Some more October GC Prints

Here are five more prints for your printing pleasure!  Only three more days and then I'll get busy making more from April's Conference!

From Elder Nash's talk~

From Elder Johnson's talk~

From Elder Clarke's talk~

From Elder Bednar's talk~

From President Monson's talk~

Thanks for stopping by!  Feel free to use these for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more printing policies and disclaimers, 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!

Trials of Faith

Well, it's been a little while since I last posted a General Conference quote and I think I'd better hurry up or else I won't have them all posted before April's conference rolls around, lol! ;)

Here's the print~

So, today I'm sharing thoughts about "Trial of Your Faith" by Elder Neil L. Andersen.  This talk really struck me as I read it and I think that today is the perfect day to talk about it because I've had "one of those" weeks.  We all have them, but let me give you some background.

Some facts you need to know to understand where I'm coming from that contributed to my mini trial of faith:
1. My husband and I have been struggling with infertility for about 7 years.
2. We are in the process of getting out of debt after a fraud hit our bank account a few years ago.
3. I have been suffering this week from severe insomnia and haven't had much sleep.
4. I work in a high stress job with children who are severely mentally disabled.  LOVE them, just a very hard (but very rewarding) job.

Okay, so now that you know those four things, let me tell you about my week/the past few months.  My husband and I started discussing our desire to be temple workers about 18 months ago.  We prayed about it and felt that it would be a good decision, but I was taking fertility medication to help us get pregnant and so my hormones and blood sugar levels were being messed with.  We decided that I needed to go off the medication so that we could proceed with our plan, but it was hard to give up the thought that maybe we'd get pregnant.  Finally, in September 2012, I went off the medication and we decided that perhaps we are not meant to be parents of our own children in this life.  It was a very hard decision and sometimes I still wonder if we are doing the right thing and second guess it, so that stress is always present in my life.

A few weeks after ending the medication and after we had discussed the idea again, a sweet sister in our ward, who also works at the temple, came up to me after sacrament meeting and told me that she had an application for us to fill out and an invitation from the temple president to become temple workers.  I am not a sign seeker, but if there is a clearer sign that we were on the right track, I can't think of one!

So, we set up an appointment with our bishop.  He's only been bishop for one week and had only been in the ward for about two months.  All three of us had no clue what we were doing, but we got it together and were able to proceed to the next step--an interview with the stake president.  That would prove to be easier said than done...

After trying to get an appointment for about 3 months, we finally were able to see the stake president a couple of weeks ago and he told us that he would send the paper work on to the temple.  We were excited and a little bit apprehensive.

Fast forward one more week.  That would be this past week.  I had been having severe insomnia issues and other emotional issues dealing with our infertility issues and was also incredibly stressed out with work.  We hadn't heard back from the temple president and so I tearfully told my husband that maybe this was a sign that we shouldn't be temple workers.  He reassured me that we were trying to do something good and that he would call to see what was going on.  We were planning on going to the temple tomorrow (Saturday) because it is our ward temple day, but my husband had promised to help clean the building.

So, my husband worked it out that we would be able to make it in time for one session if he went early with another brother in our ward and did some cleaning earlier.  He also called the temple and was told that we would be set apart when we came down for our ward temple day.  To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement.  I had been toying with the idea of not going because I have had literally about only 4 hours of sleep a night plus work and other things that I've had to do.  I told my husband that I thought we were making a mistake.  He reassured me that we were not and that every little thing would be taken care of.

It was.  I was finally able to get a full night's sleep last night, wake up and get all I needed to done and MORE, plus I am actually very excited to go down and be set apart as a temple worker with my husband tomorrow. 

Some other blessings that have helped me this week as I've gone through my mini trial of faith:
1. We found out that our tax return would be enough for us to pay off the debt that occurred when then fraud hit our bank account.
2. Because of the debt being paid off, I will be able to quit at the end of the school year so that we can serve more in the temple.
3. I was able to finally sleep last night.  I know I already said it, but seriously, this REALLY helped me.
4. We were able to have the missionaries in our home for dinner.  I don't know why, but this always makes me happier.
5. Each person that I've had to explain about our new calling has been so incredibly excited for us.

So, dear sisters (and brothers), I have had my testimony strengthened not only by personal experience this week, but also by the words of our living prophets.  I feel so blessed that I could just burst into song!  Except that each time I do, I find myself crying with joy.  What a blessing the gospel is in my life!

Please feel free to save the print above and use it for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  Other disclaimers and printing policies can be found in the tab up top.  HUGS and happy printing, friends! :)

Crying

Photo source.

