Now the joy of (Tova) was so great even that (she) was full; yea, (she) was swallowed up in the joy of (her) God, even to the exhausting of (her) strength; ...
Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.
My family discovered Hank Smith last year. He's a youth speaker and seminary teacher. A lot of his talks are on CDs (10 of which we own :)). On his CD "5 Temptation Killers" he talks about how to fight Satan.
Temptation killer #3 is the scriptures.
He tells the story of Jesus fasting on the mountain. Satan comes and tries to tempt Jesus. Every time Jesus comes back with a scripture.
The challenge then was for us to come up with our own "Temptation Killing Scriptures."
These are a few I've found:
2 Nephi 4:28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
Alma 11:23 O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?
Alma 12: 6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity.
(Now from the Bible :))
1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (Also my brother's favorite scripture)
What are some of your temptation killing scriptures?
I was tuning my violin the other day, when I ran out of fine tuner. In case you're unfamiliar with how to tune a violin, there is a fine tuner and a tuning peg. The fine tuners are what you'll usually use, they refine the note until it's perfect. If it's really out of tune you'll use your tuning peg.
So I had turned my fine tuner to the lowest it could go. I knew what to do, I'd done it before. You bring your string out of tune by twisting the fine tuner until it's about half way and then you use your tuning pegs to bring it back to the relative area.
As I did that, I realized that this is what God is doing to us. We are so close to getting something great or becoming something wonderful, and then suddenly it seems everything is going wrong or all of Satan's forces are attacking us.
So a couple weeks ago, I experienced my most embarrassing moment (no, I'm not going to post it :)). It was pretty bad, but through it I was able to see how important my family was in this way: When I told my mom she was embarrassed with me; when I told my brother he laughed at me; and when I told my dad he shrugged it off because he said it was no big deal.
While it may seem like my mom's response was the one that normal people hope for, when my brother laughed at me it made me able to laugh at myself. And when my dad shrugged it off it showed me that just because I was embarrassed doesn't mean that the people who witnessed me were embarrassed. But I did need my mom's empathy, because that helped me feel like I wasn't a fool to feel embarrassed.
I don't think there is any way that just one person could have done all of that for me within the 15 minutes that it did with the three of them. Also, there is no way I would have told any one besides my family about what happened (not even my best friends). I may have been up all night with embarrassment without my family.
And that's just a small experience. What about when tragedy strikes? When a loved one dies, or when your future seems to fall apart? Who should you be able to fall back on? Your family.
So please appreciate your family today. Pres. Thomas S Monson shared an thought he had while in a cemetery:
... I noticed ...a small stone in which was inscribed a name and this poignant verse: “A light from our household is gone; a voice we loved is stilled. A place is vacant in our hearts that never can be filled.” Don’t wait until that light from your household is gone; don’t wait until that voice you know is stilled before you say, “I love you, Mother; I love you, Father.” Now is the time to think and the time to thank. I trust you will do both. You have a heritage; honor it.
I've been learning a lot recently about the eyes and what messages I'm sending people with my eye contact.
There's a phrase that says "The eye is the window to the soul." I thought that that was pretty cheesy and overrated, until one exercise.
We were paired together with the person we were sitting by. I was sitting by my friend's friend, a beautiful woman and mother.
Our challenge was to sit across from each other and one of us would gaze into the other's eyes. After thirty seconds, we would start to say everything (positive) that came to our minds about that person. It was an unforgettable, exhilarating experience. I felt like I caught a glimpse of the mother's pre-mortal experience with her Heavenly Mother. I saw a growing green in my mind, like healing and nurturing. As I was sharing these things with her, there was an amazing connection between us.
I was struck again with the knowledge that everyone is a child of God, and they all have a divine potential and mission. I know that if I looked into your eyes-- whether I know you or not-- I would see an amazing destiny and power. It's something that God has given to all of us.
This fun song is based off of a section of the Bible: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
I feel like I've been in one of those "times" of my life. Usually I feel a great drive to study and to improve myself academically, or to study the scriptures hardcore. But for the past few months I've felt at peace with just crocheting, listening to talks or cds, and playing with my family. At first I balked, and tried to get a lot of studying done; but that always left me burned out and unfulfilled after only a couple hours.
As I was looking for a picture to describe how I felt, I was looking for doves, because to me, they symbolize peace. But even pictures of doves in flight felt like they were too active to describe my "time." So I picked this one, of one dove nurturing the other
I have done a few self discovering exercises, and have learned things about myself and my purpose. I've been able to focus on getting ready for college and my LDS mission.
It's been really strange, as I said. I'm not used to this slow of a pace. But I think it's a good thing. I'm about to spend 18 months on go go go mode and in uncomfortable situations, so right now it feels like Heavenly Father is giving me a little restful period. "A time to gather strength."
Whenever I start to get stressed about something, or worldly things begin to crowd their way into my mind, this is my go to hymn. Which is funny, because I've never identified it as my favorite or even a notable hymn. My mind just went to it. Presenting, "Be Still My Soul"...
