Accept one Another

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. -ROMANS 15:7

Christ was sent here to speak the words of God and to help us overcome our human flaws. He did not judge any one person by their faults because He knew that the people were of God's creation and therefore it was necessary to have imperfections. Our ultimate goal in life on this Earth is to become as Christ was. By judging your spouse (as well as others) for their imperfections, no matter how reverent you are on Sundays or how biblicly learned you are, you will come no closer to Christ. God gave us the covenent of marriage that we may learn and be closer to Him. When we have a Godly marriage, we are glorifying God by saying "We as a couple believe and heed your words. Show us what we need to keep a holy union with eachother that we may serve you better."

This is principle is one that should already be implied when getting married or while you are already married. However, it seems that for alot of people it is one of the hardest things to swallow. Your spouse at first may seem to have weird little habits that you are not used to, or perhaps thier way of going about doing things is not exactly the way you prefer. Alot of couples run into this problem and constantly fight about "the right way" of doing things.

Lets face it... if we were all perfect, God would not have put us on this Earth. God set us here because we are imperfect beings that need His guidance to become perfect. God ordained marriage as a covenant and he also kept our imperfections in mind. Let us love one another, for love comes from God. (1 John 4:7)When you marry the spouse God has chosen for you, He sets it up that your flaws will be beneficial to your spouse and vice versa. By that I mean if your spouse has some flaw or annoying habit, God wants you to learn patience by learning how to deal with it. God states in Corinthians that he specifically put you in marriage to your spouse to deal with interesting and sometimes difficult times, but he lets you know that if you believe in Him, your marriage will be a Godly one. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.1 Corinthians 7:28 (King James Version)

Perhaps it is you that are too uptight and God needed to put that flaw in your life so you may learn to loosen up and relax. Your partner should compliment your abilities and mimic your flaws. What you see as irritating, may just be your insecurity of not ever experiencing what they think is normal and God may see that you need that in your life as a catalyst to coming closer to who He really made you to be. By learning to accept your spouse for who they are and realize that is was your very same God that made them that way, your marriage will be a fruitful one. So perhaps whenever you start to see a fault on thier side, think to yourself that it is a test coming from God. He gave you faults too, and lay blame on your spouse is not what He had intended.

Righteous Woman, Godly Wife

The greatest thing I have ever learned has been how to become the wife my husband deserves and the woman God needs me to become. I have been through trial and error and amazingly (like God always is) the answer hit me like a ton of bricks.


Its not enough to be a good wife, what a woman’s job and life purpose should be is to become a Godly woman and wife. No marriage has any stronger foundation than those who embrace Christ together as a couple and be completely obedient to His word. While men are usually esteemed to be the head of the household and the family unit, the Godly wife has the privilege of keeping the strength of the faith and the light of the Lord within each member of the family unit.

The first and I will say foremost principle that is by far the most important is going to church every Sunday with your family, taking the sacrament and attending most of all of the extra meetings. By attending the Lords services, you as a wife are enabling the Spirit to be with you not only while at your meetings, but throughout the week at home as well. Your husband will benefit from the Godly lessons you learn in being a Woman of the Lord, and your family will reap the solace they find in the comfort of a Spirit filled home.

I am tempted to put this next principle up with the first one just because of the high importance level it has also. It is not enough to go to Church and take the sacrament, that is just going through the motions. What you learn in Church is the most valuable lessons you will ever be subject to. The application of the sermons and the morals and the lessons to your daily life is THE key to becoming a Godly wife. With out the application, you are becoming a cookie-cutter Christian, or in plain terms, a hypocrite. What looks good on the outside does not always reflect what is on the inside. The Lord does not care how you dress to attend His services, he cares not how many people you know or how many responsibilities you take on in the Church. If you do not perform them with the utmost earnesty to serve Him who knows and sees all… how can you expect to be welcomed into the kingdom of God?

