Love with all your Heart: Plain and Simple

Dear Sisters,

We are seeing every day more and more hate among our fellow Americans. At one point, I was worried about terrorists harming us, but they don't have to do anything, because we are destroying each other with violent acts of hate.

I have asked myself so many times, "What can I do to help build the kingdom of God among people that are filled with anger and frustration, so much so that they think the only way to deal with things is to take the lives of others".

Here is the problem, as I see it, righteous women are not doing enough, plain and simple. I hear the voices of those who feel offended, and those who think they are have every right to say, do and take what ever they want. I don't hear Christian women standing up for what they know is right. An example; it is not hateful to fight for our privacy from the other sex in public bathrooms. We have to protect our children and ourselves. What is is more important protecting our children or giving anyone the option of using any bathroom they feel they want to use? There has to be another way, but it's not going to happen unless we stand up for what we know is right. Our side needs to be heard, but we have to do it in a way that is not hateful.

I have no issue with any person in this world, as long as they don't harm others. They can live whatever way they want, but if they ask me or include me in a conversation, I will stand for God's way and tell them their choices are not right in the sight of God and his people. But I will never make them feel like they are less than a child of God.

I have been praying lately to be more loving, of all people. It's not easy because I have lived a life time of certain ideals and beliefs. But I have found my lifetime has made me judgemental, and that is not right.  So, I need to make some changes through devoted prayer, and trying to not look at people with thoughts in my mind about the choices that others make. We can accomplish anything we set our minds to but it won't always be easy.

However, if we show God that we are trying then we will get the help we need to make things right. Now, I am not saying we condone the wrong that is being done, and just sit back while this great nation falls apart. No, we need to be heard and let the world know that we don't want certain things that are harmful to our families.

We have sat back for way too long, and not enough of us are willing to fight for righteousness. If we stand together we can make a mighty change, but we must stand together in love and unity. Don't be afraid that you will be labeled as a prud, or a bigot. Stand firm and strong in all that is good. We will have the angels to stand with us.

I get pretty frustrated with people who don't communicate, like at work, I send emails to people about issues and they don't respond. I don't know if they read my email, or are working on the issue, or even just ignoring me. How hard is it to email me back and say something like, "We are currently working on the issue and will get back to you by the end of the day", or something like that. It's a common courtesy.

I think the same thing is happening in the hate that we are feeling in today's world. We don't listen to each other. People are quick to blame another, and not even know the person they are mad at. More than half the people who die or get hurt by an angry person are innocent. If you have a beef with someone, go to the person, not someone else. How hard is that?

And, you don't have to go with malice in your heart. We all have good and bad days, if someone offends you, take a moment to see the whole picture. Do an act of kindness for that person, to see if they are just having a bad day. We can't walk in someone else's shoes, there are so many factors in a person's life that make them act the way they do. We never know what tragedy they have experienced, or what underlying problems that exist in their lives. 

All we can do is stop taking things personally, stop being selfish and see if we can help make someone's day better, in hopes of saving the lives of others.

Sister, if we are going to protect our families and friends, we need to start showing more love to all those we meet on a daily basis. A simple smile or hello, can make all the difference in the life of someone hurting; just a small moment can do miracles in a hard world.

The scriptures tell us the hearts of many will be cold, and we do see that today, especially in the lives of our young people. What can you do to help them feel love again? Many of them have been given a stinky life, and they know no other way. We are all given the Light of Christ in our heart to know right from wrong but without someone to lead and guide, that light can quickly be burned out. Stop judging and start finding a way to help.

Think about it but remember to never put yourself or anyone else in harms way. Lets talk more, share a Coke and smile, (teeheehee, I work for Coke). Recognize that we are all different and lets take a moment to see what another might be feeling. Find a way to show the love and blessing we have in our lives. Blessing don't have to be monetary, but can be a sincere listening ear.

Jesus showed us how to love all people, we don't have to agree with their life style but we don't have to hate them for it either. That goes for anyone who is living a life style that is not Christian, don't hate us either. We are not here to judge but to help. If you don't want religion or our help then that is your choice but don't take my religion from me. If I want to mention God or pray then let me because that is my safe place, that is how I feel.  If it is offensive to you simple tell me and I will see what I can do to still maintain my freedom of religion and allow you to maintain your freedom to not have to endure it.

