Love, the Essence of the Gospel II

The lesson today was taught by Deanna Jeffrey and it was based on the talk by President Tomas S. Monson "Love, the Essence of the Gospel." We just had this lesson a few weeks ago, but it is always good to have a refresher! Deanna got a good discussion going ways that we can forgive others. We talked about how emotional wounds leave scarring just like physical wounds do.

When a bone heals itself, the bone grows back to form a scar that is stronger than the rest of the bone. Likewise when an emotional scar heals, the person has a stronger character as a result of going through whatever emotional trial it was that left the scar.

We should always forgive those who wrong us, and need to remember to strike a balance between aknowledging that we have forgiven them and allowing ourselves to get in to the same emotionally scarring situation again.

When it comes to forgiving people, I always remind myself that everyone on Earth is a child of God, and that people are not perfect. Sometimes hurtful words were not meant to be hurtful, sometimes "wrong" actions taken were meant in a spirit of loving kindness and we simply perceived them the wrong way.

It is very rare that a person will purposely go out of their way to make your life harder. Most of the time it seems like we get mad at someone simply because we misunderstood what they were really trying to do or say. When someone does do something mean to you on purpose, remember they are walking the hard walk of life too, and we all deserve a break every now and then, and a fresh start.

Plus, when you forgive someone, you are no longer harboring those harsh festering angry feelings inside of you. You might still feel sad, but you will no longer feel angry and vengeful, and there will
always be some kind of peace that comes from forgiving someone else.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matthew 5:44

We also talked about how sometimes we are unusually nice to strangers and we have a tendency to show our ugly sides to those who we love the most. I'm sure I can speak for all of us when I say I can definitely work on being a better person around my husband, and vice versa.

Anyways, hope you girls all have a good week! Make sure you re-read that conference talk by President Monson if you haven't read it in a while.

xoxox
Lisa

In the World, Not of the World

During the lesson today, I kept thinking of this song I heard while visiting a church of a different faith with my Mom. I forget what kind of Christians they were, but it seemed like the only reason they got together on Sunday was to console each other and talk about what they do not know. They sang a song that went like this:

"Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?"

And that was the whole song! I wanted to stand up and shout "I have the answers to all these questions! Everybody read the Book of Mormon!" Haha, but of course I didn't shout those things. The whole experience made me glad that I have known the answers to those questions since I was in Primary and sang "I am a Child of God." I am so grateful to be a member of this Church, and to have guidance from living prophets and apostles.

Bethany McBeth was nice enough to write up some of her thoughts on the lesson too. Thank you Bethany! Now on to her post:

Be in the world not of the world. Everyone has times where they stray and need to have their testimonies strengthened.  Always take the opportunities you are given to work and serve in the Church.  The world never has offered anything that will bring happiness, only temporary satisfaction.  God wants us to have true happiness in this life and in the life to come. Thats why we are here. We can always be forgiven, any voice that says we cannot, is Satan. Motherhood is so we can learn to be like God. We need to always have the spirit with us so that we are always in alignment with the lord.

I know that the Lord's plan for us is the best plan for our lives and for our eternal progress. We are here to make mistakes and learn from them and I have a testimony that we can always be forgiven for the sins that we commit because the atonement is eternal and all encompassing.  I say this in Jesus name. Amen.

Mothers

This week's post is written by Bethany Madsen. I would add some of my own thoughts, but I have been doing that a lot lately so here is Bethany's post:

Mothers' Day is such a special day to celebrate women. Whether we are technically mothers or not, no matter where we are we are endowed with a divine nurturing trait. We don't speak a whole lot about Heavenly Mother, but I can only imagine how perfect her motherly love is. We were created in the image of God and similar to our Heavenly Mother we have the innate trait (or should I say talent) to nurture. We can use this to bless our children but also to bless those around us who need our love.

I'm so grateful for this day, to take time to contemplate and appreciate the women in my life who have impacted me for the better. One of those important role models is an elderly woman who isn't a mother herself. Yet I have learned so much about godly love from her example.
May we take this day to contemplate the kind of women we want to be. Let us use our divine gift of nurturing to make a difference in others lives.

I know this church is true and that our Heavenly Parents continually look over us, and that they love each one of us so much. They have blessed us with individual talents special to us so that we may be better disciples and serve others. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

April Birthdays

Happy Birthday to all you girls who were born in April!!!

Ali Chezik
Angie Facer
Elizabeth Lowe

Love, the Essence of the Gospel

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

Lacee Jimenez gave a wonderful lesson today, based on the talk by President Thomas S. Monson called "Love, the Essence of the Gospel." We talked about realizing that everyone in this world is a child of God and that if we always remember that, we will be able to live more harmoniously with others, especially when our patience is wearing thin *ahem* bad drivers. We can probably all work on being a little more kind to others.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example in anything. He was bold in spreading the gospel yet kind to those who needed comfort, patience, healing, and encouragement. We should better follow his example not only in our interactions with the everyday passerby, but especially with our family members.