It is wise for any wife to bookmark Proverbs 31 in the Holy Bible. Here it is given the account from the Lord himself of what he expects a woman and wife to be in His kingdom. Verses 10-30 is the best manual a married woman can have. This is not to say that a Godly woman lets herself be a doormat. However when applying these principles to your marriage, you most likely will find your husband will respond in a much more positive manner than if they are not applied. I do not expect myself to live up completely to these principles, obviously I dont make my family clothes, we go and buy new clothes if we need them. But you'll get the general idea...

10A truly good wife
is the most precious treasure
a man can find!
11Her husband depends on her,
and she never
lets him down.
12She is good to him
every day of her life,
13and with her own hands
she gladly makes clothes.
14She is like a sailing ship
that brings food
from across the sea.
15She gets up before daylight
to prepare food
for her family
and for her servants. [
a] 16She knows how to buy land
and how to plant a vineyard,
17and she always works hard
18She knows when to buy or sell,
and she stays busy
until late at night.
19She spins her own cloth,
20and she helps the poor
and the needy.
21Her family has warm clothing,
and so she doesn't worry
when it snows.
22She does her own sewing,
and everything she wears
is beautiful.
23Her husband is a well-known
and respected leader
in the city.
24She makes clothes to sell
to the shop owners.
25She is strong and graceful, [b] as well as cheerful
about the future.
26Her words are sensible,
and her advice
is thoughtful.
27She takes good care
of her family
and is never lazy.
28Her children praise her,
and with great pride
her husband says,
29"There are many good women,
but you are the best!"
30Charm can be deceiving,
and beauty fades away,
but a woman
who honors the LORD
deserves to be praised.

Family Home Evenings

As LDS people, we practice Family Home Evening. Now for those of you non-LDS people, it is basically being with your family at home in the evening. The church standard is every Monday night, we set aside for a definate family dinner, and then a lesson and (if you have kids) an activity. For just that evening there is no TV watching, no computer playing, no video games or friends over. This is a time set aside to be with your family (in our case its just my husband and I) and talk about your day, be together and learn. Family members take turns presenting lessons on specific topics or chapters out of the church Family Home Evening book.

Even though it is just the two of us, we have both found that it sets the mood for the week. We try to keep in mind that lesson and try to apply it to our lives throughout the week.

For instance, one topic I had chosen was the covenants of Abraham in Genesis. The reason I chose that one was because in our Sunday School classes, we had been breifly skimming over it, and we didnt know enough about Abraham to even understand the lesson. So I decided to do some Bible study research and present it as a topic for FHE. Not only did it clue us in to being able to understand our Sunday School lessons, but throughout the week when reading the Book of Mormon, it illuminated points that we would not have necessarily seen or even understood.

Even if you are not LDS, I would encourage this once a week practice to anyone. If you have kids, make it interesting by maybe taking them ice skating and relate how the world we live in is like ice and it is easy to slip up, but the stronger your legs are in Christ, the more balance he brings to your life and the more upright you will stay until you can perform perfectly under Christ. It is a good way to get the family together if anything, especially in these days when all kids are glued to something electronic. If you don't even have a scriptual lesson prepared, even just being with your family is just as important.

The Pearly Gates has received a Saint

For all of you who havent heard, our dear Prophet and President, Gordon B. Hinkley has passed on to see his Lord. I am saddend by this, mainly because I really enjoyed hearing him speak. He seemed like such a grandfatherly old man, just a sweet guy. My heart goes out to his family, however at 97, I think he was looking forward to seeing his wife again. Here is link to the LDS homepage for information on President Hinkley http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/
It looks as though Thomas Monson will succeed him, and I will sustain him as church leader provided he was as good of a soul as Mr. Hinkley.

My prayers are with him and his kin, and I thank the Lord that I was able to be blessed by his words.

Resolution Update

Here is an update of how my new years health regime is turning out: (more for my own benefit, but hopefully it inspires my readers to kickstart a health routine)Since cutting out wheat, gluten and corn;

-I have energy I dont recognize.

-I can keep up with the rest of the world. And have enough energy to workout everyday!!!

-I dont feel sickly and my colour has come back

-My dark circles have lifted I lost my last 5 pounds!! YAY for me!

-I feel like I can turn my attentions to more important thing rather than laying down focusing on a bloated stomach.

