I've been on a minimalist journey. I am not really a minimalist... I don't have interest in a home with no furniture or anything. I AM a minimalist to the extent of wanting less mess, less clutter and less STUFF everywhere. I want peace. I was simple. I want comfort.
I am, above all else, a creature of comfort.
So as I cleaned the other day, it became abundantly clear to me that in this day and age, we are, whether we admit it or not, addicted to stuff. We can, with one click of smart phone, purchase basically anything. It's easy to acquire credit to purchase whatever we'd like, and even things we can't even think we'd ever need, we are suddenly convinced to buy from an ad that comes across our newsfeed.
"Well, it's on sale!" we say.
We are covered in stuff.
I believe that Satan is in the clutter of our lives. When we allow junk, unused and unneeded to pile up around us, it demands our time. It demands our attention. It eats up our good intentions to serve, to act. It distracts and depresses us. So we buy more.
We build ourselves alters of amazon prime boxes to worship the gods of stuff.
It is, in it's truest form idolatry.
"Thou shalt have no other go before me." (Exodus 20:3)
We usually take that commandment totally literally, that we not pray to gods other than the One True God.
But we give our treasures our love, our time, our attention, our affection, our money... the same things we are asked to give to God. Having too much stuff is absolutely idolatry.
In fact, we are told in 2 Nephi 9, that when we care too much about stuff, "wherefore their treasure is their god..." (vs 30).
Don't get me wrong, having possessions isn't, I don't think, inherently evil. We must have things. We can't escape the need for things. It's part of life. We can even have things we love, things we spend a great deal of money on, things we love and are fond of. However, when we are completely surrounded by things we don't need, we are forced to deal with them. Either by stacking them on top of each other, shoving them out of the way, or buying more containers with which to hold them. Eventually we rent a storage unit to hold the rest of the treasures we can't contain in our houses.
It is a cycle.
To me, after spending months creating a simpler home, with less STUFF, it is clear: healthy minimalism is a gospel principle.
Go with me here:
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, says Joshua. (Joshua 24:15)
At no time does he suggest that as for me and my house, we shall buy all the things.
Is our home the heart of Christ-centered service? Or is it storage unit? Are we engaged in just maintaining our things, or are we creating a stronghold for our Savior?
We can both serve the Lord, and have a nice home. Yes, surely, but it requires that we lay up treasures in Heaven, more than on earth.
When our homes are not in order, it feels uncomfortable. We can become blind to it, sure. Like anything we can subject ourselves to the anxiety that clutter affords enough to stop feeling it fully. We can pile things up and not look directly at them.
That is not how God would have us be. He wants us to live, full abundant lives. He does not want us to fill our homes with junk in the name of assuaging our natural man.
Satan tells us to buy things for comfort, entertainment, convenience, or status. He lies to us that those things with which we surround ourselves define us for good and for ill.
Indeed, he believes that you can buy happiness. Or at the very least, he wants us to believe it.
We know better! We know that the recipe for joy does not require the newest or best or most of anything physically material. Instead, we know that the Lord simply blesses us with joy in our eternal destiny. He grants us comfort and love and mercy, regardless of how cluttered our home are or are not.
When we have less junk distracting us, we can give Him more time.
What can you rid yourself of? What can you say goodbye to that will free your chains of idolatry?
For me? I'm still going room by room... donating, saying "no" to things, throwing things away, each week, I spend a chunk of time ridding our home of our idols.
It's not easy task. I fear it will *never* be done. But! These days, when we need to pick up the living room, it takes less time than it used to, I consider that a win. My heart is on my living jewels, trying to point them to Christ in both my words and my deeds. I want my legacy to my children to have nothing to do with things, but with testimony. I want them to know that Mom loved Jesus, not that Mom loved her dishes.
A home built on the Rock does not need to be full to the ceilings with stuff to anchor it down in the storm. Instead, it stands firm upon the salvation of Christ. Things become meaningless when we focus on our Savior. We love and serve only Him, not the gods of retail.
Everyone's home is different, and everyone's alters and idols are different, but I submit that we can all rid ourselves of some stuff. When we do, we'll feel much more able to do other things outside of maintaining our mess of stuff.
We can worship the God who gives. That's all we'll need.
