then sings my soul

duck on a log

big springs, island park, idaho

august 2013

today in sacrament meeting we sang how great thou art. i always think of my granny because we sang this song at her funeral. it was the second (or third) funeral i'd ever been to. i always thought it to be a strange song for a funeral. as we sang it today (it always helps when you have an impressive singer sitting next to you) and sang the lines,

when through the woods and forest glades i wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when i look down from lofty mountains grandeur and there proclaim, my god how great thou art.

i realized that all weekend, i had been so overwhelmed by my heavenly father and the beauty of his creations but i hadn't been able to put it into words. and rightfully so, how could their be fitting words to describe the vastness, depth, simplicity and complexity of nature and all therein contained? that's why i love music. although a song is made of words, music brings a beauty that extends beyond the semantics of words. and i there in could proclaim, my god how great thou art.

What the message of Jesus Christ means to me?

Like i previously mentioned, I had a commenter ask about what exactly the message of Jesus Christ is. That question has been so overwhelming because its so broad and beautiful, but I can tell you what it means to me.

The message of Jesus Christ can be summed somewhat summarized by the first 4 articles of faith Articles of Faith:

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The message of Jesus Christ is that there is a plan that was decreed long before the worlds were created where our Heavenly Father, presented a plan for all his children. This plan is known as the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness. Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the Father and Only Begotten was chosen to be our Savior and our Redeemer.

And now to quote from Preach My Gospel (Chapter 2, Lesson 2, The Plan of Salvation):

We will all suffer physical death, but Jesus Christ overcame the obstacle of physical death for us. When He died on the cross, His spirit became separated from His body. On the third day, His spirit and His body were reunited eternally, never to be separated again. He appeared to many people, showing them that He had an immortal body of flesh and bone. The reuniting of body and spirit is called resurrection and is a gift promised to each of us. Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will all be resurrected regardless of whether we have done good or evil in this life. We will have a perfect, immortal body of flesh and bones that will never again be subject to disease, pain, or death. The resurrection makes it possible to return to God’s presence to be judged but does not guarantee that we will be able to live in His presence. To receive that blessing, we must also be cleansed from sin.

God sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to overcome the obstacle of sin in addition to the obstacle of physical death. We are not responsible for the Fall of Adam and Eve, but we are responsible for our own sins. God cannot look on sin with any degree of allowance, and sin prevents us from living in His presence. Only through the Savior’s grace and mercy can we become clean from sin so that we can live with God again. This is possible through exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

To fulfill the plan of salvation, Christ paid the penalty for our sins. He alone was able to do that. He was called and prepared in pre-earth life. He was the literal Son of God in the flesh. He was sinless and completely obedient to His Father. Though tempted, He never gave in to temptation. When the Father asked His Beloved Son to pay the price of the world’s sins, Jesus was prepared and willing. The Atonement included His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and His suffering and death on the cross, and it ended with His Resurrection. Though He suffered beyond comprehension—so much so that He bled from every pore and asked whether it were possible that this burden be lifted from Him—He submitted to the Father’s will in a supreme expression of love for His Father and for us. This triumph of Jesus Christ over spiritual death by His suffering and over physical death by His Resurrection is called the Atonement.

Christ promises to forgive our sins on the condition that we accept Him by exercising faith in Him, repenting, receiving baptism by immersion, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and striving faithfully to keep His commandments to the end of our lives. Through continuing repentance, we may obtain forgiveness and be cleansed of our sins by the power of the Holy Ghost. We are relieved of the burden of guilt and shame, and through Jesus Christ we become worthy to return to the presence of God.

As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

In paying the penalty for our sins, Jesus did not, however, eliminate our personal responsibility. We must show that we accept Him and that we will follow His commandments. Only through the gift of the Atonement can we return to live with God.

I love that second to last paragraph when it states, "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." I think that is the central message. As children of a loving Heavenly Father, he wants us to know that there is a plan that not only helps us here in mortality but also in eternity. He wants us to know that he has provided a way for us to return back to him, back home. He wants us to know that this gift of the Atonement is here for each of us to utilize in our lives so that things can be made right. In the four gospel writings in the New Testament of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and in the writings of the prophets in the Book of Mormon who wrote of Christ appearing to the people in the Americas, I never cease to be amazed by just how many times Christ invites Come unto Me. (My favorite Come unto Christ scripture can be found here: 3 Nephi 9: 13-15)

And not just Come unto Me in your good times or in the times when life is good, but Come unto Me with your burdens, with your weakness, with the things that are hard, with the things you don't understand, with your pain, your sickness and your infirmity.

Christ invites us to Come to Him, to learn of Him, to be healed through His Atonement.