I read Eat Right for your Blood Type after I found out about my intolerences, and man.... it is dead on. Apparently my blood type (type O+) cant even handle wheat and such. I would highly highly reccomend it. It is:Eat right 4 your blood type by Dr. Peter D'Adamo. He also wrote Eat Right for your Body type, but I find that using blood type is much more of an individualized approach. Praise the Lord, I found my cure!

Pineapples & Coconuts

I had an epiphic moment. I was in the kitchen cutting, well, trying rather, to cut up a pineapple. They are the darndest things to cut up and it was really starting to grate on my nerves. But just as I was ready to give up it occured to me by the grace of God, that life is like irritating fruit. It is hard and annoying to cut through the skins/rinds but when you have enough patience, you will get to the inside and oh how sweet it is!!! Life is full of trials and hard things, but with enough patience and faith in the Lord, he lets you get through them to the sweet part and all your hard work will pay off. So when life gives you pineapples...get your sharpest knife out and go to town!

Comfort

Today is a comfortable, rainy day. I am content with my life, comfortable in my own skin, and in quite a reverent mood this morning. I would like to be in my sweats on the couch with a cup of tea and my scriptures, but alas... I must be at work. So I still have a cup of tea, but a definate lack of things to work on (hehehe...perfect.) So I am content this morning to sit back at my desk and catch up on my favorite blogs and be still. I love good days especially knowing that God is at the forefront of them.

Couny thy many blessings

I was up late last night just scribbling around in my journal when a memory popped up. At one point several years ago, I had written a list of 100 of my favorite things. So being in a reverent mood, it has inspired me to write a list of all the things I am thankful to be blessed with. I wont do 100, but Im sure I can think of a few things in no particular order aside from the first 2...

*My Lord and Savior

*My Husband - for being with me and putting up with me (wink, wink!)

*My family who has streadfastly stood by me

*The Scriptures

*My home - comfortable rent and a cozy bed

*My job - though I'd rather be a housewife, I am appreciative of the income

*A warm fuzzy kitty that thinks of me as "mom"

*A place to call home when everywhere else is sucking

*Being able to take trips and go places

*That God has blessed our finances that we are stable and happy

*For the Atonement of Christ that myself and all others may be redeemed

*For all the people who have touched my life and my thoughts and have turned them toward Heavenly Father and Godly things.

*For the Temple and the peace that it has brought to our home.

Are we nothing but beggars?

Matthew 6:14 - For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you

I find it funny how ungrateful people can be. Perhaps funny is the wrong word as there is nothing amusing about it. It never ceases to amaze me that you can take a person in off the streets, a person who has nothing to live for, and you feed them, you clothe them, give them rest, and the next thing you know all your good will has been for naught. Circumstances lately has left me griping over this subject today, however in lieu of my grunts and grumbles, I have clarity (thank you Lord). My little pity-party got me to thinking, what must God feel like? He gives freely and abundantly to us, every second of every day. He is there silent when we turn Him away and then right back in our lives the minute we realize we need Him. It occured to me that we are all homeless and hungry at one point, and when we ask for God to bless our lives, He gives us the food and shelter we need. But then all too soon we take our shelter for granted as something we can get at any point in time under any circumstance (which we can) but we start to get so comfortable that we forget it was a gift. How strong God must be to bear every persons lack of appreciation! However, for as much as we are lacking, God comes back to embrace us every time. Why? Because He is the Creator of Forgiveness. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Christ Jesus died on the cross that our trangressions are able to be forgiven by Heavenly Father. But note the scripture above, Heavenly Father chooses not to forgive us if we cant forgive the transgressions of others. That doesnt by any means mean that every little heart stomping should be brushed off. Of course it should be dealt with, but with the means by which God has instructed. God wants us to let things go, but he wants us to let them go to HIM. After all, every persons salvation lies within His hands. When we dont forgive our transgressors, then we are taking the right of judgement out of the hands of God and placing them in the hands of men. The Lord throughout the scriptures states that things in the hands of men are doomed. Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.It is not wrong to get emotional and angry against those who have taken us for granted. Jesus himself felt those exact same emotions. (see The Gospel of St Luke) But for Christians who are really trying to walk Christs' path, that anger and emotion should be dealt with in a Godly manner. How you act towards your trangressors is noted in God's mind and will be remembered on that day of Judgement.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.—2 Corinthians 5:10

Pity-party anyone? I'll bring the pity...