Showing posts with label self-motivating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-motivating. Show all posts
Friday, October 13, 2017
Monday, January 27, 2014
Getting Better One Baby at a Time
People here in New England comment on our family ALLLLL the time. I can not leave the house without my kids without it happening. Since we homeschool, my kids all come all the time. It happens every single time we go anywhere.
I think people look at me, with my "large" family and say the thing that seems the most... benign.
"You sure have your hands full."
"Are they all yours?"
"You finally got your girl!"
"God bless you."
"Are you all done?"
And I smile and nod and thank them or answer or laugh with them, or whatever seems appropriate while I'm just wishing to survive the grocery store without losing anyone or my sanity and without forgetting AGAIN to buy black beans.
While those short conversations are really nothing is the course of a lifetime, and really what others think does not matter in this whole crazy life, but sometimes I wish I could explain. I wish I could set the record straight, that rather than them assuming that Derek and I don't "know what causes that" that they could SEE the way these children have made me...me.
I am so much better than I was when Henry was born. I'm a better mom, of course, but above all else, I'm a better person.
See, when I started on this path to motherhood, I was selfish. I didn't mean to be, and I didn't know I was. But I was 22 years old. I had two jobs I loved, a little apartment, a husband in grad school, and I knew what I WANTED.
Yes, part of what I wanted was a baby, and I got a cute, squishy one that never slept, I mean not at all.
And it made me angry. Didn't he know that at the end of a long day working, mothering, wife-ing, etc, that I just wanted to sit and watch TV? Or sleep?
It was hard to give that up. Because I was selfish. My time and energy had been mine to give and now it belonged to HIM and that made me resentful, not really at Henry but at the whole institution. But child after child has slowly burned that selfishness out of me. I am a slow learner, I'll admit.
And now? Sleep is for the childless.
I'm more okay with tired days and dreary nights. I'm better with accepting less personal time, less time for interests or hobbies, less time for anything really. It's not about me anymore and that took a while for me to realize (about, oh, three and a half babies, I'd say.)
My selfishness, while not obliterated, has become much less. I'm becoming refined.
I find compassion easier to give, I'm more understanding of what others might be going through, or how they might perceive a situation. It allows me more patience. I used to be terribly impatient.
I worry less. I know bad things can happen, and while I work hard to prevent them, in the end, I can only do my best. The rest I have to let go of. My faith has grown immeasurably over the years. I can control almost nothing. I have to have faith.
I'm more confident in my own beliefs, in my own mothering, in my own convictions that every baby is different, every kid is different and there is no one way to do things. It's so much less stressful to shrug, say, "To each his own," and MEAN it. Oh I was so judgemental back then.
I'm more relaxed about basically everything. Socks don't match? Yeah, I don't care.
You want to eat four apples in a day? Fine. Don't come crying to me when you get the poops.
I pick my battles much more judiciously. Three year olds are not to be battled unless absolutely necessary. Let them run, play, be as free as you can, I've learned. Discipline less, teach more. Read more, watch less TV.
Love more love more love more.
My house? I could keep up with it when I had just two kids. Then there were more and it drove me nuts. Now? I don't even try, That's right, I don't even try. We work together every evening to clean and straighten. I don't stress about it. It is going to be a mess. It is going to be cluttered.
It is going to be a work in progress.
Just like me.
My body is way better now than it was nine years ago. My body has aged, it has grown five babies and is working on a sixth! There is no recovering from THAT. But it's also learned to get by with less food, less sleep and more tension. My ears are better at tuning out noise. My eyes don't see the mess the same way.
My heart has grown so much and still it can barely contain the love, the gratitude and the sheer amazement that is watching these people grow and become who they are going to be.
When I stopped working three years ago, I worried I would be lost, a ship without course. How could I be ANYTHING if I was JUST a mother?
Well. I still have those moments when I wonder why I bother, but overall, the places motherhood has brought me; the realizations, the growth, the potential I've reached are frankly, amazing.
I'm not bragging. I'm praising. It's nothing short of a miracle, what God has done to my life, where He has directed me, those who He's brought into my life to teach and mentor me and to set an example for me. These blessings from Heaven have made me better.
These children have made me better.
So, yeah, I've got a lot of kids, my hands are freaking full. But my spirit? It's finally being allowed to grow. As my body ages, changes, stretches, so does my spirit, and in all that, it's made new.
