Please and Thank You

I have been thinking a lot about Alma 7:23 ...more particularly the end of verse.

...asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.

Thoughts that tied like feelings to my heart:

I should take ALL my needs to Heavenly Father. Whatever it is I need. Spiritual or temporal. Whatever I need. Anything. Everything. Always!

And as quickly as I receive the answers I am seeking, I need to thank Him.

This week, I have been practicing this lesson.

Last night, I felt as if I was swarmed in a flurry of demands. Children to comfort, meals to be made, places to be and I was running an hour behind. I didn't know which to tackle first. And remembering this scripture, I took my 10 year old (who was one of these people needing comfort) with me to pray to figure out the BEST part so I could DO the best part.  My answer was different than I would have done, had I GONE ON MY OWN to figure out that best part. 

It had taken me almost 15 minutes to remember that I had FORGOTTEN to thank Heavenly Father for His answer. So, my daughter and I, who were now driving down the street, pulled over to pray. I thanked Him for His help in setting my feet straight. And immediatly, LITERALLY, I was flooded with peace and calm and comfort that I had thanked Him. And so I thanked Him again.

I know that Heavenly Father loves me. He wants me to KNOW His love and FEEL His love every day. That is why He gave me some understanding of this scripture this week.

Thankful Thursday: The Power of Prayer

Tonight, while at Relief Society, a young boy, who had just come from playing baseball in the field near the ward house, and his mom came in asking if we had seen a little girl. We hadn't. We searched the building with them without finding her.

We were heart sick. Many of us there have had our own childen missing for a few minutes, or more, and experienced the feelings of overwhelming fear and anxiety over our lost child. And this little child had been missing for two hours.

I left for home and with a prayer in my heart I called my husband. He and the children offered a prayer for her.

On my way out, I stopped where the police were stationed in the park and asked for more details.

I went back to the ward to let the sisters know...as we were ALL concerned about this little girl and the situation the family must be facing.

The thought came to pray for her...as a Relief Society...tonight. Feeling a little hesitant that I might be too bold to interrupt R.S. with this request, I asked a sister what she thought about this. She said,"Oh Yes!" So, I asked a group of sisters if we could pray for the missing girl. Another sister spoke so all the other sisters could hear and asked the sister in charge if we could take a minute to pray. The request was gladly accepted and we joined together in prayer. The room hushed and as a Relief Society we combined our faith and prayed for the missing girl. Then I left for home.

I just got a call from our Relief Society President. She said, "I just wanted you to know, that within minutes after the prayer, the police came in to search the building and got a call that the girl was found."

Tonight, I am thankful for the power of prayer, for faithful Relief Society Sisters, for the Holy Ghost being persistant with me, for the sister who helped me have the courage to interrupt Relief Society, and for a kind Heavenly Father answering so many prayers for a little missing girl.

Thankful Thursday: Tender Mercies

Today, I was offended. True story.
By those near and dear to me.True story, again.

I felt Lousy.

And I didn't want to feel that way because, well, I am connected to them, forever.

And feeling...offended...hurt...angry...
And carrying these feelings for a long time is really...
A big waste of time!
A big waste of emotional health!
And it is way too burdensome!

So after a lot of praying/pleading to Heavenly Father to help me let it go...to help me see differently...to lift me up out of the pit so I could breathe...and when I was calm enough to listen, He gave me some understanding.
He helped me forgive and move away from those feelings.

Today, I felt the tender mercies of the Lord.

This post was origianlly written June 4, 2011. Decieded to share it.

Have you seen the hand of the Lord in your life, today?

Just recently, after evening family prayer is finished, my husband and I have been asking our children "Did you see the hand of the Lord in your life, today?" 

Last night, I asked the question and was overcome with emotion at the answers of our children.

Our oldest daughter had her first Sunday in Young Women's. She was so nervous to go. We told her that we thought she would discover that this a wonderful new experience. She was still hesitant to leave primary.

Her experience in seeing the hand of the Lord "I was really nervous to go to Young Women's. But when I got there, it was wonderful. I wasn't afaid at all."

Our almost eight year old shared hers:
She was putting together some kind of lego invention and couldn't figure out how to do it (I was rocking the baby and could hear her at the table mumbling, and almost whine-crying because she couldn't figure out how to fit the pieces she wanted to fit together). This went on for some time.

She said, "I was trying to to make this lego thing at the table and it wasn't working. So, I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help me. And He helped me figure it out. And I finished putting it together."

Last night I could see the blessings promised by President Eyring:

"My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

What happened when Laman and Lemuel came for a visit

This morning before leaving for church, we had family Book of Mormon time.  We read from 1 Nephi 4.

I think everytime I read this chapter, I am struck with how dense Laman and Lemuel think, behave, ARE.

After an angel comes and declares :

"Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands."

Laman and Lemuel show their absolute lack of faith in the Lord by responding:

"How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"

And Nephi, being Nephi, says:

"Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands? Therefore let us go up..."

All the while going back to Jerusalem, these two older brothers murmur.

After reading this, I thought, "You've got to be kidding me! These two JUST SAW  and HEARD AN ANGEL!!! Can people really be this faithless?!"

