JoAnna Lynn Oblander's Blog, page 81

We Have Been Set Up for Success!!!

I was reading chapter 41 of Alma the other day. Verse 8 caught my attention.  It says:

“Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever may walk therein and be saved.

When I saw the pre-existence and the extensive preparations that were taking place to prepare each of us to come to earth – I was so impressed with just how organized and extensive those preparations were.

I have been to some very well organized events in my lifetime. Some of them so well organized that I was left in awe of how well the organizers had prepared for and anticipated every need. Yet, I have never seen anything like what I saw taking place in heaven to prepare us for our lives on earth.

It all makes perfect sense – after all our Heavenly Father is perfect. He loves us perfectly and certainly has the ability to prepare us for life perfectly as well.

So when I read Alma 41:8 it was another affirmation of truth that I already knew but still – a really important reminder.

The way has already been prepared. Isn’t it wonderful to know that every essential preparation has already been made? Every single one of us has been a recipient of that preparation.

All that is left now is the execution of the preparations. That is where our responsibility comes in. We must have the desire and be willing to “walk therein and be saved”.

I can’t help but feel amazed to know that the success of every life past, present and future has been prepared for and that all of the tools, assistance and strength that are needed to guarantee our success are in place.

We are not guaranteed that the efforts that will be needed will be minimal. In fact, we can pretty much be sure that the whole process will require our best efforts. But…where else can you get that kind of deal? It’s like Heavenly Father telling us that if we give Him our best effort – He will take that effort, combine it with the power of the Atonement and then guarantee that we win the ultimate prize or reward!

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And They Lived Happily Ever After

[image error]I love Disney …in fact the last time my family went to Disneyland, I was right there in the middle of the pack helping my grandchildren (mostly my granddaughters) get their pictures taken with Disney Royalty. However, if there is one concern I have with Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White and their fellow princesses it is that they all have a happy ever after that seems to come magically without any effort.

Love and marriage between a man and a woman is meant to be happily ever after but in real life it only comes with deliberate effort.

I am blessed to be a part of a wonderful marriage. My husband and I have been married for over 34 years now. In celebrity years, that is almost forever!

You might think that we have just been extra lucky or that each of us has an extraordinary amount of patience.

The truth is that we have been very blessed and we ALSO have been willing to cherish our marriage, make it a priority, and work really hard at keeping our relationship strong and healthy.

For us, getting to know each other is an unending process. We both understand that our courtship and relationship building did not end with “I Do” – it is an essential daily component of our marriage.

These things have been important to the success of my marriage and I believe they are important to other successful marriages as well:

·    We are best friends

·    We set aside time for date nights and other “Just Us” activities

·    We have interests in common and we do things together

·    We are committed to working out our differences

·    We share common values and beliefs

·    We understand the importance of being unselfish

·    We know that the best gift we could ever give our children is parents who are lovingly     committed to each other

·    We have fun together

·    We recognize that every worthwhile endeavor (including our marriage) requires good old fashioned work

·    We genuinely like and respect each other

·    We are able to acknowledge and honor our differences

·    Probably most important – We make God an essential part of our marriage

My husband and I were both eye witnesses to the less than stellar marriages of our parents. Those marriages eventually ended in divorce. However, even though we have witnessed troubled marriages within our circle of family and friends, we have also been blessed to witness some really wonderful marriages. Those strong marriages have been an important example for me and my husband.

Marriage is meant to be a wonderful and fulfilling experience and when the right attitudes and priorities are in place – I know it can be all of that and more.

Although wearing crowns and dressing up in gowns and tuxedos isn’t likely to do much for our marriages – marriage really can be Happily Ever After! Happily Forever after We Give Our Best Efforts to our Marriage!

PS – For those married couples who struggle with their relationship in the bedroom – a really wonderful and sensitive book that I would highly recommend is And They Were Not Ashamed by Laura M. Brotherson.

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Seeing Others As They May Become

[image error]Many years ago, when I was in high school, there was a young man by the name of Carl who expressed quite a bit of interest in me. When my debate coach got wind of Carl’s interest, she quickly expressed her opinion. She warned me to stay away from him – telling me that I was too good for him.

My coach was well meaning but somewhat misguided. I know she was trying to be protective of me but she didn’t really understand the good heart this young man had.

