The Importance of Grief, Voices, and Names

As I was reading the lesson in Come, Follow Me a few weeks ago, I was struck by something that I hadn't thought about before. Well, at least not within this context. It's a two part thought, and it came to me as I was pondering the account of Christ showing Himself to Mary Magdalene in the garden as she is overcome with emotion.

Before I continue with my new thought, I just have to say that it has always been an amazing blessing in my life to know that God and our Savior value women just as much as men. We are all equally important to them. I am so grateful for scriptural accounts that help me understand this, such as the account of this sacred moment in the garden immediately following our Savior's return to earth in His resurrected form.

I have always been able to relate to Mary Magdalene's feelings. She felt so overcome with grief because of the love she had for our Savior. I cannot imagine coming to the tomb to complete the rituals of your faith and finding the body of a beloved one gone. Even with the angels' account, even with their words meant to comfort, I still understand her grief.

I believe that families can be forever. That, when we make covenants with the Lord and keep them, we will be crowned with glory in the next life and continue the loving relationships we have on this earth. This gives me hope. But it doesn't negate grief. And I don't believe our Father in Heaven meant it to. Grief is an expression of extreme love and gratitude for the life of a person that has been such a large part of our own. It is the way we honor those we lose. 

We can continue on with our lives, but that love does stay with us, sometimes in an overwhelming way that sometimes brings us to tears when we hear a song, smell something that reminds us of the person, or see a photo/picture of them. This is why I love the story of Mary Magdalene in the garden. She was not afraid to show her grief because of the love she has for our Savior.

So, now comes my *NEW*-ish two-part thought. The first thought is this--will I recognize the voice of my Savior, even in grief? At first, Mary did not. I don't judge her for that. I do the SAME THING when I am in a place of grief. But she didn't tell the Savior to leave. Instead, she asked for help, or rather, asked if He knew how to help her by giving her information. She wanted to make things right in her grief, and I love her for that. Even though she didn't recognize His voice immediately, she was willing to ask for help.

Now, the second part of my thought. How will the Savior say my name when I see Him? How will Heavenly Father say my name when I see Him? Will they say it lovingly in disappointment, or lovingly in happiness? You see, Christ says Mary's name in a way that is loving. I believe the Savior and our Father always speak our names lovingly. But, I also know that, based on our actions, we will be judged after this life. So, how do I want my name to be said? Lovingly in disappointment, or lovingly in happiness and celebration for a life well lived?

Writing that also makes me think about the way I say other people's names. Am I emulating my Savior and Heavenly Father and speaking names in a loving way, or do I speak names in derision and anger? Yep, I need to work on that!

I love this story. I love that Christ chose to appear to a woman before anyone else. I love that she recognized Him because of the way He said her name. I hope to have that experience one day.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read my thoughts! My goal is to write something each week. Sometimes it will be shorter, sometimes longer. Sometimes I won't write, and that will be ok. :) I hope that you feel our Savior's love for you! He is there, even when we feel He's not. Remember, that's our grief getting in the way. Don't let it!

Easter Week

Hello, friends! I am sorry I missed last week, although I'm sure I'm the only one who noticed. ;) I was down with bronchitis and slept all day long. It was glorious and needed. But, I'm back with a new post this week!

The Easter week is one that spur many to rethink and change. I look forward to each year as the Church offers an initiative at www.mormon.org/easter to help me focus my week more fully on the Savior, plus the beautiful Easter video (click to watch, or watch below). This year is no different, and I am so excited!

I love that there are four choices for me to choose from that I can use as my focus this week. The options are "Love Your Neighbor", "Look to God", "Focus on Family", and "Embrace Hope". After reading each section, along with activities to help keep each focus, I am torn between two--"Look to God" and "Embrace Hope". I will make my decision this evening, then be back next week with a report!

After I read through this page, I decided to start thinking about what I could do to help others feel the spirit of rebirth at Easter. With that in mind, I counseled with my husband and we have decided to make special Easter candles to take to specific people on Easter Sunday. I have made a tag to go along with it.

Here's the tag:

It measures 2" x 3". If you would like a PDF sheet with these (without the watermark), please find them HERE! Feel free to email me at onastampage @ gmail.com if you have trouble accessing the file.

