I Delight !!!!!

I delight in the many miracles and tender mercies of my God. It is amazing to me when I recognize the Lord’s tender mercies and miracles that have occurred that I did not recognize at the moment of even not until I look back. So many times He has blessed me.
Such is what has happened for me this past week.
I have had some real health problems I have struggled with for many years. I have prayed and prayed, fasted, received priesthood blessings and made some big changes in my lifestyle. These things I did in my earnest desire to ask for & receive blessings I desired. I studied and studied searching for the path I needed to follow in asking for these blessings. Some scriptures that I love and have helped me are:
Jarom 1:11 “Wherefore the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them.”
Mosiah 3:13: “And the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare theses things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive a remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.”What stuck out to me was: “and believe in him to come as though he already was” & “rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them.”
There are several messages in these 2 scriptures:
but what stood out to me was that they were to believe and rejoice as if it had already happened. I have found that principle applies in my life. I recognized that I needed to thank the Lord in advance for the blessings I was desiring as if I had already received them. As I have tried to do this – amazing things have happened.
This past week a huge health problem took a big turn around for me. It has not totally resolved all the way, but it is close. I was so excited when I recognized the blessing. And all I could do was to thank my God & my Savior for their blessing and help for me. I truly felt like dancing and shouting HURRAY!!! I know and felt He was very much aware of me and my situation. I have felt and heard His promptings along the way that have led me to this spot.
There is still more to learn and more to see. I have learned that I need to thank Him in everything in my life – even my trials and hardships. Even my health problems. This particular problem has allowed me to learn many things that have made a difference in my life – a good difference. I don’t think I could learn these things without this adversity in my life. And so – I express my most humble gratitude for Him. I thank Him so much for this health trial. I thank Him that I am still working on this particular problem. I thank Him for the turn around this issue has taken and the hope and increased faith that has occurred for me.
How can I ever thank Him enough? What could I ever do? All I can do is to thank Him, live as He wants me to and continue to thank Him in all things – all things. He is my everything. He loves me and is concerned for me. I sometimes fret & worry (which actually accomplishes nothing). And I am learning that He teaches me the things I need to learn through the experiences that I have in my life. As I express gratitude for “everything” and “every experience” I have, I will learn and recognize the great blessings He has in store for me.
I want to arrive on the other side of these trials and experiences stronger and more determined to serve Him and live as He desires of me. I want to be the instrument in His hands that He needs to accomplish His great work. I want to delight in the blessings and I want Him to delight in me. I know that I can and I will.

Mini-miracle

Today I'm thankful for mini-miracles. Maybe that's the wrong way to describe them? All miracles are marvelous, no matter how small, right? But, back to the point...

Yesterday our downstairs air conditioner decided to quit working. Because we live in the desert, air conditioning is almost essential. And we really don't have the money to pay for a/c repairs right now. So it was causing us some stress.

My husband fiddled with the thermostat and looked at the a/c unit a bit (not really knowing what to look for or do, but just wanting to do something). Then we did the only thing we knew how to do... we knelt down as a family and prayed. We asked the Lord to help our air conditioner to start working again and to help us to know what to do.

Then we moved on with faith in our hearts that it would work out somehow. We ate dinner downstairs in the heat and then headed up to the cooler air upstairs to play some games. Later in the evening, when we went back downstairs, we noticed that the air seemed cooler than it had before. At first I just assumed it had cooled-off because of the cooler night air. But then I thought for sure there was cool-ish air coming from the a/c vent. Sure enough, when my husband went outside to check, both of the units were working again!

We both looked heavenward and said, "Thank you!"

God is so good to us! Miracles do happen! Isn't it wonderful?!

P.S. It turns out that the a/c isn't trouble-free. It has stopped working for a few hours over the past few days. But at least it hasn't given out completely! And the heat hasn't been too unbearable. It was still a little miracle in my mind regardless. :-)

What I really needed

Monday was a bad day. Not because of anything that happened but just because of how I felt. All day long I was plagued with negative thoughts and feelings. All day long I found myself on the verge of tears. Then my husband came home, and I fell apart at the seams, blubbering to him, "Will you please make dinner?" He readily got to work while I fled to my bedroom for some unbridled praying and sobbing.

