Peace Dec 29, 2019

 3. Bid thine heart all strife to cease; 

With thy brethren be at peace. 

Oh, forgive as thou wouldst be 

E’en forgiven now by me. 

In the solemn faith of prayer 

Cast upon me all thy care, 

And my Spirit’s grace shall be 

Like a fountain unto thee.

Reverently and Meekly Now

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/hymns/reverently-and-meekly-now?id=figure_p118-figure_p125#figure_p118

Are you happy?

Bro Gunnell is one of the oldest members of our ward. He like s to tell my husband that he has kids as old as his dad.
One thing he does each week as the greeter each week is shake each members hands and ask “Are you happy?”

What does living after the manner of happiness mean? How can you answer each day “Yes I am happy!”

Patience

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/neal-a-maxwell_patience/

Patience is not indifference. Actually, it means caring very much but being willing, nevertheless, to submit to the Lord and to what the scriptures call the “process of time.”

I loved this quote because it made me think of the many times my love and concern for someone else caused me to feel impatient and a desire to impose my timetable. 

"Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. Either way we are questioning the reality of God‘s omniscience as if, as some seem to believe, God were on some sort of postdoctoral fellowship and were not quite in charge of everything."

Sometimes this is so hard because of my inability to see time as the Lord sees time. It feels like another hour is forever and I feel such desire for the pain or discomfort to end now. It is hard when it is hard to endure the timing of the Lord. But my experience is his timing is always right- in hindsight. 

"Patience is not only a companion of faith but is also a friend to free agency. Inside our impatience there is sometimes an ugly reality: We are plainly irritated and inconvenienced by the need to make allowance for the free agency of others. In our impatience—which is not the same thing as divine discontent—we would override others, even though it is obvious that our individual differences and preferences are so irretrievably enmeshed with each other that the only resolution which preserves free agency is our patience and longsuffering with each other. " 

Longsuffering with others seems a very different word than patience but really waiting on others and being patient with their stuff, no matter the cause is allowing them the same agency and time to grow and develop we all wish others would allow us. It seems like "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

"No wonder the Savior said that His doctrines would be recognized by His sheep, that we would know His voice, that we would follow Him (John 10:14). We do not, therefore, follow strangers. Deep within us, His doctrines do strike the promised chord of familiarity and underscore our true identity. Our sense of belonging grows in spite of our sense of separateness; for His teachings stir our souls, awakening feelings within us which have somehow survived underneath the encrusting experiences of mortality."

Miracles

To be sure, there may be times when you feel as though the heavens are closed. But I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives

I want to review three examples of asking in faith in meaningful prayer and discuss the lessons we can learn from each one of them. As we speak of prayer, I emphasize the word ​meaningful.​ Simply saying prayers is quite a different thing from engaging in meaningful prayer. I expect that all of us already know that prayer is essential for our spiritual development and protection. But what we know is not always reflected in what we do. And even though we recognize the importance of prayer, all of us can improve the consistency and efficacy of our personal and family prayers.

https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/general-conference/2008/04/ask-in-faith

Concerning Rebekah’s prayer, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “May I now take our common ancestor, Rebekah, as a pattern for what her daughters in the Church today can do? … When Rebekah was troubled and needed divine guidance she herself took the matter up with the Lord, and he spoke to her in reply. The Lord gives revelation to women who pray to him in faith” (in Conference Report, Tahiti Area Conference 1976, 16).

https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/manual/old-testament-gospel-doctrine-teachers-manual/lesson-10

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon,​​​​ and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives

Trials can purify our hearts

Following His plan and becoming a builder of the kingdom require selfless sacrifice. Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: “All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, … purifies our hearts … and makes us more tender and charitable, … and it is through … toil and tribulation, that we gain the education … which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.”​​​​ These purifying trials bring us to Christ, who can heal us and make us useful in the work of salvation.

https://www.lds.org/languages/eng/content/general-conference/2016/04/what-shall-we-do

Ether 12: 27 ​And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ​​​weakness​. I ​​​give​ unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ​​​grace​ is sufficient for all men that ​​​humble​ themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ​​​weak​ things become strong unto them.

Weakness can become strong through faith during trials

Psalms 34: 
17 ​​The righteous​ cry, and the ​​Lord​​ heareth, and ​​​delivereth​ them out of all their troubles.
19 ​Many ​are​ the ​​​afflictions​ of the righteous: but the ​​Lord​​ delivereth him out of them all.

Afflictions come to all

Notes from conversation after accident

Get a list of things other people could do for me

Family

Ward

Work

Get a person in each to be the contact person

Self care can be 5 minutes or 10 minutes don't make it so hard. Intentional about it and make it my own place.

Voice mail with daily report- Email to daily report

Picnic table conversation FHE about Life Changed this day and how are you feeling about ?

Some of it will get better and some won't  We can't change it. What can we change?

We will get through it because that is what families do

African Proverb says

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

10 day media fast lessons

The prophet asked me to write what I learned from the Facebook fast that he asked the women of the church to do at General conference 

“I invite you to participate in a 10-day fast from social media and from any other media that bring negative and impure thoughts to your mind. Pray to know which influences to remove during your fast”

The first thing I learned was from my phone screen time record



Prior to the fast I was spending 3 and a half hours on my phone— WHAT??

That was uncomfortable and I could think of hundreds of things “I don’t have time to do” that could be done in that 3 and a half hours. It gave me a desire to be much more intentional and limited in my mindless time on my phone

I also learned on the app that you can set downtime to shut off your phone when you should be sleeping 💤 That has been a great reminder for me at night. I can override it for 15 minutes at a time if I really want to but it makes me far more conscious of my usage after hours and gets me to bed on time more often 

Second I didn't know my phone had a filter?? Under settings, screen time, content and privacy, and then content restrictions 



I have since gone through and done these filters on the phones of some of my children as well. Hoping to protect us from the influences of Satan we inadvertently might run into. I challenge you to do this 

The other thing I learned was that I could limit my time on Facebook using the App limits feature



I am now thinking about other areas we need to filter and be more intentional about time

There are so many things I want to accomplish and using my time more purposefully will help me accomplish the best things

Pray Always

In the last 60 days I have learned much about prayer.

From September 30, 2018 “This week dad almost fell on the stairs and it was a very painful realization that I am not big enough to do this alone. Went to the temple on Saturday and was reminded that the whole plan of happiness is based on the foreknowledge of God that I am not big enough. He always knew!! I have lived in a bubble where I was big enough to fake it most of the time but this accident has been a rude awakening that I never have been big enough the Lord has always been making up the difference 

I don’t have to do it alone. And neither do you!”

One of the only things I could pray in my desperation was “Please help”. I was so beyond any mortal language my need was beyond anything I had ever experienced before and so great I couldn’t even berabalize it. Please help meant everything I had no ability to identify

From Prayer is the souls sincere desire Hymn 145
Verse 2
Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

I loved this idea that prayer is so much more than words. We pray in all ways we ask for help. Our tears are a prayer. God hears so much more than just our words

At first I thought my prayer “please help” was some how inferior to the more eloquent and specific questions and verbal prayers. My sincerity and my need were so beyond any former prayers. My humility that God in his infinite wisdom and concern for me knew better than I what I truly need. As I thought about this new place of prayer I realized that maybe my “please help”  is the best prayer I have ever offered

I loved this verse for I learned so much about prayer through these two words “please help”
Verse 8
O thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way!
The path of prayer thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us how to pray.

I know that this scripture is true
Alma 33: 8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.

No matter my ability to verbalize, He hears and answers