He Hears Me! and Now What?!

I turned to my Father in Heaven today to learn what He wants from me .  And the answers flooded in. 

"God has always asked His covenant children to do difficult things. Because you are covenant-keeping sons and daughters of God, living in the latter part of these latter days, the Lord will ask you to do difficult things. You can count on it—Abrahamic tests did not stop with Abraham.<sup>4"

This Talk by President Russell M. Nelson</sup>
Was EVERYTHING I needed today.....or so I thought.

But then the lessons kept coming.

THIS post by one of my friends:

"Throughout time there are those who exercise faith in God, and those who doubt. This has been mirrored and echoed through time, and our history holds so very much that we can glean as we consider these stories.

There is an account in the Book of Mormon of a man named Korihor. He opposed the church of Jesus Christ, and flattered many people away. Ultimately his efforts ended with a confrontation with a prophet of God, a man named Alma.

I can almost hear, as I visualize, the biting hate-filled words rolling off Korihor's tongue as he disputed with Alma concerning the coming of Christ, and Gods existence. He accused Alma of leading "away this people after the foolish traditions of (his) fathers, and according to (his) own desires." And, Korihor said that Alma did "keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that (he) may glut (himself) with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges."

Alma's response was recorded as follows: "Thou knowest that we do not glut ourselves upon the labors of this people; for behold I have labored even from the commencement of the reign of the judges until now, with mine own hands for my support, notwithstanding my many travels round about the land to declare the word of God unto my people."

"And notwithstanding the many labors which I have performed in the church, I have never received so much as even one senine for my labor..."

"And now, if we do not receive anything for our labors in the church, what doth it profit us to labor in the church save it were to declare the truth, that we may have rejoicings in the joy of our brethren?" (Alma 30:32-34)

I can picture the look on Alma's face, and feel the love that he had in his heart, because he knew Korihor was one of God's sons. He knew that Christ has come to save all mankind, both the wicked and the righteous, if they would look to Him and live.

There is so much we can gain from the scriptures, more than what is even said in words.

After this confrontation God took from Korihor his ability to speak, and Korihor confessed his deceptions, and admitted that he knew it was the power of God that had caused his tongue to be bound. Sadly, Korihor went on to lead out the remainder of his days going door to door begging for food, unable to speak the sufferings he now faced.

As part of these marvelous verses, there is a sermon between the lines in what happened next. Korihor visited a city full of extreemly prideful people named the Zoramites, and was trampled on, until he died. A terrible and tragic end. These people were so proud of their status and riches that they cast out the poor, and had even killed this man. The sermon between the lines is this; Alma visited these Zoramites next, to preach the gospel, and I believe the reason why was his compassion for Korihor.

I find this significant not because the text states this, but because of what the spirit teaches me in my heart. What I am taught is that Alma truly did care about Korihor. I know in my heart that he went to the city of the Zoramites because of what happened to Korihor, and because he was heart-broken over the death of Korihor. Although that man sought to destroy the church, and reviled against God, even to the point of being 'stuck dumb' by God in consequence of his actions, even though all this was done, this prophet of God cared for this man.

Nowhere in the scriptures does it come out and say what I've expressed to be my belief. But they do teach us to love all men, turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, pray for our enemies, and do good to those that despite-fully use us. In these lessons I'm taught about the character of a man who lived thousands of years ago. A man who saw God, and went on to teach his truths.This prophet of God, Alma.

In our minds, we can visualize the events of history, the lessons that happened so long ago, and in those moments we invite the spirit of our God to teach us things that lie between the lines. These lessons, learned by the spirit can shape who we are, who we become, and tailor our highest hopes.

I'm grateful for the wonderful passages of scripture that teach me to become a man, just a little bit more like Christ."

Confirmed,  after watching and reading about several martyrs throughout tune for God's glory,  that standing as a witness is CRUCIAL to the question of "What does  God....my FATHER want from me? "

Gifts of the Spirit

I feel very grateful,  blessed and close to the Spirit today.

These past few days of being back to school have been crazy to say the least. People seem to have lost their brains COMPLETELY. But WE as a family seem to have reset with 2 weeks off.  I've been more patient.  I think more kind too. I've had more energy,  and gotten mute done.

This morning,  Elysia says "it's yucky out there.  We need to leave SOON. And despite actually taking time to hold Bella and be patient with Jacob going potty (you'll RARELY hear me say "it's o.k.,  we have time), we got out ahead of schedule.

