Sunday Thoughts

We had a lesson in Relief Society a couple weeks ago that has stuck with me. The topic was "What Can We Do When Hard Things Happen To Us?"

• Keep focused on the eternities.
• Remember Jesus understands ALL we are enduring, we need to go to Him for help.
• Life as we know it is only temporary.
• Peace comes through hope.
• Serving those in need helps us forget about our own problems.
• When taking the Sacramanet consider the Savior's bitter cup and how He asked the Lord to remove it, but then proceeded gracefully when it wasn't taken from him (we should do this too).
• Turn to the Lord, exercise all your faith, share your burden with Him and allow His grace to lighten your load.
• Heavenly Father knows the end from the beginning, all our struggles are for our good.
• When faced with trials we need to learn not to murmur.
• Seek the will of the Father.
• Become more earnest, sincere and faithful.
• Learn to serve and think of others, Christ was the epitome of service.
• Forgive others and do not seek to pass blame.

Sunday Thoughts

As I mentioned in my hilariously embarrassing post from yesterday, it was our annual Stake Women's Conference. I have gone to this for the last few years and posted about it all those times.

There were several good speakers, but the main speaker was Emily Freeman (an author and "famous" church speaker--Michelle recently posted notes from her) and she was fabulous. One of the great benefits of having a seasoned speaker is that they have confidence and are able to speak without apology and without bringing attention to themselves the way many insecure speakers do with self-deprecation and apologies for their weaknesses. I understand why people feel this way, but I feel like if you've been asked to speak somewhere it is for a reason and you should own that and take on the confidence the Lord has entrusted you with so that rather than drawing attention to yourself you can deliver your message. Enough said.


Anyway, she was clearly inspired and delivered a beautiful message about remembering the Savior through Commitment, Sanctification and Consecration. I took so many notes that I'm not sure how to post them, so I'm going to try to relate a story she told that had me doing the ugly cry.

She told us how 6 years ago for Christmas, she and her husband decided they were going to take their children to the store so each of them could choose a picture of the Savior to have framed in their bedroom. She said their kids took this very seriously and that it took a couple weeks for them all to find the picture that meant the most to them. She said her son, who was 13 at the time, really wanted a picture of Peter trying to walk on water toward the Savior, but that they couldn't find it. Eventually she found that picture in a book and cut it out and framed it for her son. Then each of the children wrote "I am a disciple of Christ" under the picture in the frame (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea).



Fast forward 6 years later and her son is the only missionary in the MTC preparing to serve in Croatia. The time came for him to fly there all by himself and as he did she was worried that he would get lost or have trouble along the way. He had to change planes in Paris and somehow got stuck in the wrong section of the airport for 45 minutes and almost missed his flight. (This had me in tears thinking of Landon in 6 years, what is in store for him?) Fortunately, he got on the right plane and flew to Croatia where his Mission President met him at the airport...phew!

Later in a Zone Conference the Mission President was relating the story of going to pick her son up at the airport and likened him to Peter walking on water toward the Savior because of his great faith! Isn't that a beautiful story?

She also talked about how many of our stories/trials are in process so we don't know how they're going to end but that it's all part of our journey here on Earth and that by remembering the Savior always and exercising faith we will eventually see what we are supposed to learn from those experiences.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I got ANOTHER calling today! Now I'm on the Relief Society Activity Committee too.

Sunday Thoughts

Last Wednesday at school the 9th graders got to participate in an activity called "Reality Town". They were each given a paper that told them what their career was, how much money they made per month (before and after taxes) and what their personal life was like (i.e., single, divorced, married, with or without kids). They were all given a checkbook with the starting balance of their monthly salary after taxes, then set loose in the gym where there were many booths set up representing the bank, the grocery store, the car dealer, daycare, beauty salon, property taxes, entertainment, chance, insurance, and so on.


