Faith ~ Scripture Journal

Attn my dear blog readers.  I understand that my Faith is likely to be different than your's and while I may make references to my faith at times I try to speak from my heart on a certain values or subjects.  So, while you might not believe in what I believe in, you might find a little nugget from my heart that might touch your's.  And my brain is scattered and sometimes my blog posts might come off that way as well 

With that said..... 

Without faith we don't have much.  I was born LDS, but was not necessarily raised LDS.  I don't think I ever once had a sturdy go to church every Sunday structure in my life.  Honestly, I didn't know much about the church, but there was a seed that was planted in my heart at a very young age, and that seed grew.  So while I never knew much about the church my heart belonged to, in my heart and with faith I knew this church was true.

I've been studying up on Faith, which is a very important value in all of our lives.  I think this scripture pretty much sums up Faith in the most amazing way {Alma 32:17-32}.  

Without faith, what dreams would we have.  I dream big and I dream with faith.  I have faith that my dreams will come true.  I live my life knowing with faith that my family will be a family for all eternity.  Do I have perfect knowledge of this?  No, but it definitely gives me something to be thankful for.  If I had perfect knowledge would I experience the lessons in life that I experience?  Probably not. If I had perfect knowledge would there be much room for forgiveness from Heavenly Father for my sins?  Probably not.  

President Spencer W. Kimball once wrote a book called {Faith Precedes the Miracle} which is definitely on my list of must reads.  In it he talks of how men reverses the process of Faith.  Using a seed for example we plant a seed with FAITH that a blossom will form.  We don't expect to see a blossom without planting the seed, right?  We as human have reversed the process.  We expect results without exercising Faith.  I quote from President Kimball "We want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws.  We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes.  We want to be close to the Lord but don't want to fast and pray."

We have to have faith that there is a reason that God has set up our lives the way that they are set up.  We have to have faith that there is a purpose to every day.  We have to have a faith that we will be together with our families for all eternity, because could you fathom the contrary?  Faith gets us through each day, through our lives, but we have to remember that the miracle comes after Faith.  If you have a dream, you have to have faith in God that he will help you do everything possible to make that dream come true.

With parenting and marriage I think I have experienced far more faith than ever in my life.  Not only faith in God, but faith in myself, faith in my husband, faith in my children.  Parenting alone has so many trials and without faith I don't know how I'd get through my day.  Even the little things, faith that bedtime will indeed come and I will have that peace I so desperately need, faith that the tantrum being thrown will pass.  Faith that the phases that they go through that make you want to literally pull every single hair out of your head is just indeed a phase.  Faith in yourself that you are what your children need.  

Marriage, I have to have faith that my marriage will succeed all trials that it faces.  I have to have faith that he loves only me, as he has to have faith that I only love him.  We do not have perfect knowledge of these things, which is why in marriage faith is one of the most important things there is.  Faith in our sacred relationship is what helps us get through the trials.  I have faith that every trial we face is dealt to us for a reason and that there is a lesson to be learned through it.  In my marriage we have faced some ROUGH, and I mean ROUGH ROUGH ROUGH trials.  I've said it before on my blog, things people throw the towel in over and call it quits, but FAITH kept us together.  Faith that we were bigger than the trials we went through, and Faith that God would help us to get to the point we needed to be at in order to continue on with our marriage ~ and love each other.

I close this post with a quote from {Alma 32:21} "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

Jayden's Baptism

We believe in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that children are innocent and do not fully understand the difference between right and wrong until they reach the age of 8. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and a very special ordinance between Heavenly Father and yourself. We wait to baptize until the age of 8, because before this age you really haven't sinned, or understand what commitments you are making with Heavenly Father.

With that being said.... on April 10,2010 Jayden entered the waters of baptism, and it was such a wonderful and special day. We had the honor of having my Grandfather, Jayden's Great-Grandfather come up from California and baptize him. It was absolutely special!

We had great friends that all showed up to witness this special day for Jayden. We sang a couple of his favorite primary songs and had delicious chocolate cake afterwards. One thing I'll never forget is when he stepped into the baptismal font he says "HOT!" and then after he got baptized he actually started swimming in the water! Oh that boy keeps me laughing.

Jayden & his Great-Grandpa

I'm so proud of you, Jayden, for the decision that you have made.  I know that the decision that you made was the right one, and I know in my heart that this church is true.... and I'm so proud of you for taking this journey to discover it on your own.  I love you so much and I hope that you always follow your heart and listen to the Holy Spirit, because he will NOT steer you wrong.... I can promise you that.  Your relationship with Heavenly Father is such a personal one, and I hope you strive to strengthen it and grow closer and closer to him and soak in his teachings.  I love you so much.  Love, Mama

Just a Motivating Monday - Quotes from LDS Conference

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It's hard to put into words what I experienced this weekend. One thing I wanted to do for Just a Motivating Monday is share some very heart touching quotes that came from the semi-annual conference that the members of the LDS church get to experience.

This weekend the conference seemed to be based on families, parenting, motherhood. Things that I feel I personally needed to be strengthened on. The words that were spoken this weekend spoke straight into my heart.

"The most important work you will ever do are within the walls of your own home." ~Elder Ballard

"Hold your tongues about things that don't matter." 

 ~Elder Ballard

The two above quotes by Elder Ballard really touched me.  How many of us sometimes put what's in our home 2nd?  I as a mother needed to hear this ~ what work we put into our families is the most important, and I need to put more effort into ensuring that we are all growing spiritually together.  In this life NOTHING should ever be more important than your family, and passing on your faith, wisdom, and knowledge to your children so they can take that with them throughout their lives.  It is our divine responsibility to teach our children about Jesus, and the gospel.

The 2nd quote ~ There are so many things that don't matter, so why do I even talk about them?  This quote I REALLY needed to hear, and am so thankful that I did.

"Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father."

 ~ President Uchtdorf

"A tattered & worn $20 bill is still worth $20.00. ~ I am beat, worn, torn & crumpled, but I still have worth." 

~ President Uchtdorf

"We can speak of love all day long, but until we manifest that love into action, our words are nothing."

 ~President Uchtdorf

"Jesus talked the talk and walked the walk, but he walked louder than he talked." 

~ President Uchtdorf 

President Uchtdorf is one of my most favorite talkers.  I am always pleased at every talk he has given and was definitely not disappointed this time as well.  He put in beautiful words how we should love everyone.  I think the $20.00 bill analogy was PERFECT.  We've all been worn and torn but we all still have worth, and to God we are ALL His children and he loves us all.  Something I thought long and hard is how would you feel if someone was mean one of your children?  It hurts you, right?  I think that's how Heavenly Father feels when we are mean to His children, because that's what everybody is.  We are all important to Him.

I hope this inspired you this Monday to realize that first and foremost, our homes are the center of everything. We need to strengthen our families, and teach our children the things we want them to take into the world with them as they grow.  In my case, it's the gospel of Jesus Christ.  To you, it might be different, but it's our duty as parents to teach our children.  

I also hope that these quotes have inspired you to love others.  After I watched this conference I realized that there are many people that I stress about and have done so much wrong to me and I've realized they are the ones that need my prayers and love the most.   

There are so many more quotes and heart touching things that were spoken during the conference and if you would like to hear these talks you can do so {HERE}

Did you already hear the talks?  What was one of your favorite quotes?