I didn’t actually date Carl but I ended up having a few conversations with him. His was a life filled with difficulty and tragedy. His parents were divorced. His father had abandoned the family. His mother was alcoholic and not inclined to look after her son. The only positive thing he seemed to have in his life was a grandfather that loved and cared for him.

By all outward appearances, Carl was not the kind of guy someone would want their daughter hanging out with. At the tender age of 18 Carl had alcohol abuse issues of his own, got a girl pregnant, lived on his own and was well-known for racing (and wrecking) cars and trucks on country roads.

Would Carl have been a positive influence on me? The answer is probably no. However, there is more to this story that needs expressing. After my conversations with Carl, it was plain to me (even back then) that the greatest tragedy of his life was the ability of his life circumstances to convince him that he was of no worth.

Certainly, his parents had done little to convince Carl of his worth and potential. Apparently, the influence of friends and other family members was not able to get the job done either. At the age of 20, Carl committed suicide.

I was reminded of Carl’s tragic story as President Monson spoke of “Seeing others as they may become” at our most recent general conference.

It is not hard for me to believe that Carl could have been helped immensely by others seeing him as he had the potential to become – instead of judging him and determining that he was not “good enough”.

By the time Carl took his life, he had married, divorced and become the father of a little girl. In his own way, by taking his life, Carl had perpetuated his family’s tradition of father abandonment.

It was a somber day the day I heard of Carl’s death. I remembered only too well the last time I had seen Carl – most of all, I remembered that I had ignored him. I did not say hi or acknowledge him in any way. Needless to say, on that day long past, I had made no effort to see Carl as he might have become and I certainly did nothing to help him to feel better about himself. It was a haunting thought for me as I realized that just one kind word, one kind gesture or just one person’s ability to acknowledge Carl’s inherent worth might have literally saved his life and saved his small daughter from a life without her father. I might have been that person but instead, I had ignored him.

We can all think of a time when someone’s small gesture, warm smile or act of kindness has been huge in its impact on us. President Monson’s words have reminded me of my own need to make a difference in the lives of others. I am also reminded that my efforts do not have to be on a grand scale to be meaningful or to make a difference.

If others have made a difference in your life or if you have a story in which you or someone you know benefited by someone’s act of kindness and/or ability to look upon the heart instead of outward appearances and you would be willing to share, please send your story to me at joannaoblander@mail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Who God Is

Doorway to Heaven

Have you ever found that your interpretation of who God is has changed with where you are in your life and the situations that you are or have faced?

There was once a time when my understanding of God was greatly influenced by where I saw myself. If I believed that my life was in a good place and filled with blessings – then God loved me and all was well. However, if the events surrounding my life seemed unfair – then I would question God’s love for me and wonder what I had done to deserve my circumstances.

I was fairly young during those times of uncertainty and doubt. Over  time, life experiences (which relied heavily on God’s guidance) showed me that even though life was not always fair – my Father in Heaven was always there and always helping me (even if the help came in ways I had not requested or did not always understand).

I am a witness not only of God’s existence but of his character and perfection. Why I have been blessed to be such a witness I cannot say. I can only say that apparently God knows my heart and knows my capacity to witness of His perfection better than I do.

Many life experiences have given me that witness but the crowning event of my “witnessing” came on a night that I had prayed to my Heavenly Father and expressed to Him my intent to end my life the next day. It was on that night, after my tearful prayer, that I was escorted back to that place where we (you and I) were being prepared to come to earth.

I think you could call the place I visited heaven. Whether it was literally heaven or not doesn’t really matter to me. God was there and a spirit of love so powerful that all partakers of that environment revered our Father in Heaven, loved, honored, &served each other, and wanted to make the most of our divine potential. In a word – it was glorious and heaven like place even if it wasn’t heaven.

It was there that I was shown a meeting that I had once had with my Father in Heaven. It was during that meeting that I came to know, in ways I can only describe as profound, the complete perfection and all knowing intelligence of my Creator.

That meeting taught me that my Creator has great expectations of me, loves me perfectly and completely, knows me and my potential in ways I have not yet begun to comprehend, and is my ardent and most devoted supporter and guide. I also was shown that He is not a respecter of persons –in other words, those feelings and desire to teach and guide me were not isolated to just me but extended to each and every one of His children.