So...skipping to Relief Society and today's lesson and MY LESSON about being faithless...and being faithful.

Our lesson was from the talk by Sis. Julie B Beck, "And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit".

She described sisters all over the world, facing similar and difficult challenges. She says about she has met in these visits:

"...I have felt that there has never been a greater need for increased faith and personal righteousness. There has never been a greater need for strong families and homes. There has never been more that could be done to help others who are in need."
   
Sister Beck points out that PERSONAL REVELATION is the answer to increasing faith, strengthening families, and providing relief. It is the answer to finding answers to our own questions and stand strong and immovable against incredible opposition and difficulty .

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."

 

And this is how we get it:

• 
  
  Qualifying for the Lord’s Spirit begins with a desire for that Spirit and implies a certain degree of worthiness.
• 
  
  Keeping the commandments, repenting, and renewing covenants made at baptism lead to the blessing of always having the Lord’s Spirit with us.
• 
  
  Making and keeping temple covenants also adds spiritual strength and power to a woman’s life.
• 
  
  Many answers to difficult questions are found by reading the scriptures because the scriptures are an aid to revelation.
• 
  
  Insight found in scripture accumulates over time, so it is important to spend some time in the scriptures every day.
• 
  
  Daily prayer is also essential to having the Lord’s Spirit with us.
• 
  
  Those who earnestly seek help through prayer and scripture study often have a paper and pencil nearby to write questions and record impressions and ideas.

So, as I sat there in Relief Society, reading and listening to the teacher, I started pondering over what I need to do to receive personal revelation.

In my mind, Laman and Lemuel popped in for a visit. True story!

And this is what they had to offer for advise.

"But my mind is too cluttered and unfocused to really study. I can't do it. Not planned study anyway. I'd never finish or follow through. I'd quit before I started. 

I can't write what I think!  That's  too hard for me because I am too disorganized to write and understand my own thoughts.

This is too hard. I am too short focused to sit and follow this counsel."

I started to write these thoughts on this notepad I carried with me, for I was hoping for somekind of helpful inspiration today.

After thinking these words, I felt pretty much defeated.  The thoughts were self-defeating...and useless.

And then....

The thought came back to Nephi.

REMEMBER NEPHI'S WORDS TO HIS BROTHERS!
"let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth."

Thank you, Nephi for being FAITHFUL!!!

I felt a growing determination to be steadfast and immovable.

The Spirit taught me:

Pray with faith and then just DO IT!

Remember Nephi and his faithless brothers. BE LIKE NEPHI!

Do the things Sister Beck counseled to SEEK AND UNDERSTAND MY WILL...not to show others that you are doing the right things.

I pondered on the thought that I don't have to be deceived.

I NEED TO SEEK THE LORD so I don't believe the "murmuring voices of doubt and hardship to follow the Lord".
 
And then the Spirit gave me direction...specific direction I was hoping for and seeking.

The Spirit witnessed to me, that HE WILL HELP ME (and anyone for that matter) to DO what the Lord asks.
 
And I CAN DO WHAT THE LORD ASKS.  Because, His promises are sure!
 
Just like Nephi and his brothers who saw and heard an angel...
I can be like Nephi and reply:
 
"...let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth..."
 
My lesson on personal revelation, was personal revelation!

School and Blessings

With the beginning of school I've heard the anxieties of our children.

They are real. They have taken up a bulk of their thinking the past couple of weeks.

Some of these anxieties are familiar anxieties I had at the beginning of the school year and some are different.

Here are just a few:

Am I going to do well in school?  What if I don't? What if I am behind?

Will I make any friends? What if no one wants to play with me?

What if my friends want me to choose wrong things? If I don't do what they want me to, they might not like me.

Are there bullies?

Is my teacher nice?  What if she's not?

As a family, we have been praying for several weeks that our children will feel the Lord's love for them. That they would have the courage to make good choices in school. That they would feel confident in their learning.

Knowing that the Lord is ALWAYS aware of us and will bless us IF WE ASK HIM, we have been asking and waiting.

Today, listening to their school experiences and watching them as they did homework, I saw and felt a reassurance of the Lord's love for them. I saw His hand in their lives.

One child came home overjoyed that she found a friend.

Another child was able to concentrate and FINISH her homework. Her focus and determination was AMAZING! By the end of the night, she was reassured that she can learn...VERY WELL! She could feel the happiness that comes from growing

Our other child felt confident in understanding her studies. I could hear her excitement for learning. This same child, after several years of feeling like she has been without true friends, has extended friendship to others. 

I see the Lord's hand in these small...yet big things today.

"In the STRENGTH of the LORD, we can do hard things!"

A broken doorknob and prayer

We left home to run a few errands before finishing our Saturday chores.

I locked up the house good and tight and away we went.

When we came home, to our surprise, the back door, the one coming in from the garage, would not open.

We wiggled the handle. Locked and unlocked the knob. When that didn't work, my husband tried all the doors...the ones that I bolted well.

We were locked out.

My McGyver husband got out a wrench and tried prying off the handle. I had children pleading for a bathroom and hovering over the fix-it man.

