It's Okay to Remember

Jonathan Cahn talked about a learning experience that came while he was on a boat leading a tour to Israel. He told everybody in the group to take a piece of paper and write down something they needed to dispel from their life. He then gathered their pieces of paper, put them in a bag, and solemnly threw the bag into the ocean, as if he were "casting all those things into the sea of God's forgetfulness."
There was one problem though: the bag wouldn't sink. It bobbed up and down, which taught him a powerful lesson. We cast things out of our lives and expect never to deal with them again, and when something bobs up briefly, we let it discourage us and give up. These kinds of things hardly ever completely disappear from our lives instantly, and they will come and go for a while. Still, we shouldn't let it get us down, and as long as we keep giving them to the Lord, eventually they will go away for good.

I equate this to repentance. I've had to repent of some major things in my life, and for a long time, the sins of the past seemed to bob on the water and taunt me, even after repentance. Those times were
brutal, and because of this, I often worried that I had not been forgiven, that I still wasn't good enough. But now I know that those times of remembrance - though they don't come as frequently - are necessary, to remind me of how far the Lord has brought me, and to strengthen my resolve that I will never, ever, ever be where I once was.
And you know what? I'm totally good with that.

The Choice to Overcome

I have been pondering a little more lately on choice and accountability, about how we are allowed to make our choices but not choose the consequences that come. However, we are still able to choose whether or not we will let trials and mistakes in our past define our actions now, or our future. We can let those trials drag us down and destroy us or we can let them make us strong and build our character into something beautiful. Usually we allow ourselves to be pulled one way or the other. A few stay stuck in limbo, not progressing at all. However, many place themselves in God's hands and He uses them for His work, to share His love and word with others.

Recently, whenever my thoughts have strayed to people I've met who possess this amazing, fighting spirit and uplifting character, my thoughts are drawn to a wonderful man my husband and I met at the airport in Nadi, Fiji in February of 2016 on our way back home from a work trip. I am sure I have talked about this man before, but our visit with him is one I will always remember, because his life is another testament that God has a plan for each of us.
Alex Leapai is a retired professional boxer and was a contender for the world championship title. When we met him, he was on his way from Australia to Samoa to bury his father who has passed away the week before. Alex sat down across from us, we said our hellos, and just like that, we began to talk. (Hey, you guys know me, I'm a talker!) During our conversation, he told us about his life - his troubled childhood, his troubled teenage years, his anger issues (issues that eventually led to him serving six months in prison for beating up four bouncers outside a nightclub in Brisbane. The guy is massive!) He told us about the terrible relationship with his father, and how he was soon offered a way to diffuse the anger he carried inside. That way was boxing.

After sharing more ups and downs that he almost allowed to ruin him, as well as some career highlights (Wikipedia Alex Leapai) Alex told us his Christian conversion story and shared his strong testimony of Christ. He also shared a couple of spiritual experiences that were pretty special.

I then shared the story of my life, laying it all out there, and my husband and I shared our testimony of Heavenly Father and Christ as well. Alex and I joyfully talked about how we were both prompted to testify of the Savior, and he said he knew there was a reason he felt drawn to us. I just marveled at the miracle the Lord had worked in Alex's life, as well as the lives of those in his family. He said his wife loved to read and gave me her email so I could send her some books. I also gave him a paperback copy of my story and he said he would treasure it. Then it was time for his plane to board. We all hugged and parted. And we knew as he walked away that the experience would stay with us always, because we were truly looking at one of God's walking miracles.

And so it is with all of us.
The Lord has a mighty work to do in each of us. And no matter what trials we go through in this life, as long as we choose to let those experiences strengthen us in Him, we can be counted among His greatest work. Yes, life will come at us hard and at times we will be hit hard and knocked down, but like Alex, if we get back up and keep trying, keeping our eye fixed on the Lord, His hand will always be there to lift us up.

