Inspired by the life of a great prophet

I just finished reading the Song of Solomon...not necessarily deemed as scripture, and am now on to reading the book of Isaiah. What a change of pace! I am so excited to delve into the teachings of one of the greatest, most-quoted prophets in scriptural history.

As I thought about this man, whose life and teachings have and continue to influence for good so many other people, it caused me to take a look at myself and ask, what difference am I making in the lives of others?

First and foremost, I am a wife and mother...two very influential and critical roles in blessing the lives of others. I have much to say about those two roles, but that is for another entry, another day.

Beyond those two very important roles, I am a daughter, sister, friend, and visiting teacher. I cannot hope to do all the good I am meant to do for others if I do not take the time and make the effort to get to know those children of God that surround me, and what is going on for them in their lives. Relying on revelation from the spirit is not enough. Praying to know what I should do for someone is not enough. If I don't go out of my way to speak with someone and prove myself a trustworthy, caring friend, then I can't expect The Lord to fully-utilize my influence for good in the lives of his children. Social confidence, having never been my forte, could make this task somewhat difficult for me. It is not impossible, though. The Lord knows our capabilities. He knows our weaknesses. He sees our struggles. He understands our hearts. He will help me in my efforts to know, love, and serve his children.

Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest...

Ecclesiastes 9:9 "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun."

It is so easy, in our world today, to forget that life is supposed to be joyful...not all joy...there must be sorrow, too, but there IS also supposed to be JOY!  I find it, also, important to note that it specifically mentioned living joyfully with your spouse.  Life is hard, and so is marriage at times, but--when centered on the Savior--marriage has the potential to bring more joy into your life than any other relationship on this earth, save only your relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

Let's remember to live joyfully...date regularly, tell your spouse you love them, be spontaneous, leave them little notes, buy their favorite ice cream instead of yours, etc...and make the most of the precious moments we are given together in this life.

Two are better than one.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 "(9)Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.  (10)For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."

At first, reading this scripture, my thought was, "this is like a good marriage...where each spouse is striving to give 100%...like my marriage."  But, it occurred to me that--often times through no fault of their own--some people don't have the opportunity for marriage in this life.  I then pondered on what this scripture could mean for them.  Then it hit me--a universal application of this scripture for every single person on Earth.

Though not everyone has the opportunity to marry in this life, each person ever to live does have the opportunity to believe in Christ, be baptized in his name, and partner with him in living a good, Christian life.  I cannot think of a more dependable friend to "lift up his fellow" than the Savior.  In fact, when we fall, his arm is always stretched out, waiting for us to grab hold of his reach, and allow him to pick us back up.  

This is also very important for married couples to remember.  If we really want a successful marriage, then both husband and wife need to partner with the Savior.  Centering our lives (and, therefore, our marriages) on the Savior is the only way to endure the challenges that life throws at us.  

I know that by being baptized in the name of the Savior through proper authority, being willing to take upon us his name and live as he lived, the Savior will be there to lift us up when we fall.  I am SO grateful to be married to a man who believes the same thing, and I love him very much!

Her price is far above rubies.

Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."

I want to get on the Earth's intercom system and shout this scripture out for everyone to hear!  As daughters of God, we have SO much to give.  We have strength.  We have talents.  We have love.  We have compassion.  We have power...power to change the world.  Sadly, though, rather than changing the world, we are allowing the world to change us.  Why?  So we can walk like, look like, and sound like what the media and our society tell us we should be like?  If so, all of our efforts are vain, and we are allowing our worth to change with the fickle minds of the media.  This is NOT what we were divinely created to be!

Speaking to the young women in society, can I promise you that when you wear that sheer shirt and those tight pants, your boyfriend doesn't love you more?  He probably lusts after you more...let's be honest, men and women are wired differently...but if you want a man to really love YOU...(yes, that includes your body...but not JUST your body, or even MOSTLY your body...ALL of YOU)...then become a real woman.  How "real" is cleavage and showing some leg?  It is only as real as it is lasting, and take it from a young mother of two children, less than ten years from now you will be looking in the mirror at a very different body.  So please, please, please, look inside of yourself and see more than the potential to become the next object of lust and pleasure for some guy who doesn't deserve you.  There ARE good, strong men out there that are praying everyday to find a woman worth waiting for.  All you have to do is be that woman, and you will start finding those men.

The world wants you to live in the moment.  The Lord wants you to live forever...and that requires virtue.  So go...live up to your REAL potential!  I promise you will find lasting happiness that you couldn't even have hoped for otherwise!

A True Friend

True friends have integrity.  While tact and care should always be taken, we don't do our friends any favors by simply telling them what they want to hear.

Proverbs 27:6 - "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

What makes the "wounds of a friend" faithful?  It is because those wounds are made out of love for that friend.  True friends have courage.

If you wouldn't throw a rock at someone, then you shouldn't gossip about them.

You’re chatting with a friend, and someone else’s name comes up.  You’re not really being mean, you’re just making conversation, right?  I mean…all of the things you are saying about this other person are true, so it probably doesn’t even count as gossip.  Perhaps I can help change your mind…

Proverbs 26:20 & 22 “(20)Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth….(22)The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”

Because we cannot see, physically, the damage done by words, we erroneously assume that words don’t do any harm…especially when the person we are speaking of is not present.  If we wouldn’t throw a rock at someone, then we shouldn’t gossip about them.  When we gossip, one thing we forget to consider is that—unlike throwing a rock at someone—gossiping about someone not only hurts the person you are talking about, but you, also.  If the person you are speaking with is hearing you gossip about someone else, are they going to be inclined to share something heavy on their heart with you?  Not if they think the way I do.  In order to be true followers of Christ, we need to be the kind of trustworthy, sympathetic friend our Savior was and is…and that kind of person doesn’t gossip.

