Wordless Wednesday....

Spiritual Yoga

Peoria, Illinois....

That's where Guido will be headed for his mission next week. When we drop him off at the "MTC" he is headed to Illinois. It has been a long few months preparing to get ready to go and tonight was the culmination of it all.
Tonight as we filed into the Stake center for a fireside it was amazing to just feel the strength that was in that room. The chapel was overflowed and the gym was filled to capacity. To see all of those youth there, so excited to be taking part in this experience. The testimonies shared by our stake leaders and then beautiful words from President Monson made the evening so very special. It is such a testimony building experience for all of us and I am so thankful to be able to share this with my son.

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

What an amazing man!!! This puts the pettiness of my "problems" into an entire new perspective. I needed to hear these words today.

A mantra for that eternal perspective.....

"As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another.”

~James B. Martino
All I can say is as I read this one it was a WOW!!! moment.
Keep an eternal perspective!!!!

So simple,yet so complex.

There couldn't be a more perfect mantra to remember.

To pray about, to pray for.

The Spirit of.....

Christ...mas

It is the spirit of Christ that this season is truly about.

I have been so annoyed with two things I have heard over and over this week. One is "Are you all ready for Christmas?" and the second is "I can't wait for the holidays to be over." When I hear either of these statements they make me cringe.

One I do not know why you should ever be getting ready to celebrate the birth of our savior. There should be no getting ready we should just celebrate. Spend time together with those we love. Do kind deeds, reach out to those in need. Show compassion, forgiveness, empathy.

It is so sad to hear people say they cannot wait for Christmas to be over. How sad it is that one would let the hustle and bustle get in the way of the real meaning of the season. That they would allow there lives to get so overwhelmed and over scheduled that they would lose sight of the real reason that we celebrate Christmas.

As I sat in sacrament meeting today, there was such a strong spirit. The music was so beautiful and the words that were shared where so beautiful reminding us all to take time to remember why we really celebrate.

Putting Christ in Christmas

I am always so excited to here the First Presidencies Christmas message. It always seems to set the tone for the holiday season and bring the spirit of the season into our home. What a beautiful message that was passed onto to us this year, it just seems to be going right along with our plans for this holiday season. To be giving of our time, spending quality time with our family and loved ones and just enjoying the blessing we have. I am so thankful for the Presidency of our church and the guidance that they receive from our Father in Heaven to be able to provide us with such wonderful and edifying messages.

Word full Wednesday....

Delicate Arch - Arches National Park, UT
Wisdom is Always Found in Lessons of the Past

“Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit.”
M. Russell Ballard, “Learning the Lessons of the Past,” Ensign, May 2009, 33–34

The best is yet to come...

Sometimes things just seem to come at me at the right time. I know and am grateful to know that this is coming directly from Heavenly Father. He seems to provide me with just the right scriptures, thoughts, or stories when they are most appropriately needed. I can be in deep meditation or prayer about something in my life and I can open up the scriptures and there is the exact thing I am needing to read. The same goes with the Daily Gems. It seems if I am searching for something in my life I will open my email and there it is.

This morning was no different. It has been a long week, and as I woke up this morning I just wanted to stay in bed. Since that wasn't an option I got up to face the day. After reading scriptures, I went in to check my email and sure enough there in the Daily Gems was a piece of this talk from Elder Tom Perry. I went into the Church archives and there in the archives was just what I needed.
"There are cycles of good and bad times, ups and downs, periods of joy and sadness, and times of plenty as well as scarcity. When our lives turn in an unanticipated and undesirable direction, sometimes we experience stress and anxiety. One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic. Perhaps when difficulties and challenges strike, we should have these hopeful words of Robert Browning etched in our minds:“The best is yet to be”. We can’t predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner, but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and
the best is yet to come. "
L. Tom Perry, "Let Him Do It with Simplicity," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 7
As I struggled through this week, there has been so much thought and prayer about what the next life holds, loss of family, loss of friends, and that eternal struggle with making everything right with the world, for myself, for my family, and for all of the people in my life that I care so much about .

I am so thankful that I have a Heavenly Father that provides me with the encouragement that I need to get through my challenges. I am thankful to have such a wonderful husband and amazing son.I am so thankful I have wonderful family and friends that support us when life sends those struggles and storms my direction and I am most thankful for the knowledge that

THE BEST REALLY IS YET TO COME!!!

Come what may and love it !!!

It is so amazing to me how when you really need to hear words of wisdom they are provided for you. I have not had the best of weeks this week and had been just downright ornery and depressed. I have always been one to know that things happen for a reason. But sometimes you can only take so much. Before enough is enough, and my temperature has been way past enough for several weeks now.

I woke up this morning very refreshed. It was a beautiful morning and was looking forward to the day ahead. As I got ready for church I just had a different feeling. I didn't know if it was the fact that I haven't slept more then four hours a night for the past 10 days. But I just felt better.

During Sacrament meeting people got up to bare their testimonies, which I always enjoy. I feel such a strong spirit and there is nothing that is more edifying to me then to listen to others share their personal testimony of the gospel. It gives me such strength to know that others have struggles, and fears, but have the knowledge that the lord is there for you when you need him.

When I went to Relief Society this statement was written on the board:

"Come what may and love it."

Tears immediately came to my eyes. Because I knew that everything I have been struggling with I was supposed to be struggling with. I know that things happen for a reason but I now know that things are supposed to be as they are.

As I listened to the lesson, the heaviness in my heart began to lift. I began to physically feel better and emotionally steady. I know that if have faith, the lord will be there for me during my times of struggle. I now that I am meant to be going through the trials that I am and that there is a lesson for me to be learning.

As I sit here this evening I have a sense of peace. I know that as I struggle through the things in my life, I am supposed to be struggling. That I need to accept those things and love them for what they are. I am so thankful that I have a Father in heaven who is there to guide and support me whenever I need it and that I can feel his love if I just open my heart and allow him in. I am grateful to have a testimony of the gospel and am so happy that I have the ability to share this knowledge with others.