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Archives for July 2015

All that I Am

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I don’t have to be more than I am.

I just have to be all that I am.

Sometimes my offering feels as insignificant and small as the widow’s two mites, but it is all I have to give…

 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

…so each day I will strive to be all that I am, give all that I have, even all my living. Mark 12:42

No matter how small I feel my offering is.

I am enough.

You are enough.

 

Fasting at the Temple

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We had a really successful Family Home Evening lesson last night!

The kids were hungry. No starving. I had a coupon for a dozen free cookies at a gourmet cookie shop in Salt Lake City. Of course I thought we should indulge for an FHE treat. The best part of FHE, am I right?

Well, after eating gourmet cookies the kids were still craving food. Imagine that? All other times they don’t want to eat after sugar, but this time was different I guess. There was a lesson to be learned. Obviously.

Well since we drove all the way from Lehi to Salt Lake for cookies we decided to go to Temple Square.

The thing is that there aren’t many places to eat in the city with six kids so I decided they could starve a few more minutes while we walked the temple grounds.

They protested.

And then an idea pop into my mind. “Kids, we are going to practice fasting. We are going to go without food while on the temple grounds. I want you to practice having an attitude of gratitude, a prayer in your heart and try not to complain about being hungry.”

The kids didn’t agree. They reminded me again how hungry they were.

Once we were in the square they were running every where, had a million questions, smelled all the flowers and were just loving their time there. We stayed about 40 minutes and then had to start heading home before sunset.

Once we got back to the car I asked the kids if they had enjoyed their time and if they were still feeling hungry? My oldest thought for a moment and said, “You know what, I completely forgot about being hungry.” My six year old then went on to share his observations and understanding of how because he was thinking of God and enjoying nature that he too had forgotten that he was hungry.

All the rest of the kids concurred and the lesson was learned. I didn’t know it would reach their hearts and minds so profoundly, but God knew and I am thankful. I couldn’t have taught that lesson any better.

 

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

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Ask and ye shall receive.

I have learned from many experiences throughout my life that if I ask God for something I don’t always receive exactly what I asked for in the exact way that thought I would receive it. Sometimes I do. And I ask as if I will.

But, this is the thing I have experienced with asking God for anything: His ways are higher than my ways. He tells me often not to lean to my own understanding, and sometimes what I am asking for just isn’t what I need or maybe I do, but He delivers it in a way I wasn’t expecting.

So maybe it isn’t so much asking and expecting exactly what I asked for in the exact way I think I should receive it, but rather asking and then receiving whatever He sends us, knowing that I will receive exactly what I need.

I have learned that I all I need to do is open my heart to receive without any preconceived limitations or expectations. I trust that He won’t abuse my open and vulnerable heart and He never has. In fact, it is just the opposite, I feel him hold and hug me as I learn to receive with a humility and a vulnerability that I could only entrust to Him. And it is glorious to be so precious in His perfect care.

Faith. Just believe. Ask and receive.

How To Grow a Friendship

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It is connection not commonalities that create the bond in a friendship.

Often we walk into a room and gravitate towards people we think are like us. And then we proceed to ask questions about what they do, how many kids they have and so on to see if #1 they’re a nice person and #2 if they have anything in common with us.

The thing is it isn’t what we have in common that connects us or forms that deep bond of friendship, it is the connection we feel with the person, whatever that connection might be: trust, empathy, authenticity, vulnerability or just a feeling.

When we ask questions, when we get people to tell us stories, they open themselves up and share certain details that helps us to form that bond. Yes, they might share certain details that are like a “check mark” in your register of commonalities, but make no mistake the bond will be formed because of the feelings that you feel when you are around them.

But here’s the real truth, if we would stop judging people based on what they look like, how similar we think they might be to us and so on, and just walked up to every person in the room and asked them to tell us a story about their lives, a story that would generate feelings of trust, empathy, authenticity and vulnerability, I bet we would feel a lot more connections and make a lot more friends.

So next time you meet someone, instead of going into small talk just ask them — point blank— to tell you a story about themselves and make a new friend.

“In our time—when so much of what we desire is so easily within our reach—it is tempting to turn aside or give up whenever the road ahead seems a little bumpy or the slope tends to rise steeply before us. In those moments, it might inspire us to reflect on those men, women, and children who did not allow sickness, hardship, pain, and even death to deter them from their chosen path.”

FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE

All Is Well
By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency

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