..or what woman,having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and searches carefully until she finds it.
And when she found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying "Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I lost!!" Luke 15:8-9
All things work together for the good of those who love and trust the Lord. Thought I would be on vacation, but instead stay-ca. Sometimes I feel like I am a character in that book: A Series of Unfortunate Events". But I suppose it could be worse
It's The Hard Knock Life from ANNIE - Jenny Oaks Baker feat. "One Voice ...
So today is Praise Monday. I feel like giving much thanks and praise for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Yesterday's Sunday School lesson was 2 of maybe 3 lessons this year that will focus on the preparation for and the return of Jesus Christ. It is not the most popular lesson, most people have very strong reactions to it. They say it is negative, depressing, "makes me feel like their is no hope". I even had a class member yesterday, scold me because she felt that I was only focusing on the "bad" and not talking about the good. I apologized if she was offended by that but promised to report some good. But you know I have since thought about what is good and bad in what the Lord has required that we know, how we need to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Here is a verse that most people cringe at: D&C 29:7-8
7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect: for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;
8 Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked.
The rest of this chapter continues in this really "in your face" language, and because we(as God's people) are afraid of this language, our hearts melt with anxiety and then are hardened and we don't appreciate it, neither do we truly believe it. In D&C 29, in verse 7 the Lord is addressing his "Elect", presumably us, if we stand in "holy places" and if you really dig deep, it feels like when one is in the military, and we are all standing in formation for inspection and we are getting our literal "marching orders" from our Commander. This is war language. We are gearing up, receiving our last orders. But wait, most people are missing this because they are only reading what the Lord has prepared for the "wicked". Who are the wicked anyway?
The wicked is "them". Here is a definition of sorts:
The two uses for the word wickedness in both the Old and the New Testament are very similar and they both have the same effects: the person committing the wickedness stands guilty as a convicted criminal of harming others and themselves because it is done intentionally (with malice) and indicates the depravity of the individual. As far as humanity is concerned, we know that “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands” and “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom 3:10-12).
But it could be us too... We really are having an identity crisis. I suggested that in order to fully appreciate who we are in Christ we really should dig deep, and ask the Father for MORE. But most of the class did not feel comfortable with that. The Father says that "No good thing will be refused to those who love me". We love Father, because we are striving daily to be covenant people. We have been admonished to "cleave" unto them, just like marriage. I also suggested that maybe we could cast out some of our many distractions, such a specific movies and TV shows that although entertaining, they go against the truth, and set it up for nought. Just like Satan harassing the Savior, "If you are, are you sure you are the Son of God?" Really. Like, Jesus are you hungry, could you eat? You aren't really the Son of God, you don't look like him. I suggested that we simply are not satisfied with the life God has given us, and surprisingly most of the class agreed. I suggested that we "push back", against all of the darkness. Life is happening, and when you watch TV, whether real or reality, it is the same, dark, no hope and lies. But I push back on all of it. So in answer to the sister who complained that we only talked about the bad, I shared some thoughts that are "good", and gentle on the ears, hope promoting.
·1Do not let your hearts be troubled.
(Trouble (a Hebrew preposition) meaning to damage; to disrupt) To literally
allow ones heart to be broken again by the world. “Let not your heart be broken
again by the evils of the world.” Hang on,you believe in God; believe in Me as
well.
3And, if I go and prepare a
place for you, (Do you believe that) I will come back and welcome you into my
presence? So, that you also may be where I am.
I really love the translation of let not your heart be "troubled", which in Hebrew refers to not allowing the world to "break your heart again". The victory belongs to Jesus
I have heard prayers where
a person will thank the Lord for his “loving kindness” and mercy toward us.
What is that? What is kindness anyway? I was talking to a friend of mine
recently, and I told her about a “meeting” (for want of better words) that I
had attended, where the featured speaker proceeded to “ball us out” concerning being
kind to each other and also to the people we find ourselves in service to. Now in
this particular context, I thought “Wow, she really had to go there, isn’t it a
given, under these circumstances, that one would be kind, would summon all of
the love and caring that we typically reserved for God, and shower it upon his
people?
