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

I Will Do What the Lord Will Have Me Do

My Dear Sisters,

I have been remiss in my writings for quite some time due to my discouragement of not having any readers. Seemed the only time anyone viewed my blog was when I had crafts, food or the like. Was anyone reading my blog for it's true purpose?

So what is the purpose you may ask? The title of this blog should say it all, it's to help all women to stand up for righteousness; righteousness is goodness, to stand for all that is good. We must stand up for this each and every day of our lives. If we don't, well, if we don't then we will continue to go the way the world is going and that's not so good. Open your eyes sisters and see where we were, where we are, and where we are heading. I know it's not pretty, but we have to see what is happening around us and how we can do what ever it takes to protect those that we love and help others to do the same.



I have prayed for direction and divine purpose for the messages that come from this blog. You are welcome to comment how you feel, but remember that because I have prayed for Divine guidance, you will be arguing with God. So think your argument through very carefully because He always wins.

So over the past few months I have been praying for what I should be doing with my life, now that my children are all adults. Well of course, I still have to be a mom and give my opinion to things in their lives, and be the best Graggy (that's what my grand-kids call me) I can be. But I have asked the Lord what HE would have me do. I kept getting the same feeling about writing. I have good book ideas that have been in my head for years but the thought about this blog came to mind several times.

I was reading something the other day that talked about developing our talents, well I knew writing was something I needed to work on so it all began to make more sense that my part of building the Kingdom was through writing in this blog and other things, which you will learn about a few months, or so down the road.

I worried that no one would read it, or I wouldn't have anything worthwhile to say but I was assured that I just needed to do my part and He would do the rest. So that's how I got back here. This blog won't be about arts and crafts, food, or any how tos, but it will be about things that I see can that might be a help to you in raising your family, standing for truth and righteousness in all things, and to help you build God's Kingdom here on Earth.



So in my message today, I believe I should be talking about prayer because I can truly testify that He hears and answers our prayers. Since this blog is not only for followers of Jesus Christ perhaps some of you have never prayed so I want to talk about that today.  My blogs will be short and too the point, and I will only be putting a message out monthly, planning on the first Sunday of every month.

So here we go; when we pray we should pray to the one and only true God. When we pray we talk to him sincerely and freely about what ever we want to talk about; it's like talking to your mom or dad. Just tell Him what you want, He already knows what you want or need but it helps us if we tell him what we want or need. The why's behind that will have to be saved for another blog post.

He wants to hear from us, like our earthly parents he wants that weekly call, more like daily, or even more often. He wants to be a part of our lives. And when we trust in Him to answer with our best interest at heart, we will find that He really does love us and will always answer our prayers, not always the way we expect but the way that is best for us.

So a small thought, as we look at this world around us what should we be praying for? Our enemies for sure, all those who are standing for God and good things of this world, and definitely our families to be strong and good. There are so many things we can pray for, we just have to give it some good thought.



Jesus Christ taught us how to pray to the Father in the New Testament, see Matt 6:9-13 . When we pray we should always open with calling on His name like Dear Heavenly Father, or Our Gracious Heavenly Father, something like that.

Then we need to thank Him for everything in our lives. Gratitude is one of the most important elements of worship. When we show gratitude we can easily be blessed with more because our Father knows we appreciate the gifts that He showers us with, and yes, trials are things we should be thankful for because we can grow so much through the things we experience in our lives.

After we thank Him we need to ask for what we want or need. He will answer our prayers and it's usually through someone else. If we, who are Christians, are listening to the Spirit we will be prompted to do things we would not normally do on our own. This is a two sided blessing; to the giver and the receiver. A lot of our prayers will be answered with a peaceful feeling that everything will be fine.

I remember once struggling with finances, and I was exhausted after working all day in a physical job, I became very emotional. I prayed for help with my struggles then I received a spiritual message saying, "Why are you crying? You know everything always works out for the best." The peace came and I knew my prayers had been answered. And, as always, things worked out.

