Beautiful weekend together! Most of our Boys on our team went to SLC to help with the Red Rock Relay Park City. They planned a super weekend together and were excited to go together! I am so grateful they are such good friends! I hope they have a great time together making memories! I know they will... movie in the park, move out of J's apartment. Sleep out in their hammocks someplace up the canyon, shooting, hiking, then man the aid station for the relay and home. They will have a great time! On the home front, we managed to squeeze in our loop bike ride over to the park before these two cute girls needed to be at a wedding they committed to help serve at. I am so grateful for adventures far and close, for fun people to be with, and for TIME together! No other way to spell great relationships but TIME. Each adventure adds to the depth of our relationships - even when it is just tag on the playground! Fun smiles together!
In April General conference President Monson recited the poem...."Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest.of these is what might have been." This is so true in life! I see this so often in so many ways! Today a beautiful active member leading a political forum was speaking with B and I. She said she was in her early 70 ' s and her kids tell her that she better be taking care of herself because they want her around to play with their kids....her grandkids. With a smile she said she wants to be here and not just here, but healthy and a part of their lives! Me too! That is not the choice of others in my life. Life is so beautiful! Here are some photos of our bike ride together with those home Friday early evening...yes there were many activities which took all of us different directions after the sun went down, but we managed to sneak a beautiful hour together! As I ponder the messages of General Conference last week, the messages that stand out in my mind were the ones about family, personal revelation and the Sacrament. I am so grateful to have a testimony of each of these principals! I know of the importance of family. I am so grateful to be a mother! I loved lots and lots of the messages! I have accepted the challenge to focus on two talks per week to review, ponder and apply. This week my family choose to focus on the talk titled Rescue in Unity by Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong that was delivered in Chinese over the pulpit because J was so excited about that! I liked this quote from his talk: "In order to assist the Savior, we have to work together in unity and in harmony. Everyone, every position, and every calling is important. We have to be united in our Lord Jesus Christ."
The other talk we have studied this week was the one by Elder Jörg Klebingat titled Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence. His talk was powerful and right for me! He said:
"The adversary knows that faith in Christ—the kind of faith that produces a steady stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles—goes hand in hand with a personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right. For that reason he will seek access to your heart to tell you lies—lies that Heavenly Father is disappointed in you, that the Atonement is beyond your reach, that there is no point in even trying, that everyone else is better than you, that you are unworthy, and a thousand variations of that same evil theme.
As long as you allow these voices to chisel away at your soul, you can’t approach the throne of God with real confidence. Whatever you do, whatever you pray for, whatever hopes for a miracle you may have, there will always be just enough self-doubt chipping away at your faith—not only your faith in God but also your confidence in yourself. Living the gospel in this manner is no fun, nor is it very healthy. Above all, it is completely unnecessary! The decision to change is yours—and yours alone.
I would like to share six practical suggestions that, if heeded, will dissipate these evil voices and restore to you the kind of peaceful assurance and spiritual confidence that is yours to have if you only want it. Regardless of the rating you gave yourself on that 1-to-10 scale, by applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you can begin increasing your spiritual confidence today if you are willing to listen and act. I will speak boldly, hoping to edify and not to offend."
Then he went on to list six suggestions...
1. Take responsibility for your own spiritual well-being.
2. Take responsibility for your own physical well-being.
3. Embrace voluntary, wholehearted obedience as part of your life.
4. Become really, really good at repenting thoroughly and quickly.
5. Become really, really good at forgiving.
6. Accept trials, setbacks, and "surprises" as part of your mortal experience.
"Some trials come through your own disobedience or negligence. Other trials come because of the negligence of others or simply because this is a fallen world. When these trials come, the adversary’s minions begin broadcasting that you did something wrong, that this is a punishment, a sign that Heavenly Father does not love you. Ignore that! Instead, try to force a smile, gaze heavenward, and say, “I understand, Lord. I know what this is. A time to prove myself, isn’t it?” Then partner with Him to endure well to the end. Spiritual confidence increases when you accept that “often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into [your life] because of what [you] are doing right”
I fasted about family concerns, and the message I felt for me was I was to be grateful for the opportunity to learn these lessons. When I heard this talk, I remembered that feeling, and B came to me after the meeting and expressed his feelings during that talk too. We can't control others, we can't change how they act or feel, we can't even share how we feel with them. They get to choose how they want to have relationships into the future. We can only do our best and continue with confidence doing our best! We should go forward with confidence and not allow the "minions" to get us down! I appreciated this talk - just for me!