It's time to act now before Satan gets into the hearts and steals the lives of our brothers and sisters. He can't ever win, but he can try to take as many lives down with him as he can. We can't let him do that. We are stronger than him, we will win the battle if we stand firm and show love to all people. We just need to communicate and have a loving heart; it's that easy, plain and simple.

All my Love

Stand as Light to the World

Dear Sisters,

Wow, what a mess this world is becoming. This wonderful country that we live in is supposed to be a place of righteousness and protection, but our own country is so filled with evil and hatred. My blog today is for you, as righteous women, to take a stand for God; become that beacon of Light for all to see. The world needs us now more than ever.

So many souls are lost and don't know where to go for help. As God's beacon we can illuminate the way back to God. As Christian women we shouldn't be fighting against one another saying who's religion is right or wrong, but we should take the good part of all of us and reach out to the poor of spirit, or those who are struggling with life or, those who are blind to the ways of God.

We have been blessed with much good in our lives and now we are to take that good and share it with others. Most will not want to see God's ways, and will turn away from us but even one soul in need can make a difference in the joy of our hearts and the glory of God.

I was reading the other day in the scriptures about what God's whole purpose is for us. It says, "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39)" That means His whole purpose is to help us gain eternal life, to live forever in joy with Him. That is awesome! It woke me up as I realized that God's plan is all about me, and everyone else, but it's all about me!!!

So, if that is God's plan, and I am in a good place right now, then aren't I supposed to take the blessings that God has given me and share them with others? And as I do, I realize that I am helping to build His kingdom by bringing souls unto Christ. What a concept, my goals in life changed at that moment of understanding.

So where do we begin? Look at this world, our own countries and towns. Instead of loving people we are learning to hate and kill them. What's wrong with that picture? It's not Gods way, it's Satan's way. He is laughing at us as we are destroying our brothers and sisters. Where is the peace on earth, goodwill to all men? Well, it has to start with us.

Righteous women we can no longer stand on the fence, it's time to choose a side and take a stand. We can all join together to fight against the evil one. So we start by committing ourselves to God and his plan, not mans. We have to say that we are willing to be instruments in His hands, then go and do.

There are a lot of battles going on over family, marriage bonds, and issues of race. There are issues of immigration, and child protection. There are so many places to take a stand and fight. The battle for God is not necessarily a physical one but a battle of the mind , heart, and soul. There are homeless people in our country, and those in abusive situation. There are those lost to alcohol and drugs. There are so many who are lost and can not find their way. They need us now.

We don't have to preach at them, but love them by helping them. Words are probably not going to make a difference with most people but our actions will. If we will stop and help our neighbor, or a person standing in line at the store, or volunteer to help at a hospital - we will see a big difference in the way people feel about the world around them; we can give them hope. And that is what we all need, hope mingled with faith will bring souls to the right place.

Never give up on a person, keep being a friend. Don't put yourself in a dangerous position but help where you can. Pray for guidance and listen for the answer, it will come. God loves you and will bless your life as you bless those for good.

There is a story where a man was walking on the beach and saw someone pick up a starfish and throw it back into the ocean, The man remarked that this person couldn't possible save all the starfish that washed up on the shore. The person smiled and said no, maybe not, and bent down picked up a starfish then threw it in the sea, and said but I just saved that one.

We won't be able to lead everyone back to God but maybe we can help with this one, or that one. All we have to do is try, and God will do the rest. Let's fix what we can, or at least stand firm in God's plan. He needs us to do our part now, before it's too late. Never give up, keep fighting for what we know is right and pleasing to God. We may find it exhausting but that's why we are here; to
continue the fight until our Savior returns.

All my love

Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?

Proverbs 31:10-31

"Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies." Let's find out why virtue is of great value yesterday and today. What is virtue?

Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior that shows the highest of spiritual standards. For instance, its what you do when you think no is looking. It is your innermost thoughts and your actions from them.

Virtuous women focus on being righteous, doing a lot of good in the world around them. They try to be obedient to the commandments of God and help others to do the same.

I remember once, when my young sister-in-law was visiting my house, that we began talking about what makes a woman truly beautiful.  I told her that true beauty was inside her. She loved the Disney Princess's so I used that as my point of view.