Then we close with our Savior Jesus Christ's name, and an Amen. So it would be something like - in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen. It can be that simple. It all just needs to be from your heart. The heart is key to your physical body and it is key to your spiritual self.  So pray from the heart.

Now that you know how to pray you should pray for spiritual guidance to know what to do in your life, as I have done. Then put yourself in places to hear the Spirit talk to you. He is always talking to us but there is so much worldly noise that we can not hear what He is saying. Remember the still small voice, that is Him. Go to quiet places and listen. Your thoughts will be directed for His work, for good work, one that will bring you and those you serve much joy in this life.



Well, I have made this longer than I said I would but I hope you have learned something or been reminded of things you already knew today. God loves each and everyone one of us and He knows each and everyone of us individually, like a parent knows their children. If you truly want to serve God or just do good, then it starts with prayer and receiving that guidance to do what He would have you do. Start your journey with God through prayer, and I promise you will find true joy and love in your heart.

All my love

P. S. My next blog post is scheduled for Aug 2, 2015- Help God get these messages out, share with everyone.

Simple Knowledge

Genesis 1:26-27
"And God said, Let ^aus ^bmake ^cman in our ^dimage, after our^elikeness: and let them have ^fdominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own ^aimage, in the image of God created he him; male and ^bfemale created he them."

These verses are simply said and quite clear on a few issues that seem to plague mankind. 

1) God said let us make man in our image. Here we see that there was more than one person involved in the creation of man, meaning the Godhead, which consists of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ,and the Holy Ghost. The information about who is part of the Godhead is found later in the scriptures. The point here is there is more than one was involved.

2) This verse also says that we were created in God's image and likeness, not an ape's or anything else's image. They created us to be like them. That makes us special.

3) This verse says that we, mankind, are to have dominion over everything on the earth and the earth included. What does dominion mean? It means responsibility, not dominance over things. We are to take care of the earth and it's inhabitants the best we can. 

4) God created male and female for a purpose, to be together as man and wife; to help one another through life. That's how our obedience to procreate works, it takes a man and a woman. That's simple.

God's wisdom is so much greater than ours. When we try to make sense of things from our point of view, we find  it hard to see things from His. 

As righteous women we need to stand up for what we know if truth and good. This world has too much man's wisdom and not enough of God's. When we listen to man we get confused, when we listen to the Spirit of God it becomes clear again, simple knowledge.

Can we Understand God's Ways?

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I have no faith in politics yet they consume my life some days. I don't believe in political parties; they have too many selfish ways. Politicians tend to get so caught up in staying up with the what the party stands for rather than what is good for the people.

Some people have questions religious beliefs because they can't understand why things have to be a certain way. We shouldn't question God's way so much because He is able to see the whole picture and we can not. We have to trust in Him and His wisdom. He has a plan and we nay never be able to understand it all.

One example of this is self reliance. Many politicians think the best way to help people is to give hand outs to the poor. But what does that do for them in the long run? It makes them more needy and not able to do for themselves.

When Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden God did not hand them everything; He expected them to work and learn how to do for themselves. That plan is still in place, God expects us to continue to work and learn how to take care of ourselves and our families.

We may not be able to see His plan in this but we must know that it is for our happiness and growth. He will always know more than us but as we study and ponder the things in our lives we will find wisdom and begin to see His ways better.

Self reliance is good; it helps to create responsible and loving citizens. We all feel good when we know we have done good things. We are happy when we know we have taken care of our own needs. And we feel successful when we know we can help others. 

I remember many times in my life when I received help from people, I felt loved. But the greatest feelings was when it was my turn and I was able to help others. 

Righteous women need to be about God's work, we don't have to understand everything we just have to do something to help ourselves and our families and eventually others. We need to focus on God's plan and then we will see a good world.

Stay at Home Moms Find a Way

Hey!!! This is my 100th post, yea!!!! Thanks for viewing, I hope you will keep coming back.