My perfection is still so far outside my grasp that I can do nothing but spiral upward, hoping to find it in the eternities through Christ, but for now, I can look back on the last almost decade and see how, through small and simple things, it could be possible that SOMEDAY I might, through lots of help and grace, get there.
I think people look at me, with my "large" family and say the thing that seems the most... benign.
"You sure have your hands full."
"Are they all yours?"
"You finally got your girl!"
"God bless you."
"Are you all done?"
And I smile and nod and thank them or answer or laugh with them, or whatever seems appropriate while I'm just wishing to survive the grocery store without losing anyone or my sanity and without forgetting AGAIN to buy black beans.
While those short conversations are really nothing is the course of a lifetime, and really what others think does not matter in this whole crazy life, but sometimes I wish I could explain. I wish I could set the record straight, that rather than them assuming that Derek and I don't "know what causes that" that they could SEE the way these children have made me...me.
I am so much better than I was when Henry was born. I'm a better mom, of course, but above all else, I'm a better person.
See, when I started on this path to motherhood, I was selfish. I didn't mean to be, and I didn't know I was. But I was 22 years old. I had two jobs I loved, a little apartment, a husband in grad school, and I knew what I WANTED.
Yes, part of what I wanted was a baby, and I got a cute, squishy one that never slept, I mean not at all.
And it made me angry. Didn't he know that at the end of a long day working, mothering, wife-ing, etc, that I just wanted to sit and watch TV? Or sleep?
It was hard to give that up. Because I was selfish. My time and energy had been mine to give and now it belonged to HIM and that made me resentful, not really at Henry but at the whole institution. But child after child has slowly burned that selfishness out of me. I am a slow learner, I'll admit.
And now? Sleep is for the childless.
I'm more okay with tired days and dreary nights. I'm better with accepting less personal time, less time for interests or hobbies, less time for anything really. It's not about me anymore and that took a while for me to realize (about, oh, three and a half babies, I'd say.)
My selfishness, while not obliterated, has become much less. I'm becoming refined.
I find compassion easier to give, I'm more understanding of what others might be going through, or how they might perceive a situation. It allows me more patience. I used to be terribly impatient.
I worry less. I know bad things can happen, and while I work hard to prevent them, in the end, I can only do my best. The rest I have to let go of. My faith has grown immeasurably over the years. I can control almost nothing. I have to have faith.
I'm more confident in my own beliefs, in my own mothering, in my own convictions that every baby is different, every kid is different and there is no one way to do things. It's so much less stressful to shrug, say, "To each his own," and MEAN it. Oh I was so judgemental back then.
I'm more relaxed about basically everything. Socks don't match? Yeah, I don't care.
You want to eat four apples in a day? Fine. Don't come crying to me when you get the poops.
I pick my battles much more judiciously. Three year olds are not to be battled unless absolutely necessary. Let them run, play, be as free as you can, I've learned. Discipline less, teach more. Read more, watch less TV.
Love more love more love more.
My house? I could keep up with it when I had just two kids. Then there were more and it drove me nuts. Now? I don't even try, That's right, I don't even try. We work together every evening to clean and straighten. I don't stress about it. It is going to be a mess. It is going to be cluttered.
It is going to be a work in progress.
Just like me.
My body is way better now than it was nine years ago. My body has aged, it has grown five babies and is working on a sixth! There is no recovering from THAT. But it's also learned to get by with less food, less sleep and more tension. My ears are better at tuning out noise. My eyes don't see the mess the same way.
My heart has grown so much and still it can barely contain the love, the gratitude and the sheer amazement that is watching these people grow and become who they are going to be.
When I stopped working three years ago, I worried I would be lost, a ship without course. How could I be ANYTHING if I was JUST a mother?
Well. I still have those moments when I wonder why I bother, but overall, the places motherhood has brought me; the realizations, the growth, the potential I've reached are frankly, amazing.
I'm not bragging. I'm praising. It's nothing short of a miracle, what God has done to my life, where He has directed me, those who He's brought into my life to teach and mentor me and to set an example for me. These blessings from Heaven have made me better.
These children have made me better.
So, yeah, I've got a lot of kids, my hands are freaking full. But my spirit? It's finally being allowed to grow. As my body ages, changes, stretches, so does my spirit, and in all that, it's made new.