And I felt so much gratitude as i drive home....heeding the feeling to avoid big areas of traffic as I had going to school this morning.

But let me tell you: The closer to the Spirit you are,  the more you feel!  And you feel EVERYTHING.  Including sadness for a world that holds very little hope these days.

And the whisper came "That's a big reason why people distance themselves from the spirit. It's too much to take in for most anymore. "

People want the safety and numbness of NOT feeling too much.  Not having too much intimacy. Not having too much DEEP DOWN joy.  Because it brings responsibility.  It brings sadness WITH the joy. It opens one up to pain and disappointment.

But a long with missing pain and disappointment,  they are missing SO MUCH MORE!

"It is better for us to  know pain,  that we may know JOY. "

And have a CLOSE relationship with Our Father who loves us DEEPLY,  and even Painfully.

Entitlement

I post about this alot.  Because it DRIVES. ME. C R A Z Y!!!

I've been frustrated often, but also VERY blessed to have had to WORK for everything.

I take advantage of Veterans Day perks because I gave 5 years of my life to the military, served honorably and left with an honorable discharge.

I bask in Mother's Day accolades because I have had 6 little humans that I created come out of my nether regions, and I have nurtured them for weeks, months, and years.

I dictate who comes into my home and how they behave in my home because in a joint effort with My Husband, I pay the bills, keep the home, and clean it.

And it's going to happen.  This Mother's Day, my BIL's girlfriend is going to be applauded for being the mother to 2 cats in the EXACT same sentence as I'm going to be acknowledged for having 5 kids.....Not 6 kids, 2 cats, and 5 chickens.

It's FINE to have the best.  IF you earned it. But don't EVER expect to have the best because your cousin does, and they should share.

If I am not happy with small, or used, that's my prerogative.  As long as I am willing to make the sacrifices necessary to have better.

Adalaide Joy

I don't know if everyone knows this fact or not, but I am desperate to have a Baby Girl born in September named Adalaide Joy.

We are on pretty much our final approach for September 2016 unless she is premature (Which obviously, is never ideal).

The idea HIT me so strong around August, and yet, for the first time EVER, pregnancy hasn't been immediate after the notion arrived.

And I have cried.  It doesn't help that I'm still VERY emotional this holiday season from losing My Joey.

SO, needless to say, when someone has a baby, I Blubber.  When I watch a movie, I Blubber. When someone mentions anything about "Joy" or heartache, I B L U B B E R!!!!

Then, as I'm browsing yesterday, an article about vintage baby names that are gaining popularity comes up, with ADALAIDE as #1.

Boy did that get me worked up.

**Sigh**

It's just a day

This topic has been rolling around on my head for a couple of weeks now.  It's a point Marianne made right before Christmas, when I announced that we were not going to celebrate Christmas as usual this year.  And we didn't.  And it has been amazing.

You could call it our "5 Days of Christmas"

Day 1:  December 24th, Christmas Eve.  We had breakfast at the Fisher's, Afternoon visit with the Peterson's, Evening visit with the Roses (Dan and Rachel), and dinner with the Johnsons (Shaun and Becca).
 
Day 2: December 25th, Christmas Day.  We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and then the children went down stairs and opened their stockings.  We just existed throughout the day.  NEVER left the house (except for chicken care) And just enjoyed being snowed in.

Day 3: December 26th.  My Mom came for brunch.  We let the kids open extended family gifts.  And then just play with their toys.

Day 4:  December 31st, New Year's eve. Santa left bags of gifts outside everyone's room. Their "Main" gifts. They just enjoyed their gifts and being together.

Day 5: January 1st, New Year's Day.  Early bowling, and lunch at Leatherby's.

A good way to ring out the old, and Bring in the new.

Those first 3 were SO important for a chance to celebrate with Family and Friends.  Christmas Day was cold and SNOWY.  We seriously had to have gotten 12 inches of snow between dinner time Christmas Eve and Christmas Night.  And the Men of our ward shoveled twice that day for us. It is just a day on the calendar.  But THAT was the day that shoveling for us meant the most.  Because that's the day they most wanted to be home, tucked in warm with THEIR families.

And the last 2 were when we got to be together as a Family.

It was nice to celebrate over the course of a week.  Rather than smash EVERYTHING into 24 hours.

I'd like to continue to do things more like this year.

Our sacrifice for the lifestyle we have is that David cannot always be home with us on the EXACT day that marks celebration.  He misses birthdays, holidays, celebrations, etc.

And that's when it's crucial to realize we can celebrate ANY day we choose.