I love the way that Elder Jeffery R. Holland puts it:

It seems clear that the essence of our duty and the fundamental requirement of our mortal life is captured in these brief phrases from any number of scenes in the Savior’s mortal ministry. He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.”

My beloved friends, I know of no other way for us to succeed or to be safe amid life’s many pitfalls and problems. I know of no other way for us to carry our burdens or find what Jacob in the Book of Mormon called “that happiness which is prepared for the saints.”⁶

So how does one “come unto Christ” in response to this constant invitation? The scriptures give scores of examples and avenues. You are well acquainted with the most basic ones. The easiest and the earliest comes simply with the desire of our heart, the most basic form of faith that we know. “If ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma says, exercising just “a particle of faith,” giving even a small place for the promises of God to find a home—that is enough to begin.⁷ Just believing, just having a “molecule” of faith—simply hoping for things which are not yet seen in our lives, but which are nevertheless truly there to be bestowed⁸—that simple step, when focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, has ever been and always will be the first principle of His eternal gospel, the first step out of despair.

And so, the message of Jesus Christ means to me to come, come and learn of him, come and be healed by him. Come and learn of his commandments so your life can be filled with peace, joy and happiness. Come and learn that his gospel has been restored to the earth today, that there are prophets on the earth leading and guiding the Lord's true church and that God still speaks to man today.

I know that as we learn of Him in any small way and express our desire to learn more of Him that he will send the Spirit of the Holy Ghost to testify to our souls that He lives and that The Plan of Salvation is the Plan for all of our Heavenly Father's children. We can pray to know of these things for ourselves. That is how I have come to know what I know and for me, it has made all the difference.

Please see: http://mormon.org/beliefs/jesus-christ for further information
Please contact me with any further questions by leaving a comment or emailing me under the email in my profile.

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broken things to mend, elder jeffery r. holland
the atonement can secure your peace and happiness, elder richard g. scott
where is the pavilion, president henry b. eyring
missionary work and the atonement, elder jeffery r. holland
the atonement can clean, reclaim and sanctify our lives, elder shayne m. bowen
*mormon message

up and coming

• what week 30/52 looked like--there will be pictures
• fulfilling a request: a discussion on what the message of jesus christ is

i had a commenter who asked me to talk about the second bullet point and i'm so grateful and excited to write more about it. please know that if anyone who ever stumbles across this blog has any questions, please please ask them, even anonymously. i will respond. and i love it!

i delight in 29/52.

well another week has happened. its amazing watching the year pass by week by week how time just passes almost imperceptibly in a certain sense. in another sense, i'm just overwhelmed by the things i just don't seem to get to but i try not to let some of that bother my tendencies toward perfectionism. otherwise i'd never delight in anything!

highlights of the week...

• reading pocahontas with christin complete with renditions of just around the riverbend, colors of the wind and the gold song i don't remember what its title is
• finding a treasured disney cd
• discovering that my dad knows the lyrics to a lot of random songs. for example, the siamese cat song from lady and the tramp and the words to all the mr. ed song (as in the old television show) a horse is a horse of course of course...that's all i know, he sang the whole thing. note the irony that all this comes from someone who is fairly tone deaf. it makes the whole experience even better! 
• crazy evening storms almost every night!
• a lovely evening including delicious dinner by the river, a talented musician and a walk to the up and coming ogden temple with my dearest friend carly
• hearing my family talk about carly's sweet babies ALL weekend after they got to enjoy them for an evening
• early morning temple trips and visiting grandparents in brigham including searching for socks and mascara
• my new favorite quote: me: "grandpa, you are so wise." grandpa: "oh granddaughter, you've confused the word wise with wacky, i'm so wild." at 92, he doesn't skip a beat!
• helping make my stake's float for the 24th of july parade--snowing styrofoam, sawing styrofoam, sanding styrofoam, gluing and glittering letters, painting styrofoam,  spray painting styrofoam. i have a new appreciation for parade floats
• adventuring in salt lake with heather: trying bruges waffles and frites for the first time (and definitely not the last), exploring the farmers market at pioneer park (also for the first time), wandering the church history museum (always my favorite), deseret book, dinner at sixth and pine, venturing up to the tutoring toy and giving heather the tour of sl/the aves. it always makes me miss my time in salt lake. i'm so glad it happened though!
• crossing things off the summer bucket list
• buying new gym shoes (finally)
• seeing family i don't get to see as often as i'd like
• watching christin's face as cousin jonny gives her the biggest hug, he makes her feel like a million bucks and i love that! it reminds me that there are people out there who just get what a difference they can make and who just do what should always be done...loving others. 
• hearing someone pray in french, it made me miss my mission
• finishing the book "visions of glory" by john pontius

i know there are things i've left off this list that i truly delighted in. i always delight in so many aspects of my job. there is something about the million tiny moments that happen in a day when it comes to working with kids that just make my heart swell with gratitude and enthusiasm for what i get the privilege of doing. i've been delighting in the flowers a lot lately. caring for them for a week as their sole water provider made me have a new appreciation and outlook on the importance of inspecting them daily to make sure they're doing well. what a parallel for how we can care for others. if they're needing water, we certainly ought to give it to them. if people are needing refreshment or physical or spiritual nourishment, shouldn't we do something sooner rather than later?

what have you delighted in this week?