It was telling, and I realized that King Benjamin spoke a wise
prophecy, that when we are in the service of our fellow man, we are only in the
service of our God. Service is love, and kindness comes along because of the
“sacrifice” that was made to manifest this love/service. But here is a
catch-22, sometimes the very brother or sister we are intent on serving/loving
simply refuses our kindness. They take the stand of “self sufficiency, or worse, you are not the person they want serving them. (Pride) Or maybe there is one who has a need, but
has a personality so off putting, that you find yourself literally wading
through thistles and thorns just to get to them. Now here is a principle,
kindness begets kindness. It is a pay it forward kind of thing. So I thought
about Elder Russell M Nelson’s talk concerning how in “these days” men’s (and
women’s’) hearts will fail them. And he should know a thing or two about heart
failure because he is a heart surgeon
What happens when our
heart fail? But I would like to say, how does a heart fail? It literally stops
beating!! To be the true servant of God that we want to be, our heart is for
the Lord. We are men and women after God’s own heart. So I guess that if a
man’s heart fails, then he probably never knew the Father anyway. Or worse, he
has transgressed or turned away from God, and is still pretending to be a part
of the “group”.
So today I had my first “test”
of kindness, which by the way involves several principals of humility, submission
and obedience. We don’t pick those we serve, they pick us. I was heading in to
my office today, late; more often than not these days. What excuse could I use
today? A car flipped on the local lanes of the beltway and just as I was
meandering by, a fireman walked out in front of my car and proceeded to close
the lane, What?! True story. So as I was walking into the building, (I work at
a hospital). I saw a lady who is a member of my ward, getting out of her car at
the valet parking booth. She is frequent flyer here; she is a transplant
patient, waiting for an organ. In the meantime she has to come often for
procedures that help to sustain her life. She has grown so frail these days,
but still mean as a pistol. I saw her and immediately I thought “Oh no, there
is Sister….. Maybe if I walk slowly behind her she will not see me. I felt a “nudge”,
reminding me of why I should help her. But you know I felt for a moment like
Ananias, a disciple of Jesus, who had been terrorized by Paul/formerly known as
Saul. You see, Saul was public enemy #1 to the fledgling church of Jesus
Christ. He literally killed Christians, dragged them out of their homes and
stoned them. The Lord commanded Ananias to go where Saul was holed up, desperate
and blind after being thrown from his horse, after having a “come to Jesus
moment”. The Lord told Ananias to go to a street called “Strait”, and he would
find Paul there and he was to pray over him, and heal him of his blindness, and
then baptizes him!!! No pressure.
Now this Sister wasn’t that bad, but depending
on what end you were facing, she could be quite formidable and just plain mean.
So I had a tiny argument with that little voice that was defending her case to
me. We don’t choose who we serve, they choose us. So I repented and walked up
to her and said “Hello in a voice that even the deafest person could not hear.
She was so glad to see me, and I asked her if I could walk with her, she said “I
really need an arm to hold on too”. So we walked like that to where she had to
go. She really appreciated it and so did
I.
Her life, my life, your
life, we are all intertwined; like some sad country western song:
I lost my
mamma, my dog, my husband. I just got a run in my last pair of panty hose, dang it.
Sometimes we look for superheroes to save us, maybe Wonder Woman or King Arthur to
pull that magic sword out of the stony parts of our hearts and souls. But at
the end of the day, it is just you and me, each of us just as broken as the
other one. This is the way to heaven.
Today is sing along Friday, we are in the throes of a 3fer, Monday is Memorial Day, maybe we can call it : Kindness to others Day, as if we need a day. Sing along......