I remembered and quoted Sis. Beck's counsel she had learned from her father.

"If we're going to laugh about it in 20 years, we may as well laught at it right now."

It seemed to alleviate the tension and worry and put a few smiles on faces.

After a good fifteen minutes of prying and twisting, our six year old shouted out, "Why don't we have a prayer?"

So, we all piled in the van and dad prayed while we all exerted faith.

I hopped out of the van and wiggled the handle again. Still no movement on the lock. By this time, we determined the lock was broken. As I wiggled the handle again, I remembered movies where someone would use a credit card to unlock a door.

I tried a plastic card in the door...wiggled...and whah la! It opened.

As soon as the door swung open, it was as if light had jumped into each of us. All the children shouted to say how Heavenly Father answered our prayers.

We all went inside the house, happier than we ever had before going in. Happy children. Happy parents. Our eight year old, gleaming now, so happy to be INSIDE the house, asked if we had remembered to thank Heavenly Father for all the other MIRACLES he had given us.

Listing them off, they named all the times since coming here that Heavenly Father had delivered us from sickness, car troubles, back troubles, etc. They named off one experience after another. Each of them with something different.

Husband and I looked at each other. We could SEE the Lord's hand today. The children could SEE His hand and miracles today and all the yesterday's. We thanked Heavenly Father as a family.

Faith has been strengthened yet again.

"In the strength of the Lord, we can do hard things." Sis. Elaine Dalton

Bishop's Counsel

I was reading some counsel I had received some years ago from a good Bishop. He counseled me in a blessing not to demand perfection of life, of myself and of others.

I have been pondering on that throughout the day. Wondering why I am slow in learning these things. Moving has brought a change of thought, heart and spirit. I feel like I am more maleable.

I am just learning how to apply this principle.

The fear of "appearances" is starting to slough off.

My love for Heavenly Father has grown and I know Him and trust Him. I am trying to listen to Him better. And follow Him quicker.

So, while I feel sad that I have taken what seems a lifetime to listen and heed this counsel, I am on the road to repair and new living.

The past 10 days have been rather full of caring for my six year old.

I think I had talked about her in a previous post.

After a couple of visits to different doctors, we finally got a correct diagnosis.

Kawasaki Disease.

Looking back, I see the Lord's hand through this whole series of events.

A week and a half ago, I took her into a clinic and they treated for strept throat. I knew this was not the correct diagnosis. One side of her neck was so very swollen. It hurt to turn her head. Her fever was climbing. I wondered where I could go to get a diagnosis that made sense. I prayed for help. I knew Heavenly Father would answer. I am her mom and he would lead me. But in this time of distress, I needed peace to hear. My dear husband has been a great comfort through this experience. He gave our daughter many blessing through the week. He reassured me of those truths when I felt unsure of what to do or where to turn for correct treatment.

After a two days treating for strept (hoping that if this were a bacterial infection of sorts, it would take care of this sickness), her fever peaked. I didn't take her actual temperature, but touching her skin felt to burn my hand. She was so very hot. She just wanted to sleep. And in these moments when I would naturally panic, the Spirit whispered what to do and led me and guided me how to take care of her without the panic. I ran a nice warm bath for her and put her in. She shivered and cried having to wake up and bathe. Yet I knew that this would help her. Is I rubbed her little legs and then her back, I could feel the water heat around her little torso. She was such a trooper. After her soak, we took her out, dried her off and dressed her. Her fever had really gone down. I took her temperature (under the arm) and it read 103.4. My husband gave her some medicine to take the fever down and I continued with compresses through the night. Eventually the fever did go down and stayed down till morning.

Morning came and more fevers. Her appetite was so small. She slept most of the days. Her little eyes were very blood shot, her lips puffy, red, and cracked, and the soles of her feet so red.

By Thursday evening when the fevers began again, we decided to take her in for another evaluation. This time a differnt clinic, the doctor on call gave us the heads up of Kawasaki Disease. He instructed if the fever continued 2 more days it was imperative she go to ER at Cook's Children's Hospital.

Friday morning, we looked up Kawasaki and saw a picture of little child that resembeled our little 6 year old. I was so grateful that the Spirit could lead us to the right doctor.

Saturday, the fevers started in the morning. We took her in later that afternoon and by Sunday, the diagnosis was confirmed and they started treatment.

Through this whole experience, I am comforted to know that the Lord has been mindful of us and this situation. For our six year old, she was given strength to do hard things. We talked about our family motto, "In the Strength of the Lord, we can do Hard things." And when she felt scared because of needles or nose suction, we would pray together and then she would do the hard part of holding still and let procedures be done. The nurses who helped encouraged her that the the words of the family motto would help her. And He would help her.

Our family has learned a greater appreciation for each other, for life, for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's love for us, of the power of prayer and Priesthood blessings. Our six year old will be home today. I am thankful for the guidance of the Spirit. I know that Heavenly Father watches out for all His children. Because He loves us all so much.

For those who have prayed for our family through this, thank you. We have felt the strength of the prayers and fasting and know it is through all your prayers that answers and help has come.