"Fret not thyself because of evil men"

At one point in time, my husband, during his study of psychology, was continually coming home, sharing stories of horrible things that were done to innocent people.  As someone who feels easily laden down with the darkness of this world, it quickly became too much for me to handle.  I couldn't be the listening ear my husband needed me to be.  How was I supposed to deal with all of this evil?

Proverbs 24:19-20 "(19)Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; (20)For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out."

We must remember that God is in control.  Does he allow his children to prove themselves good or evil?  Yes.  That has been his plan from the beginning.  However, we have to remember that we are fighting in a battle, of which, we already know the end result.  Good will conquer evil.  God will win.  All that is left to decide, is whose side we will be found fighting for.

I decided that, rather than letting each bit of darkening news weigh me down and discourage me, I should let my sympathy for those innocent children of God motivate me to do more good and spread more light in this world.  If, each time I hear of something terrible, I do something good for someone else I will be adding light and goodness to this world that is in such great need of it.  Can I ever "make up" for those terrible things that have been done to innocent people and are continually done?  No.  Only Jesus Christ can do that.  However, I can be a force for good in the world.  We all can be.

As the world denies morality, Christian parents must become even stronger.

Yesterday's immorality has been transformed into today's "political correctness."  Rather than disciplining itself and conforming its behavior to God's standards of morality, society has eased this "burden" from itself by simply denying there exists any moral standard at all.  What a challenging time to find ourselves raising children! 

I recently had a Christian friend mention how unsettling it was, thinking of bringing up children in today's world.  I am a young mother, but even looking back to when I was in high school and comparing the temptations that I had to withstand to the temptations today's youth have to withstand, it's amazing how quickly things can go from bad to worse.  So, I totally understand where this friend is coming from.  Now, I don't enjoy focusing on the negative so thankfully, once again, the word of God can lift us up and give us hope.

Proverbs 23:13-14 "(13)Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.  (14)Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."

Before you stop reading, don't worry...I don't take the words from verses 13-14 completely literally.  However, I do find it interesting to compare God's instruction to "withhold not correction from the child" with society's motto of, "whatever feels right is right."  I know many good parents, so I emphasize that this is a very GENERAL statement, but parents today have less and less backbone than ever before.  Does it take guts to tell your 16 year old daughter that having sex outside of marriage is wrong, even if you "love" each other?  Yes, it does.  Does it take guts to tell your kids "no," when it seems that all of their friends’ parents are saying "whatever you want" or even "sure go ahead?"  Yes, it does.  The verse that is so encouraging to me, however, is Proverbs 22:6.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

This is not a guarantee that simply raising your children with high, Christ-like standards will ensure that they never wander off the straight and narrow.  God has given us all the gift of agency, and he won’t take that away from us.  However, I know that we receive these sweet children at such innocent, impressionable stages of life, that if we really do all we can to teach them the ways of truth…to teach them about the reality of their living Savior, Jesus Christ…they will have the knowledge and tools they need to combat the evils of the day.  Can we make their choices for them?  Or better yet…should we make their choices for them?  No.  We must follow God’s example and honor their agency that has been divinely given them.  However, we can then live with the peace of knowing that—no matter what our children’s choices are—they know that through repentance and reliance on their Redeemer, there is always a way back to the fold of God.  There will always be hope for them that believe. 

So, fellow Christian parents…should our attitude be one of fear?  No.  That is exactly what Satan wants.  We should raise our children with courage, believing in the truths we teach them, and praying for our children’s safety and success as followers of Christ. 

With God, anything is possible.

God Has The Power To Change Your Heart

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."  - Psalms23:7

If we contemplate the thoughts of our hearts and find that they are not in line with the principles of righteousness, we should trust that our Heavenly Father has the power to change our hearts.  We must get on our knees and pray for a change to be made in our hearts for the better.  Does this mean we may, in effect, be praying for trials to come?  Sure.  But, if enduring well through those trials is the pathway to a changed heart and an eye single to the glory of God, then they should be seen as sweet, tender mercies of the Lord...whose love for us is too great to keep us from the growth we need to experience in order to be worthy to return to live with him again, someday.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world..."

Hello.  My name is Abbie.  I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  My goal in writing this blog is to share my faith, and hopefully be a source of good in this world that is so lost, it doesn't even realize it doesn't know where it is going.  I believe in God.  I believe that Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again on the third day as my personal Savior, and yours.  I believe that the scriptures are the word of God, and that by searching and pondering them daily, we can come to know our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ, and the plan of happiness that they have prepared for each of us.

Each day, when I read my scriptures, I write down a few notes about what I gleaned from my study, and how it applies to my life, today.  Just now, as I finished an entry in my scripture journal, I thought to myself, "Why do I keep this to myself?  There are so many people like me, or not like me, that need to know of the goodness of God, and the reality of Jesus Christ.  I need to be brave, be bold, and share."  Of course, I do believe that some things are too sacred and personal, and that not everything one discovers--especially spiritually--should be shared with everyone, or even anyone, so this is not my complete scripture journal.  However, like I said, I just want to make a difference.  What if only one person ever reads this blog?  Well...what if it helps that one person feel the love of God in their life and realize who they are, as His child?  Then no matter the hours spent writing, every second will have been worth it.  What if tons of people read this blog and most of them shoot down what I share?  Or what if even all of them shoot it down?  Then I tried, and my faith and personal testimony will be stronger for it.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  -John 8:12

Bottom line...Jesus Christ is the light of the world.  He blesses us, as his disciples, with the responsibility of sharing it with the world.  I am simply striving to live, love, and share as he did when he lived on this Earth.  So come, join with me, comment as you wish, and feel the true joy and happiness that comes from the gospel of Jesus Christ.