I leave you with my favorite Easter video.

Have a blessed week, friends!

Sunday Sustenance

Those of you who follow me on Facebook (my real profile, not this blog's page) know that I have been going through some health issues.  As I write this, they still haven't been resolved, but I do know that the health issues I've had over the past years have strengthened my testimony of the Savior.  It ties into this week's Sunday Sustenance, so let's get to it!

The Living Christ: In my living room, there is a framed copy of this document with a painting of the Savior next to it.  As I have pondered my situation the past few weeks, I have seriously thought about the Savior and what He went through for us.  I realized that there was no one here on earth that He could truly count on.  He was surrounded by mortal men who did not fully understand what He was going through.  His only true support was the Father.  No wonder our Father was anguished as the Savior bled for us in Gethsemane and the Spirit had to leave for a time.  As I've sat in the chair in my living room, often in pain, often tired and weary, I see the painting of my Savior.  I am so grateful that He will never leave me, that the Father will never leave me, that my Savior has suffered in the exact same way that I have.  Knowing that there is someone who literally knows what I am going through and will not judge me, but will only show compassion towards me, has saved me many times.  The only times that our Savior and our Father leave us are when we do the walking away.  The only way that the Savior and our Father can help us is through the hands of those around us.  I have been very blessed with good friends who have done this the past few weeks.

True Faith: This meme really helped me get through some of the issues I've had to decide this week.  I am confident that I can do what the Lord asks of me, even if it's not my plan for me.

The Lesson of the Saggy Burrito in My Pants: Okay, this isn't so much "uplifting" as it was needed to help me know that there are others in the world that semi-know what I'm going through.  Needless to say, my issues do deal with bleeding and hemorrhaging, so this article came through and gave me a good chuckle, and a feeling that perhaps the internet can teach people something. ;)  I apologize now if there is any profanity in the article, I wasn't paying that much attention as I read it, I just needed to do so and am glad I did.

Mrs. Dalloway @ Aunt Peaches: Aunt Peaches is one of my favorite blogs.  I don't always agree with her opinions, but I DO always learn something when I visit her.  This post was eye opening, and led me to be more open about the health issues I have quite frequently, as well as try to resolve issues that have been left to fester.  It also helped me to love Aunt Peaches even more as a person and as my sister, whether I agree with her all the time or not.  We can't always agree with everything everyone says...that would be boring!  Perhaps I'll do a 5 Things I'm Afraid To Tell You someday, but that day is not today.

I think that's all for this week.  I know only one is "religious" so to speak, but I do know that God's hand is in my life and led me this week to the things I needed so I could have the sustenance to make it through.  I'll be back next week (hopefully) with more links for you! :)  Have a peaceful Sabbath and a Spirit filled week, all!

His Grace: 2 in 1 Post

Hello again.  Here is a pair of prints for you all--the same print, but with two different POPS of color.  This is one of my favorite quotes from the past April 2015 General Conference.

Which do you like better?  Orange, or pink?  Please feel free to print this and use it for PERSONAL USE only.  If you'd like a watermark free version, please email me and we can work something out.  For more copyright and disclaimer information, see the tab up top!  Enjoy!

More Conference Prints

Here are 5 more for you!  Are you counting down yet?  Only 5 more days!!!

From Elder Holland's talk~

From President Monson's talk~

From Elder Hales' talk~

From Elder Scott's talk~

From Brother Osguthorpe's Talk~

Please feel free to use these printables for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more printing policies and disclaimers, please see the tab up top! :)  Happy printing, friends!

My life is NOT my own...

I'd like to talk today about our lives, but first I'm going to share with you a print that I've made using this week's sketch at Inkspirational challenges.

The sketch~

Here's the print~

I hear a lot of people saying things like, "It's MY life." I'm sure I've said it myself a few times!  There's just one problem.  That's a lie.  Our lives are most definitely not our own.  We were created by a loving Heavenly Father who has given us life and everything we have. Our immortality was bought with a price--the Atonement of our Savior.  We read in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 23 that we are all bought with a price and then are commanded not to be servants of men.  Whom do we serve then?  God.

