Chapstick

It's been a while, but I feel like I'm ready to get back to sharing through this blog. Today will just be a short post, but I hope it helps someone.

This year, our church has started a study program that focuses on learning in the home and then bringing what you learn to church for discussion and group learning. It's been a wonderful experience to really study on my own time and then get perspectives and opinions from others at church.
Here's a link to the manual. We're studying from the New Testament, so it's applicable for other faiths as well (although some resources reference modern-day prophets and the Book of Mormon for further light and truth).

As I was reading in John 2 for this week's lesson, it asked to consider how Jesus Christ uses simple objects to teach lessons. Then it invited the learner to look at common household items and draw their own connections. It just so happened that I had chapstick sitting on my desk in front of me and a few insights immediately leaped to mind...

  Firstly, while chapstick will help if your lips are already dry, it works much better as a preventive measure. We can always repent after we've gone down the road of sin; but if we can catch ourselves as we're starting to eye that thorny path, we're much better off.

Chapstick (at least for me) should be used regularly. I put it on whenever I notice it (I applied it before starting this post). That's how repentance should be. Whenever we think about it, we should repent (something I will do after this post).

Finally, chapstick is sweet, smooth, feels good, and helps keep my lips healthy.
All I have to do is apply it.

Grace Part 2-- The Piano Lessons

Here is a story from Bro. Wilcox's talk "His Grace is Sufficient":

Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. How many know what I am talking about? Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve. And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice.If the child sees Mom’s requirement of practice as being too overbearing (“Gosh, Mom, why do I need to practice? None of the other kids have to practice! I’m just going to be a professional baseball player anyway!”), perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with mom’s eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane.

Further comparisons between the piano and grace:

...The child must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change.

...“But Brother Wilcox, don’t you realize how hard it is to practice? I’m just not very good at the piano. I hit a lot of wrong notes. It takes me forever to get it right.” Now wait. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may be his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. Why is this perspective so easy to see in the context of learning piano but so hard to see in the context of learning heaven?Too many are giving up on the Church because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they always feel like they are just not good enough. They don’t understand grace. ...When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time.

His parable of the piano reminded me of this value video:

I play the piano myself. When I was five my mom started teaching me, and I hated it. I resisted all the way. Finally, my mom left me alone and I didn't learn anything on the piano for more than three years. Then I decided that the piano was the thing for me! Now I can sight read intermediate songs and am learning more challenging ones. The piano is so much fun!! Was it easy? Not always. Would it have been easier to just not play the piano? That depends. It wouldn't of been easier to play "The Entertainer." It would have been a lot harder!!
Compare my story to the Atonement. Sometimes people feel like they aren't ready. They just go off and do their own thing. Did my mom abandon me on the street when I refused to play the piano? No. She waited until I approached her, and then she helped me excel. That is what the Savior is doing for us. If we chose not to use His Atonement He won't force us. But He's always ready and always willing.