Words

I love words.  They are beautiful and thought provoking.  I love to learn their origins and how they come to mean what they mean.  I love to read the scriptures and find the patterns of words used by the Lord.  He is a God of order and presicion.  

Many of you know that I am writing a personal/group scripture study book for women.  Many different topics have been outlined and layed out, but the one I am currently working on is called Joyfully Atoned.  With writing comes much research and looking at words and how they fit together.  

The Atonement is a vast and often misunderstood part of the Christian faith, and I find it overwhelming.  This singular act has such a profound effect on our lives.  The more I study about the Atonement, the more I feel like a child sitting at the feet of my hero.  Awed and humbled to be in His presence. I marvel to think that our Savior loved us so much that he would step in and bridge the gap for all of us. 

Writing has been a very slow process.  As I research and study I am plagued with self doubt and feelings of inadaquacy.  What could I possibly say or write that anyone would want to read?  My natural true self is a bubbly, happy, giggly girl.  How do I write about such a sacred topic with my normal gaiety?  I am naturally curious.  I want to know why and how.  Why did our Savior do this for us?  How did he become a Master of wills?  I am a flawed person, I have made loads of mistakes in my life thus far.  I am not a learned apostle that has made it my life's work to study the scriptures.  What authority do I have in writing about such a sacred topic?  Why should anyone listen to me?

After my husband left for work this morning, I laid in bed and thought.  I prayed in my mind to my Heavenly Father.  This calling that He has given me is to much.  I am not enough for this.  As I lay there beseeching my Heavenly Father to calm my anxious mind, I felt a big warm fluffy blanket wrap around me.  In that moment, I felt so much love and peace calm my anxious heart.  The following scripture came to my mind:

 

I have heard this scripture at least a thousand times.  But today, I heard a disctinction between labor and heavy laden.  They are so similar I thought, why repeat the words.  It is much like the words joy and happiness.  They are similar and are often used interchangeably.  When someone labors, they are often heavy laden, right?  Why repeat the words?  

I looked to the dictionary and learned that labor is a noun and a verb.  As a noun it means work, typically a physical job accomplished.  However when it is used as a verb, it refers to the process of work, not the job itself.  In this light, labor and being heavy laden are different concepts.  In this scripture, Christ is affirming to us that no matter what is causing us distress: a heavy burden we are carrying, a difficult job we are tasked with, or we are having difficulty in doing something despite working hard, we are invited to come unto Him.  Set our trials at his feet and rest.  He will wrap a big fluffy blanket around our souls, give us a cup of warm hot chocolate and let us rest.  

The scriptures of filled with examples of this.  There will be times, when we pick our trial back up, that it is lighter, or has been taken care of for us.  But often times, the trial remains the same, but it is us who is changed.  The rest allowed our bodies and souls to get stronger and recover.  Which in turn allows us to accomplish the calling we have been called to that much easier.  

I am grateful for my rest time spent with my Savior this morning.  How do you rest with the Savior?

Time

I love Emily Dickinson's writing. So simple, yet so profound.  How we spend our time is one of the most important priorities we should have.  

In my scripture study this morning I was reading in John.  A verse that I have read so many times struck a new chord today.

I always took this scripture literally.  Who am I willing to die for, to give up my life for.  But if we look at our "life" as our time, the thought shifts.  Who, or what, you spend your time on is who, or what, you are giving your life to. Who am I willing to give my time to?  

We are encouraged to pattern our lives after the Savior.  His life was spent lifting others, serving in the background, sharing his light right where he was at.  Today, I challenge you to smile at a stranger, share a kind word, or simply be present for your family. For there is no greater love than to lay down one's time for one's friends.

Emotions....

Good morning dear Reader.  

