The Little Blessings

Last night I was thinking about my busy week and how I HAD to finish my lesson today. I decided that I definitely needed to pray for help (since I probably have a small case of ADD and have a hard time sitting down and doing something without getting distracted, and since Allie can be pretty needy sometimes.) So, this morning, after getting Allie and myself some breakfast, I sat down and I was done in an hour!!! That never happens. It is amazing to me how Heavenly Father really cares about the small things and will bless us if we just ask!

What Matters Most to You?

Last night we had an um...interesting experience. At 11:30 I was on my laptop, Allie playing in the room with me and Trey studying in our bedroom, when I started hearing a few dogs barking outside. We have neighbors with a dog, so I didn't think much of it. A minute later we heard the doorbell and right after some knocks on the door. I yelled to Trey, because I don't like to answer the door late at night without him there, and heard some urgent-sounding conversation from our neighbors. In one second Trey was telling me to get Allie's jacket and get out of the apartment. Our neighbors said there was a fire in the building and to get out NOW. They said NOW a few times, so I thought it must be a really serious fire and we are probably going to lose everything in our apartment. I grabbed Allie, her pants, and her coat, put on my shoes, grabbed my most prized possession (my camera) and looked outside. I could see flames coming up right outside of our stairwell...it looked like the side of our building was on fire. I yelled to Trey to hurry up because I didn't know how close the fire was to the stairwell and didn't know if we were going to be trapped. We ran out and went down the stairs, hearing the sirens of the fire truck not too far away. Then we saw the fire. It was only a car fire, but it was parked right next to the building and we wondered if it would explode. Luckily, just minutes after we got outside the fire truck got there and put it out.

This experience made me think about a lot of things. First, I was thinking we were going to lose everything we owned and we decided renter's insurance was a good idea. But, mostly, it made me realize that our earthly possessions really aren't important. I really wasn't that sad about the fact that we were going to lose everything, I was mostly thinking about my family's safety and that Allie was going to be warm. I also decided that I probably needed to have multiple copies of my family pictures in different places, and that I need to start digitizing my journals and scrapbooks. :)




Here are some scriptures for today that go along with my thought:

“Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich.” (D&C 11:7.)

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19–21.)

Alma 27

In the talk I gave on Sunday, one of the things I brought up was the commandment to "pray always." I listed ways that we could do this:

Silently pray
Keep a prayer in our hearts
Include the Lord in everything we do and recognize his hand in everything we do
Thank the Lord for everything we are given and blessed with

I think that Alma 27 shows a good example of how including the Lord in everything we do will bless us in so many ways; both temporally and spiritually.

A Variety of Blessings

Isn't it neat how the Lord blesses you in so many different ways? Lately we feel we have been blessed both in HUGE ways ans in small ways. I have been working on my talk this week, but I have been a little stressed since I don't usually get a lot of time to sit and read and study and write. As I have been writing I have been able to organize all of my thoughts so perfectly so that the writing process has been so easy and quick. I know that this is the Lord helping since usually when I write, my thoughts are so scattered and the thing that takes me the longest is just organizing them and making my transitions smooth. This is just one of many examples I have been blessed in a little way lately.

The Suffering of the Righteous

Well, I am finally back to my everyday scripture study, after weeks of weird schedules on vacation and preparing for my lesson last week. Today I am reading Alma chapter 14...


I am a little worried. Yesterday there was a comment made during the lesson about how sometimes when you attend the temple your family may not be safe and it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Then, today the first thing that jumped out to me from my manual on chapter 14 was the section about how bad things happen to good people ("The Suffering of the Righteous.")


I really hope that the Lord isn't trying to prepare me for something...


Alma 14:8-11 Talks about how Alma and Amulek had the power to bring down punishment on the men who killed the believers of God, but didn't because he said that God permits the righteous to suffer for a purpose.


It says this in my manual:


"...if all sick were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. If pain, sorrow, and total punishment immediately followed the doing of evil, no soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil-all would do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, no Satanic controls...no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or death...an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal life. and godhood.

Participate in Sincere Prayer

I am embarrassed to say that, yes, I am an end-of-the-month visiting teacher. And, that I procrastinated until today to read the Visiting Teaching Message from the Ensign. It isn't that I don't like to do visiting teaching, because I really do, especially since the girls I visit I consider good friends. But, I just don't make it a huge priority until I really need to do it to make it count :)

Sincere Prayer:

I LOVED the quote in here from Bruce R. McConkie:

"Prayer changes our lives. Through it we draw near to the Lord, and he reaches out his finger and touches us, so we never again are the same. Prayer is a great tower of strength, a pillar of unending righteousness, a mighty force that moves mountains and saves souls."

