Jesus has Resigned...

So, tonight during scripture reading, my daughter was reading away. We were in 1 Nephi 22:26 which reads-

26 And because of the ^arighteousness of his people, ^bSatan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of ^cmanyyears; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel ^dreigneth.

As she ended the verse she said, "...and the Holy One of Israel resigneth."

We all stopped and thought about that for a minute. We laughed, but the thought crossed my mind, "What WOULD happen if the Lord just resigned?"

It wasn't a pleasant picture. I sometimes think that with all the struggles I have and do face that sometimes the Lord maybe WANTS to resign, but I am ever grateful for a Savior who is willing to stick with me despite my failures, struggles, and outright sinning. 

So, I guess the next time you feel like giving up, remember that our Savior has experienced anything and everything that WE might encounter and he understands. I don't think there will be any resignations anytime soon, either from the Lord...
Or, from me.

Parables and Their Meaning

Today was a great day. As I was sitting in Gospel Doctrine class, I found myself rereading the scripture that was shared over and over. The teacher had everyone turn to Luke 15:4-7. It reads:

 4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine ^ain the wilderness, and go after that which is ^blost, until he find it?

 5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

 6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

 7 I say unto you, that likewise ^ajoy shall be in heaven over one^bsinner that ^crepenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

The discussion continued as everyone shared that they thought about various parts of the parable. 

However, I kept reading down the page. This is what comes next:

 8 ¶Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one^apiece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

 9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and herneighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. The Lord wasn't only talking to the brethren of the church. He was talking to the sisters as well. And, I couldn't help but wonder if these two parables have a deeper meaning.
I wonder if the parable about the shepherd, was in reference to those around us, those that we can reach out to to help- friends, neighbors, strangers...

And I wonder just a little bit, if the second part of that parable was meant to help mothers see just how important their role really IS at home. I pondered about the idea that this second part is about seeking out FAMILY members, those in our home (or who WERE in our home) and helping them return to the fold.

I guess in some ways the ideas overlap, and in some ways they don't. Even if this isn't what the Lord meant, I think it raises a great point- one worth thinking about.

Relying Upon the Lord

Time has flown by since the last post. When I saw four months on my teaching blog sidebar, I realized that it was time to leave a post, short though it may be.

I feel that I have had a few ups and lots of downs over the past 4 months. Small things like struggling to fulfill my calling to medium things like trying to be a good father and teacher to mega things like losing a close friend to an untimely death.

Most days I feel completely jumbled inside. The workings of the spirit is trying to guide me and it seems that I fight that guidance by letting the day-to-day stresses of life flood my mind. I get so caught up in wanting to be a good father, a good educator for my students at school, and dealing with being a perfectionist that it seems there is little time or energy to focus on the things the Lord requires of me.

"Just focus on what you need too."

This seems to be the advice from family and friends, and if it were only that simple, I think everyone would be completely righteous. No, it seems to me that the harder I try, the less I get accomplished and the farther I feel from my Savior.

I long for that peaceful feeling that comes with giving my life over to the Lord, and I know that a desire to be enveloped in his loving guidance is a huge first step.

Yes, there are many little things that I need to work on, and believe me when I say that I am well aware of that. But, until I can find a place where I can just "Let go, and Let God", I will continue to have these struggles.

However, I also know that I CAN do this, and I continually pray that I will be given strength beyond my own to accomplish it.

Keep the Faith...

Knowing Jesus

I was a substitute in Nursery today.  I took my almost one year old daughter in with me.  As the children were having play time, I was sitting in a chair by the wall, holding my daughter.  She wanted to stand up, so I let her stand on my lap.  She looked at the wall behind me and I saw this look of recognition come over her little face.  I turned around to see what she was looking at and there was a picture of Christ on the wall just over my shoulder.  I looked back at my daughter and asked her if she knew who that was.  I told her it was Jesus.  She got a huge grin on her face and leaned toward me.  I wasn't sure what she wanted until she let go of my fingers and laid her head on the picture of Christ.  She had her arms out like she was giving him a hug. She pulled away from the picture and smiled at me.  I said, "Yes, that is Jesus."  She leaned toward the picture again and gave it a kiss, and then another.  It was a moment I'll never forget. Kind of makes you wonder how thin the veil really is with these little children.

Come Listen to A Prophet's Voice!

REMEMBER TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND!

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me...

I hear these words and I feel chills to my bone. How terrible the pain must have been for our Savior to cry to his father. Not a physical pain, I think, but the spirit of his father withdrew, to allow the Son to have full honor in glory knowing that he accomplished his mission of his on will and choice and free so the sustaining support of his father for that instant. How amazing was this man from Galilee, who knew from a child what is purpose and calling in life was and set about his father's work without hesitation and complaining. What an inspiration my Savior is. Oh that I could be even a millionth of what he was and is...

Keep the Faith

Kindness

Greetings!

Tonight my oldest daughter wanted to do FHE. She disappeared into her room and came out later with a lesson, story, and activity all ready to go.

She picked a great topic too: KINDNESS. I am thankful that she could see that it is just what our family needed to hear.

It was a sweet lesson with a great story about kindness, a scavenger hunt that had the boys work to show kindness to complete, and then a visual lesson.

Meet Don't Do It Ducky

 This little duck tells you DON'T be kind, DON'T be nice.

Our goal for the week is to "make him fly South and stay out of our house".

This is Be Kind Bear:

This is the bear that helps us all show love and kindness to each other. We "want him to stay on our shoulders all the time".

Thanks sis for a creative and uplifting lesson. We love you very much!

Keep the Faith...