Jewel - Hands - Lyrics
If I
could tell the world just one thing
it would be that we're all ok
and not to worry because worry is wasteful
and useless in times like these
I will not be made useless
I won't be idled with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
for light does the darkness most fear
My
hands are small, I know,
But they're not yours they are my own
But they're not yours they are my own
And I am never broken
Poverty
stole your golden shoes
but it didn't steal your laughter
and heartache came to visit me
but I knew it wasn't ever after
We
will fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing
In
the end only kindness matters
in the end only kindness matters
I
will get down on my knees and I will pray
I will get down on my knees and I will pray
I will get down on my knees and I will pray
We
are God's eyes God's hands God's mind
We are God's eyes God's hands God's heart
We are God's eyes God's hands God's eyes God's hands
We are God's hands God's hands We are God's hands
A sweet friend asked me to speak of my 'testimony of the Book of Mormon". True to the title of my blog "The Journal of Lost Things", I realized that I had not verbally bore this testimony in quite a long time, even though I read it often and teach it much. I was surprised at what literally "poured out of ". I am so happy that deep inside of me, the Lord is fighting for me, and helping me to remember what is most important, at least in my life.
I feel like, that my testimony of the Book of Mormon really
stood out to me was when I found myself at times, quoting many of the verses in context, while
speaking with some of my “church going” neighbors, friends and family members who
were not of our faith .And I wasn’t ashamed to do it. Now this may not sound
like much, but I do and have frequently quoted scripture from the Bible to
various people, in the context of either teaching or bearing my testimony. But there have been many times when my
neighbors would dispute the validity and truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and
also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I had to represent!!
When I was investigating the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS;
Jenny Provance was my “super” Missionary. Her mission was to literally prepare
me for baptism. She proceeded (with firmness) to review the Book of Mormon with
me, and helped me understand what I struggled to know, even though my testimony was fledgling .She helped me to focus on knowing that the Book of Mormon
is the true testament of Jesus Christ, and in turn I came to know also that
Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration of the gospel of Christ.
Needless to say it was overwhelming.
My testimony was further strengthened when I was called as a
teacher, first in Primary, in which I learned so much from the children, who
really taught me the book of Mormon. And now for the past 3 years I have been
teaching Gospel Doctrine. Last year, I had the opportunity to “teach” the book
of Mormon for the first time, and I prayed to know how approach the book, and
then how to apply it in the best way for the class to learn. It was so
intimidating, because I still felt like a “newbie” and I worried that I could
not possibly teach this book to those who had been in the Church their entire
lives. I thought that they would surely call me out as a phony. This scripture
in Doctrine
& Covenants 45:13-14 helped me to know what the will of the Lord is
toward those who earnestly seek to “know” how to apply the truth’s of the Book
of Mormon in their lives. 13 To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to
know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the
sins of the world. 14 To others it is given to believe on their words, that
they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful
I realized that I
needed to continue to build up my testimony of the book of Mormon, lesson by
lesson. And I was impressed to know that if I would just read the chapters for
the lesson, literally the Holy Spirit would “open my mind” and soften my heart
so that I could become teachable. In response, my class would feel the Spirit
as we were all being taught. I am
continuing to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon; I can honestly say that I
love this book; it is so much more a powerful testament than we give it credit
for. I am slowly realizing what a gift it is to us from a Loving Savior, who
provided it as an integral means to our salvation. Think about the enormity of
that statement. The book of Mormon is the light that we literally shine to the world.
It kind of puts every little aspect of our humanness into perspective
And I say these things, in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!
If
Raven has come visiting you it can mean any number of things. Most powerful of
all is the synchronicity that Raven assures you is pending. He is a master of
bending and folding time and space so that you are exactly in the right moment
at the right time. As a messenger you
are reminded that those around you are reflecting back at you the things you
most have to learn about yourself.Know
that when Raven appears that magic is imminent.
Raven is about rebirth, recovery, renewal recycling and certainly
reflection and healing.
He signifies moving through transitions smoothly by casting light into the darkness.