I was assigned to work the donations booth with a girl who works for United Way. Together we told all the kids that visited our booth (which was supposed to be everyone) that they did not have to make a donation, but that if they would like to they could decide what amount they'd like to donate and where they'd like the money to go (Cancer Research, Church, Homeless Shelter, Humane Society, Education, etc.).

It was a fun way to spend my day (I had no idea that's what I'd be doing when I showed up at school that day) and was so interesting to watch the kids as they "spent" their pretend money.


I was particularly moved and impressed by the kids who came to our donation booth to pay their tithing. Even though the money was just pretend, it was still hard to write a check for $516 dollars or whatever amount was 10% of their earnings. For some kids there was no question at all that that's what they would do, but for many others there was a long pause and then a small donation of $10-20.

It was particularly interesting for me to see what the kids from my ward would do. A couple of the boys came to the donation booth after they'd been to many other booths and didn't have very much money left, so they wrote their small checks with red-faces and nervous laughter. One girl from our ward completely shocked me when she came and made a small donation instead of paying her tithing. Based on what I know of her and her family I was floored by her choice not to pay it first. Interestingly, she came back like an hour later and wrote another check, this time for $491 to cover tithing. I don't know if the guilt got to her or if she was waiting to see how much money she'd have left, but I was impressed that she came back.

It made me wonder what I would have done as a 9th grader with a pretend bank balance of $3, 150. In my youth, I always struggled with paying my tithing because it felt like so much money to me when I was already making so little (all those hours working at TCBY!). I didn't understand the true spirit of tithing or the concept of true obedience. My immature view was based solely around the money I was giving up, and totally disregarded the fact that everything I had came from the Lord.


This morning as we were getting ready to go to Tithing Settlement, we were explaining this concept (again) to a teary-eyed Whitney. She was gathering $1.70 to pay from the $17 of birthday cash she'd recently been blessed with. That $1.70 felt like a tremendous amount to pay, especially because she had already spent most of her money (we should have had her set it aside first) and would only have .50 cents left! It was no comfort to her to think of the big tithing check Randy had written today, because 10% of a person's increase is exactly that and feels just a easy or painful (depending on how you look at it) to the poor man as to the rich man. (Though I'd really like to give the rich man tithing a try some time!)

I have a strong testimony of tithing and know that we have been blessed because our obedience in paying a full tithe. Our blessings haven't usually been financial, but we are convinced that we have been blessed with good health and safety many times as a result of paying our tithing. We have been without insurance for a lot of years off and on and at one point for 2 years while the kids were very small, but we never had so much as an ear infection during that time!

**Thoughts??**

From Mormon.org--The principle of tithing, or voluntarily giving one tenth of one’s income to God’s work, has been known since Old Testament times. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20).

The law of tithing is how the Lord funds His Church. Today all faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints contribute one tenth of their income as tithing. Tithing funds are used for:

• Constructing temples, chapels, and other buildings.
• Providing operating funds for the Church.
• Funding the missionary program (This does not include individual missionary expenses.)
• Preparing materials used in Church classes and organizations.
• Temple work, family history, and many other important Church functions.
• Education.

When the Lord reminded His people of this law through the prophet Malachi in the Old Testament, He promised to bless those who were willing to pay an honest tithe (Malachi 3:10)

Comment Window Tidbit: We put up our Christmas decorations this morning and are listening to Christmas music. This is the earliest we have ever done this, but for some reason my seasonal time clock feels right on schedule...weird.

Sunday Thoughts

It was my turn to give our lesson for Family Home Evening a couple weeks ago, and up until 5 minutes before I still wasn't sure what I was going to teach, but then all of the sudden it came to me; it wasn't even one of the ideas I'd been thinking about so I knew it was inspiration.


We ended up discussing the difference between being converted to "the church" (i.e., our ward, our building, our experiences) and being converted to "the gospel" (i.e., The Atonement of Jesus Christ, The Plan of Salvation, The Restoration of the Gospel, etc.). The kids were not familiar with this concept at all and had big eyes as we gave them examples of instances that might shake someone's faith. We explained that if we're not fully converted to the gospel we could lose our faith and fall away, but how if we are fully converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can weather the storms that come our way and carry on.