I  found an old post of mine that still rings true.  These precious bike riding children of mine are now all adults, (one is even a parent himself!) but the words and emotions stand contant.  Enjoy a reminising moment.  :)

~Laura

 Life in our household has been filled with so much emotion! I never quite understood why other Mom's got so emotional about their kids going back to school in the fall. It has never affected me the way that it seems to affect other moms. I tend to be very happy that they are going back to school. We all get the space from each other that we need, they get to learn new things and go new places. They get to be with friends and for me - that was a HUGE part of school!! Plus, I get the added bonus of going school supply shopping! I LOVE buying school supplies! It is one of my favorite things to do ~ so generally speaking, this is one of my favorite times of year! 

Until this year!! We decided that the children were old enough to ride their bikes together to and from school since we only lived a couple of blocks from the school. It would save me the gas plus the hassle of having to load up the 3 younger children into the van to sit and wait for four children to get their act together and get to the van. Besides - have you ever tried to get coats/mittens/hats on 3 children under the age of 3 in a timely manner?? It would take me at least 30 minutes to get everyone ready and all the while I was hoping and praying that the child that I dressed up first didn't get too hot in the get-up and started to strip it all off!! 

Not to mention the fact that after school, the younger children and I were meet by VERY annoyed older children who demanded we produce an after school snack the second they arrived at the van.  And heaven forbid they had to walk together from the school to the van and deal with a sibling who didn't walk as fast as the others thought that they should! What a mess! Can you see the why I would LOVE for them to ride their bikes home and get out some of these negative attitudes!?!?! 

That being said, they have been practicing this trip every day for a whole week, so that they would be prepared to make this trip without me fretting too much!  While they were gone I enjoyed the time I had with the little ones! I got to play with them without interruption and actually got some things done around the house! After an hour or two, the children would come home happy, energetic and ready to have a fantastic day! I unwisely thought that the following week would be grand!!!   It does help my fretting mind that my parents live inbetween our house and the school and that Grandpa is walking up and meeting them each morning and afternoon!!

 The big day arrives and everything goes according to plan. They follow the schedule with exactness and are out the door having given Mom many hugs and kisses at the appointed departure time. All is well, I thought! Life is superb!! Then came 9:00 and I received the call from my dad that the children had arrived safely and were on their way to have a fantastic day at school. I managed to finish the call calmly but once I had hung up the phone something totally unexpected happened: I cried!! 

 Now dear sweet reader, I beg you..no..I implore you to understand! I LOVE my children! I adore my children! But I also LOVE having time when I can think without having to listen to children crisis every two seconds! School time is sheer bliss! Imagine the suprise I felt in response to the abundance of tears that fell once I was off the phone! Not only did tears fall that morning, but an intense jealously welled up inside myself at the close of the school day when I realized that my awesome & wonderful Daddy would be the first person to see my children's faces when they exited the school for the first time as 5th, 3rd, 2nd & 1st grader's! WOW! I could never imagine such strong emotions and I must apologize to all you moms out there in the world that experience this type of emotion reguarly! I always thought you were a bit soft. Now having had this experience, I tip my hat to you more emotional seasoned moms!! 

Anyone else out there expeience this sort of thing?? Do tell please! :) 

 ~Laura 

Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

Good morning world!

I love the movie Peter Pan and equally love Finding Neverland. They are two of my favorite movies.  I love the magic, the innocence, the symbolism of Neverland, the protrayal of being true to yourself in all things, and the happiness that comes when you share your true self with the world. I can relate so much to Mr. Barrie. 

This part week has been an interesting week! One filled with change, unexpected blessings, and peace that comes from our Heavenly Father when we put our faith and trust in him. 

Our Heavenly Father's plan is beautiful and perfect. Our end goal is to become our true and exalted selves.  Much like our worldly navigation systems, we have an end "destination" plugged in to our spiritual GPS. As we live our lives and make choices, the paths to get to that "destination" or exalted self will change. The time will fluxuate as we experience all that this life has to offer. The beauty and hardship of this journey is that we are in complete control over every twist and turn. Another beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father.

I encourge you to pause and reflect on the path that you are on. Will left, right, up, down, or even diagonal bring you closer to your true self and inner joy? Once you have found that direction, sprinkle a little pixie dust on your self, think a happy thought and away you go!   

~Laura