1 Kings 17:1-16
Elijah the Tishbite, the word of the
Lord came unto him saying: Get thee hence, and turn eastward, and hidethyself by the brook Cherith that is
before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shall drink of the brook; and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And he went and did according unto the
word of the Lord; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is before
Jordan.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh
in the evening and he drank of the brook.
And the rest of the
story goes that the brook dried up, and the Lord directed Elijah to Zarephath,
to a suicidal widow who was considering the dire state of her existence, but
was moved to compassion to help Elijah She not only fed him but befriended him,
and in effect nursed him back to health. There are two stories here; the first is the ravens bringing
Elijah food and drink, which is totally out of character for that species. A raven
is known for being a voracious scavenger, eater and selfish at that. A raven
would not make a good “carrier pigeon, because it would not typically return to
the one who sent it, case in point Noah.
Noah sent out a
swallow, a dove and a raven. The first two came back, but the raven did not. So
I imagine that the Lord had to “re-teach” the ravens, and change their hearts
so that they would have compassion on Elijah, and they would share of their
hard earned scavenge, maybe even giving him the choicest morsels. So the brook dried up; and notice that the definition of the name of the brook Cherith
means “a cutting, a separation”. Sometimes the word “cutting” refers to
“cutting a new covenant”.
After my husband died, I
went around my house, looking through his things, to see if he may have left a
note, or scribble or something that would lead me to him. But my husband was
not a writer; he was though a prolific story teller, a BS spreader and the
like. He was a Welshman, moody and sentimental, given to weepy expressions of
love and caring. He would leave messages on my phone, by singing songs he made
up. (I still have 2 on my office answering machine.) The only thing I found was
a couple of dollars in two new wallets that I gave him. (Which he never used),
I looked in his Scriptures, and where most people scribbled, he did not, so
even though he read his scripture, most of the pages are pristine. No love
letters, no messages on scraps of paper. But what he did do was to always make
a point, when talking to our friends and neighbors, to tell these people how
much he loved me, how much I meant to him, what a wonderful wife I was.
(Unknown to me), so I have found that at my lowest points, that when I really
need to hear someone “say something to me”, in kind words, a neighbor will come
and tell me these things. We have a neighbor who is a “curmudgeon”. He is this
weird, little old guy (lol) who was a gear head like my husband. And they would
compete with each other to wee who had the most tools, special tools and tools hard to find. He
didn’t talk much and to this day I don’t know his name, but on Christmas he
knocked on my door, and gave me a beautiful flower arrangement. He told me how
much he missed my husband. So a “raven” brought a crust of bread to my door.
Last year, I prayed to be able to “put things into
perspective”, that my grief would not overwhelm me, that I could just not
remember the hard parts. There are a lot of hard parts, and just like any
“random request” like that, with no stipulations, everything is relative, and
so the “the place of forgetting” is forged. My days go fast, like hours, my
weeks run like days. I hold on tight to every moment that is important to me so
that I can at least be “present”. I have misplaced a lot of stuff, and I have
re-bought things at least twice. The absence of love leaves a
void; the absence of touch leaves a soul to become stunted in its growth.
In this story, I am “the
widow” of Germantown. Not suicidal, but blessed with an abundant spirit of love
and compassion. The one thing that really sustained me after the funeral was my
friends and neighbors really looking out for me. People would bring me meals,
groceries, money, etc. I would come home from work and find care packages, and
luckily for me the squirrels did not run off with them. (There is a special
kind of squirrel/rodent that lives in my “hood”. They are trained even to open
packages from the mail man). People would come and take care of me and I have
made some really loyal friends now. I suppose that any friend who can manage
you when you are a blithering idiot (which I was at times) is a keeper. Let's give the Lord a praise.