We referred back to Helaman 5:12 (which we memorized a couple months ago as one of our scripture mastery verses). This scripture has become such a part of me and I feel the Spirit every time I recite it.

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo because of the foundation upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

It made perfect sense to them, even though it was something they had never had to consider before. And as we discussed the example of how some people lose their testimonies and leave the church when one of their leaders makes bad choices, or when a family member dies suddenly, or if they move to a different ward that doesn't quite feel the same, they came to see that none of those things really matter if you're fully converted to the gospel. Because when you're fully converted, you understand that all people are mortal and get to make their own choices, so if a leader decides to have an affair or to be dishonest in their business dealings or leaves the church, that doesn't mean the gospel isn't true, it just means they exercised their agency and chose for themselves.

We can't say we're converted only when things are going well for us. We have to be converted all the time, then because of that change of heart and strength of belief we can handle (even if it feels like just barely) the trials that come our way.

**Does this make sense to you?
Have you had your faith shaken
How firm is your foundation?**

Comment Window Tidbit: We've got rain and sleet happening outside so it's beginning to feel like winter! Bring on the cozy!

Interview Update

My interview went really well and I felt good about it, but left feeling like maybe that job wasn't for me. Originally I thought it was going to be on the school year calendar and M-Th, but it turns out it was year round and possibly more hours than what I wanted. I left there thinking of several other teaching assistant positions I've applied for and wondered if those would be a better fit.


I got a call this afternoon, from one of the interviewers saying that my interview scores came in just under someone else's so they won't be offering me the job. Other than bruising my ego slightly, I'm fine. I immediately got on the district's website and applied for a teaching assistant job at Landon's Junior High, then I emailed the woman I interviewed with to let her know I applied (she told me to do that). So who knows what will happen? I feel totally at peace. I have been praying to find the perfect job for our family, so obviously the one I interviewed for today wasn't it. I would like it to come around sooner than later, because money coming in is the goal, but I know things will work out.

**Thoughts??**

Thanks for all your support and prayers! I feel like I've got my own cheerleading squad cheering me on. Thanks!

Comment Window Tidbit: Little Miss Whitney is 10 today! How did that happen?

Sunday Thoughts

Elder Holland's talk at last Sunday's Regional Conference was excellent. He started out by telling a few pioneer stories and then transitioned into modern-day trials and how we need to have deep faith like the pioneers did.

• God will be with us at all times and we will succeed.
• Those who have gone before faced daunting and inconceivably difficult tasks as they to walk and settle new lands.
• Look to the examples of faithful pioneers. We see faith in God and in Jesus Christ and in the prophet Joseph Smith.
• Faith always has been and always will be the first principle of the gospel.
• There are still waste places of Zion to build and settle in our hearts and homes.
• Nurture your own physical and spiritual strength so you are able to answer the calls that come your way. When you have to reach deep for more strength you'll have it there.
• Strong family ties are a strength because there are more people to reinforce it.
• If we have loved and taught at home, our children will know we have deep faith and will answer the call.
• The world is getting more wicked and the future will challenge even the best of us.
• We need to conform our will to the Lord's will and make our faith rock-ribbed and pioneer strong.
• Heavenly Father will make us able to rise to our tasks.
• He told this story...During a meeting in which several men were called to take their families and settle a forsaken area called the Muddy, one girl sobbed inconsolably. Her friend asked: "Why are you crying? I know my father won't go!"
  "There's the difference," the first girl replied, "Nothing could prevent my father from doing his duty, and I wouldn't own him as my father if he did not go when he was called." (I loved this story and hope that my kids would react the same way and be sure that we would do what was asked of us.)
  