Hopelessness, despair, exasperation....utter aauugghh....It is days like this that my faith is tested. So is my patience. I seem to have this problem of running away from my problems instead of addressing them with God. I know that should be the first thing I should do when I feel like this, but my first actual action is to sit and cry, wonder what I'm going to do and then get angry at why things arent working the way I want. Dont get me wrong, I trust my Lord, but sometimes my negative emotions get in the way of His positive light. Ever have a good bad mood? I used to love those, but through my studies I have realized there is no point of being and staying in a bad mood because God is there to love us, and to help us through our trials and through our trials we either choose to grow closer or farther away to Him. So why o why does it take me so long to snap out of it? Sometimes it feels like by reading and praying I am holding my anger and sorrow in. I suppose the most important thing is that i need to more fully realize that He is there for me and that I need to remember to be greatful for that. And that things are not supposed to go my way. God has his ways of dealing with situations and I need to just be the spectator. I am learning. Jesus didnt say it would be easy, but I do ask for His mercy. It does uplift my moods listening to songs of praise, just to get back into the frame of a Godly mind. It is comforting to know that kneeling down can take away all your pain. He really is a generous and kind Father and I do owe him my undying thanks. The trials may not be easy and may last a month or maybe just a day, but to have Him as your army as well as commanding officer, no matter what you have already won the war. Psalm 30:2 - O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me

My Dear, Modesty Becomes You

Being a convert to my church, I never went through the Young Womens part of Sunday School. I have come to believe that it has been to my severe disadvantage to not have, but apparently at that point in my life it wasn't meant for me. Now however, delving back into the immersion of all things spiritual, I have been researching/studying my eyes out and have just gotten through the principles taught in Young Womens. Had I known them back then, would it have made a difference? I dont know. I like to think that it would have and maybe some of my regrets would cease to be. One of the key things we practice in church is modesty in dress. It took me up until October of 2007 to figure this one out and why. I never understood what in the world you needed to cover up for. I grew up in short shorts, mini skirts and tube tops (which were always annoying...always hiking them back up.) All my friends competed on who could get the most cleavage out of a roll of duct tape. (yes...thats two big OUCHES!!) Even in the world of highschool danceteam, our workout and dance fashions followed those of Hollywood's chick-flicks (ie: Honey, Bring it on....etc..) So what was the big deal?Since going back to church, Sundays had become "modest-day". I still dressed fairly professional for work, but it still was tanks and minis every other day. And then while purusing LDS.org, I came across an article posed at the Young Women of the church http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=0c996169b62fe010VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1, and it struck a chord. We all are children of God and so we must think of how we are representing him. The other thing that made sense to me after thinking about it for awhile was, how am I honoring my husband by dressing like this and making an object of myself? Well, I wasnt. There is no honor to either him or HIM in letting everyone in the world oogle over you when you are the sole property of your husband. After all, he doesnt go parading around for the women of the world to see. 1 Corinthians 7:4 - The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. After the covenant of marriage is made, two become one and therefore you must honor and respect one another. So by objectifying yourself, you are dishonoring not only the Lord, but your husband too and that is stated by the Lord to be an abhorment. By dressing yourself in a way that people will respect you, you gain respect in the eyes of the Lord. Think of it this way: if you wear something that would embarass your biological father, how do you think your Father in Heaven would see it?

