Needed: Righteous Women

I wish so badly that the women in this world could see that we are all of infinite worth. I wish we could all see our worth in the eyes of

God. We have got to stop letting the world beat us down and stop trying to make ourselves into the world’s ideal – and we have to stop this now! We have the divine potential to do so much, but we have to focus on what is important. God has a great work for the righteous women of this world. He knows what a force of righteous women can do, and so does Satan. How badly I want to be one of those righteous women! I ache for that! I hunger and thirst for that! I long for that for all women.

Heavenly Father is aware of each and every one of His daughters, and the Savior knows us intimately. He knows of the struggles we face in this life. He knows and He is there to lean on and help us through. He is the only one who can, but we have to let Him. We MUST open our minds and hearts and look to Him and not the world, because so much depends on the actions of God’s righteous daughters.

I have an affirmation that I keep in my thoughts to remind me of my worth and I invite you to use it as well: “Daughter of God, when you finally have eyes to see what heaven sees in you, you will have reached your true potential.” This isn't a vain thought, but it is a true one. Because when we finally do have eyes to see what God sees in us, we will no longer desire to do anything that would take us away from that goal. When we truly know who we are, we will constantly seek after anything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy. And though we will never reach perfection in this life, if we are constantly seeking after the things that will help us reach it, we are perfecting our desire to do good, which brings us to our full potential.

If we will but see ourselves the way God sees us, and live accordingly, nothing on this earth can stop us from claiming the heavenly prize that is ours for the taking.

I pray for this for all of us.

Will We Ever Stop Judging?

Have you ever looked at parents with troubled children going astray and thought, “I wonder what they did or didn't do?” Or, “What kind of parents would let that happen? What made their kid turn out like that?” Or here's the big one: “That wouldn’t have happened if that was my child.”

Once upon a time I thought that way, but that was a long, long time ago–practically another lifetime. I’ve had the experience of being on the other side–the parent being judged–and I came to understand long ago that you don't judge someone or a situation you know nothing about. I learned this the hard way, and I have the scars to prove it. Some of those scars have healed, and some are still open because of ongoing lessons.

Most of the time I don’t think we mean to judge, it just happens. Satan is great at pricking our pride a little in certain situations–situations that produce in us a cause to compare to others, and giving him that room to wiggle into our thoughts is not a good thing. But he’s never satisfied until he’s taken over. I once read this on a Baptist church sign back in North Carolina: “Give Satan an inch, he’ll be a ruler.” And that’s exactly what happens when we give him that wiggle room into our thoughts.

We have eight children, and many times in the past, my husband and I were judged by people who thought we have too many. Many people in the world are still of a socialist mentality and have been propagandized to believe it is because of people like us that the world is “overpopulated.” We are the reason the earth's resources are depleting. Have you ever heard anything so idiotic? The only resources I have ever seen depleting are the groceries in our fridge and pantry.

On the flipside, some couples are unable to have any children, yet they are judged by people who have no idea of the painful struggles the couple has gone through because of wanting a child so badly. They are automatically judged as selfish.

We don't know what goes on in the homes of others. We don't know what others are dealing with in their lives. We also don't know what others are dealing with emotionally. We don't know any of these things . . . but God knows.

And suppose we really do know? Suppose we have even witnessed some choices of others. It is still not our place to judge. Judge between right and wrong, yes, but judging others? No. And the thing is, if we truly know who we are, we won't feel a need to be judgmental. When you truly know who you are, you feel sorrow and empathy for others, yet steer clear of judgmental thoughts.

I’ll get this perfected one day. Until then, I will continue to repent every time a judgmental thought rears its ugly head and tries to intrude–which is basically repentance every five minutes, folks :-)

That makes me extra grateful for the atonement.

Building God's House

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” ~ C.S. Lewis

How many of us have had times when we've felt like our lives are a construction zone and walls are getting

knocked down and rearranged? Every time a trial hits and I'm working my way through it, I imagine myself not just being remodeled, but overhauled, because I know there is so much work left to be done in me. And God is definitely not finished building!

When opposition comes, no matter how hard it is, we should welcome it, because God is helping to prepare us, making each of us into a place in which His holy spirit can dwell. The rebuilding pains will hurt, but in the end they will be worth it.