We also learn in the Book of Mormon more in depth about the huge debt of gratitude we owe our Father in Heaven.  King Benjamin, a prophet in ancient America, explains it much better than I can.  Here is what he says in Mosiah chapter 2 verses 20-25:

"I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

 And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you."

When I read this passage of scripture, I realize how selfish I am when I choose to serve someone or something other than God.  I do this whenever I put my wishes ahead of His work that I've been asked to do.  Whenever I do not keep my covenant to follow Him and to do as my Savior would in all situations.  Whenever I feel that I need to watch the television instead of visiting the member I feel needs to feel of God's love.  Whenever I use my money to purchase things that will not help in building God's kingdom instead of paying my tithing.  The list goes on. Each sin--whether or omission or commission--is an example of how we can be an unprofitable servant. 

While none of us are perfect, I truly believe that we can all  try to serve God with our whole souls each and every day.  We do this when we repent and try to do better every step of our journey here on this earth.  We are bought with a price--do we realize what this means?  We can utilize the Atonement each and every time we prove ourselves to be unprofitable servants and then strive to do better!  The hardest part is the striving and trying to do better continually.  We are never truly repentant until we root out our sins--and this is also the only way to gain true happiness and peace in this life.  More about that in another post coming soon. :)

I am so grateful to be a servant of God.  I feel so blessed to know that I am bought by my Savior's Atonement so that I can gain eternal life if I repent continually and endure to the end.  I hope that each and every one of us will strive to do better each day and to remember and give thanks to our Father--we owe Him everything for He has given us everything.

Please feel free to use this scripture printable for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more information regarding printing policies and disclosures, please see the tab up top.  Happy printing!

Journey Ramblings

Do you like the title?  It's a kind of warning to you all--I am writing this for personal reasons and it is going to get rambly and has the potential to offend.  It's me, after all!  Know that if you are reading this that I harbor no ill will towards anyone at this time and that all this genuine.  Also, this post is not going to show up on my Facebook page because I don't want people to think I'm writing to show people how "good" I think I am.  Because the only goodness I have is from God.  To HIM be all the glory.  I'm also not writing to blame or to point fingers.  No names will be mentioned in this post.  If you think you resemble these situations, perhaps it is coincidental and you shouldn't feel offended.  I'm writing this for ME.  I'm writing to remind myself NEVER to go back to where I was but to keep going forward to stay happy like I am now.

So, what did I want to write?  I want to write about how I have become happier than I have ever felt in the face of adversity and about things staying the same that I want to change while things that I wanted to stay the same changing.  Maybe that makes sense, maybe not, but that's the best way I could say it...

Anyway, there's part of the rambling, lol!  I am recovering from my first ever bout of "inactivity" that included not attending all my church meetings.  That is NOT me.  I'm serious.  Even if I've been inactive in the sense that I have plateaued and need to do better or fall back, I have NEVER purposefully not gone to church.  I did this for about seven months from August 2011 to February 2012.  I only attended sacrament meeting.  Sometimes I stayed for Sunday School, but only about two times that whole time period.  And nobody really noticed. Except my dearest friend and husband.  This is not me, as I stated before.  I have always enjoyed serving at church and especially as a visiting teacher.  I never stopped my visiting teaching--I am so glad it never got that bad.

I thought it was GREAT at first because I could study my lessons and learn by myself without those strange comments that people make that made me go "WHAT?!" in my head, and I'm sure on my face.  It happens to the best of us.  Sometimes we just make those comments, you know?  It was so much easier than sitting in class with a bunch of people who didn't even notice when I wasn't there, too.  Then I could be justified in my feelings of hatred.  Anyway, I did study my lessons and things for the first bit but then I just stopped.  I never stopped reading my scriptures and praying, just doing the other things that I knew I needed to do.

Why did I come back?  Well, I will tell you that it was for sure NOT because someone reached out and tried to help me come back.  Seriously.  Not one person really ever asked where I was or called to check up on me.  Or if they did, I am not aware of it or I was so selfish that I willed not to remember it because I wanted to be justified.  I had asked to not have visiting teachers because I have only had one sister come regularly the entire 5 years we had been in this ward and I was sick of feeling like I was not important.  I would rather know that someone wasn't coming because I personally asked them not to than to know it was because I was not important enough to pick up a phone to call.  Ever felt that way?  I bet you have. 