We discussed the inner beauty of Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty" and Snow White. They were sweet and did good things that helped other people. They had positive attitudes that helped people to like them, etc.

I tried to show her the inner beauty that makes a woman beautiful. Then I asked her if she wanted to be known as the Queen who needed a mirror to tell her she was beautiful only on the outside or did she want to be the  princess who radiated beauty from the inside.

I heard from a woman once that said her mother told her to make herself as attractive as she could before she left home then once she left her house she was not to think of herself any more but to think of others that day and how she could help them. I agree with that thought. We should make ourselves look the best we can before we go out the door but then we need to focus on the Savior and what He would be doing if He was here among us. Then follow those steps throughout the day.

If we do that then the inner beauty will continue to grow. You can be the most beautiful woman in the world to the eye but age happens, and accidents happens, and then you become miserable because you can never gain back that beauty. But if you focus on the beauty where it really counts you will only grow more beautiful every day. This is where virtue begins, think not of yourself but of doing good for others.

More Service Project Ideas

The Young Men in our ward at church has dedicated the month of November by showing gratitude by doing service for others. They made a list of people who they were aware of that could use some acts of charity.

They planned the things that they would be doing and have been doing service on every meeting night so far this month. Doing service helps the heart to feel true joy. Its been proven to be very healthy for your mind and body. I can't think of one time that I have not felt so good after helping someone. Even a smile and good morning salutation to someone has given me a sense of doing good. I knew I was choosing to follow Jesus and do much good in this world.

Even small acts of service can bring happiness to both the giver and receiver. I have provided a link to a website that lists 30 different projects that can be done by you and your family, or friends. Take a look.

30 Service Project Ideas

Feel free to share some of your experiences with us. I know I would love to hear your stories.

Act in Charity

1 Corinthians 16:14
"Let all your things be done with ^acharity."

I told my son to not worry about doing any school work today, he is home schooled, and I told him to focus on his Eagle Scout Project that was coming due soon. When I got home from work I asked how much he got done, he told me nothing.

Then he proceeded to tell me why he got nothing done. He decided to sleep in some, then when he got up he spent time hanging out with his sister. He told her several times that he needed to get this assignment started. When he was finished hanging out with her, he started looking at some stuff and got distracted, so nothing got done. Needless to say I wasn't very happy with him.

I told him this reminded me of when we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to do things but we choose to ignore the prompting. He knew he needed to being working on his project but he did not act upon  that constant reminder in his head. When the Spirit tells us we should do something we need to act upon it.

But I can't say too much about my son, there have been many times when I have not acted in service when I really could have. It's easy to make excuses and move on. The sad thing is that once I justified why I couldn't do it,  I didn't think about it again until something happened and it was too late. Then I felt bad.

I heard a story by President Thomas S. Monson when he didn't act upon a prompting to serve and well...his heart was broken because he was too late (see the link for the story). But he vowed to never disobey  a prompting again. That is a goal for me, to try and never miss an opportunity to serve when prompted.


Acting upon Promptings

As righteous women we need to put our minds in a place where we can always hear the Spirit talking to us and act upon those promptings to do good. We are the answers to prayers; people plead for help and Lord whispers to us to do something so that we can be that answer to another s prayers. If we fail then we have not shown much charity in our hearts.

We need to serve with all our hearts. We need to be like our Savior and learn to love all people and do much good in this world. This is how we help build the Kingdom of God on this earth. Act in Charity. Act in Love.

What Does Charity Mean to Jesus?

1 Corinthians 13

I always thought of charity as showing love to people by giving to organizations that helped people, then I started reading the scriptures and found charity to show love for people by helping them in many ways and praying for them. But then when I began to really study the scriptures I found that charity is really something a lot more than showing love and helping where I could.

I love Paul and the things he taught. Reading this scripture has taught me what charity really means.

He says that charity is everything. He says that if you do everything you are supposed to do but you don't have charity then you are nothing. I thought about that for a moment, how do you do all the right things but not have charity?

I know that there were times when I would do things because I knew I was supposed to but I didn't really want to do it; like when I was learning about tithing. I wanted to take the money and use it on something else but I knew I was supposed to pay 10% of my increase. I had to learn that the blessings don't come if you do it with the wrong attitude. I knew if I paid an honest tithe and did it with a loving attitude that I was showing my love for my Father in this commandment. So this part of the scripture did make more sense to me; give it with my heart.