Happiness Quotes

Just felt like sharing some of my favorite happiness quotes today :-)

Accepting the Invitation

No matter how many times the Lord has extended the invitation to come unto Him, to allow Him to help us through our sorrows and lighten our burdens, so many of us accept this gracious and loving invite with only half a heart. Others still respond with outright refusal, insisting that they need no one, that they can handle their trials alone. These people don't truly know the Father and the Son, and many don't want to.

Well, guess what? The Lord is still standing with that twofold invite - He is still inviting us into His arms, and He is still waiting for us to fully invite Him into our hearts and lives. He hasn't given up because He loves us, and He knows that in the coming times, the trials are only going to get harder.
And believe me, there is no one more qualified to help us through them.

Living for Eternity

This week, our family was blessed with a wonderful increase. Our youngest daughter, Bailey was sealed for eternity to an amazing guy.

I could say that our family has increased by one, but that wouldn't be entirely truthful, because when we gained Jarom as a son, we gained a connection to a new family - his family. I feel this way each time one of our children marries. We were two families that became one because we share a common bond - that bond being the eternal marriage of our children.

Family is so important to God. After all, we are all brothers and sisters, every last one of us. We share the same Heavenly Father. He wants us to love one another as He loves us. He wants us to become one, to be the eternal family we were before we came to this earth. He longs for all of His children to know how this is possible, and He blesses us with opportunities to not only strengthen the knowledge we have, but to share it as well.

Because family is so important to our Heavenly Father, Satan is working overtime to destroy it, and his minions are out in force. The adversary thrives on the breakup of the family, sewing seeds of discord and contention. He also thrives on deceiving the world into believing that marriage and children are not necessary for true happiness - he works daily to diminish its importance. Because of agency (which is a most-blessed gift,) in many cases, Satan is successful, but not all.

But we can fight back. Each time we heed and obey the Lord's commandments, each moment that we dedicate ourselves to seeking the blessings of eternity, we are fighting back with weapons far stronger those belonging to the Master of Lies. Each moment we dedicate to raising our families in righteousness, teaching them the importance of the family unit, we are standing as God's soldiers in this age-old war, and we are raising up warriors to continue on when we are no longer here.

This is a war we are guaranteed to win. We simply need to stay close to the literal Father of us all. As long as we stay faithful and do our part, He will always have our back.

To members of all faiths: To learn more about eternal families, visit https://www.mormon.org/beliefs/the-family

What I Learn from Unplugging and the War Ahead

This past week has been one of thoughtful pondering, learning, and growth for me. Last Sunday, Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gave the youth of our church a set of challenges. One of those challenges was to unplug from social media for a week and give that extra time to the Lord. Like many others, I decided to take that challenge on myself. I figured that since I didn't spend a lot of time on Social media anyway, it would be a breeze and I wouldn't miss it at all.

Boy, talk about an eye-opening experience!

For the first couple of days, I had to keep reminding myself not to log onto Facebook, which I was used to doing several times a day just to check for messages or see if there were any interesting tidbits on my feed. I'll admit that on one day I did check for private messages because I was waiting for an important response from someone, then, hard as it was, I got back off.
Through the week, I was amazed at how much time I had. Not only did I have more time for the Lord, but my life didn't feel so rushed or hurried, (despite the ongoing preparations for our business, our daughter's wedding, and our son and daughter-in-law's temple sealing that took place yesterday.)
Stepping away for the week gave me a sense of freedom - and this is coming from someone who thought she didn't spend enough time on social media to be tethered by its chains. I went from feeling like I may miss something important to understanding that nothing on social media is as important as where the Lord wants my time focused.

So, though my social media fast is over for the time being, I now understand better how that time is to be utilized and where the limit is. For me, the separation of sharing the Lord's message and my professional life has long since passed, and now the sharing of anything and everything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy is being amped up. The only way to fight the growing opposition online with its war of words is with a growing army of God, armed and in His service.
I don't know about you, but I say, "Sign me up!"

What Matters

These are the things that matter, now more than ever.