I deal with a lot of crying in my line of work.  I work with children who have severe mental disabilities.  Their inability to communicate makes for some sad days and some hard lessons for them AND me, too.  It's such a rewarding job, though, and I have learned SO MUCH about the Atonement of our Savior as I've worked with these amazing kids.

So, anyway, back to crying.  We had a day where it seemed like there was non-stop crying going on in our class last week.  It was enough to drive someone mad.  I can't say for 100% certain why this child was crying, but it got me thinking about our Father in Heaven and why/when we cry to Him in prayer.  His responses make so much more sense to me as I've worked with children and been in a "parenting" role.  I'd like to share my thoughts about this with you.  I'll relate situations that have happened in my experience and then a parable of how this relates to our relationship with God as our Father.

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Situation #1: A child falls down, or is pushed down, or comes to harm in a way that is definitely not his fault.  We immediately run to the child to help them and comfort them.  Sometimes the child pushes us away or thinks they don't need us.  We still try to help them.  Sometimes the child rushes into our arms and sobs.  We allow them to calm down and help them up again.

Parable #1: Something happens in our life that  is not our fault and we get hurt--physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  We can either shun God's help and not ask Him for help (He still will try to reach out to us) or we can rush to Him in prayer and receive strength as we feel of His love.  The choice is ours.

Situation #2: A child is doing something that could hurt him unwittingly.  You tell the child to stop--he will get hurt if the behavior continues.  The child stops and we praise him.  OR, the child doesn't stop, gets hurt, and we are less quick to comfort him.

Parable #2  We are doing something that God does not approve of.  He gently chastens us to help us understand that our behavior is not worthy of a child of God.  We stop and repent--He blesses us.  OR, we don't stop and we cut ourselves off from the blessings of the Lord.

Situation #3: A child is doing something that they KNOW is wrong.  They get hurt.  We don't seem to have much sympathy for this child's crying as they knew that what they were doing was wrong.  We do not rush to their aid.  However, because we love them and they are our child, we counsel them about what they did wrong and why it is that they are unhappy.  We encourage them not to do it again.

Parable #3: We are intentionally sinning.  God cannot dwell in unholy places.  He puts warnings in place to help us to change our ways.  He sends guidance from scriptures, living prophets and church leaders.  He lets us feel sorrow in hope that this sorrow will bring us back to Him.

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I guess that I could go on and have a situation/parable about continually doing things that are harmful to us, but I think you get my drift.  So, I hope that you can see a little bit of God in your everyday life!  He is all around us and He loves us.  He is our Father and wants what is best for us.  I've recently started taking a deeper look at my life and am changing things that are not right.  Because I know that we are all human and all have things to change, I encourage you to pray and ask our Father what it is He would have you change.  I promise you'll be much happier if you take His advice!

Just checking in with some thoughts...

I had a dear friend send me an article today via email that I needed!  I'll get to that, but THANK YOU to my sweet friend--she always knows just what I need. :)

I was just called yesterday to be the Compassionate Service Coordinator in my ward and I feel very overwhelmed and very inadequate.  For those of you not familiar with LDS jargon, the Compassionate Service Coordinator works with our local leaders to meet needs of members--such as meals when a baby is born or there is an illness, housecleaning when there is a long term issue, or child care when LIFE happens.  I see that the Lord has been preparing me for this calling, but I couldn't sleep last night because I felt very upset.

You see, I had a dinner party planned for tonight to celebrate the 200th anniversary of "Pride & Prejudice" being published or whatever.  I LOVE Jane Austen.  I have some very good friends who also do, so I invited a few people over to celebrate.  Yes, I know it's supposed to be Family Home Evening, but I just really felt I needed to do this.

Okay, so I was feeling guilty about this because there are some needs I am taking care of for families in the ward and I felt that I needed to drop my personal life and dive into my calling and go visit some sisters that I think need some love and support.  I almost cancelled the dinner.  I'm glad I didn't.

One of the friends who came is not a member of the Church and I wanted to introduce her to other members.  She is amazing and I know that the gospel can help her and her family be together forever.  Plus, she brought her adorable daughter! Yet I still felt guilty even after everyone had gone home. And then the email came.

The article in this email was about how we as women sometimes feel that we don't deserve "me" time because we have families and responsibilities that we need to attend to.  The author says we should cut ourselves some slack--we should feel good when we do the everyday things because some people don't even do that!  When we need to spend time on one thing instead of another and we truly feel it's the right thing to do, we shouldn't beat ourselves up!  We second guess ourselves far too often...