But charity means more than just loving through obedience; some of these were real eye openers to me.

Charity is long suffering: That means we are to be patient with others and with God, as long as it takes. We should forgive time and time again, for as long as it takes. We should continue to help people for as long as it takes. These things are not always easy but if we do this we will know charity in our hearts.

Charity envieth not: This means we are to be happy with what we have and not want what others have. There were times in my life that I wished I was blessed with certain things in my life, mostly material things, but then I realized that even though some people had materials things I had spiritual blessings which others did not, and spiritual blessings last longer than material ones. I found that I was happy with my blessings. It seemed that the more material things they had the more they wanted, they were never happy or satisfied.

Charity never vaunteth itself, was not puffed up: This means we don't go around bragging and feeling mightier than the people we serve. When we serve we have to do it with God in mind, that we are doing these things to help but not make anyone feel less of themselves for receiving. Christians are often accused of being mightier than, if we have charity in our hearts we will disprove that theory by helping people to realize that we act upon these things because we want to be more like our Savior, we want to do it because we love them. Jesus was not prideful in service to others.

Seeketh not her own: We are not to pick and choose who we give service and love to, we should be doing this every day as we go through our lives. If we see a need we help, we don't say well today I am going to do one act of service to help someone. We should be saying I will do what the Holy Spirit prompts me to do and serve where I am needed today.

Charity bearth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endueth all things: We should testify that we are followers of Jesus Christ and try to do as He did, we should testify of the truth we hold in our hearts, we should help others to hope for good things to happen, and we should help others to hold on and continue fighting the battle against evil. When we do these things, and help
others to to these things, we are showing true charity in our hearts. We are showing that we have the true love of Christ.

As righteous women we should seek for good things in our lives and find love in  our hearts for all people for they are our brothers and sisters, children of God. They are not more or less than we are. They are strong in some areas of life that we are not and we are strong in some areas of life that they are not, we can serve each other with the strengths we are blessed with: this is charity.

Paul concludes that charity never faileth, and that we should have faith, hope and charity, but the most important of all is charity.

With Faith and Hope Comes Charity

Moroni 7:47
"But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him."

What is Charity? The scriptures say it is the pure love of Christ. We can find so much information in the scriptures regarding charity, as we are diligent in our study of that topic.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all our hearts, soul and mind. So lets think about that. We are to love Him with all our hearts. How do we love with all our hearts?

Have you ever looked at someone and your emotion just overwhelms you because you can feel the love for that person? For instance, looking at your new born child. Man, the love that pours out of your heart for that baby, you would do everything in your power to protect and provide for the child. I think that is an example of the love we should feel for God. 

That is how we love with all our heart. We have to open our hearts and pray for that love to come in. I remember once a long time ago, that I prayed for love in my heart for all people. Shortly thereafter, I saw a homeless person walking down the street and I began to cry for that person, I prayed for that person and asked how I could help that person. That was a start to how I could love with all my heart.

What is a soul and how do I love with all my soul? The scriptures say that a soul is your body and spirit combined (Abraham 5:7). We can show love with our souls by being obedient to the commandments of God. We show Him that we love Him when we are obedient. Didn't we as children want to please our parents so we would do as we were asked. The same with our Father, we show we love Him by pleasing Him in our daily actions.

How do we love Him with all our mind? This has to do with our thoughts. He needs to be foremost in our daily thoughts. When we put Him first we tend to see where there are needs in this world and find ways to act upon them. We are more aware of the direction our lives should be going. 

By doing these things, opening our hearts, being obedient, and making God our most important thoughts daily, we are beginning to understand and be able to show love to our Heavenly Father. Once we do this we will also be able to obey the second greatest commandment which is to love our neighbor as ourselves. 

We will be showing that we possess the Christ attribute of Charity. By serving God and helping our brother, we will know the pure love of Christ and as the scripture says whosoever is found with charity in the last days will be blessed and received by our Father in heaven. This is a attribute that we can take with us when we die and will find it to be a great treasure of joy.

Christmas Shoebox Project

When we lived in Utah I had the great opportunity to work on Hill AFB, at the chapel, where I learned a lot about different religions. I loved participating in a few of their activities like the one I am going to tell you about today. This program is called Operation Christmas Child.

