Please, let us remember that the Lord will never abandon His people, as long as we don't abandon Him. When we invite Him into our heart and life, He will be there.
Happy Sabbath!
Queen Esther
And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? ~ Esther 4:14
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Sunday, March 8, 2020
He Needs Us
No matter who we are, no matter our situation, the Lord always has need of us and can always use usto fulfill His divine purposes. His work never stops, and each of us has a gift that can be used to further His work. In His eyes, every seeking heart is valued and treasured. And in His eyes, our worth is never diminished. Please never forget that.
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Preparing a People in Hope
"Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier. ~Thomas S. Monson
"Hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges. ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf
As we witness the current events facing us, it seems there are several camps that people are falling into when it comes to being prepared for the coming trials:
*Those who are prepared temporally.
*Those who are prepared spiritually.
*Those who are prepared both temporally and spiritually.
*Those who are prepared temporally, but point the finger at the unprepared, possessing the attitude of, "I've got mine, you guys are on your own."
*Those who are not prepared temporally, who possess the attitude of, "That's okay, my neighbor has plenty, I won't worry."
*Those who are prepared spiritually but figure they still have time to cram and get what they need.
*Those who are prepared spiritually but don't have much in the way of finances and are doing the best they can.
*Those who are prepared both temporally and spiritually, possess open hearts, and are willing, according the the prompting of the spirit, to share and help others.
*And don't forget the mass of campers holding to the ancient adages of "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" and the ever-popular "all is well in Zion."
*And last but not least, we have the camp of lost souls that are literally losing all hope and are ready to throw in the towel on life.
Scrolling through Facebook on any given day, you can find a soul representing every camper on the list above. And I'm not making judgements at all (I'm the last person to EVER judge), just stating a fact. But you know what? It's okay, because at the end of the day, we all handle things differently - or at least, we think we will, until we are in the thick of things.
If we can learn one thing from the Savior's parable of the ten virgins, He would definitely have us internalize the simple truth that if we are prepared in all things, we will not fear. If we are prepared to meet Him, there will be no fear in our heart, only hope. Only faith.
And that faith is something no one can give us. We have to prepare for that ourselves through our obedience and allegiance to the Lord. And then, little by little, it will accumulate until our lamp is full and trickling into another vessel.
This is true preparation!
"Hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges. ~Dieter F. Uchtdorf
As we witness the current events facing us, it seems there are several camps that people are falling into when it comes to being prepared for the coming trials:
*Those who are prepared temporally.
*Those who are prepared spiritually.
*Those who are prepared both temporally and spiritually.
*Those who are prepared temporally, but point the finger at the unprepared, possessing the attitude of, "I've got mine, you guys are on your own."
*Those who are not prepared temporally, who possess the attitude of, "That's okay, my neighbor has plenty, I won't worry."
*Those who are prepared spiritually but figure they still have time to cram and get what they need.
*Those who are prepared spiritually but don't have much in the way of finances and are doing the best they can.
*Those who are prepared both temporally and spiritually, possess open hearts, and are willing, according the the prompting of the spirit, to share and help others.
*And don't forget the mass of campers holding to the ancient adages of "Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" and the ever-popular "all is well in Zion."
*And last but not least, we have the camp of lost souls that are literally losing all hope and are ready to throw in the towel on life.
Scrolling through Facebook on any given day, you can find a soul representing every camper on the list above. And I'm not making judgements at all (I'm the last person to EVER judge), just stating a fact. But you know what? It's okay, because at the end of the day, we all handle things differently - or at least, we think we will, until we are in the thick of things.
If we can learn one thing from the Savior's parable of the ten virgins, He would definitely have us internalize the simple truth that if we are prepared in all things, we will not fear. If we are prepared to meet Him, there will be no fear in our heart, only hope. Only faith.
And that faith is something no one can give us. We have to prepare for that ourselves through our obedience and allegiance to the Lord. And then, little by little, it will accumulate until our lamp is full and trickling into another vessel.
This is true preparation!
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Finally Able to Breathe Again
The past couple of weeks have been so exhausting, I wondered when the calm would come (packing and moving into our new condo, then unpacking, sorting what is needed and what isn't and getting everything put away) but the calm has finally come and I've been able to catch my breath.
Today my thoughts have been traveling in several different directions. Before going to church this
morning, I spoke for a while with a friend who has been facing some tough challenges both physically and emotionally, and in the midst of it all, he lost his sister to cancer. Already dealing with a terminal illness himself, this news almost broke him completely. Sadly, he was hurt by his family and cannot trust them, and since this beloved sister was the only one he COULD trust, he is basically alone.
Talking with this friend is always a draining experience, but this morning I literally felt the Lord's spirit calming me and helping me know what to say to calm and comfort my friend. And the thoughts I shared were actually a comfort to me as well. It was nothing new really, just the same things I have always known, but I guess I needed the reminder too. It was simply this:
This life truly is but a small moment, just the blink of an eye. The pains and struggles we suffer now make this life seem long, and sometimes trials make the days seem so hard to bear, but one day, when this part of our existence is over, we will look back and realize how short, but how oh-so-significant these days really are. It is what we do with this life that matters. It is how we endure these times that means everything. We need to do what we can to be a blessing to others while we are here, and make this time matter.
How I wish wish every fiber of my being that I could express what is in my heart concerning this. How I wish I could express how important it is.
Because in the end, the temporal things we acquire in this world - money, degrees, power and prestige, titles, status, fame, prominence, notoriety - none of it will mean a thing. It will all be counted as vanity, unless we have used what we were blessed with to bless the lives of others.
Happy Sabbath!
Today my thoughts have been traveling in several different directions. Before going to church this
Talking with this friend is always a draining experience, but this morning I literally felt the Lord's spirit calming me and helping me know what to say to calm and comfort my friend. And the thoughts I shared were actually a comfort to me as well. It was nothing new really, just the same things I have always known, but I guess I needed the reminder too. It was simply this:
This life truly is but a small moment, just the blink of an eye. The pains and struggles we suffer now make this life seem long, and sometimes trials make the days seem so hard to bear, but one day, when this part of our existence is over, we will look back and realize how short, but how oh-so-significant these days really are. It is what we do with this life that matters. It is how we endure these times that means everything. We need to do what we can to be a blessing to others while we are here, and make this time matter.
Because in the end, the temporal things we acquire in this world - money, degrees, power and prestige, titles, status, fame, prominence, notoriety - none of it will mean a thing. It will all be counted as vanity, unless we have used what we were blessed with to bless the lives of others.
Happy Sabbath!
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
The Lord's Vessel
I can testify of the truthfulness of this quote with absolute certainty! I know it's true because of witnessing the Lord's miraculous work in my own life. Broken soul that I was (and still am from time to time,) Christ did remove the slums from me, which enabled me to remove myself from the slums of what was once a very, very sinful life. I once lived by the world's dictates, and though I find myself slipping from time to time, Christ has changed my nature from the one I possessed in the past, and I know that as long as I allow Him to, He will continue to change it day by day.
And so it is with each of us. May we all look to Christ and allow Him to shape and mold us into the willing vessels He needs us to be - the vessels we were meant to be all along. How grateful I am to know that with His help, (and through Him) we can do all things!
Happy Sabbath.
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