Why would I feel that my original prompting to have a gathering of friends and fellowship with them was any less important than visiting the other sisters?  Isn't tomorrow another day?  I can do the things I was prompted to do tomorrow and it will still mean something.  I know that what I prepared tonight was something that has the potential to make lives better.  That is a worthy goal!

We need to trust ourselves more.  If we are living the kind of life that God would have us live, He will guide us to do HIS will and then we won't need to worry!  I have time tomorrow after work to make a visit.  I will do it--and it will be okay that it didn't happen right the very second I felt I had to.  When you trust God, you can truly trust yourself because your desires are in the right place.

I think this calling will definitely help me trust in the Lord AND myself more.  I am scared to death.  I would've chosen something quite different if it was up to me.  It wasn't.  I'm glad--I'm sure I'll be even more glad at the end of this calling.  Happiness is so wonderful! :)

Please feel free to use my printable for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  For more information on my disclaimers and printing policies, please visit the tab up top! :)  Happy printing, friends!

Linking to:

Temple Worthy: A Definition?

I don't know about you, but this talk by Elder Scott D. Whitig really struck me and made me re-examine my life.  Just like I'm doing again now.  I made goals for myself at the beginning of the year and I am now reviewing them to make sure that they really are do-able.  I think they are. I am happier and I feel that I am learning the things that Heavenly Father wants me to, so they were all reasonable and worthy goals.  It all started with this talk, though...

Elder Whitig recounts an experience where he toured a temple that was being built with "...the Executive Director of the Temple Department, Elder William R. Walker, and his Temple Department associates."  While they went through this holy building, every now and then something small would be found out and it was noted to fix it.  In one area there was grit on the walls.  In another place, the window wasn't quite right.  Each time, the remark was made that these things were not temple standard or worthy.

Elder Whitig went back for the temple dedication some weeks after.  He noted that the walls that were noted as too gritty were covered with wallpaper and that the window was behind a large plant.  He chuckled to himself that the contractor had been tricky in how he took care of these problems.  When he brought them up later, he was told that, no, these were the plans.  The grit needed to be gone whether or not there was wallpaper.  The window was to be perfect even though the plant would obscure it.

WOW.  Did that hit you at all?  What grit is underneath my personal wallpaper?  What crooked window pane in my soul am I trying to just hide behind a plant?  This talk has made me re-examine things that I thought I was either justified in or else I thought I hid well.  Even if I hide these things to the world, I will never hide them from my Father in Heaven.  He knows all.  The quote I chose to prettify is my basic goal for 2013.

Here's the print that I made for that quote~

Please feel free to use it for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  More information about disclaimers and printing policies can be found up top under the tab.  Happy printing! :)

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!

Regrets

I know that we all have regrets from our life time.  Okay, I know that I do.  I can't speak for you.  Elder Uchtdorf's talk really hit home for me and I realized that living with regrets should be something that teaches you to be better.  We should learn from our mistakes and not continually make the same ones over and over thinking we can just repent each time.  Repentance is sincere change, not feeling sorry for a bit then going and performing the same sinful act again. 

I LOVE this statement that Elder Uchtdorf makes~

Isn't that simple perfection?  It's so easy.  Living the gospel can be SO EASY!

I was talking to my husband recently about how I am trying to do better at treating others the way the Savior would.  After one such incident, he told me that he was proud of me for trying to work with difficult people.  You know what I told him--because this is what I had realized--I am the only one being difficult. 

I am the one who decides how difficult to make a situation.  I am the only one who makes myself sad.  I am the only one who can make me happy.  I am the only one who can choose to rise above whatever I perceive is going on and choose to treat others as children of God anyway. 

This attitude shift has really effected my life and has made me so incredibly happy.  I hope that as we continue on the path set out by our Savior that we will see an increase in our happiness and peace.  I know that we will find both if we are doing all we can to live a righteous life.  I also know that when we follow the Savior, we will be able to live a regret free life and return spotless to our heavenly home.

Please feel free to use my print FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.  More disclaimers and policies about printing can be found under the tab above.  Happy printing! :)  And stay tuned...there are more General Conference prints to come! :)

Know it, Love it, Live it!

I'm back!  Sorry for the long delay, I'm trying to sort out my life after my laptop died! ;)

I'm sure that this is probably one of the most loved quotes from this past General Conference, and so I wanted to do something a bit different.  I wanted to go elegant and just make the statements bold as a reminder to myself to BE this each and every day!