My family loved this one. As I was searching today for good ideas for family service projects this came up as an option, then I remembered how much we enjoyed doing this and asked my family if they wanted to do it again, they did.

So for family home evening, Monday night, we will be going shopping and filling shoe boxes with gift items for these children, who otherwise might not have a Christmas. It's a fun project and easy to do, especially for younger children, but your teenagers will love it too.

The only catch is the collection date runs from Nov 18th - Nov 25th so it has to be done like now. Here is the link to show you where the closest drop off place is and some great ideas to fill the boxes:

Operation Christmas Child

Prayer and Hope

Alma 58:10-11
"Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our ^adeliverance in him."

Have you ever felt like you were in the grasp of evil? Or that you felt so hopeless that you couldn't see the light ahead? I have, I remember a time in my life where I felt Satan around me. I was married to a man, my first marriage, who invited evil in his life. So I tried to please him best I could and that meant doing somethings I wasn't comfortable with. I could feel Satan laughing at me.

But I remember times being alone in my home, and feeling like I was being watched. I would walk past a darkened bedroom door and could feel a presence that scared the life out of me. I knew what I needed to do, so I knelt in prayer and begged for help, from the Right Source.

That peace came right away and I knew I had my answer. I needed to make changes in my life and invite the Spirit of Hope to be with me always. I couldn't change what my husband was doing but I could change what I was doing. My marriage eventually ended but I had hope that I was on the right track.

As righteous women we need to constantly have a prayer in our hearts for our families and ourselves so we can be protected against the evil that confronts us daily. We cannot shine the Light of Christ for others to see if it is hidden by darkness. The Lord will deliver us from the evil that surrounds us if we show that we have faith and hope that is so needed in a troubled world. He loves us and wants us to invite Him into our lives. So shine that Light high for all to see and have hope as you follow the path of righteousness!!!

Hope, the Next Attribute of Christ

 2 Nephi 31:20

What is hope?

Hope is a trust that something you believe in will be so. For example, you have hope, or trust, that when you die you will go to heaven. You have hope and trust that when you go to bed at night that the sun will arise and you will get up to greet a new day. We hope for this to be true, we expect this happen. Hope and faith go together, which you will see this week in the scriptures I plan to blog about.

When we hope in things of God we are showing faith that we trust in Him to lead and guide our lives in a way that will help us gain eternal life. With hope we can endure trials and hardships. With hope we can endure to the end.

When we go through tough times it is hope that gets us through, hope to see a better day. It helps us endure to the end which is something we must do. I have found at times that I just wanted to give up and climb in bed and forget everything but, I know that I have to stand strong in Christ and endure what I must so I make sure that hope and faith are strong in my life and help others to do the same.

We are living in a time when there is so much evil surrounding us and some people don't even see it. They see it as part of life, but we are surrounded and we have to stand firm in Christ and His plan in order to fight for the good to shine through all of this darkness. And when we do, we have the hope of a promise from out Father in Heaven that we will have peace and joy in this life and the life to come in eternity.

As righteous women, we need to shine the light of Christ for others to see and hang on to their hope of a better life. Our example is so important to sustaining our families and helping others to endure to the end. Jesus needs us to do our part by helping our brothers and sisters in this world find Him and learn to do the same. It's time to become part of God's Army and shine the Light high for all to see.

Faith Can Create a Zion People

Many people are surprised to find out that Mormons believe in Jesus Christ. But it should be no surprise when they hear the real name of the Mormon church which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Faith in Jesus Christ

It is our faith in Jesus Christ that make us a strong people. It is our love for Him that knits us together as one, creating a Zion people. What is a Zion people?

Principles of Becoming a Zion People

Zion people act together as one, meaning our focus is Jesus Christ and doing as He did. We all have one purpose and that is the whole purpose for us being here. Every thing we do should be done with the goal of being obedient to the commandments and showing love to our fellow man.

We are to put God first and foremost in our minds serving Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. Then when we do this our hearts will be turn in love to our neighbor, all mankind. Through faith we can accomplish anything, even to become a Zion people.