Over and I over I pleaded to the Lord to help me understand why I was feeling that way... so lost and alone and unable to hear or feel the Spirit. I sobbed and prayed and sobbed and prayed. I opened up my scriptures looking for comfort, guidance, anything. I've always been able to find help in those sacred words. But I found nothing that night. I couldn't even find peace through music. Where was the Lord? Where was the Spirit? What was wrong with me?

Then I fell asleep.

And awhile later, I woke up. My two daughters had climbed onto my bed... hugging and kissing me, saying they loved me, and telling me my dinner was ready downstairs. Not to mention the dishes done, kitchen cleaned, and laundry in the works.

And I was me again.

I couldn't help but think of how Heavenly Father must have felt watching me sob and writhe in my agony. How many times have I listened to the miserable crying of my toddler when she has been beyond the point of tired and wanted to say to her, "Just go to sleep!" God knew exactly what I really needed on Monday. And, though I thought He had abandoned me, He was there all along. Probably shaking his head in loving pity and whispering to my soul, "Just go to sleep!"

He knows us so well. He loves us. He will never leave us alone.

Life's Adversities

President James E. Faust said:
"Into every life there come the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow and heartbreak for everyone. The thorns that prick the flesh, that hurt, often change lives. This change comes about through a refining process which seems cruel and hard. In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master."

As I look back over my life I can honestly say that there have come very painful, despairing days. There have been many thorns that have pricked not only my flesh but my very soul. And the refining process has many times seemed cruel and hard and sometimes unending.

From my childhood thru now, the challenges have been many. Moving far from home, losing a child, serious health issues, concerns for children, husband who had cancer, very ill parents, job loses and the list could go on and on. It seems that we all have experiences that try us to our very core.

Isaiah 48:10: "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."

I understand that these experiences are for my best good. I have to thank God in all things in my life - even my very deepest sorrows. That can be a hard thing to do, especially when I am at my very deepest depths. At times I feel all alone with no where to turn. Yet, when I sit still (be still)I feel the Lord's great love for me and his warmth and tenderness fills me with renewed hope and faith that things will turn out OK. Many times He speaks to me through music, especially the hymns. I will wake up with a hymn in my head - a verse or a line or sometimes the entire hymn. Hymns like:
Where Can I Turn For Peace - "who, who can understand? He, only One."
Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord - "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee."
Do What is Right - "Do what is right; be faithful & fearless, God will protect you; then do what is right!"
How Firm A Foundation - "He'll never, no never, no never forsake!"
Take Time to be Holy - "In joy or in sorrow, still follow thy Lord, And looking to Jesus, still trust in His word."
Sing Praise to Him - "With healing balm my soul He fills, And every faithless murmur still."

These are just a few of the hymns that have been sent as comforting reminders that the Lord indeed is very aware of me and the things I have struggled with.

All I can do is let my heart shout in grateful praise to Him. He has been with me always and has carried me many a time thru sticky slime to a safe and firm place. I have recognized that through all my adversities I can only give Him thanks and gratitude for the challenge, because they have led me to higher ground. My adversities have been the only way that I could have made the changes for better and learned more how to be like Him.

I have learned more and more that when I thank Him for everything, good or bad and for the experiences and lessons learned I am more aware of the great blessings He gives to me. I am grateful for Him and everything that He does for me. I am never alone. And I will meet each new adversity and challenge with a determination to thank Him for all things.

Peace in a not so peaceful world

We have a friend who has been going through a hard time right now. We invited him over for dinner and had the missionaries over as well. We had a really great Gospel discussion and it was so wonderful to see the peace come over him as so many questions and concerns that he has had were answered. When he left our house the change in his mood was very evident. His face had been filled with despair when he came over that night. As he left, he had a mood of hopefulness and contentment. I am so grateful to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life so that I can have this peace with me always as long as I am living worthily of it. I don't have to deal with the trials that beset me on my own. I know that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and is guiding me and strengthening me through the hard times.