Man, is our world in a mess. Too many of our young kids are getting into trouble, seeing a world that their young eyes should not be seeing, experiencing a world that they should never know. What happened?

I think back to a time in my life when things didn't seem to be as bad but now I know, as I read history, that my time was just starting to get bad. What things changed that caused kids to get into so much trouble, some ending up in jail? What changes happened to cause people in the world to just sit back and except what ever comes our way; to say well it's a different world now?

I believe there are many changes but the most important change began when mom left home to work for someone else instead of her family. I don't condemn women for this; I had to work outside the home while raising kids. Today's woman doesn't seem to have a choice but let's look back a little and see where the change happened.

Many studies have shown both positive and negative results of moms working or staying at home. For me, my mom stayed at home until she was divorced and had to work to support us. That was in the 60's when pay for women wasn't the best. This caused her to work longer hours for over time pay, which in turn caused us to be alone without adult supervision as much. We, my siblings and myself, were all in school but there were several hours we were alone. I was the oldest so I was left to watch over the rest, which wasn't the best of situations since I was almost raped at 11 years of age by an adult man. The Lord truly blessed me and let me escape from that situation but you can see why I am for moms being home to protect their young.

Woman's lib happened and was supposed to be something good but some of its purposes got mixed up and caused hardships on women and mixed responsibilities. There was a lot of good like getting equal pay for women doing equal jobs but as usual, things just went over board with cries of things that didn't really affect "all" women.

With mom's gone from home children are not protected, have no one to control their actions, and no one is there to care for their needs. Sure there are child care providers but that costs much of mom's pay check so that kind of defeats the purpose of mom working. Also, do you ever wonder where your kids moral values come from, perhaps you should be checking with the person who is with them the most hours of a day.

I don't want this to be about the problems of mom's not being there to raise their kids, actually, I am writing this to show another option for mom's. In today's world we see a growing change in mom's who want to stay home. I know I did, I love to work, and I loved my jobs, but I wanted to stay home with my kids so much so that I found jobs that did not take me away from home so much. One of those jobs was throwing newspapers, my kids came with me and we had some great experiences. I actually made most of my money that way believe it or not, 3 hours a day, 7 days a week but it was worth it. I made the amount of money that I would have had for our expenses less daycare costs by working out of the home. It worked for me.

Thank goodness for the Internet because many moms are creating their own home businesses. I think that is an awesome way to make it work; stay at home and make the extra money needed to help with the expenses. For those of us who no longer need to stay home, because our kids are grown, we can help by supporting these moms. I would rather buy from them so they are available to raise good, righteous, and responsible citizens, than to buy from a chain store.

Take some time to see what kinds of home businesses there are that could benefit you. I love that mom's want to stay home to be with their children. I do know the value of moms at home because I experienced my mom doing both. When she was home I could be a kid, but when she left to work, I had to become an adult and be responsible for my younger siblings. I can also see the difference in my kids because I sacrificed until they were in school, then when I started work my kids were at home for maybe a hour to an hour and a half by themselves until I was able to get home to them. It worked for us but we had to make sacrifices and that was worth it.

My kids weren't involved in a lot of after school activities, we didn't have expensive clothing, or electronics. But we had each other and were able to spend quality time together.

So I am willing to do what I can to help other mom's do what they desire. If its to stay at home and create a business, if necessary, then I will help by making purchases through their business. And if they choose to go to work then I would be glad to help find someone dependable and with the same values to watch over their kids; that helps home businesses too.

God created a family life because he knew we would all need a mom and dad in our lives to be there doing their part in raising a good righteous family. Mom's job is the principle care taker and nurturer of her children. It's hard to make everything balance in today's world. I know its a hard thing to do especially when we can't do anything but with God's help and a lot of sacrifice we can do this. And we can do this by supporting mom's who are trying to do both by being at home while making a few dollars to support their families.