In the Church's adult magazine (the Ensign) President D. Todd Christofferson-- one of our leaders--shared this quote:
The Holy Night, by Carl Heinrich Bloch
"With all of that to come, though, I think it’s appropriate this time of year to just think about that baby in the manger. Don’t be too overwhelmed or occupied with what is to come; just think about that little baby. Take a quiet, peaceful moment to ponder the beginning of His life—the culmination of heavenly prophecy but the earthly beginning for Him.
Take time to relax, be at peace, and see this little child in your mind. Do not be too concerned or overwhelmed with what is coming in His life or in yours. Instead, take a peaceful moment to contemplate perhaps the most serene moment in the history of the world—when all of heaven rejoiced with the message “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”. "
I've been feeling fairly trapped at this period of my life. Trapped between school and mission and school; not really able to move forward with anything permanent.
While I was pondering the baby-- and just thinking of His birth-- the scripture "Be still and know that I am God" came to mind. Then came the impression that that where I'm at in life right now is a place where I just need to be still. Work at my job, be with my family, improve my mind and talents, and build up my spiritual foundation.
Knowing this has made this time a lot more peaceful.
I hope that you know that wherever you are in your life right now, this very moment, you can take time to be still. You are where God needs you.
I've been pondering the question this morning, and haven't found an answer yet.
You know that feeling when everything around you is loud and crazy and energetic? And you just want to escape? It may not be a stressful energy, but there's more than you can handle?
The way I've coped with that in the past is to close my eyes and imagine a bubble of quiet surrounding me and blocking out the noise. But that bubble doesn't bring me peace. It just disconnects me from everything and everyone around me.
If you have any thoughts or scriptures that you think could help me, please post them below. I could really use this help.
What can we give to someone who has everything? He literally created the world and everything in it.
Incense and spices and gold we've a-plenty- Are these the gifts for the king of us all? Palms at his feet and hosannas uprising; Are these for him who will carry the tree? Tears for his mercy we'll weep at the manger, Bathing the infant come down from above.
Gifts we can give: gratitude, forgiveness of others, obedience, love, reverence.
A couple weeks ago, we adopted two little kittens: Tsunami and Noemi ("No-Amy"; it's Hungarian). We were heading out of town, so on Wednesday we dropped them off with their supplies at a friends house. Just as the second group of us were heading out, the friend called us saying that Noemi was looking sick, and that we should come pick her up.
I thought that it might just be the motherly instincts of the friend seeing things that weren't there, but when I went in to pick up the little kitten, she was laying stretched out on her towel while her sister climbed around her. The friend told us Noemi had diarrhea, and needed to stay hydrated.
For the two-hour drive I cradled the prone little body in my hands, feeding her water through a baby dropper one drop at a time. I watched for each sign of improvement: She blinked! She kicked her leg! She rolled over!
While I chose to take these as good signs, I also knew that they may also be signs of her final struggle.
Finally, we made it to Andover where we'd be spending the weekend. I handed off the little kitty to her owner, my nine-year-old sister. At first they took the cats (we'd brought both) to the barn, but then in order to give Noemi more water more often, our friends let us bring them into an outer room in their house.
Despite almost constant care, little Noemi died that night while I was holding her.
As she started leaving, I burst out crying. I'd worked for hours to keep this little kitten alive. Why couldn't she stay?
Comforting me, my mom said, "At least we were able to give her love and a home before she died."
Another woman told of her experience. She was finally fulfilling her dream to go see Mother Theresa. When she landed in India, she went off in search of the famous nun. The woman was directed to a hospital. When she entered it, she found herself in a long hall. Along one wall were 10 or so rocking chairs, and on the other side were dozens of babies lying on the ground.
The door at the other end opened and Mother Theresa walked in followed by some nurses. As she slowly advanced towards the woman, Mother Theresa would point at a baby and then point at a nurse, saying "That one. You. ... That one. You. ..." Obediently, the nurse would pick up the child and rock it in a rocking chair.
At last, Mother Theresa was standing in front of the woman. But as the woman opened her mouth to say something, Mother Theresa pointed at a baby. "That one. You."
Without another word, she left the hospital, leaving the woman who'd come so far to meet her.
Stunned, the woman stood there for a moment. Then she angrily began to leave. "Wait!" a nurse called. "You have to help."
"I'm not a nurse, I don't know what to do." The woman protested.
Quietly, the nurse explained. "There isn't enough care and medicine to save all of these babies. Mother Theresa knows which of these babies are going to die today. Our job is to rock them, and make sure they feel human love before they leave this world."
The woman looked back at the little baby that Mother Theresa had assigned her to love. Then she went over, picked it up, and then rocked it until it slept.
By that time, she needed to rush to catch her plane home, and she never saw Mother Theresa again. But she said that it wasn't a wasted trip. She learned what she needed to learn.
Mosiah 16: 7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. 8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. 9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.
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