My perfection is still so far outside my grasp that I can do nothing but spiral upward, hoping to find it in the eternities through Christ, but for now, I can look back on the last almost decade and see how, through small and simple things, it could be possible that SOMEDAY I might, through lots of help and grace, get there.
Friday, November 1, 2013
A Rambling Post About What I Don't Know
Things have been quiet around here lately. I'm just kind of at a loss for words, everything I think to write in the middle of the night is forgotten by morning, silvery wisps I can't make solid. It's driving me crazy.
In the last few months, I've felt deeply, permanently that the Lord has changed me. He's changed my heart. It is so easy as a human person, to stagnate, stay the same, refuse (whether conciously or unconciously) to change. It's comfortable, clinging to our sins and weaknesses.
God doesn't want us to stay in our comfortable ungodliness though. He wants to burn all that away. He wants to exhalt us every single day.
And it's hard. And it hurts. And it's more fun, sometimes, to stay the same.
The thing is, God loves you and me, as we are, right now. Loving someone requires we accept them. God is the ultimate example of this. He loves us as we are, even when we are terribly disobedient.
But just as a parent hopes for their child, He has hopes and dreams for us and KNOWS we can accomplish them.
So, I've felt that pull to be better, be more, give more, think of myself less in the last months. My soul has begun to hunger (Enos 1:4) for a deeper understanding of my role on earth, my duty to the kingdom, my job, so to speak.
And I've found that when I let that change enter my heart, when I pull away from the sins I love so dearly, that I can more fully recognize my Father's hand in things, I see His face more clearly.
Much like a child running to a parent with a skinned knee from falling off a bike, I quickly find myself flinging towards my Parents in Heaven, desperate for refuge for a moment, before I head on back out, to keep trying, to keep learning, to keep moving forward.
I'm also having to learn to let go of some things I think I want. They aren't BAD things either. But I am learning to trust that whether THOSE things I want come to pass or not matters far less than the reality that no matter what, Heavenly Father has a plan.
So, I'm trying. And this whole book/blog project is a part of this whole thing. I can't explain it, I can't put it in words (which is why I've been struggling mightily with words lately), but I know that THIS is what the Father wants me to do. Even if it is solely for my own growth and development, so be it.
I'm trying.
Friday, October 18, 2013
1 Peter Chapter 1
I really wanted to do a VLOG for this post, but there are three short people who are refusing to cooperate, so I give up! Written word it is.
In 1 Peter, chapter 1, it says, "Where ye greatly rejoice though now, for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Then in verse 8:
This has been on my mind a lot lately, rejoicing THROUGH trials, difficulty, the things we have to GET through. None of us is exempt from trials or pain. None get the "get out of trials free" card in this life. We knew what we were getting in to, when we signed on.
Yet, sign on we did. For all the pain and sadness, we knew we'd find true joy. Just like the apostle Peter said, the TRIAL is precious because brings praise, honor and glory to Christ from us.
Trials are a form of sanctification.
Trials are holy.
Trials, in their awful, nitty, gritty, dirty, down low, painful, worldly, earthly, exhausting way, are holy.
At the end, Peter promises, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:9)
If we can view the things we are being tried with as HOLY, DIVINE promises of further grace, further light and knowledge, further growth spiritually, it allows us a greater, deeper patience.
More patience within, more patience in trial.
Because that refiner's fire is oh so hot, sometimes, we waste precious time and energy pulling away, refusing to participate more fully in our own refinement.
But Peter assures us that our souls are in the salvation process as we are tried, as each day we don't give up.
He sums it up beautifully in verses 13, "Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
We can't know the plans that the Lord has but we know He wants good to come to us, through Him.
So, let's go forward, girding our loins, fresh courage taking, determined to be better.
In 1 Peter, chapter 1, it says, "Where ye greatly rejoice though now, for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Then in verse 8:
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This has been on my mind a lot lately, rejoicing THROUGH trials, difficulty, the things we have to GET through. None of us is exempt from trials or pain. None get the "get out of trials free" card in this life. We knew what we were getting in to, when we signed on.
Yet, sign on we did. For all the pain and sadness, we knew we'd find true joy. Just like the apostle Peter said, the TRIAL is precious because brings praise, honor and glory to Christ from us.