I LOVE this quote! I know that my life has been changed many times because of prayer. I would not be where I am right now if it weren't for the power of prayer. I am SO grateful that we are able to pray to our Heavenly Father and that he can answer our prayers!

James E. Faust lists five things that prayer entails:

1. acknowledgment that God is our father, that Jesus is our redeemer

2. confession of sin

3. recognition that we need help

4. opportunity to express thanksgiving and gratitude

5. privilege to ask for blessings

The Hard Questions

These questions were ones that I got a little worried about...things I need to work on.

1. Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? (Could I ever feel ready to die and meet my maker? Daily repentance for small sins and sins of omission, including keeping a constant prayer in my heart are ways to feel more prepared.)

2. Are ye stripped of pride? (Does everyone have a hard time letting people serve them? It is almost uncomfortable for me...)

3. Are ye stripped of envy? (Of course I always look at people and wish I had things, including a house, nice clothes, a boat, etc. that they have. Instead I need to just be happy for them and remember that I am so so so so blessed for what I have.)

4. Do ye mock your brothers and sisters?

5. Will ye persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches? (refer back to question 3 and you will see where I need to repent)

6. Will ye persist in supposing that ye are better than one another?

7. Will ye persist in turning your backs upon the poor and the needy, and in withholding your substance from them?

Job

Yesterday I read a scripture out of Job 19:25-26:"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

Ever since my brother, Brian, has gotten to his mission in El Salvador he has been sick. He has been throwing up, weak, and some weeks are worse than others. I thought that once he was used to the food and water he would be getting better. But, he has been out since November and he is still sick. He recently went to a "doctor" who said he has some sort of virus and he gave him some pills to "try out." I caught myself thinking "Why isn't the Lord blessing him with his health so he can do his work?" I think that in situations like these, we need to look at Job.

Job is a perfect example of the Lord trying and teaching us through tribulation. I think that the Lord does everything for a reason, and I think that we can learn from every trial. Maybe Brian will learn patience, perserverence, and have more empathy for people he will bless in the future...I don't know the reason. But, I hope that when I am faced with trials like these I will face them with an attitude of patience and determination, and look for what lessons I can learn through them.

I would like to ask those of you that read my blog if you don't already have something to fast for this upcoming Sunday if you could please fast for Brian. We are trying to get a lot of people to fast and pray for him this Sunday that he can get better and be done with all of this sickness so he can start working hard! Thanks so much!

Love Thy Neighbor

To review my scripture mastery...

Moses 7:18 - Zion, Unity

Genesis 39:9 - Flee from wickedness

Exodus 20:3-17 - Ten Commandments

Exodus 33:11 - "And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend..." (this was Jesus speaking - I always get confused as to who is being referred to in the scriptures as the Lord. I know that it is different in every book so its hard to remember. Does anyone have a good way to determine/remember that?)



Leviticus 19:18 - Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Its funny that I am reading this scripture today. We just got some new downstairs neighbors that aren't from the US (they are from the mid east I think) and they have two toddlers. Everyday since they have moved in they have cooked really smelly food that makes my apartment smell bad and makes me feel sick. Their kids are really loud too and they are always out on their balcony (or at least whenever me and Allie are out on ours) It has been a frustrating couple of days adjusting to the way its going to be from now until they move and I have definitely not been loving my neighbors.

I think that this commandment is definitely hard in the "dog eat dog" world we live in today. There is so much contention and everyone has a strange idea of entitlement to the American dream with no work or effort. It seems like the world is becoming more and more selfish and I think we need to step back and look at how we view our own lives and remember that God has given us everything. I think it is important to not say "what can this country/ward members/neighbors do for me, but what can I do for them?"

Asking for Blessings

The Bible Dictionary has always been one of my favorite parts of the Bible. You can learn so much from it! I was reading about prayer in the BD and I really liked this part:

"The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them."

Why did I never think of it this way before? I knew that Heavenly Father blessed those that humbled themselves and asked for blessings. But, I have been in the mind frame that we should be thanking Him for our blessings more than asking for others. For some reason I never realized that many of our blessings "are made conditional on our asking for them." I am looking back in my life at times where I had needs/wants for blessings and maybe didn't go to the Lord for them. I think that every time I need something now I will evaluate it and if it is a righteous desire I will definitely ask!