Have you ever wondered how “Pooh bear”
got his head wedged in that honey pot? I mean, when I was a kid, my brother and
I loved all of the “Winnie the Pooh” adventures; kids don’t know what they’re
missing these days. Secretly I wished that Christopher Robin as my brother. He was so
cool and wise beyond his ears. One reason why “Pooh” was always getting his
head stuck, was that he was a greedy little “honey” bear. He would eat and eat
and then try to waddle off and climb thru the Bunny’s small door, or he would
get stuck in a beehive tree, or worse he would just stick his too big head into
the opening of a “too small” jar. But here is the annoying thing about Pooh, he
never really learned from those episodes of “stuckness”. He forgot as soon as
another honey pot came into play. He didn’t have a “plan”, to either avoid
getting stuck, or how to get unstuck.
It occurred to me that getting stuck is
like a record skipping at the same place, a loop if you will. I have been stuck
for a minute, and I totally ignored it. I seemed to just let it pass as if
trying to get unstuck and moving forward was not very important. But it wasn’t
until I found myself with one foot wedged in the past and surprisingly my other
foot stuck in the present. It’s been a pretty painful situation and it has come
to a head, I had to shoot up a flare for help from my Heavenly Father. Jesus is
on it, right away. I realize as I am trying to unstuck myself, that this
situation sometimes comes about because of pride, of laziness, and of “Holding
on to the safe place of the past, It doesn’t fit anymore and like old clothes,
it needs to be passed down, there is a pressing need for us to let go.” I am
letting go of the past and asking for help. Stronger is just around the corner…. I have been walking on water, sort of like Peter, but this is not a miraculous thing, it is more like Nephi, being led by the spirit not knowing where I am going. But I do know, and that place is like a beacon shining before me, and I am almost there.
The best place that we can live, is in the love of the Father and his son Jesus
Christ. I feel that love, I am that love
U2 Bono & The Edge Perform 'Stuck In a Moment' on David Letterman
FIRST LOVE: 1 JOHN 4:19 We love Him, because he first love us. Today is sing a long Wednesday, not too many words, just singing, and worship . Do you remember your first love? We all do, they were the ones that made our hearts flutter, caused us to stammer, sleepless nights, and all that. But more and more, I know for a surety that the Savior is our first love and rightly so. Maybe you think that the term "first love" is a number, a time and situation. It is not, first means higher, greater, no comparison. The first to love, literally means that Jesus invented it, placed his seal on it. Our goal should be to love as he loves.He is the Teacher.
Fell for You first day that I met You Never dreamed that I ever could forget You But black and white make a mess when it turn to grey
Sunlight came sweepin' cross the window Rewind to the time when we were so close Got me longin' for yesterday
But Lord You know me so well I can be a little punk sometimes
But don't leave me, leave me alone Bust down the door to my heart like it's Your home Don't need no keys I'm on my knees Begging You please I've gotta settle this thing once and for all You got my heart my soul You can have it all I'm on my knees Beggin' You please Beggin' You please Lord, don't leave me alone
Don't leave me alone Through the tears, through the pain comes a new day Blown away still amazed You pursue me
…
I really like this song, it really makes you appreciate that the Lord will speak to us in a language that we can all understand. Sometimes it's Rap or Hip hop, Maybe Gospel,inspirational or whatever. But no matter, songs are like prayers, and the prayer of the righteous is like a song to the Savior. Holla
Elijah the Tishbite, the word of the
Lord came unto him saying: Get thee hence, and turn eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith that is
before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shall drink of the brook; and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And he went and did according unto the
word of the Lord; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is before
Jordan.
Today is sing a long Wednesday, not too many words, just singing, and worship . Do you remember your first love? We all do, they were the ones that made our hearts flutter, caused us to stammer, sleepless nights, and all that. But more and more, I know for a surety that the Savior is our first love and rightly so. Maybe you think that the term "first love" is a number, a time and situation. It is not, first means higher, greater, no comparison. The first to love, literally means that Jesus invented it, placed his seal on it. Our goal should be to love as he loves.He is the Teacher. 