Things Inspired

Im not sure what exactly the pull is.. infact I dont know what the force behind our Lord is, but it is one "addiction" I must say I am thrilled to have! After being inactive in our church for 2 years due to quite a few unhealthy circumstances and now coming back into it full swing, I am still in awe about just how much I've missed! And it is funny that when you come back to your senses how amazingly large those little "duh!!" moments are. My husband and I have taken to reading our scriptures everynight almost never fail and then taking turns saying nightly prayers together as a couple before our individual prayers. I feel I am a great candidate for being able to vouch for this particular method of worship! I cannot tell you how much it means to me that my marriage grows stronger with every verse and every prayer and every little spiritual realization and "duh" moment we have together. I think it also makes a difference saying prayers together before personal ones and here is why: We are covenented to our spouses by His word, and the ordination/institution of marriage is the first and foremost important part of the Living Christian Family.“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19:6) To be able to pray together as a couple/family is to HONOR our Heavenly Father and give thanks that His presence is within our home. So I suppose I bear you my testimony of my faith that prayer is an important instrument, not only in every area of life, but it can be applied to particular areas, in this case marriage. Also, the occurence of having these realization moments of "oh thats what God meant..." has increased. It still is a foreign idea to me that the more and more study of these things you do the faster and faster answers come and the stronger the Spirit gets within you. The best part for me is seeing my husband change right before my eyes. From rough and tumble to God loving...it makes my heart leap every time I think about it! Night time is perhaps my favorite time of day just for the sheer fact that together as a couple we are doing something pleasing to our Father! (And yes, Sundays do take precedence as the favorite day of the week... )So dear women, I implore you to make the effort to pray with your husbands!! The benefits you will reap by sowing the seeds of the Lord in your heart, home and marriage are boundless! Not only will your piety be noticed by HIM, you are also providing a great example for your husband and your children. “Let us encourage one another —and all the more as you see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25) Some principles that Im currently working on: .

• Accept one another. (Romans 15:7).
• Care for one another. (1 Corinthians 12:25).
• Carry each other’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2).
• Forgive one another. (Ephesians 4:32).
• Encourage, build up one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
• Spur one another on to love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24).
• Confess your sins to one another. (James 5:16).
• Pray for one another. (James 5:16

Healthy 2008

Praise the Lord this year, I resolve to not go on a diet. Instead I am going to get in the best shape ever and that means my health too! This year, especially this past winter has been a hard and scary one for me in the sick-category. The scary part was that it jsut wasnt your regular cold/flu stuff. It really made me think how I am treating my body and what I am putting in it. (Food wise, not illegal substances)I just recently found out I have a wheat, gluten and corn intolerance. It led me to do some research on the Word of Wisdom and also become a self-proclaimed dietitian & nutritionist. So far I have stuck to a regular exercise routine and have cut out all refined and white sugars, breads and corns. I have switched to tons of veggies and protien. Grains just dont jive very well with my stomach. I bring my food to work and eat throughout the day and turn down offers to go out to lunch with my co-workers. It has only been one week, but in that little amount of time I feel almost like a new person. I feel amazing, the bags and dark circles under my eyes have lifted and I actually am able to sleep for once. NOt to mention I have energy and dont feel like taking naps, AND I lost 5 pounds in 2 days! And Ive noticed, my posture is better and so is my self confidence and esteem. There may be something to all this...Im usually pretty good about staying motivated when it means alot to me, and my health is extremely important! Prayer, I think is the best motivator at all. God knows our dreams and our goals and if they will contribute to a healthy, more rich Spiritual life, then I believe that he is definatly behind you! When weakness hits, pray for strength and ask Him to constantly remind us of why we began the goal in the first place. Even though I love this exercising thing and eating right, my weakness for lazyness and chocolate sometimes creep in right in the middle of the work out! Trying to shut out that little voice in my head telling me Im either too tired or Im close enough to a mile, just quit now is amazingly hard. So I have to do my best to ask Heavenly Father while running to please drive my temptation out of me that I might finish my mile, and go directly to my spinach salad and not to the candy dish. It works and I am forever greatful for that blessing. Praise be to the Savior for giving His strength to me and to all of us! He wants us to suceed in everythign that glorifys Him, and treating your body like the God-given temple it is is to say "Thank You dear Father, for giving me my health and a vessel in which to house my soul. I wish to honor this greatest of gifts in thy name." So take care of yourself, if not for yourself, do it for Him. Amen.