I loved how he talked about having deep faith so that when we are challenged we have reserves to draw upon. We can't afford to have shallow faith that crumbles in the face of trials. He used words like "rock-ribbed, "furnace-refined" and "pioneer strong" to describe the kind of faith we should have.

If we are to have this kind of deep faith, then we must do the things that help develop it and recognize how we are reacting when we are going through something tough. If we are moaning and groaning and handling basic trials poorly, then how are we going to be equipped to handle the big things that come our way? This was a well-timed reminder for me.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I am so sick of my Sunday ensembles, they are basically the same thing but with a different shirt. I have no Sunday finery like Michelle does.

Sunday Thoughts

I finished reading The Book of Mormon last week and have moved onto the conference issue of The Ensign. Each day I open up the conference issue of The Ensign, look over the table of contents, then choose one of the talks to read. Eventually I'll read all of them, but I enjoy skipping around and choosing whatever stands out to me that day.


The first talk I read upon starting this issue was President Uchtdorf's talk "Your Happily Ever After" from the General Young Women Meeting. I haven't watched all of the broadcast yet (hello it has only been 4 months!) so this talk was completely new to me.

I absolutely loved it and was highlighting it like crazy. There is so much goodness to be found in that talk, so I highly recommend clicking the link and printing it out so you can read it for yourself, but this one quote jumped out at me the most.

"How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."

As I read this, I thought of various people I know who are struggling with big things right now. They are all handling things in their own ways, but this is the way that will bring them the greatest peace and healing.

"In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy."

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It's August again, whoa.

Sunday Thoughts

{Whitney at the Pioneer Day Parade}

"So where should each of us make our stand? As we demonstrate our devotion to God by our daily acts of righteousness, He can know where we stand. For all of us this life is a time of sifting and refining. We all face trials. Individual members in the early days of the Church were tested and refined when they had to decide if they had the faith . . . to put their belongings in a wagon or a pioneer handcart and travel across the American plains. Some did not have the faith.

Those who did traveled 'with faith in every footstep.' In our time we are going through an increasingly difficult time of refining and testing. The tests are more subtle because the lines between good and evil are being eroded. Very little seems to be sacred in any of our public communication. In this environment we will need to make sure where we stand all of the time in our commitment to eternal truths and covenants."
--James E. Faust, "Where Do I Make My Stand?" Ensign, Nov. 2004, 21

**Thoughts??**

The Man

For the past 2 years, Randy has been working 2 part-time design jobs and doing free-lance projects to support our family. He would work one job in Sandy MWF and then in South Provo at the other job on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This system has kept us afloat, but has meant that we've been uninsured for all this time. Remarkably, the only doctor visit we needed in that whole time was to Insta-Care when Landon broke his arm last November!


Yesterday, Randy started his new job (back at an old job from 5 years ago) and will now be working 3.5 miles from home every day of the week and we will be getting insurance!! (Let's all take a moment to exhale and send up a prayer of thanks.) We'll be saving at least $200 in gas each month!


I appreciate his willingness to work hard for our family and not giving up when things have been stressful and frustrating.


He is always able to maintain his sense of humor, even in the face of adversity. I hope this new/old job will be a welcome relief for him and I really hope the insurance kicks in soon so we can get some check-ups. I never thought I'd be excited to go to the dentist, but I am.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It turns out that shopping for hiking boots (for scout camp) and getting some groceries at Costco ended up being our fun day out.

Sunday Thoughts

This quote was shared at our presidency meeting this week and totally struck me, it puts things into perspective beautifully for me, especially the last part of this quote.


We are all needed to finish the work that was begun by those pioneering Saints over 175 years ago and carried out through the subsequent decades by faithful Saints of every generation. We need to believe as they believed. We need to work as they worked. We need to serve as they served. And we need to overcome as they overcame. Of course, our challenges are different today, but they are no less demanding. Instead of angry mobs, we face those who constantly try to defame. Instead of extreme exposure and hardship, we face alcohol and drug abuse, pornography, all kinds of filth, sleaze, greed, dishonesty, and spiritual apathy. Instead of families being uprooted and torn from their homes, we see the institution of the family, including the divine institution of marriage, under attack as groups and individuals seek to define away the prominent and divine role of the family in society.

