JoAnna Lynn Oblander's Blog, page 62

Do You Believe in Your Potential?!!!

Do you minimize your worth or your potential? If so, why? We have come to this world to learn and to grow and to realize our Potential! All of us have trials and difficulties. Many times, it is those trials and difficulties that serve as the stepping stone for our growth and realizing our potential! God stands by with all of his forces of light to assist us! God did not create this world so that we could come and have an experience in failure. He created this world to provide an opportunity for us to succeed! We can’t do it alone – we need heaven’s assistance but WE CAN DO IT!!! I hope that you will believe the truth about yourself and believe in your potential! I know that the God of this earth believes in your ability to successfully achieve your potential! It may take several leaps of faith before you get there but on that amazing path that was designed specifically for you – you will never be alone. And, as you make God your partner in your effort – you will be amazed at God’s micro managerial efforts to assist you! It will not always be easy. It will not always look like the picture you originally envisioned but when all is said and done – it will be even better than anything you could have even imagined! God is not interested in helping us to be a squatter’s shack – He knows our true potential is grand and glorious! We are meant to be “mansions and more”!

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Life Education…

I love learning! I hope you do too! I believe that we all innately value learning. How many times have you or someone you know gone through a difficult experience or illness? Have you ever been asked if you wish that experience had never happened? Have you ever asked your friends that question? More times than not, we would not trade those experiences because of what they have taught us. My experience in heaven showed me that for all of our existence we have valued learning. Degrees or diplomas really have nothing to do with it. What is important is that we are always trying to learn – expand our universe – expand our intelligence! Sometimes the seemingly small things we learn are the most important and valuable. Think about it…how much do you love seeing a doctor that is immensely knowledgeable in his/her specialty if they don’t know or understand how to be caring or kind? Do you love watching events like the Special Olympics because the participants are so professional looking? No!!! You love them because you appreciate how hard they have worked and how willing they have been to learn and to give their best efforts despite their challenges!! I can imagine God watching us and being soooo proud of us when we give our challenges and our learning experiences our best effort! Make this day a day of learning…and when the day is through, give yourself a pat on the back!

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Within You…

Every single day is filled with hundreds of opportunities to create a wonderful day! Those wonderful days come within not from some amazing, once in a lifetime event. Our thoughts and our attitudes create or destroy. It’s an easy choice! We can look for reasons to be grateful and we can focus on positive thoughts! If you are not used to being positive, it might take some practice but it will be worth it! You were designed to have an amazing life! That does not mean you will be perfect or world famous – it means that it is the small gestures of service, caring smiles, expressions of love, and all those moments of sincere gratitude that will make your life amazing and filled with meaning! A wonderful life is not created from the outside in; it is created from the inside out!

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Fear Not…

As I write this today, I am thinking of the state of the world today. I am thinking of how within the last several years, the media at large (social media included) have made it socially unacceptable to stand for the truth that is contained in the scriptures. The Ten Commandments have not become obsolete. If anything, they have become more essential and more needed than ever. My near death experience allowed me to see God. I know He is real and I know that he is unchanging. We cannot change truth – we can only lose our understanding of it. God created this world and each of us with a purpose. The term socially acceptable is a frequently heard term these days. Unfortunately socially acceptable too often seems to mean the expectation that, as a whole, society is to go along with and support behavior that is contrary to God’s will. God loves each of His children. That does not mean that He loves our choices or our behaviors and that His commandments are a mere suggestion. It is not a popular stance to stand for truth and for God’s unchanging directives. Yet, if we want a world filled with peace and joy, the only way to get there is with God’s assistance and aligning our choices/lives with Him.

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Kindness…

Share a smile, a kind word, a small courtesy! Every little act of caring and kindness makes a difference and makes this world a better place! As has been said before, Be the change you wish to see in the world!

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We Are all Butterflies…

Hidden beneath that protective sheath that most of us have – lies our true self waiting to emerge. Our true self is full of promise and glory and we all too often hide it because we have long since stopped listening to our heart. Within our hearts is the voice that speaks the truth of who we are and where we are from. With the clarity of a self-assured child, your heart knows your worth and your purpose and begs for you to listen. No matter your choices in life, it will keep whispering. We all have time allotted to us on this earth. Take a few moments of the time you have been given and listen. Trust in what your heart tells you – and then act. It’s the best way to receive the abundance that is meant to be your gift from God.

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We are Never Alone!