Hebrews 12:1

My scripture of the day:

"let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

I recently started running to prepare for an event I want to participate in. I have noticed that it takes great "mental toughness" for me to complete the route that I have set as a goal for running that day. To "run" my race of life, laying aside one sin at a time, takes equal mental toughness for me. I love the symbolism of comparing running to living.

The Prophet Joseph

“I feel like shouting, hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet.” ~Brigham Young

I've been thinking about Joseph Smith today. I often imagine what it would have been like to be among the early saints, to have known the Prophet personally. I have several ancestors who were friends of the Prophet. John Solomon Fullmer, for instance, was one of them. When his parents became interested in being baptized, John was "bitterly opposed to them joining what he called some 'new fangled' religion." But he softened to their choice and determined to investigate their new religion with an open heart. "At the end of two years, he decided to go to Nauvoo to visit with the portion of his family living there and to see for himself the Prophet Joseph Smith. He made the journey from Nashville to Nauvoo, Illinois on horseback in the Spring of 1839 and, before returning to Nashville, was baptized into the Church by the Prophet Joseph Smith on 29 July 1839" (from The Life of John Solomon Fullmer). John had been bitterly opposed to the Church, but upon meeting Joseph Smith, he was converted. The story is nearly repeated with several of my other ancestors. Though previously skeptical, they embraced the gospel after they had met the Prophet personally.

I wonder what it would have been like to be in the presence of Joseph Smith. Being in his presence had a powerful impact on my ancestors. I have met people who have an aura of love and sincerity and just feel good to be around. Was the Prophet Joseph one of those people? In a New Era article, "The Personality of the Prophet," Richard Lloyd Anderson tells us:

"Those closest to Joseph felt the power of the Spirit, which came upon him. Lorenzo Snow was 18 and not yet converted when he first watched Joseph Smith. He heard Joseph Smith speak in his neighborhood, standing in the doorway of John Johnson’s farmhouse. The Prophet began telling of the coming of Moroni 'in a rather low voice,' but his inner feelings poured out as he proceeded 'and seemed to affect the whole audience with the feeling that he was honest and sincere.' After his baptism, Lorenzo attended meetings in the Kirtland temple when Joseph Smith’s 'whole person shone, and his face was lightened until it appeared as the whiteness of the driven snow' (Deseret News, 23 December 1899)."

Mary Alice Cannon Lambert, an English convert, described her first encounter with the Prophet Joseph this way:

“I first saw Joseph Smith in the Spring of 1843. When the boat in which we came up the Mississippi River reached the landing at Nauvoo, several of the leading brethren were there to meet the company of saints that had come on it. Among those brethren was the Prophet Joseph Smith. I knew him the instant my eyes rested upon him, and at that moment I received my testimony that he was a Prophet of God. … He was not pointed out to me. I knew him from all the other men, and, child that I was (I was only fourteen) I knew that I saw a Prophet of God” (“Joseph Smith, the Prophet,” Young Woman’s Journal, Dec. 1905, p. 554).

I remember being a small child and hearing the story of Joseph Smith's First Vision in Primary. I have always known it was true with every fiber of my being. I never had any doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in that grove of trees and spoke to him there. Almost like it was written into the very cells of my body. Maybe it was, in a sense, an inheritance from my ancestors who knew the Prophet Joseph themselves? But the important thing is that anyone can have that same assurance regardless of their inability to meet the Prophet or their lack of pioneer ancestors. Anyone can know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God.

When Joseph Smith lacked wisdom in his search for truth, he took his concerns to God. We, too, can ask our loving Father in Heaven to reveal truth to us. Was Joseph Smith really a prophet of God? I invite you to ask God with sincerity, and I know that He will answer.