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.

Just Starting...

WOW. I actually am doing something and finishing it. This site was an on-a-whim kind of site...I just woke up one day and decided I was going to make candles and apparel and dang it thats what I'm doing. I am proud of myself for once. Even though I still have many things to finalize outside of this, I am checking this off the list.