Cheer

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. 

 ~Mark Twain~

Intellectual Pride

“Intellectual pride is very prevalent in our day. Some people exalt themselves above God and His anointed servants because of their learning and scholarly achievements. We must never allow our intellect to take priority over our spirit. Our intellect can feed our spirit and our spirit can feed our intellect, but if we allow our intellect to take precedence over our spirit, we will stumble, find fault, and may even lose our testimonies”.


(Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Press On,” Liahona, Nov 2004, 101–4)

Peace

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 

(John 14:27.)

Really Living

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Without Arms

These are a few words from the Book of Mormon that have been drifting through my mind the last few weeks. You will probably remember that the Lamanites wanted to attack Limhi’s people, but after talking with the king of the Lamanites the record says the Limhi’s people: “…..went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites…” and “….when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, they had compassion on them and were pacified towards them…..”(Mosiah 20:25,26).

I thought about the principle of 'without arms' with regard to relationships in general. We don’t come with the kind of arms that were meant in these verses e.g. shields, arrows, swords etc., but sometimes we come with other 'arms' that have been acquired throughout our life experiences like: pride, mistrust, impatience, an unforgiving heart, defensiveness, lack of self-worth, selfishness, and use these, we think, to protect ourselves from being hurt again.

I have had experiences where I have had these kind of bad 'arms', and each time I’ve felt horrible, as the result has never been an increase in compassion and understanding, nothing good has been strengthened or protected in me, but has only become weaker as a result. I have also had experiences where I have dropped the bad 'arms' I have gained and found that that is where charity has been gained and I have come so much closer to my God, and where beautiful lasting friendships have been my prize.

When we choose to be open to hurt, we really open ourselves to an increase in joy, trusting that God will be pleased with our attempts to be more like the Saviour who never comes to us with 'arms', but gives us His all, suffering all pain, just in the hope that we may choose happiness and a better way.

If we get hurt for loving people - so what! - really, what is the worst that can happen, so we may get hurt from time to time, but the Saviour will heal our hearts and we will love Him all the more for that, and we will be used to help so many more people to feel of God’s love for them because the Lord will know He can trust us, because we trust Him.

Re-posted from October 14th, 2008

Book Review - Walking Through Illusion

A while ago I was contacted by Betsy Otter Thompson who has written a book entitled: 'Walking Through Illusion', and asked if I would do a book review for her. So here it is:


'Walking Through Illusion features a series of short stories about biblical people who either knew Jesus or knew of him, and were influenced by him in one way or another....The author believes that we don't take our beliefs with us when we leave here; we take the love we had from having them.'

There were some things that I loved about the book, for example, at the end of each chapter there are worksheet sections and questions to ponder, because if you don't apply something in your life then it never really changes you.

I also found some of the quotes in there meaningful, for example, "If you want to become a teacher, you must live the lessons you preach". There were many many others in there that I thought were powerful also.

The way the book is written is by Betsy asking a question to Jesus and recording His reply to her question. For example:

Betsy: "Did you go through a time of wanting approval, Jesus?"

Jesus: "Yes, but seeking approval attracted people seeking mine. To get approval, I had to give approval; especially to myself:"

Reading the conversations that the author described that she had with Jesus did make me feel uncomfortable at times. There were some replies to the questions asked where it described a Jesus who is unfamiliar to me, and a less perfect one than the One I know, and is contrary to the Bible's teachings on a particular subject. I think the beauty of the Savior is that we can all have a personal relationship with Him, and I don't want to devalue anyone's with Him as I would not wish them to do so with mine, but those conversations didn't bring me any closer to Him, or enlighten me any further, and made me feel 'on edge' at times. I do love the concept for the book though, just not all of the content, and will be quoting from it on here as there are some valuable messages included.

I had emailed Betsy after I read it with how I felt about it, and to see if she still wanted me to post a review on it, as it wouldn't be a glowing one, and I got such a beautiful and gracious email back from her, full of love, when she could've been defensive. She seems like a wonderful woman who really is seeking to bring others to Christ. If this book is something you may be interested in reading, definitely check it out. For more information click here.

Improved Prayers

"A key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions. Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking what He wants for you. Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it."

Richard G. Scott, "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer," Ensign, May 2007, 8