Trials are a form of sanctification.
Trials are holy.
Trials, in their awful, nitty, gritty, dirty, down low, painful, worldly, earthly, exhausting way, are holy.
At the end, Peter promises, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:9)
If we can view the things we are being tried with as HOLY, DIVINE promises of further grace, further light and knowledge, further growth spiritually, it allows us a greater, deeper patience.
More patience within, more patience in trial.
Because that refiner's fire is oh so hot, sometimes, we waste precious time and energy pulling away, refusing to participate more fully in our own refinement.
But Peter assures us that our souls are in the salvation process as we are tried, as each day we don't give up.
He sums it up beautifully in verses 13, "Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
We can't know the plans that the Lord has but we know He wants good to come to us, through Him.
So, let's go forward, girding our loins, fresh courage taking, determined to be better.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
How to Handle Bad Days
It's sort of a catch 22... be happy, be joyful, be grateful, be happy. I mean, we've got so many blessings!! We have no business being grumpy, or irritated, or tired, or headachy, or...
Except when we're grumpy, or irritated or tired or headachy or...
See, today? Today I'm not in the mood. I'm not in the mood to cook for the five ravenous children demanding to be fed.
I'm not in the mood to educate my children.
I'm not in the mood to do the dishes.
Or the laundry.
Or deal with the CONSTANT mini-battles that seem to define and shape the interactions of my children.
I DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
And I feel guilty about that.
I'd LIKE to want to.
I'm not actually sure WHY I don't want to.
But, I just know that I've already threatened to lock each and every one of my sons outside for the duration because of one reason or another.
The thing is, I DON'T CARE WHO HAD THE TOY FIRST. DO YOU HEAR ME? I DON'T CARE.
GO PLAY!
Phew. I wish even that small tirade made me feel less like running away screaming.
It didn't.
I think we all have days when we just don't feel like doing the things we're supposed to do everyday.
Some days we feel less happy and thrilled with life than others.
It's normal.
Thing is, I think the way we handle THESE kinds of days are the real test, ya know? How do you deal with the frustrations, the little challenges, the little tests? How can you rise above your own desires (TO BE LEFT ALONE) and serve the way we've been called to?
Here are some ways to deal with the days like this:
1. Pray. Pray for strength. Pray for a quiet heart. Pray that God will grant you the wisdom to get through a tough moment. There are times when I genuinely have to simply walk away from my children, go to my room, shut the door and hit my knees. In times when that isn't possible, a prayer heavenward in my mind can remind me of my purpose.
2. Change it up. Can you shake up your routine in any way? What can you do differently? Go for a walk? Put in the afternoon at the park? Make something untraditional for dinner? What can you do to make it all seem less frustating? Less monotonous?
3. Enlist help. I think sometimes, (not all the time) it is appropriate to share with your kids that you are having a rough day. It's okay to ask them for help, to ask them to be kinder and more patient with each other, because it will help YOU be kinder and more patient with them. I don't think there is harm in showing your children that you are human.
4. Work. The best cure for not wanting to work, is to get up and get to work. Work your frustrations out on that dirty counter, or the pile of laundry. Instead of loafing and wasting time, getting to work will allow you, despite your initial feelings, a great deal of satisfaction. You worked that frustration to your favor.
Gordan B. Hinckely said,“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
5. Accept that every single day will not be sunshine and roses. It's okay. Tomorrow will be better. While we are that we might have joy, most days are just regular days. Try and find the joy in the moments. If there simply isn't any, then hang on, because you never know what tomorrow will mean.
Hang in there. I know that for myself, today, I'm surviving. I'm trying NOT to be a grumpy mom. I'm failing. But, I'm going to go practice the above list, and I'm having faith that it will get better.
Except when we're grumpy, or irritated or tired or headachy or...
See, today? Today I'm not in the mood. I'm not in the mood to cook for the five ravenous children demanding to be fed.
I'm not in the mood to educate my children.
I'm not in the mood to do the dishes.
Or the laundry.
Or deal with the CONSTANT mini-battles that seem to define and shape the interactions of my children.
I DON'T WANT TO DO IT.
And I feel guilty about that.
I'd LIKE to want to.
I'm not actually sure WHY I don't want to.
But, I just know that I've already threatened to lock each and every one of my sons outside for the duration because of one reason or another.