Even if you are not Mormon, any Christian should have the same goals. When we all focus on God's plan and live it then we all become His children, also known as a  Zion people. Instead of fighting about who is right we should all be working together to fight against the evil that is slowing creeping into the lives of modern day families and our communities.

As righteous women we need to act upon faith and stand to fight against this evil by standing firm in holy places. We can create those holy places in our homes and where ever we are. Find the faith in your life and act upon it today. If we all stand together with one purpose we can do mighty things together and become His people, a Zion people, and help others to do the same.

Little Faith, Big Works

Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your ^aunbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have ^bfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this ^cmountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be ^dimpossible unto you."

No, we don't want to be moving mountains but I think we can understand the point which is  that we could. This is a very powerful scripture. It shows us how powerful faith can be. We don't realize that faith can work miracles and that we have that power to make big things happen.

What do you think you can do with faith? I remember one time, when I was living out west, that I was so scared of how we were going to survive without money. I was working, a lot, sometimes just to make ends meet I would work four different jobs. My ex-husband lost his job and couldn't send the child support. As I hung up the phone I decided to take a shower after a long hot day working delivering parts of the Sunday newspaper to carriers. I was exhausted.

I crawled into the shower and began to cry. I didn't know how we were going to make everything work out without that money. But then I remember hearing a sweet soft voice say, "Why are you crying, you know things always work out?"

I stood still for a moment and realized that was right. No matter what hard times we have had, and we had quite a few, we were always taken care of. I stopped crying and began to have faith that everything would work out for the best, and it did, as always.

That little bit of faith helped me to pull myself together and keep moving forward. I had young kids to support in more ways than monetary needs. They learned strength and endurance from the trials that we had and the faith that we had to get through. And, we knew we were never alone, that our words of sorrow and suffering were heard. 

Jesus loves us and He understands what we are going through. He has suffered more than we could ever understand. Trust in Him and you will endure, too.

What Are Our Blessings If We Have Faith?

John 14:6
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the ^away, the ^btruth, and the life: no man ^ccometh unto the Father, but by me."

All Christians know that Jesus is the Savior of the world and that He is the only way back to Heaven. We all know that His example is perfect and that we should follow it to become as perfect as we can be. And all Christians know that we will be blessed as we do the things we are commanded to do. Why do we do this, not knowing for sure that we all of it is real?

The key would is faith with hope right behind it. We have faith that as we start each day and commit to being obedient that our faith will lead us through the day successfully. We know that we will be greatly blessed as we do so. 

If we are obedient, and proceed with faith each day, we will receive the promised blessings. My youngest daughter learned a lesson in faith through prayer when she was 15 years old. I believe this was the beginning of her testimony of faith.

She had an enlarged spleen causing her to be sick which required surgery to remove it. She went through months of testing first to find an underlying cause. They never did find any reason at that time. So they went ahead and took out her spleen.

She was moved to her room after the surgery, they gave her pain meds to help her rest and recover. Shortly after she was settled in she started having breathing issues and a code was called over the intercom to take care of her emergency. 

After the trauma was over and she was breathing fine, the nurse told me that they had to  reverse her pain medicine which meant that she was going to feel the pain real bad. I sat beside her as the that reversing medicine started to work. The pain was so intense that she was climbing backwards up the head of her bed.

I grabbed her hand and had her focus on me a moment and I asked if she wanted a prayer, she did. The moment we began to pray I could feel her start to relax. By the time we were done, she had calmed down and went to sleep. But if you ask her about a time she knew her prayers were answered that is her first story. She knew that day that she was never alone, and that all she had to do was pray and she would feel the peace that she needed.

It is through our Savior Jesus Christ that we can know of peace and blessings in our lives. he loves us and we are to love him by turning our hearts to Him and testifying of His atoning sacrifice. There is no other way to return to heaven and have eternal life without Jesus. He is the only way!!!

Becoming Like Jesus Christ through Faith

I have been thinking a lot about how I can become more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. So, I began by studying the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Then a young man at church gave a talk about the attributes of Christ from the "Preach my Gospel" missionary manual. I gave that a look and found some real good stuff that I believe will help me become more like Jesus. I want to share those things with you. This week I will share scriptures about faith,which is the first thing we need to have to become more like Jesus.

Moroni 7:33
"And Christ hath said: ^aIf ye will have ^bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is ^cexpedient in me."

We shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in Him meaning whatever He needs us to do for the benefit of His kingdom here on earth. We can help that kingdom to grow if we do what He asks of us. What does He ask of us?

One thing is He gives all of us individual talents that we can use to build His kingdom. My example is that I like to write and He has given me a talent in writing and a creative mind to do so. I have chosen to use it to write these blog posts to hopefully help someone have a better understanding of His ways or draw closer to Him.

I have chosen to use it to write books that will help people have a better understanding of the scriptures; I am just beginning that project. This is what I have chosen to do with my talent in writing. I may not be the best writer in the world but at least I am trying.

But, I have had a fear of writing publicly because I was afraid of rejection. I, like many others throw away those talents because of fear in rejection by the world, but God gave us these talents and we have to do our part and at least try, then, have the faith that if it is for a good thing then He will bless our work and put it into the hands of those who need it most.

It is through my faith in God that I have the power to do my part. He has asked me to not waste my talents, or hide them, but to use them for good (see Matthew 25:14-30). So I give my best and He fills in the rest. I can do that.

And when I do good for others, man, how I feel good within myself. This is how we can do the things we are asked of by our Savior, to live our lives like Him. This is how we can become more like Him. Faith is really not so hard once we understand it and it is a powerful tool in His plan.

Service Projects for the Family

Hello,

A this time of the year we start to feel a sense of excitement. The weather changes always get me excited not matter the season. But at this time of the year we are preparing for the holidays; fun times with family, gift exchanges, good food are only a few of the things that we get excited about.

I love spending time with my family, no matter the what time of year it is but at this time I feel the need to focus more on others than myself so I like to think about the kinds of service I can offer to others. I decided that in order to spend that time with my family and provide a need in the community that organizing family service projects would be a great idea.

SO, over the next few weeks on Saturdays I will offer some service project ideas that you and your family might like to do. I promise it will be a fun time for your family, great memories, and good teaching moments for your children as they learn to do for others.

Today, I would like to offer the idea of gift bags for kids who will be in the hospital on Christmas Day, no fun for them, but we can try to make it a little better for them by proving a bag of fun. Maybe you could even find a Santa suit and dad can dress up as Santa to deliver them. It doesn't even have to be Santa but maybe his elves. Looking for green and red costume ideas that time of the year should be really easy. Your kids could dress up as the elves, they would love it.

First, we need to make a gift bag. Here is how to make a paper gift bag.

I'm giving credit to the following link for the paper gift bags; Scrapbook Paper Gift Bags.

You will need the following:
1) 1 - 12X12 sheet of scrapbook paper
2) glue stick
3) scissors
4) tape
5) cardboard (cereal box)
6) ribbon
7) single hole punch

1. Start with a large piece of scrapbook paper (I used 12x12). Find a box around the house that is the size and shape of the bag you want to make. I used a box of spaghetti for one, and macaroni for the others. Fold  the scrapbook paper around the box as if you are wrapping a gift. Don't tape the paper to the box. Glue the edges together. (I added a couple of pieces of tape to the inside seam for extra support.)

2. Fold one end of the paper as if you are wrapping the edge of a present. This will be the bottom of the gift bag.

3. Use a glue stick on every fold of paper. I used a little tape for extra support.

4. Now remove the box from inside and pinch the sides of the bag to crease in the middle. You will be left with a little triangle on each side. You can fold the bottom over for easier storage.

5. Trim the top of the bag to whatever height you want the bag to be. I used fun scissors.

6. Punch little holes and attach ribbon handles. I also measured out a small rectangle of cardboard (a cereal box works great), and glued it to the bottom inside of the bag to make the bottom a little sturdier.

Now you have made some cute bags and an inexpensive cost. Now what are some good ideas to put inside?

1) coloring/activity books/crayons
2) reading books/comics
3) play dough
4) toys from the dollar store
5) stuffed animals
6) card games
7) movies
8) balloons
9) puzzles
10) drawing paper/pencils/colored pencils

These are just a few ideas that might be helpful. You can use your imagination and come up with some wonderful fun to keep their sweet minds off being in hospital during the holidays. Then, when they are made and delivered, pray for them and their families, then pray for gratitude that your child are not the ones in the hospital. We must always remember to thank God for what we have including our health.