Here are a few businesses that I am aware of.

Hello Sunshine Home Decor
Luv You Forever Baby Items and More
Spare Time Crafts
E Boutique
Made By Susie
La Bella Vita
Take Shape For Life
Women's Dream Team

If you would like to have your site featured on this page, please leave a comment and I will update my list!

California wants what?!!!

So...Friday I was listening to the radio and heard only a small portion of something that almost made me go ballistic...I had to ask myself, if what I heard was true. So I started researching on the Internet. I still can't believe it but it seems California thinks that their children need to be able to use whatever bathroom they like or play sports on whatever team they like.

Ok, let me say this again, California is trying to pass a bill that allows children K-12 to use which ever bathroom they want according to what ever gender they feel they are. And if they want to play on a school sports team as a gender opposite of what their body parts tell them they are they will be allowed to play on the team of their choice.

Gender law

What is wrong with this picture; what problems do you see happening if this is passed; whats wrong with these people?!!! Has this world gone crazy? Do you think this won't happen anywhere else? Because it will or things will get even more wilder than that. How do we stand up against things like that? It's just wrong.

This is a very good time to stand up for truth and righteousness. It's time to stand up for God's plan and not man's. I have a good friend, since childhood, who is gay and she thinks things like this are extreme. She knows who she is and lives her life the way she wants but is bothered by others who take things to extremes like this.

I heard once that California sets a trend for the rest of the country so we have to watch what they do or get away with, so that we can avoid things like this from happening in our states. This is just plain wrong. I do not want to worry about our children having to deal with the selfishness of people who want to prove points. This is not a win for gays, its a win for selfish.

There are better battles to fight for than to put children in uncomfortable situations, perhaps even dangerous. I don't hate people who are gay. I am learning to love all people for who they are but I don't have to love what they do. I feel the same way about people who make choices to live together out of wedlock as I do for those who are gay. And, for sure, I am not perfect, I have situations in my life that others may not like. We all see life differently. But we have to pick our battles and this issue is one I can't ever agree with.

I don't know what I can do about this but I'm not stopping here. I feel like this is one where we have to protect the children. One small step at a time and we will see this becoming something even bigger and out of our control. I would love to hear some suggestions about how we can help protect the children or just stand up for what we know is not God's ways. I would love to help fight against this one. It's time to choose God's ways or Satan's way. I choose God's!

Need to Stay Awake

I have a young friend at work who sends me an email every day called "Daily Bread". This is a Christian post that sends uplifting messages to those who need to hear the Word of God. I love that she sends these to me because they really do make me think. This past week I reflected upon one that touched my heart some, so I would like to share my thoughts on this one today.

Our Daily Bread

The post was called 'Heart Attitude' and was about having passion to do the Lords work. He said that after a football team is no longer able to win the championship the players just go through the motions but have no heart in the game any more.

This made me think about us as Christians and how we profess to be followers of Christ but are only giving lip service and not acting as He would have us act. I am guilty of this from time to time. Its like I fall asleep and forget what I am supposed to be doing. He needs me to do my part in building his kingdom here on the earth.

There have been times in my life that I realized that I have been functioning daily while being mentally asleep, meaning I live each day but I just go through the motions. Its all routine and I can do this in my sleep. Even at work when my brain wants to sleep I realize that I got through my assigned work but question if I did it correctly because I didn't remember doing it. Because I can do most of it in my sleep but my brain gains nothing. If I don't use my brain and make it work then I will get no where in my career. So I have to stay focused.

When I realize that I am standing still in my spiritual self, feeling lost and distanced from God,  I usually figure out that its my own fault that I have not been growing in knowledge of the Gospel and my relationship with Him. My prayers become weak and my thoughts are not focused on the Gospel and my responsibilities. I have to make a heart attitude adjustment. When I start doing the things that are required of me then I feel alive and awake and I want to shout out to all telling them what I have learned!