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visions of glory

to the single adult sisters of the church

my quote board

know this that every soul is free

I delight in week 28/52.

Don't worry about the 10 weeks I just skipped. It's just time. It has been great time, but writing week synopses here has not been a priority.

This week marked a week back at work since my "week of vacation from my life to my Mom's life." Going back to my life wore me out just as much as living my Mom's life for a week. There is always so much to be done and seemingly not enough hours in the day to do it all. But somehow, it all fits in in the end.

the most joyous moments of the week: came from some victories some of my patients had. just trust me...they were big ones!
the most heart breaking moment of the week: came from moments of compassion and love i had the opportunity to witness
the most frustrating moments of the week: came from my own inability to see beyond the surface and to be reluctant to forgive and let things go
the most rewarding moments of the week: came oddly enough from the most unexpected source
the most relaxing moment of the week: was during some quality time with my mom
the most musical time of the week: was during a reading of Peter Pan for LB's bedtime story
the most reunion-like and celebratory moments: came from having a virtual baby shower for Nat
the most tiresome moment is probably right now

what i lived on this week: freezer meals and dirty diet cokes
the buy of the week i might regret: signing up to do the quilt block of the month for a second year
***please hold me to the fact that i will not do it a third year...i will not. i cannot.***
a collection of my pockets: toy cars, mr. mouth flies, pronoun cards and pecs pictures

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inspirations of the week
quote of the week: "not shrinking is more important than surviving"-neal a maxwell
scripture of the week: moroni 7:45-48
mormon message: enduring love *warning, do not watch without tissues or if you have makeup you don't want to get all over the place, or maybe its just me

I delight in a Savior who searches.

source

During His ministry, Christ healed a blind man. The leaders of the Jews called the man before them and demanded he renounce Christ. When he refused, they cast him out.

When Jesus heard what the leaders had done, He immediately went looking for this man (John 9:35). I could see the determination on Christ’s face as He made His way through the crowd. I draw comfort from knowing that if He will search after him, He will search after me.

The above picture and print is from the same source sited below the picture. This picture is called The Prince of Peace and is by artist, Liz Lemon Swindle. For me, the story behind the picture is what makes the picture so special.  

The Savior is depicted in so many different ways. While I definitely have my favorite picture of Christ which is rarely circulated and which I found almost by accident one day in a bookstore in Logan, this picture above became a close second the moment I heard the story behind it. 

The look in his eyes penetrates my soul. I think it's because it's a look I can identify with. I've always had a silly fear of being left behind and of being lost. I was the worried child who always kept her eye on her mother in the store, who never strayed too far and who when I didn't see my mother in an instant began to search for her. As the years have gone on, I've had the look of searching many a time for my sister when she wanders off in a store to look at something of interest to her or when my brother was younger and would get lost. Needless to say, I am all too familiar with the look of searching. 

I love that when Jesus heard what had been done he immediately went looking, and dare I say, looking intently for the man. He knew he had to find him, to comfort him and likely to bless him. As I think about the times my heart wanders, I can all too quickly imagine the Savior with set eyes, diligently searching for me, little ole me.

It brings comfort to my heart and delight to my soul that the Lord searches after us, each of us. That he knows our eternal identities as his brothers and sisters and searches for us in our times of hurting hearts, despair,  being cast off, feeling forsaken, and being prone to wander.

my blogging break

not that anyone has noticed, but i haven't been posting much here, or anywhere for that matter.

When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be.

One of the characteristics of modern life seems to be that we are moving at an ever-increasing rate, regardless of turbulence or obstacles.

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.

It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks.

-President Dieter F. Uctdorf, Of Things that Matter Most, October 2010

Its been one of those times where priorities have had to be made. Honestly at the end of the day, I'd rather spend half an hour reading a Disney book with LB (Christin) and spontaneously breaking out into song than spending time with my computer. At the end of the day, family, the gospel, my health and people are what matters the most.

With that being said, I just have to say that while life has been crazy, as seems normal for my life, it has been so good. I am grateful to be able to see the blessings. I'm grateful to be able to see the Lord's hand in my life. I'm also just grateful for the experiences of life. As things happen in life that seem compel people to make comments that just don't help (but are certainly well intended and I get that), I'm just grateful. Grateful for glimpses of the bigger picture.