This is not to suggest that our challenges today are more severe than the challenges faced by those who have gone before us. They are just different. The Lord isn't asking us to load up a handcart; He's asking us to fortify our faith. He isn't asking us to walk across a continent; He's asking us to walk across the street to visit our neighbor. He isn't asking us to give all of our worldly possessions to build a temple; He's asking us to give of our means and our time despite the pressures of modern living to continue to build temples and then to attend regularly the temples already built. He isn't asking us to die a martyr's death; He's asking us to live a disciple's life.

--M. Russell Ballard, "The Truth of God Shall Go Forth," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 83–84

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I have cramps today and feel like I should be able to stay home to moan, but I get to do Sharing Time in primary today instead.

Edited to add: The combination of an Excedrin, some adrenaline and the Spirit got me through just fine and all was well!

Sunday Thoughts

On the first Sunday of every month we get a ward newsletter which consists of a message from one of the Bishopric, a new ward list, all the scheduled events for the various organizations, a list of birthdays and so on (and often includes pictures I've taken during primary).


In this month's newsletter, our Bishop challenged the ward to work on 7 items.

1. Read the Book of Mormon by the end of July
2. Take time individually and as a family to write your testimony in a copy of the Book of Mormon.
3. Parents are to hold a personal private interview with each child every month.
4. Parents are to do something every month that demonstrates your unflinching faith in Christ.
5. Married couples--with your spouse, consciously do something each month to unify and strengthen your marriage.
6. As a ward let us be self sufficient in finding and taking family names to the temple.
7. Let us fervently sing the songs of Zion in our worship services each week. (Interesting eh?)

I was particularly struck by items 4 and 5, and am including the rest of the information included in the newsletter regarding that challenge.


"Parents--do something every month that demonstrates your unflinching faith in Christ. What can you consciously do to show your faith? There are many things, but make an effort to demonstrate your faith. For example, tell a story in family home evening about an answer to your prayers; pay your tithes and discuss how you don't miss or need the money; be caught praying, reading the scriptures, or going to the temple; don't be found doing anything that would take away the the faith of your children. Don't be caught seeing an R-rated or immoral movie; don't be caught swearing; don't be caught lying. If you are found doing something wrong--demonstrate your faith by immediately admitting it, repent, say you are sorry and beg forgiveness. Let us each demonstrate our faith in Christ by doing something."

Kids learn so much through example that it makes perfect sense that we would consciously work provide a good example of what we believe for them to follow.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: This was the first time I stayed home from church in so long I can't even remember!

Sunday Thoughts

"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith." 2 Nephi 27:23


I was reminded today, during a talk in church, that this is one of my favorite scriptures. I know the Lord is the same now as He's always been throughout history. I know He works miracles, talks to His servants, knows each of us personally and is just as involved in our lives as He was in the lives of the people back in the days of the Bible. It's comforting to know this and to be reminded that it's only a matter of us having faith and opening the door for Him, that we may have His influence and miracles in our lives.

**What do you think??**

Sunday Thoughts

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it
seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring.
Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity,
those who are happiest seem to have a way of
learning from difficult times, becoming
stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."
--Joseph B. Wirthlin

Sunday Thoughts

Prayer Is a Privilege

"Prayer is a privilege and the soul's sincere desire. We can move beyond routine and 'checklist' prayers and engage in meaningful prayer as we appropriately ask in faith and act, as we patiently persevere through the trial of our faith, and as we humbly acknowledge and accept 'not my will, but Thine, be done.'