We live in the last days and have been warned to be prepared for the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. We can not fall asleep at this time, we have to constantly stand and watch for His return so that we can be ready to follow Him home to live in peace. Hopefully, as we do this each and every day, our example and our desire for others to know and be ready too, will become stronger so that we can be contributing to the strength that will be needed from each of us to make this Kingdom stand firm and immovable.

I do love my Savior and our Father in Heaven. I want to return home to them and share my life with all those I love and worked hard with to receive the glories that will be given to us through the Grace of our Savior. I love when my testimony grows and some days I do have to share it with others.


Usually when my young friend at work and I go for a morning walk we are able to share our thoughts about the Gospel and I get the opportunity to share what I know with her. This is my way of doing the Lords work and keeping myself awake each day.

Sisters, stay awake and shine the Gospel of Jesus Christ each and every day so we can live in that wonderful place that is being prepared for us in Heaven.

Hateful Feelings after the Election

Hello,

Well, half of us are disappointed in the outcome of the elections and the other half is walking on the clouds, or with their heads in them. But the election is over and we have to move on and prepare for what is coming next. I see so many negative comments even after the election is over, even more so on the side that won, why is that?

The problem, as I see it, is that we are so bombarded with tons of negative ads against all the politicians that it makes it hard to get behind the ones we did not vote for, that won. How do we support the President of the United States when we have been taught this past year to hate what he does and stands for? How do we return to being a strong nation again?

I will say that I did not vote for President Obama, because I don't like his policies. I truly believe he is leading us down the wrong path.  He might think he has good intentions but he's doing it wrong. Now, I have the problem of trying to stand united with my nation because all the negative ads has told me that he is doing it wrong. It is so easy to get caught up in these races and negative feelings.

I had to find a way to get through these negative feelings, and the fears that I feel about this administration, but not let my guard down, and get on with my life, if I can. I am probably not the only person who feels this way. How can we do this?

I think we have to turn our hearts to God and not worry so much. We have to turn our thoughts to the scriptures and have faith that God has everything under control. The good wins in the end, we are promised that; we just have to endure to the end. But we need to stand strong and united as a nation. We can see the evidence in the comments above; United We Stand, Divided We Fall. I think after the elections we are falling.

It doesn't mean that bad things won't happen but it does mean we have to continue to stand up for the right things. When Jesus comes again and his government is established we will see the truth. He is coming and we just have to continue to stand up for his Kingdom and get as many people prepared for it as possible.

If we read the life of Jesus Christ in the New Testament we will see our hearts soften and hopefully our eyes will be open to the things surrounding us. We have to make those who are elected accountable for their actions. Our President and others promised certain things in order to win votes well then lets hold them to it. I believe that is the one thing we can do at this time.

We should be electing people with good moral values who know God and his ways. Our Founding Fathers were not perfect men but they did have moral values and made good decisions because of that. We still need those kind of people in our government today. It shouldn't be about political parties but should be about good moral standing and righteous judgements. It's hard to see the good people when there are so many negative ads blocking our views.  Prayer is helpful in unblocking the view.

Its time to move on now and not continue these silly games of who's side won, as far as I can see, it was a tie because both had half the nation behind them. Lets think about our Savior and put our efforts behind him and doing good in this wonderful nation we live in. God gave it to us so lets work together to stand strong against the evils that want to destroy the good that we have been blessed with. I pray for our Saviors speedy return so we can live together in peace His way.

Lack of Responsibility Today

Hello,

I don't know about you but I have noticed a lot of disrespect and lack of responsibility in many people today. Let me give you a for instance of something that happened to me this past week.

I was on my way home from work and was sitting at a light where there was about 3-4 cars in front of me. A car behind me wanted to get in the turn lane because there was only one car waiting to turn left at the time. I was sitting at the spot where the turn lane formed so this car went around me but he was a little too close and his side mirror hit my side mirror knocking it backwards, thank goodness someone was smart enough to create a flexible mirror or he would have broken it. But the point is he didn't stop to see if he did any damage to my car, he just kept going in the turn lane. I found myself fuming a little because he wasn't getting out to see if everything was ok, or anything. Where was the responsibility in this? Was this considered hit and run?