The thing is, I DON'T CARE WHO HAD THE TOY FIRST. DO YOU HEAR ME? I DON'T CARE.
GO PLAY!
Phew. I wish even that small tirade made me feel less like running away screaming.
It didn't.
I think we all have days when we just don't feel like doing the things we're supposed to do everyday.
Some days we feel less happy and thrilled with life than others.
It's normal.
Thing is, I think the way we handle THESE kinds of days are the real test, ya know? How do you deal with the frustrations, the little challenges, the little tests? How can you rise above your own desires (TO BE LEFT ALONE) and serve the way we've been called to?
Here are some ways to deal with the days like this:
1. Pray. Pray for strength. Pray for a quiet heart. Pray that God will grant you the wisdom to get through a tough moment. There are times when I genuinely have to simply walk away from my children, go to my room, shut the door and hit my knees. In times when that isn't possible, a prayer heavenward in my mind can remind me of my purpose.
2. Change it up. Can you shake up your routine in any way? What can you do differently? Go for a walk? Put in the afternoon at the park? Make something untraditional for dinner? What can you do to make it all seem less frustating? Less monotonous?
3. Enlist help. I think sometimes, (not all the time) it is appropriate to share with your kids that you are having a rough day. It's okay to ask them for help, to ask them to be kinder and more patient with each other, because it will help YOU be kinder and more patient with them. I don't think there is harm in showing your children that you are human.
4. Work. The best cure for not wanting to work, is to get up and get to work. Work your frustrations out on that dirty counter, or the pile of laundry. Instead of loafing and wasting time, getting to work will allow you, despite your initial feelings, a great deal of satisfaction. You worked that frustration to your favor.
Gordan B. Hinckely said,“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
5. Accept that every single day will not be sunshine and roses. It's okay. Tomorrow will be better. While we are that we might have joy, most days are just regular days. Try and find the joy in the moments. If there simply isn't any, then hang on, because you never know what tomorrow will mean.
Hang in there. I know that for myself, today, I'm surviving. I'm trying NOT to be a grumpy mom. I'm failing. But, I'm going to go practice the above list, and I'm having faith that it will get better.
Monday, October 14, 2013
A Lesson From A Goat
My life is strange. I have these goats. They are funny creatures, who are mainly tasked with mowing the lawn. They do an EXCELLENT job, as I have not used the lawn mower since July. LOVE that.
Our goats though tend to prefer to aim higher than merely grass. I had to fence in my poor abused peach tree babies because the goats were nuts for their leaves. The fuzzy peaches held no fascination and were all quickly wasted and knocked to the ground.
Any small sapling or low hanging branch is for their taking. And if it's tall or hard to reach, they will still try, often using one another to stack themselves a bit taller to reach.
It's funny, and obnoxious all at the same time.
They are determined to reach higher.
They are not hungry, there is a plethora, a feast even upon the ground and yet those delectable leaves, the ones that at first glance seem out of reach are irresistible to them.
This afternoon, my kids came in to report that Sally, the most determined of the trio had climbed the ladder left propped next to a shed-in-progress that Derek is working on. She had done so in order to get to the brilliant red maples leaves completely out of reach. Sure, she could eat the ones that had fallen to the ground, but the ones up higher were just so much better.
And you know, I have been thinking about the applications of that darn goat-on-the-roof situation all afternoon.
Here is what I have concluded:
It is so important to be happy with all we have, to be content and grateful for that which the Lord has given us.
But.
We also always need to be aiming higher. How can we practice perfection and eternal progression if we're stagnant?
Be grateful for the lengths and strides you've made, do not wallow in the imperfections, but always always be working hard to achieve the potential that the Lord has in mind for you.
The famous Billy Graham said, "Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion- it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ."
Don't get complacent, don't get discouraged. Be thankful, and prayerful and keep moving upward, reaching for the heights God wants you to reach.
You got this!
Our goats though tend to prefer to aim higher than merely grass. I had to fence in my poor abused peach tree babies because the goats were nuts for their leaves. The fuzzy peaches held no fascination and were all quickly wasted and knocked to the ground.
Any small sapling or low hanging branch is for their taking. And if it's tall or hard to reach, they will still try, often using one another to stack themselves a bit taller to reach.