I bet you've also felt like I did when I cried out to God and asked Him if it could all just end because I was SO weary.  Not just tired.  Not just sad.  WEARY.  Soul crushing, head splitting, tear falling weariness that was only increased because of the sad choice that I had made to withdraw myself.  That's who really was to blame--me.

It's easy to say, "Well she should have called me" or "They should have noticed" or "He is the problem."  It's easy to think that nobody will miss you when it's been supported by the actions of those around you.  She probably "should have" called me.  But she didn't.  Doesn't excuse you.  They probably "should have" noticed.  But they didn't  Doesn't excuse you.  He might be PART of the "problem."  So what?  Doesn't excuse you.

I'm glad that nobody reached out (that I remember or am aware of--certain people did when I came back and that's usually how it goes).  Heavenly Father knew I needed to do this ALONE.  Because I'm a very strong-willed prideful daughter and He needed me to be humbled.  I thank Him for this.  It is a great blessing to me now.  Also, I realize now that people gave me space because that's what my actions had told them I wanted.  So who's to blame now?  Yep.  ME.

I also just want to put in a disclaimer really quickly--YOU SHOULD NEVER try to tell someone that they are the problem or that they need to change.  Unless you are a family member or a leader that can lovingly express the concern, you should NEVER try to convince someone that they are the problem.  Because you might be part of the problem and your trying to convince someone that they are the problem makes the problem bigger.  Speaking from an experience of a dear sister and friend of mine.  This situation really isn't me, it's someone else.  Why am I trying to convince you?!  It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, lol!  Anyway, my sweet sister and friend is sick of "being the problem."  WAKE UP you guys!  Fix your own self!  Look at me being all hypocritical in a sense.  But seriously, we need to take care of ourselves first.  Please.  Don't tell someone that they are a "problem." Each of us is needed and should feel only LOVE from us, not that we are a "problem."  Myself included, let's stop pointing fingers and fix our own selves.  We all know that we have so much to work on.  That's enough to take upon ourselves to "fix."  Fix you.  That's my goal.

I bet you're wondering why I'm telling you this.  It's because I realize now that the problem was ME.  It DOES NOT MATTER who didn't notice that I wasn't there because even though my husband did, there were others who also noticed but could not tell me because I had distanced myself from them purposefully.  God noticed.  My Savior noticed.  My family and friends who have passed on noticed.  It was because of them that I went back.  Seriously--you're thinking I'm incredibly crazy.  I kind of am...

The choice to go back was extremely hard.  I put it off month after month until one night I was laying in bed listening to my husband sleep.  I realized that if I didn't come back to church that our relationship would end when we left this life.  God only keeps covenants with us when we keep our end of the bargain.  I wasn't.  I also realized that if I didn't go back, I would NEVER see my friends and family that had passed on.  I wouldn't see my parents EVER again.  I would be alone.  I had thought that this was what I wanted.  I was stupid to believe that this choice only effected me.  It effected millions of people--some I don't even know right now.

And what about the children that we have tearfully prayed for and been anxious for?  What would have happened if we had them and I didn't feel the need to take them to church?  Our family was doomed.  Literally.  Everything rested on my one decision to go back to church.  And since I don't like to be called a wimp, I did.  With a bad attitude.

I started to help my husband teach his Primary class one week when his teaching partner hadn't shown up.  I was on medication that made it really hard for me to be restricted when I ate, drank, and went to the bathroom.  When I was asked to team teach Primary with my husband, I didn't want to do it.  I used the medication as an excuse to have to "think about it."  After a month, I grudgingly accepted.

I had a blast with the kids in our class.  But only during class time.  I found myself completely overwhelmed when we were in sharing/singing time because things were chaotic.  I am an educator by trade, and the way the children were allowed to act seriously shocked, scared, and saddened me.  I let it eat at me.  I tried to help in my way, but nothing changed.  I asked to be released shortly after school was back in session because I felt that I just could NOT handle that stress and the stress that accompanies the beginning of the school year when working with children who have severe mental disabilities.  Now I realize that this sad choice has actually become a positive turning point.  I love how God can do that for us when we finally want to sincerely repent.