Love should be the very heart of family life. I'm hoping I can create a home environment that welcomes the spirit, bolsters confidence in family members, and fosters healthy relationships. For me, open communication and empathy has been the key to keeping a happy and healthy relationship with my husband.

I'm so grateful for this restored gospel and for our savior Jesus Christ, who loved each of us enough to suffer all kinds of pain so that we would have someone who can empathize with us, and who can be our advocate with the Father when we finish our imperfect mortal journey. 

What are you trying to do to better show your love for your family members? I would love to see your thoughts in the comments below.

Love you girls!
Lisa

Repentance, Faith, and Testimonies

Good evening everyone! I need to get better at posting on Sunday when the Relief Society lesson is fresh in our minds. But this way we can all have a mid-week refresher right? This week's blog post was written by Angie (thank you Angie). I appreciated the RS lesson last Sunday because it made me examine my own life, and I found areas where I can improve when it comes to repentance, faith, and working on my testimony. I hope you all got something out of the lesson too!

Now on to Angie's post-

Yvonne gave a great lesson on faith and repentance from our Joseph Fielding Smith book. Faith and repentance go hand in hand for me. You can't believe Heavenly Father will forgive your sins without faith that he can.

Yvonne asked a lot of great questions that make us think. Like "how can we show our love for someone who needs to be lead towards repentance?"

I immediately thought of an example: Christ was the ultimate example to us about compassion. Did he turn away from someone who had sinned? No. Did he welcome you with open arms and said tell me all your worries? Yes. We should do the same. Most of my friends including my best friends are not members. What kind of friend would I be if I juggled them because they sinned different than I do?



Sencond, how are we working on our testimonies? Sometimes we forget we have them but we can never deny our testimonies. We are just lying to ourselves. We all have our own ways of building our testimonies. For me it's a constant reminder. When look at my wedding ring I think about the temple covenants I made nearly 3 years ago, and I am reminded that families are forever and I must do everything in my power to keep those happy thoughts there.

Third. Why do we need to repent? Why seems like and obvious question. It's not always the case for someone else. When we repent we are excepting the atonement. We are brought closer to Heavenly Father, and our burdens are lifted. I know when I repent it feels like I lost 100 lbs off my shoulders. Why wouldn't you want to feel close to our savior and have your burdens lifted?

We don't have to punish ourselves. That's Satan talking saying you can do that tomorrow. Procrastination is one of Satan's tricks. You will feel much better if you take action and you repent sooner rather than later.

I know that when I repent I feel like a new woman. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

-Angie Facer

Provident Living

Here are some quick notes from the combined 3rd hour lesson on Sunday. We learned some great things and it was a good reminder to get your 72 hour kits together if you haven't already (Jeff and I still need to do ours!). Thanks to Ali Chezik for taking these notes for us!

-Lisa

Emergency Preparedness- 72 Hour Kits

• What is a 72 hour kit?
• A collection of basic household items your household may need in case of an emergency
• Reasons for a 72 hour kit (examples):
• E. Coli outbreak in water supply in Lindon
• Apartment caught on fire
• Ice storms & tornadoes in Midwest
• Recent Ice Storm in Texas, causing everyone to be stuck in their homes
• Seattle: Earthquakes, Mudslide, Tsunamis
• Factors to consider when building a 72 hour kit:
• Make sure the food you include you will actually eat
• Medical issues requiring medicine or special supplies (such as diabetes)
• Your environment and likely environmental disasters
• Family composition (special needs for babies, children, elderly)
• 72 hour kits need to be made individually for each member of your family
• Store in backpacks for easy removal and transporting
• Update kits regularly
• Update every 6 months
• Tip: Always update around General Conference
• Rotate food before expiration dates
• Rotate clothes for appropriate season
• Replace clothing for children to reflect current size
• Spiritual preparedness
• Scriptures
• Patriarchal blessing
• Consecrated oil
• Water
• Water filter
• Water storage drums
• water bottles with filters
• Store 2 liter soda bottles filled with water in each room
• Food Storage
• Idea: Sacrifice 1-2 tax returns to build food storage

Provident Living Components

• Enjoying the present while providing for the future
• 2 Nephi Chapter 5 vs 9-17
• Physical Health- Why is it important?
• What we do now will affect us later on
• We never know what will be required of us in future
• Lower medical costs
• Affects our ability to act both in emergencies and day-to-day
• Our bodies are temples
• Physical Health- What does that include?
• Exercise
• Eat well
• Quality sleep (minimum of 6 hours)
• Keep surroundings clean
• Adequate medical care & health insurance
• cultivate good relationships with family and friends
• Resource Management- What is it?
• Resource Management = Money Management
• Resource Management- what does it include?
• Budgets/ Financial planning
• Emergency fund
• Time management
• Education