer and suggested that in our morning prayers we should talk to the Lord and give a preview of our day.  This is a great time to folllow the words of Alma and ask the Lord to be with us and allow our actions and words to be those our Father in Heaven would wish us to do and say.  Elder Bednar then went on to suggest that our evening personal prayers should be a report to the Lord on what happened throughout our day.  We may need to thank Him for the blessings that occurred, we may need to repents of a few things and to discuss the concerns and issues that cause our hearts to burn. 

In Moroni 10:4 we are encouraged to pray with a sincere heart and with real intent.  Elder Christofferson stated that means we want to know the Lord's will and we will do it, that we are committed to His will.

It brings a whole new perspective to my private conversations with the Lord.  I feel that when I present my 'wish list' to the Lord I am trying to give the Lord counsel instead of recieving His counsel for me. 

I am so grateful that our leaders write with inspiration.  I truly needed this article at this particular time in my life.  I feel, in so many ways, that I am just now beginning to understand the concept of faith and all that it entails.  Faith has been an important part of my life since mother's illness.  I had no choice but to lean on the Lord and allow His will to be done.  It was a very difficult thing to do.  I  thought I knew what faith was and had plenty of it in  reserve to be used during trials that would come during various points in my life.  What I found was that I hadn't barely scratched the surface.  

My prayers and my relationship with the Lord go hand in hand.  I need to learn the true order of prayer.  I need to place faith in my Father in Heaven and allow Him to teach me what it is that He would have me do.

This is my time to prove to Him of my love and committment to Him and his gospel.

I love Him with all of my heart and soul.

Strong women...

This is a copy of a poster available to purchase showcasing heroes.

The women in this picture depicts the women who crossed the wilderness who left all the creature comforts of their homes because they listened to the Lord and obeyed his directions.  These women waded " though much affliction in the wildreness; and ...did bear children in the wilderness.

And so great were the blessings of the Lord...that while (they) did live upon raw meat in the wilderness,... (they) did give suck for their children and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their jouneyings without murmurings."

I loved this picture and can now visually see the scriptures quoting their trials.

In 1Nephi 17:3 it states: "...and if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them..."

I take comfort in their strength and the faith  they had to see through their trials experienced along their journey.  I hope and pray that as I go through my trials that I can remember to rely on the Lord and have faith in him...that he will allow my weaknesses to make me strong.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they might be humbe; and my grace is sufficient for all men ( and women) that humble themselves before me. ; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become srong unto them." Ether 12:27