"I witness the reality and divinity of our Eternal Father, of His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. I testify that our Father hears and answers our prayers. May each of us strive with greater resolve to ask in faith and thereby make our prayers truly meaningful." --David A. Bednar

My prayers have been longer and more meaningful lately as I find myself praying for so many friends and family (and myself) who are struggling with big issues. It seems like there is so much hard stuff going on with everyone and the remedy is often beyond us. I know our prayers are answered, and I really wish we could all feel the weight of the prayers being said on our behalf because I'm sure it would give us the courage to try harder.

**Thoughts??**

Sunday Thoughts

"As you walk your various paths, walk with faith. Speak affirmatively and cultivate an attitude of confidence. You have the capacity to do so. Your strength will give strength to others. Do not partake of the spirit so rife in our times. Rather, look for good and build upon it. There is so much of the strong and the decent and the beautiful to build upon. You are partakers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel means 'good news.' The message of the Lord is one of hope and salvation. The voice of the Lord is a voice of glad tidings. The work of the Lord is a work of glorious accomplishment."
--Gordon B. Hinckley

Sunday Thoughts

We heard a really good talk about prayer today in Sacrament Meeting, and it proved to be most helpful to me since I've been thinking about the way I pray, and because I had a good conversation with a friend about prayer recently so it's been on my mind.

Prayer is so personal, comforting, healing and intimate, yet can feel a bit one sided if we just go through the motions of it rather than really pouring our hearts out to our Heavenly Father. He knows what we're struggling with and already knows what we need, but it is important for us to articulate our thoughts and to have faith that He will answer our prayers.


Here are some of my notes from today...

1. Be conscious of who you are praying to.
2. Pray even if you don't feel like praying.
3. It's a sign of humility to kneel when you pray, but don't pass up on the opportunities to pray elsewhere when needed. (I do this ALL the time!)
4. Pray for the Lord's will to be done, but don't be discouraged if the Lord's will in your life is different than in others' lives. The Lord knows who we are becoming and is guiding our way. (I'm finally grasping this!)

--Understand that He is your best friend.
-- Ask for help to understand the scriptures.
--Express your love to the Lord, don't rush your thoughts.

**Do you feel like your prayers are heard?
Where is the strangest place you've ever prayed?
Do you have a hard time accepting the Lord's will?**

Happy Birthday Barb!!!

In other Sunday news, our primary just started a weekly Articles of Faith Challenge. We're focusing on #13 through November and each week have a challenge between a primary child (they can have their class help them if necessary) and a teacher or leader, so we've been practicing at home. Landon and I have it memorized and I recorded him saying it today after church just for fun.

Sunday Thoughts

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be. " --C.S. Lewis

I saw this quote on Michelle's sidebar a few weeks ago and felt like it was speaking to me. Our current life situation is most frustrating to me, and though I feel like I have faith that everything will work out for the best and possibly even for the better, I still find myself wondering how long it will take. I realized I'm sporting some sort of timed faith or speedy faith, and I'm not sure that counts for much.

Yesterday while driving to Salt Lake to pick up Becky I was listening to The Screwtape Letters on my iPod. I've posted about this book many times and I have even posted this exact quote before, but it hit me right between the eyes again so I'm reposting it for myself (dang these repeated epiphanies!) and anyone else who needs the reminder.


Premise of the book:
In The Screwtape Letters, one of his bestselling works, we are made privy to the instructional correspondence between a senior demon, Screwtape, and his wannabe diabolical nephew Wormwood. As mentor, Screwtape coaches Wormwood in the finer points, tempting his "patient" away from God.

"He [God] will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, an easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs--to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with, the better. He cannot "tempt" to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." --page 42


This week I went to a funeral, a baptism and today a baby blessing so I've witnessed multiple milestones for the parents in these families and can see so clearly the Lord's hands in their lives. I don't doubt His hands in mine, but seem to trying to direct them myself.

**Do you tend to have speedy faith too?
Are you thankful for your trough periods?
Can you see Divine help in others' lives
more clearly than in your own?**