So when the light changed his lane didn't move which gave me an opportunity to say something. So I rolled down my window and he did the same, he had a huge smile on his face. I told him, "I just want to let you know that my mirror is fine, but it would have been nice if you had stopped to say I'm so sorry, is everything ok?" Of course he had an excuse for everything and I had several cars behind me honking their horn (rude), but I felt better letting him know how I felt about his lack of responsibility.

There was no excuse for him not stopping and making sure all was well. But it made me think about how people seem to be more and more irresponsible today with the day to day events; when did this change? I remember as a kid being taught responsibility when  I did damage to any one's belongings. My parents were very strict with teaching us manners and responsibility of ones self. I knew as I became a parent that it was something I would teach my children.

Just a few years ago my youngest son and his friend was playing with a paint ball gun in his friends back yard, which was next door to our house. It went off by accident and hit the metal shed in the yard next to his house. They went running, and my son came home. After a few minutes of hiding he came to me and told me what had happened. So we discussed it and went to the old mans house and told him what had happened. We asked how my son could fix the damage but the old man was kind enough to let it pass, however, he did reprimand my son but also praised him for being honest.

I went to the father of my sons friend and explained what we did thinking he might do the same since it was actually his neighbor, but no, he did nothing about it; I was amazed. How does he teach his children to become responsible? I guess he doesn't.

I just can't stand it when people do this. We, as righteous women need to teach our young to be responsible for their actions. This helps to mold them into good citizens and kind people. It helps them to be ready to answer to the Lord for all they have done in this life.

 Can you imagine the excuses on Judgement Day? I might like to be around to hear some of those, how do you hide the truth from God? You don't, you take responsibility and make it right, "...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Standing on the Lords Side of the Line

Today, I taught a lesson to the women at church about standing on the Lord's side of the line. We can see how close we are getting to the return of our Savior, (that probably won't be in December 21st this year), but we need to be deciding who's side we are on; no more straddling the fence.

https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-george-albert-smith/chapter-18?lang=eng

What does that mean? It means we have to have a firm testimony of our Savior. We have to be willing to put Him first and trust that the commandments he has given us are for our good. He doesn't give us commandments because he wants to control us but he gives us commandments to bless our lives and help us find true happiness in a messed up world. His commandments are actually words of love and counsel to us. If we could view it that way it may help us to understand the need for these commandments in our daily lives.

It also means that we can't go to church on Sunday and then do worldly things after that saying, "at least I went to church today." That mentality will not get you very far in heaven. We have to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ our lives. Our choices need to reflect the good that the gospel brings in our lives. If we make righteous choices daily we will have made the decision to be on the Lord's side. Every time we keep and honor a commandment we are choosing to be on the Lord's side.

We aren't perfect but we can try to live the gospel the best we can. We don't give in to Satan's tricks. You know how he works, little by little. He convinces us to think that if we just do a few things wrong it won't hurt us but that is wrong thinking. One thing leads to another thing and then another thing, it doesn't stop unless we realize that we are heading the wrong way, then try to fix it, which can be very hard to do.

So we need to say now that we choose the Lord's side and give our best to Him by living the commandments that have been given to us out of his love for us. After all, His purpose is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). If that is the case then the commandments are for blessings and not punishments. Yes, there are consequences to our choices but we know all this before we make our choices. He makes it plain and clear in the scriptures that if we don't do it His way then this will happen, but if we do it His way then this will happen, it's our choice but we pay the price regardless.

I choose the Lord's side. Like Joshua I say, " Choose you this day whom ye will serve,... but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15) I love these words because there is no question about who's side you are on. Please make you decision today and stand firm and strong on the Lord's side.