Here's the print~

And here's a little something else for you if you want--if you email me at onastampage@yahoo.com and tell me what color you'd like instead of the yellow green I used, I will personalize this for you!  

I hope that you find this printable inspiring!  Please feel free to use this for PERSONAL USE ONLY.  Thanks, and happy printing! :)

Mynnette's Musings: Self Reliance

The Parable of Fast Food

 

                I have noticed something about myself.  I go through phases where I don’t eat any fast food for a long time and then I don’t have time one day and so I’ll go through a drive through.  This makes me once again realize how convenient it is to have someone do the work of preparing food for me, and I waste a lot of money buying things to eat that I could have made for less at home.  It’s so much cheaper to buy the ingredients and make the meals yourself, but it is time consuming and sometimes labor intensive.

                This can be related to life in this way:  we can choose to do things for ourselves and work hard but reap the reward of less money taken, or we can always shirk our responsibility and have others do our work for us.  This is the more costly option of the two.  Not only do we rob ourselves of much needed work and learning, we create a burden upon others and take away from our spiritual bank.  Heavenly Father has taught us that He expects us to do all that we can and then Christ will make up for the rest.  How scary is it to think that if we do not do ALL that we can, we have robbed ourselves and burdened someone else along the way!

                I sincerely hope that we learn to do things for ourselves when we are young so that instead of creating a burden on those around us, we will be able to give ourselves to the important work Heavenly Father has given us to do here on earth.  If we do so, I know that our spiritual banks will be full for our time on earth and for our life to come!

Related scriptures:       Genesis 3:19, Moses 4:25, 2 Chronicles 15:7, Proverbs 6:6, Proverbs 10:16, Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 20:11, Ecclesiastes 5:12, Matthew 25:15, Romans 2:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 1 Thessalonians 4:11, 2 Nephi 5:17, 2 Nephi 9:51, Jacob 1:19, Mosiah 2:14, Mosiah 10:5, Mosiah 23:5, Mosiah 27:5, Alma 10:4, Alma 36:25, D&C 42:42, D&C 58:27, D&C 68:30, D&C 72:17, D&C 82:18.

Mynnette's Musings: Share Your Leftover Candy!

The Parable of the Left-over Halloween Candy

I tend to go a bit nuts on buying Halloween candy.  I want to be prepared to have a lot on hand to give out to our trick or treaters.  The problem is, I usually get more than we need and it ends up staying in our cabinet getting stale until the next year unless I throw it out.  I don’t even think about giving it out to other people who may like it but didn’t come to our house to trick or treat!

This is how our testimony can become if we’re not aware.  It’s easy to get up on fast Sunday and to share our testimony for those who have come to hear them.  It is not so easy to share our testimony with those who may like it, but didn’t come that week but do need it!  If we don’t continually share our testimony each day and not just present it to those who come to hear it on fast Sunday.  We can do this by living the gospel, talking to those around us about gospel topics that we have a testimony of or just testifying that Christ loves everyone by doing simple acts of service.  I hope that instead of letting our testimonies go stale, we share it and don’t waste it and let it become stale!

Related scriptures: John 3:11, Acts 10:42, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, 1 John 4:14, Alma 5:45-46, D&C 17:3, D&C 88:81.

Mynnette's Musings: The Leaky Faucet of Sin

The Parable of the Leaky Faucet

 

                I’m sure that we’ve all experienced the annoyance of a leaky faucet.  It is a simple fix, but if we let it go, it just gets more and more annoying each day.  We hear it while we’re lying in bed trying to sleep and it keeps us up.  We’re trying to read a favorite book and it breaks our concentration.  We are talking on the phone and are unable to concentrate on our conversation because of the distracting leak!

                Our sins are the leaky faucets of our spirits.  They can be easy to fix, but if we let them go, they become more and more troublesome each day.  We will think about them while trying to sleep at night, while trying to relax and while working with others.  If we let them go too long, it is too late and we are stuck with our sins.  I pray that we will take the time each day to truly repent of our sins so that we can go about our lives with a clear mind and a clear conscious.

Related scriptures: Numbers 5:7, Ezra 10:11, Psalm 38:18, Proverbs 28:13, Mosiah 4:10, D&C 58:42, Isaiah 1:16, Ezekiel 18:30, Hosea 13:14, Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15,  Luke 13:3, Luke 15:7, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, 2 Nephi 9:23, 3 Nephi 11:32, D&C 133:16, Moses 6:57, Article of Faith 4.