The week after I was released, I seriously thought that I would start just going home after Sacrament Meeting again.  And then I remembered that sweet night when the sound of my amazing husband's breathing led me to realize the true desperation of my situation.  What did I value?  I had asked to be released of my own free will and choice.  It was MY decision.  That decision meant that I now had to attend Sunday School (that's fine) and Relief Society (UGH).  Yes, I used to hate going to Relief Society.  Not any more.

I went to Sunday School.  I almost left afterwards to go home.  I FORCED myself to stay put and sit all alone and feel miserable.  It was MY fault.  I didn't even say hi to anyone even though a few sisters did come and approach me.  I was cold, distant, and slightly rude.  I had more miles to go before happiness could show its face in my life again.

So, when did it?  When I decided that I needed to serve again.  Not in a calling, but just because that is part of the covenant I made with my Father when I was baptized.  I promised to serve those around me and to love those around me.  There were no exclusions clauses in this covenant.  It wasn't to serve and love those around me IF they loved me and served me the way I thought they should.  It wasn't to serve and love those around me IF I liked them and they were "my type of people."  It wasn't to serve and love those around me IF they didn't "use" me for my talents and then ignore me everywhere else.  It wasn't to serve and love those around me IF they were nice to me.  The covenant I made was to serve and love those around me.  PERIOD.  By the way, I do not have a calling right now (aside from being a visiting teacher) and I think that I am okay with this.  Which is also not me.  I like to be in charge...I'm working on this.

I am so glad for a few things that happened while all of this was going on.  Firstly, I got a new visiting teaching companion.  I was unhappy about it at the time because I felt that it was done to spite me and to tear me away from some very good friends.  I see now that God can be in everything that is done even if it is done for the wrong reason, or rather, what I consider to be the wrong reason.  We eventually got an route that included two sisters who are new to our ward.  Very great blessing in deed.

That is another thing I am happy for is that many new sisters and their families moved into the ward.  I reached out to them in hopes that they would have heard nothing about me and would not judge me.  Isn't that selfish?  But you know what, it lead to service for the right reason--because I love them and I want them to gain eternal happiness.  This then lead me to want to reach out to all the other sisters and their families in our ward (that I felt had wronged me, perhaps they "have" but that is no good excuse for MY behavior) because when you serve, you are filled with the love of Christ and it GROWS.  It is so wonderful!

A third thing that I am happy for is a pregnancy "scare" that turned out to be just that--a "scare."  Every October around General Conference time, I get seriously depressed because I am not pregnant and that means that I am not good enough to have children, right?  And then I don't watch General Conference because I am angry at God.  But this past October, I missed my period.  I was so excited to think we would FINALLY have a pregnancy and I just KNEW that this one would not end in miscarriage.  I was never pregnant, but I watched all of General Conference because I wasn't depressed and didn't know any differently.  And when my period came in November, I was okay with it because Heavenly Father had allowed me to feel of His love through situations that could be considered "sad."  As I type this, I am realizing that "sad" experiences can make us very happy.  Because happiness is a choice.  Having no children is bearable knowing that if I strive to keep my covenants they will come in another life.  This satisfies my hunger for motherhood in the traditional sense.

The last thing I am grateful for is all the babies being born to my friends and sisters right now.  Isn't that a crazy thing for me to be grateful for after what I just told you?  I'm grateful for it because for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I not only attended my first baby shower--I THREW IT.  I threw a baby shower because I am no longer bitter that I may never be a mother in the traditional sense this life.  I am not even "resigned" to it.  I am embracing it!

I can do SO many things that mothers of small children cannot.  I can serve them.  At a moment's notice.  I can stop what I'm doing and GO when I need to.  When that prompting comes, I can act on it without having to find a babysitter.  My husband and I can babysit for a couple with young children so that they can go a date night when they can't afford a babysitter because, in reality, any night can be date night for us.  We can help families out by watching their children for them so they can attend to other obligations.  In that we are fulfilling our role of parenthood.  We still love and seek out the Primary children even though we both no longer serve as Primary workers.  They can in a sense be our children because we taught them and can show them kindness each week we see them and listen to them and laugh and be happy because of their sweet spirits.  We can have them in our home and feel of their perfection as we play and have fun with them.