It's funny, and obnoxious all at the same time.
They are determined to reach higher.
They are not hungry, there is a plethora, a feast even upon the ground and yet those delectable leaves, the ones that at first glance seem out of reach are irresistible to them.
This afternoon, my kids came in to report that Sally, the most determined of the trio had climbed the ladder left propped next to a shed-in-progress that Derek is working on. She had done so in order to get to the brilliant red maples leaves completely out of reach. Sure, she could eat the ones that had fallen to the ground, but the ones up higher were just so much better.
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| Practicing Perfection 2013 |
Here is what I have concluded:
It is so important to be happy with all we have, to be content and grateful for that which the Lord has given us.
But.
We also always need to be aiming higher. How can we practice perfection and eternal progression if we're stagnant?
Be grateful for the lengths and strides you've made, do not wallow in the imperfections, but always always be working hard to achieve the potential that the Lord has in mind for you.
The famous Billy Graham said, "Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion- it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ."
Don't get complacent, don't get discouraged. Be thankful, and prayerful and keep moving upward, reaching for the heights God wants you to reach.
You got this!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Don't You Quit
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| Photo source
I had an interesting conversation with my sister (via text) about this quote earlier this week. I love this quote. I love what it says, I love what it implies. I love that when we TRUST GOD that everything will be all right in the end. What an amazing, huge, and humbling promise that is. That if we keep going, doing the things we're supposed to, that it'll all work out. Pain and hardships are a part of this life, but if we persevere, if we continue onward, ever onward, that through the atonement, everything will be okay.
Omni 1:26 reads, "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."
Hang in there, Friend. It'll be okay.
The sun will rise.
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Wednesday, September 4, 2013
How-To Draw Nearer to Christ: Read the Bible
As Latter-Day Saints, we are SUPER at reading The Book of Mormon. It is a wonderful and inspired book of scripture, and I love it with my whole heart. There is enough in The Book of Mormon to last a lifetime of study. In fact, we are instructed to read it every single day. I have a testimony of The Book of Mormon.
I also dearly love The Bible.
We Mormons kinda don't rock The Bible like we do The Book of Mormon.
Have you ever read The Bible cover to cover?
Very VERY few Latter-Day Saints have.
I have. It's long. VERY long.
But within those pages are amazing stories that strengthen my belief and knowledge of my Savior.
You see, The Bible is His story. Throughout the Old Testament, Christ is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is Jevhovah, instructing the Jews in the ways of salvation. He is everywhere, His prophets testify of Him and His mission.
The New Testament is his life story. From beginning to end, we learn of His life, His ministry, His death and resurrection.
If you want to know Christ, read about Him.
Some of my most favorite verses of scripture that I return to again and again hail from The Bible. It is beautiful. It is inspired. It is powerful.
So, no, I'm not suggesting that you give up your BoM studies, not at all. The Bible is a wonderful and vital part of our gospel lives, and we need to give it some study as well.
If you're overwhelmed by the Old Testament, start in the New. Begin in the life of Jesus. Get a companion book to help you when you get confused or stuck.
Delve in, read for maybe 10 minutes each day. You will be amazed at how personal your feelings for Christ can become when you are studying HIM.
Some of my favorite tidbits that come from the Bible:
And whatsoever ye do in word or
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father
by him. ~Colossians 3:17~
2
Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind”
Joshua 24:15 reads, “As for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord.”
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
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Give The Bible a try. It will strengthen your resolve to be a better Christian. Your love and appreciation for Jesus as your Savior will increase.
Read The Bible.
Photo source
Friday, August 2, 2013
I Can Do This!
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The result of this chaos and frustration was that my couch, living room carpet, hallways carpet, stairs, Ezra's bedroom, the kitchen floor and Ezra himself got washed thoroughly.
Oy. Some days I feel like it would be more effective to simply hitch a ride to ANYWHERE and come back in a week or two when I no longer feel like giving up.
We have a birthday party tomorrow and everyone is beyond excited which means that they are all acting like caged monkeys. I have MORE house to clean, a cake to frost (attempting fondant for the first time, Heaven help me) and a house to decorate.
And I have a flippin' headache.
I shall sign off now to avoid TOO much negativity. I will prevail. I can do this. I can do this. I can DO THIS.
Peace out ya'll.
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