Wrestling

Lately my prayers have been like Alma's..."Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance."

They have especially been like the prayer of Enos..."And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens."

I have never understood the adjectives of hunger, labor, wrestling, and pleading when it comes to praying. Up until recently I don't believe I could have said that I had ever wrestled in my prayers. The miracle in these words is God is listening. My prayers are answered, sometimes in very small ways, sometimes years later. The picture above was a recent answer to one of my prayers.

I can't say I enjoy pleading, wrestling, and laboring in my prayers, but I do know that anything I have ever put all the energy of my heart into I never regret.

I Miss Mayberry!

Wow, I have been thinking a lot lately about how people are too busy and when I went to lds.org this morning I came upon this video I love! The world around seems so busy, to the point that people don't matter as much. Technology is replacing the important things. It makes me sad! I love the talk by Elder Uchtdorf "Of Things That Matter Most." I am pretty sure I have shared some thoughts from that talk before, but from reviewing his talk and watching this video I now am determined even more to let people around me know that they matter the most!!!

Sunblock

This week I have been out in the sun for many hours mostly running and gardening. Most of the time I remember to put on sunblock, but one day I didn't and burned. Sunblock and following the Spirit are synonymous to me. We can choose to put on sunblock, we can also decide what SPF to wear. Likewise the amount of hours we spend in harmful exposure matters. I know that the Spirit is there to prompt us, protect us, comfort us, & guide us. We need to be diligent in application, especially when it comes to heeding promptings.

I have been reading President Monson's Biography and was impressed from a lesson our prophet had learned. When President Monson was a Bishop he had to attend a Stake Leadership Meeting. Earlier in the evening a friend had asked him to visit his uncle in the hospital, who was a less active member of Bishop Monson's Ward. The meeting dragged on and on, as most meetings do, and he finally ran out during the closing hymn feeling an urgency.


President Monson arrived at the hospital only to be greeted by a nurse who asked him, "Are you Bishop Monson?" "Yes..."The patient was asking for you just before he died." BAM, what a shock! I would definitely feel horrible. The lesson President Monson learned from that experience was "Never postpone a prompting." I too likewise have learned from this lesson and just like sunblock need to reapply often and not let my guard down. In the long run I know I will be happy using sunblock aka following the promptings of the spirit that that I can avoid skin cancer aka harmful sin.

Happy Father's Day!

My Dad is the best! He is not perfect, but he has improved himself with time! I love that he is such a people person and genuinely cares about those around him just as the Savior does. In fact he decided to go on a trip with his Father and take him to all the sites he grew up with so we have to wait to celebrate Father's Day with him. Other reasons why he is great:

-He does his Home teaching and fulfills his callings in a Christlike manner
-Whenever a new neighbor moves in he is among the first to visit and write a bio with their family information, give them neighbor info, & introduce them to others (this is not a calling).
-He knows things about people that most don't, like what their job is, what they may be struggling with, birthdays, or interesting little tidbits.
-He is always willing to give blessings to people
-He is a great writer, especially when it comes to our family newsletter
And the list could go on and on!

Ultimately our best example is our Father in Heaven. I love him and want to do as this scripture says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." While I cannot be perfect right now, I can improve over time just as my Dad has and hopefully one day be as perfect as my Father in Heaven.

Love

I love my Institute class. This week we talked about true love and its characteristics. Our teacher talked about 3 different kinds of love. 1-Agape: unconditional or Christlike love, given with no thought of getting anything in return. 2-Philia:friendly or brotherly, having the ability to communicate with one another by understanding each other's words and actions. 3-Eros: affection or physical part of love, developing this kind of love is easy for most people, but is the type that is twisted most often by Satan. An Eros foundation of love will not last unless agape and philia are apart of the foundation.

Scriptures we talked about that defined true love were Matt 6:24, Romans 8:35,39, Ephesians 5:2,25,33 and D&C 42:22-23.

President David O. McKay
“‘Well,’ you may ask, ‘how may I know when I am
in love?’
“. . . George Q. Morris [who later became a member
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave this
reply]: ‘My mother once said that if you meet a girl
in whose presence you feel a desire to achieve, who
inspires you to do your best, and to make the most
of yourself, such a young woman is worthy of your
love and is awakening love in your heart.’
“I submit that . . . as a true guide. In the presence of
the girl you truly love you do not feel to grovel; in
her presence you do not attempt to take advantage
of her; in her presence you feel that you would like
to be everything that a Master Man should become,
for she will inspire you to that ideal. And I ask you
young women to cherish that same guide” (“As
Youth Contemplates an Eternal Partnership,”
Improvement Era, Mar. 1938, 139).

Elder Marvin J Ashton said, "True love is a process. True love requires personal action. Love must be continuing to be real. Love takes time. Too often expediency,infatuation, stimulation, persuasion, or lust are mistaken for love. How hollow, how empty if our love is no deeper than the arousal of momentary feeling or the expression in word s of what is no more lasting than the time it takes to speak them."

I am beginning to figure out what real or true love is. Christ knows, cares, and is sincerely concerned about my welfare. I think of the scripture in John 4:19..."We love Him, because He first loved us." True love can be summed up in one word-Selflessness.

My Favorite Hymns

"We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer."
-- President J. Reuben Clark Jr., in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, 111

I have been moved a lot by music lately. Some words that have touched me are from the hymn, "I know that My Redeemer Lives." When I was younger it fascinated me that I might one day get a mansion, but now the words that touch me are right before and after that. "He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare. He lives to bring me safely there." I will only conquer death and make it back to Him because He made it possible! I also love that he wants to bring me safely there. That makes me feel like he doesn't criticize me for my sins/mistakes, that when I go through trials he wants to strenghen me, and that He loves me so much he cares about my safety.

Other hymns I have always loved:
1-I need thee every hour
2-More Holiness give me
3-Redeemer of Israel
4-Be thou humble
5-Teach me to walk
6-O my Father
7-Let the Holy Spirit Guide
8-Lead Kindly Light
9-I Stand All Amazed

And my favorite Children's Hymn: I know that my Savior loves me

Selfless acts of Service

"Often, the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us. Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits, remove the scales from our spiritual eyes, and open the windows of heaven. By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own." Elder Uchtdorf