God is SO good and SO great.  He is a perfect Father with a perfect love for His imperfect daughter.  He knew how to humble her so that she could find peace and happiness.

I now can truly say with certainty and integrity that I do love all those around me.  That doesn't mean I don't get annoyed by peoples' actions or even make judgements at a split second when I hear, read, see, or am told about things.  I am working on this.  I am working on forgiving not only things people have done to me, but forgiving people of things they might do.  It also doesn't mean that everyone will believe me or think me genuine.  I might seem fake to some.  I get it.  Because I've felt the same way before.  Because we are ALL human.  That means I must try harder and smarter--I need to get on my knees and pray to know what I need to do to make this situation better.

We are all a family.  And we ALL have issues.  And we can make allowances for others.  We should make allowances for others.  Then God can make allowances for us.  And we can be happy.  We should and can choose to be happy.

Happy NOW.

Happy in the face of adversity--whether self inflicted or placed upon us because we must learn something.

Happy our whole lives.

Happy for ETERNITY.

Through the Atonement of our Savior and the mercy of a kind and loving Father in Heaven, we can be families for eternity.  We can live in love and unity.  But it takes each of us being willing to do this.  One person can't do it alone.  A few people can't start a group to "make" it happen.  We each must use our agency to create it.  And it starts in our homes.

I am SO thankful for my husband who will never stop loving and supporting me, for my parents who taught me from a young age the truth of the restored gospel, for my righteous and enduring family and friends on the other side of the veil.  Without them, I wouldn't be where I am.  I would be in my own realm of misery that I had started creating for myself or else dead.  I am not kidding about that.  I am especially thankful for the Atonement of our Savior that I have been able to utilize and KNOW I will be utilizing for the rest of my life and for a loving Father in Heaven who perfectly knows and loves me and allows me to fail so that I can learn.

I will not be allowing comments on this post.  Please feel free to email me if you wish to.  I will do my best to get back to you. :) 

For the Coming Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, I stopped on one of my absolute favorite talks from Conference.  It was given by Elder Robert C. Gay and can be found HERE.

Elder Gay recounts a story from his youth.  We've all had similar experiences of learning to tell the truth or not steal, I'm sure, but for some reason this story really struck me.  I think it was the way his father asked him, "Son, would you exchange your soul for a nickle?"  Go and read this story--it will hit you hard.

So, my question to myself and all of my readers for the new and upcoming year is "What will I exchange for my soul?"  This questions will require each of us to take a deeper look at our motives, our desires, and our willingness to answer the Savior's call to follow Him.  Since this is a personal thing, I won't go into details about what I am planning to do, but I hope each of you take time to ponder this question and to resolve to be a little bit better each day of 2013.

Here's the print I made with a quote from this talk~

I've also added a few words on how we can become an 11 on a scale of 1-10 when we utilize the Atonement of our Savior HERE on my paper crafting blog.  You'll have to see my card first, sorry, but hop over there if you have the time, I hope it inspires you!

Please feel free to use this print for PERSONAL USE only.  More information about disclaimers and printing policies can be found in the tab up top.  Happy printing!

Strong Families Start With Strong Marriages

Since I'm home sick, I thought I'd share another printable with you really quickly!  This one features a quote from Elder Perry's talk about becoming goodly parents.  I used a quote about marriage as the focus.  You might find this strange that I would focus on a quote about marriage from a talk about parenting, but it has been my experience that you can only be a goodly parent if you are living in harmony within your marriage first.

Here is the quote~

I am so grateful to have the husband that I have.  I know some of you might get sick of me saying this, but my husband is the best man in the world!  This week as I've been sick, he has taken care of me like nobody else--not even my mother--ever has or will.  He is just amazing. 

I know that as we continually strive to make our marriages second priority in our lives--second only to our relationship with God--that we will find so much more happiness and peace in this world.  Marriage is the only way that men can become like God.  It is the foundation for a happy home and happy families. 