We all feel alone at times. Sometimes that can feel okay and other times feelings of isolation, desperation, and incredible pain can accompany our aloneness. I love being alone with quiet and solitude but that is different than feeling like the world has abandoned it’s care and concern for you. At times, it can seem like no one cares. Though we most often cannot see them, the fact is that you are cared for! We are each surrounded by those who assist us from the other side. Sometimes they give us reminders. Sometimes they warn us. Sometimes they give us strength. Some called them guardian angels – I call them friends and family. Listen to your heart and you will know it is true. We are surrounded by those who love us and who help us. Personally, I am grateful for “my angels”! I know that I receive their assistance every day and that their care and strength has buoyed me through many a difficult moment. May you feel and recognize the efforts of your angels is my prayer for you this day!

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A Tribute to my Father…

I recently received an email from my cousin. His email was in regards to my father who passed to the other side in 2014.When I received his email sharing his admiration for the kind of person my dad was, I knew I needed to write this post in tribute to my dad. My father was not a perfect person. He had significant flaws just like most of us. My father was not incredibly wealthy nor did he ever earn a college diploma. However, my father was a true and wonderful friend and he epitomized the guy who would give a stranger the shirt off of his back. I remember at my dad’s funeral talking to one of his friends. It occurred to me that I didn’t know how he and my dad had become friends. He explained that my dad had come to his house one day because he was interested in leasing some land from him. At the moment my dad arrived, this man was in the middle of trying to replace a broken toilet without much knowledge of what he needed to do. With my mom waiting outside in the car (and not aware of what was going on inside), my dad offered to help. Two hours later, my dad had replaced his new friend’s toilet and had made arrangements to lease his land. My dad never felt worthy to enter a church and so he rarely did. However, shortly after his second wife died, he kindly accepted the invitation to let two missionaries live with him. The arrangement was to last for one year but was extended to two. During my dad’s final months, he made sure he went to see a few of those missionaries that had lived with him and whom he loved like sons. When the church congregation that he was a part of decided to build a small home for a man who was living in a cave, my dad  consistently showed up to help – more consistently than other members of his congregation. When they cut wood for widows and struggling families, my dad was there. When the small community of Roundup, where he lived, flooded a few years ago, my dad was out helping ranchers get their cattle to higher ground at the risk of not being able to get home to his own “high ground”. Often were the times that he called family members to make arrangements to meet everyone for ice cream. He was always more interested in playing with my grandchildren – his great grandchildren than eating the ice cream! What I wouldn’t give to have a video of all of the moments he gleefully played with them. Less than a year before he died of cancer, he happened to be at my house when my annual chocolate order of approximately 2000 lbs. arrived earlier than anticipated. My dad called me to let me know. The truck left my order in front of my garage and the temperature was below freezing. Explaining to my dad that I would rush home as quickly as possible because I needed to get that chocolate to a warmer place before the freezing temperatures impaired it – I quickly headed for home. When I arrived, my dad had single handedly moved all 2000# of my chocolate from outside of my garage up a flight of 8 stairs to my living room. Just days before his passing, his branch president (church leader) came to see my dad at the hospital. None of us realized his time was so short. His branch president told him what a wonderful man he was. He explained that although they rarely saw him within the walls of their chapel, he knew that if ever the congregation had a need, he knew he could rely on my dad. He said, “If I asked you right now to get out of that bed to come and help me I know you would do it, wouldn’t you?” My dad, embarrassed by the remarks, admitted that he would. “That, my friend, is the reason I consider you to be one of the finest men I know.” were the words his church leader exclaimed. Thinking back on those words, I am reminded that our religion, our faith is not demonstrated within the walls of a church – they are demonstrated by the way we treat and serve our fellow man. If ever there was a true Christian; it was my dad – a man who never felt worthy to step inside a church building but who willingly served his friends, family and neighbors until the day of his final breath. I love you dad! Thank you for your wonderful example!

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Faith…

Faith is a key ingredient of mortality. Developing it is one of the most important things we can do. Having it comes not by luck but by deliberate effort. Hanging onto it is a daily quest. Having it is a gift never fully earned. Sharing it is like sharing air. Realizing its importance comes powerfully as our ship remains anchored in the storms of life. Manifesting it most powerfully to us as we recognize who is truly at the helm.

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Created in the Image of God…

If I could have the wish of my heart – it would be that each of us as God’s children could really know who we are and our true potential. We are amazing – we truly are a “chip off of the old block”. We are the children of a Divine, Perfect Being. God ever stands waiting and willing to assist us. He will not assist us to become less – He will assist us to become more. When we consistently listen to our hearts, we will come to know who we are and who we are meant to become. God will never drag us screaming and kicking against our will. So, when we turn our hearts over to Him, we create an environment that will allow us to become and receive so much more than we will be and have if left to our own. God will humbly share His perfect knowledge of us – a knowledge that will not diminish us but allow us to be our happiest and our most amazing self! It will be a work in progress; it will not come overnight. But, it will come and as it does, the blessings and the results will be truly inspiring!

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