A Sacred Calling

Neil L. Anderson said, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling . . . It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for."

When I look on my growing posterity, I am reminded of the blessings of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob of the Old Testament, and I am deeply humbled and blessed to share in that heavenly abundance. Each and every one of the special spirits God sent to our home showed His trust in my husband and I to care for them as He cares for them, to love them as He loves them. That He found ME (excess baggage and all) worthy enough to be their mother continues to amaze me, and despite the trials that they have faced in their individual lives - and will continue to face - they have grown into righteous men and women of God who do their best to live the gospel of Christ, and with their amazing spouses, strive to raise their children in righteousness to the best of their ability.
I am so proud of them, and though I am sure there will be days every now and again when I will suffer a mother's sorrow over them, my joy is full, because the Lord looked on me in this life with favor.
However, even if I had not been blessed with my wonderful family in this life, I believe with all my heart that I would have been blessed with them in the next, should I have been found worthy of the blessing, because that is the kind of father our Heavenly Father is. He never forgets any of His sons and daughters, as long as we never forget Him.

So, to all you beautiful women, those with children and without, have an awesome Mother's Day!
Lots of love to you!

Bonus Blessings

Some days all I need from God is an acknowledgment that He is there and is aware of me, and that need is always filled without me even having to ask.

When we acknowledge our Father in Heaven with our gratitude, He will always acknowledge us. A heartfelt thank you to Him will manifest His love and open our eyes to blessings we never even thought to ask for.
I love those days!

Rest in the Savior's Arms

No matter how alone and lost we feel, we are never so lost that Jesus Christ can't find us. We will never stay so far that the Savior's arms can't reach us, if we will but fully turn to Him and allow His embrace to warm, comfort, and bear us up. His arms are always open, and His shoulder is always the perfect place on which to rest our weary heads.

The Father has placed the path before us- a path on which many have - and do- travel, and there are always heavenly guides to lead us and walk with us, so that our walk is never a solitary one.
I pray that we will all chart a course toward the Savior's embrace, and stay on the path.

How Can I Not Boast in My God?

No matter where I go or who I am talking to, I love talking about my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I'm not one to put God in one box and the rest of the world in another. That isn't me, and I'm not made that way. After all the things God has done for me, the many ways He has blessed my life, and the long road the Savior has traveled - and continues to travel with me - how can I not boast of Them? And I don't mean in pride, but with pure, unspeakable joy!

I am blessed with opportunities every single day to share my testimony of my God and my Savior in one way or another, and to not do this would be a great injustice to Them on my part. This is not a judgement on anyone else, this is just me.
In so many ways, my life mirrors the Woman at the Well, Mary Magdalene, the woman with her alabaster box, and every other unclean woman in the scriptures who gave away her sins to know the Lord and was then made clean through His atoning sacrifice.

So why should I not boast in my Lord and my God?
How can I not?

Life is so beautiful! And the days that I spiritually exhaust myself - even if it is only spent immersing myself in His words and keeping my thoughts fixed on Him to the best of my ability - it is even more beautiful. Because on those days, my spirit literally longs to shout to the world, "Do you not see Him? Do you not feel Him all around you? Even in suffering, even in dark times, He is there, loving you and offering quiet comfort."

With each and every written and spoken heart-felt word in my Father's behalf, my faith is strengthened and increased.
It is a beautiful thing!

This is Why We Remember

Never Cease to Pray

No matter what, prayer is the only way we can make it through trials, both big and small, both present and future trials. As I have said before, God knows what we are dealing with and what we need. He knows us inside and out, so He doesn't need to hear our prayers, but we NEED to pray. We don't pray for God's benefit, we pray for our own. As soon as our heart-felt plea begins, He is there, ready and willing to bless us.

As C.S. Lewis said, "prayer doesn't change God, it changes us," and I can testify that every prayer I utter changes me a little at a time, increasing my faith, etching even more assurance in my heart that my Father knows and hears me.
It is that assurance that keeps me going.

Simple Words

I love my Father in Heaven and His Son, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, with all my heart and soul, and I will praise Them all my days. My Father is everything to me, because He has given me everything by giving His Son to atone for my sins, to pay the price I could not pay.

Wretched soul that I am, I am lower than the dust, yet my Savior felt that I was worth the sacrifice. To Him and the Father, we are all priceless.
I am so grateful to Jesus Christ for leading me out of the cold darkness into the light of the sun. The road has been long, full of triumphs, trials, joys, sorrows, and meaningful learning experiences along the way that I would not trade for anything, and I am still on the journey, but I know I will never travel alone. For the Lord is a most willing companion, and angels match their steps with mine.
God has been so good to me, and I feel His love. This weekend, through the words of His prophet and apostles, that love has been magnified, and I thank Him and praise Him for His mercy and grace.

We are told that we must come to know the Lord better than we know Him, and to gives ourselves over to Him completely, never wavering, never doubting. I long for this so much that I ache inside sometimes. Every day, I pray for strengthened and increased faith, and that the Lord will continue to refine me that I might become a truly righteous and holy woman. I ache for this so much that I find myself in tears begging for it. I know that with God, all things are possible, so I will keep praying for it. I pray for this refinement for all of us.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and only through Him can we be saved. I need Him like I need air to breathe. We all do, but so many still can't see that.
I pray for opened minds and softened hearts, that this truth might sink in. Oh, how I pray for it!
I'll never stop praying.