Stone by Stone

Let me tell you why I love this video. Sometimes we all have trees(like the one in this video) that we are trying to grow in our lives. These are things that we are trying to accomplish. They are places that we hope to be someday. Sometimes we are tempted to tell God how to help us get there, but as we lay stone by stone and let him reach us, he will teach us how get there.

 I love the smile on Joseph's face when his tree is grown. It is great in contrast to the pain and sadness you see in the first part.

Even though there are trees that we are working on right now with God's help, lets not overlook the ones that have already grown. What progress have you made in your life? Let's look back and notice how far we have come, and what things we truly have overcome. There are many. I promise you.

From Seed to Flower

Our Father in Heaven is the only true judge of where we are and where we are going. Sometimes, we let other people be the judge. We listen when they tell us that we are too shy, too annoying, too selfish or too dumb. If we spend more time with our Heavenly Father in prayer and studying His words, we will find that he sees our potential.. He is not as concerned with where we are now, but rather, where we are going, and of course he knows how to get there. 

Brad Wilcox once said "We don't get mad at a seed for not being a flower"

So, little seeds, go to the source of water and sunlight, and let Him help you become a flower.

Permission to be great!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." -Marianne Williamson

I never really understood this quote until I saw this video.

Notice how she just shines. When I watched this, I realized that I can be great in my own way. Shine your light so that other people see that it is okay and that they can shine theirs as well. It's contagious.

How Great Thou Art

Sometimes, I am just amazed at how great the Lord is. He knows who I am, and he knows what I need and desire. He creates beauty in my life everyday and sends me angels, both seen and unseen.

Here is a video that I love. I hope you listen to the beautiful message this song shares.

Being God-taught 2

I have been thinking a lot lately about this idea of being God-taught. I wrote a post about it before, but I wanted to share my thoughts from recent experiences.

It is essential that in this life, we look to our loving Father in Heaven to guide and direct us. Sometimes I think of this as the Lord saying, "okay here is what is going to happen to you. Here is where you are going to go." I think it is much more than this. 

I have been thinking about my Heavenly Father as my teacher. I go to him in prayer and study my scriptures so that he can teach me how to do my best in this life and how to prepare for eternal life. 

Last night, at institute, we read this scripture:

Doctrine and Covenants 50:10-12

10. And now come, saith the Lord, by the Spirit, unto the elders of his church, and let us reason together that ye may understand;

11. Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face
12. Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.

When there are things we struggle with, the Lord will reason with us "even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face." He will teach us if we listen to him. He will show us the way to be happy.

Here is another scripture about being God taught that I really like:

2 Nephi 28:30

30. For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; blesses are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

There are many times in my life when I have felt that the Lord has been working with me patiently to get me to understand something. Right now, He is teaching me to love people unconditionally. I have a lot more lessons to learn before I can reach this goal, but "line upon line, precept upon precept," I am coming to understand more.

The Lord knows how to do everything perfectly, so when we want to learn a skill or attribute for our lives, He will work with us to do things the way that He would do this, which is the best way. If we strive to apply what we learn, He will teach us more.

I am so grateful that the Lord loves me enough to patiently teach me to live my life on a higher level. As my first graders used to say in their school motto. "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better and better, BELIEVE IT!" Aren't we all first graders in the Lord's eyes?