Any time that I felt unhappy with my life during our short stint with foster care, I knew that I needed to work on strengthening my marriage.  It helped me get through it.  Anytime I feel that something in my life is not right now, striving to strengthen my marriage has opened up windows to me about what I need to do to become more perfect.  These insights usually come as my dear love and I talk to each other nightly about everything. 

I am so grateful to God for the amazing husband that I have.  I am grateful for my husband's parents who prepared him to be the man he is today.  I am grateful for the Atonement of the Savior that helps my husband and me to perfect our marriage and our lives.  I hope that each of you takes the time today to do something to strengthen your marriage.  It will bless you in ways that you never thought possible!

Please feel free to use this printable for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  More info about printing policies and disclaimers can be found under the tab at the top of my blog.  Happy printing! :)

Living a Pain Free Life

Have you ever gone through an experience that was excruciatingly painful for you to endure?  It could be physical, mental, emotional pain, whatever.  I know that you've all felt this way before.  I have had these times in my life.  It helps me to appreciate the good times more but it also helps me to come closer to God. 

I was talking with a sweet co-worker today about losing someone that you love--particularly someone that is young and shouldn't be leaving this life so early.  We both agreed that all trials in our lives are there to help us to come closer to our Savior.  The most wonderful part about this is that when we rely on the Savior and allow ourselves to be comforted by the knowledge of hope that comes from faith in His Atonement, our pain can be taken away. 

That is the message of this talk by Elder Shayne M. Bowen.  It is an excellent read for all of us--whether or not we are going through something painful at this time.  It reiterates to each of us that our lives do not end when we leave this earth!  Families and individuals are eternal beings.  We will be reunited with our loved ones that have passed before us if we endure to the end in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I know that this is true.

I've used on of my favorite parts of this talk to make a printable that you can have as a reminder of this important eternal truth.

Here it is~

Feel free to use it for personal use only.  For more disclaimers and guidelines for using my digital artwork, please consult the tab up top.  Happy printing! :)

My Strength Comes From My Savior

This is my submission for this week's Word Art Wednesday: Psalm 18:2 and Scripture Thursday Link Party: Be of Good Cheer.

I don't know of a better reason to be of good cheer--our Savior has paid the price for our sins, and we can all be made free!  I'm so grateful for this Easter season that helps me to remember all that God has given me.  I hope you'll indulge me and let me share a few more thoughts about this scripture in light of Easter.

The Lord is my rock: My Savior brings me comfort through the knowledge that He paid not only for my sins, but also knows my sorrow personally.  He suffered ALL pain and grief for each of us, making Him our sure foundation. {Isaiah 53:4}

The Lord is my fortress, and my deliverer: Jesus Christ brings me divine protection through His Atonement.  Because of His infinite Atonement, I can have protection from sin as I strive each day to live the Gospel and become a better person. {Numbers 14:9}

The Lord is my God...in whom I trust: What does the word God mean to you?  To me, it means a perfect being. A Personage that can be trusted completely.  An unchanging Friend that will never let you down.  This perfectly describes our Savior. {Hebrews 2:13}

The Lord is my strength: I know that through the Atonement of my Savior, my weaknesses can become my strengths.  I can become perfected in Him.  I can have the strength to stand for truth and righteousness each day in any situation I find myself when I put my trust in Him! {Ether 12:27}

The Lord is my buckler: The definition of a buckler is a round shield or protector.  Jesus Christ protects me spiritually from sin and emotionally from sorrow through His Atonement. {Isaiah 54:17}

The Lord is the horn of my salvation: Through Christ's words and actions, I can learn how to be forgiven of my sins.  Through my faith in Jesus Christ, I can gain salvation and eternal life with my Father. {Doctrine & Covenants 14:7}

The Lord is my high tower: My Savior has higher ground than I do here in mortality and can see things I cannot see.  He can send comfort to me when I need it in order to help me through the difficulties that my life brings because He knows what my future brings--and that is HOPE. {Proverbs 3:5-6}

Thank you for indulging me and if you've read this, I hope that you've felt of the Love that our Savior has for each of us.  May we always remember Him, in all that we do and say, that one day we might sit down with Him in the Kingdom of our Father.  He is risen!