I saw preparations taking place in that place I will call heaven. I think the best comparison I could make of what I saw is to compare it to a major opening of a massive department store. Everyone was being trained and given a part in deciding which “department(s)” (life experiences) they would participate in. No detail was overlooked and great attention was given to making sure that individuals were matched with those “departments” which would give them most opportunity for learning and advancement. So intensive was that training that no one walked away from their training without being fully and completely prepared for the “department store” work that they would participate in. Those preparations were the most complete and best organized training event I have ever witnessed.

Of course, after the training comes the real deal – earth life. How amazing to know that we were all so incredibly trained and prepared and yet we have come to earth with memories of our training erased. It would almost seem like a cruel trick were it not that we were each sent here with a couple of guides – guides called our conscience and our heart. We each have been blessed to inherently know right from wrong and to feel God’s love for us in our hearts. Though we can ignore those feelings and that guidance and, as a result, have those gifts overshadowed by selfishness and disobedience to God’s commandments; we also have the choice to utilize those gifts, refine our ability to use them and utilize them in ways that will make ourselves and the world around us better.

As we open our hearts and follow our conscience, we are allowed to know our Creator better; more freely feel His perfect love for us and better understand our own potential and worth.

I don’t know how long I was allowed to stay in that glorious place I call heaven but I know that I will never be the same as a result of that precious experience.  That glimpse I was given of my Father in Heaven will remain with me forever. The truth of who my Divine Father is and what He desires for each of us resonates within my heart and soul:

•    He is perfect, unchanging, and loving. Any human efforts to make him mortal or to change Him are only human efforts to remove Him and His divinity from our lives. He is the God of Adam, Moses, and Paul. As such, the teachings revealed to and taught by them still apply now as much as they did then.

•    He is the Creator of this earth and all that lives here. As such, He is completely aware of each hair on our heads, each leaf that leaves the branch of a tree, and every feather on the body of a bird. I cannot even remotely begin to explain how He does it – I just know that He can and He does.

•    He is a God of truth and righteousness. His work is to guide us to truth, enable us to develop our God- like potential and to help us improve and be better.

•    He is a God of complete knowledge and intelligence. He knows us. He knows our potential and He knows how to guide us to reach it. While I was in heaven, I saw that my Heavenly Father’s understanding of me would not stifle me and impair me in any way. He sees beyond my own limited perspective and knows not only my complete potential but what will provide me with the greatest fulfillment and joy. I only have to be a willing participant.

•    He is a God of justice and mercy. To revert back to my department store example, there will come a time for “employee reviews”. As such, it is important that we live in accordance with those things we know to be true and right. We will all return and we will all be judged. He will extend all of the mercy that we deserve but He will not reward us equally. His perfect discernment will take into account our experiences, our knowledge and our works. His reward will not be one of “one size fits all”. Each of us will be given the reward that we deserve based on His perfect understanding.

•    He is a Divine mentor. We have no greater supporter, fan, or counselor. He is truly there for us if we are willing to reach out to Him and to embrace Him and His truth.

•    He is a God of inspiration. God will guide us, inspire us, and provide us with all the help we need (notice I did not say all the guidance we want). He is our unfailing source of support. We have the gifts of prayer and personal revelation available to us 24/7 as long as we are willing to ask, listen and then follow through with the guidance we are given.

I am grateful to know who God is. I am grateful for the many profound blessings which are a part of my life because of His guidance and support in my life. I am grateful for His perfection and for His love and I am grateful to be able to call Him Father.

What life experiences have you had with our creator? What experiences have increased your faith and how? What wonderful things has our Father in Heaven taught you? I look forward to hearing your stories!

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We Can Change the Influence of Evil

Stairs to Heaven

As I observe the world around me – I cannot help but make comparisons. After witnessing the majesty of heaven, my observations of the world will never be the same.

I have noticed that many people are afraid to “draw a line in the sand”. What I mean by that is that they try to find a way to make everything and most everyone okay. I realize that there was once a time past in which the judgments of others were harsher, more vocal and less forgiving. I am not suggesting that the days of teachers who rapped rulers on student’s knuckles should return. Yet, I would encourage our nation to embrace being individuals and communities of responsibility.

In heaven, there was no evil. It was as though the atmosphere there was infused with truth (and maybe it was). Void from heaven were lies, rationalization, and self-deprecation. Dominant was an attitude of service, gratitude, and love.

I believe that sin is the willful transgression of divine (God’s) law. A good definition of evil is defined as morally wrong or bad; immoral; wicked. Therefore, sinning is evil or wicked. I believe that it is important to recognize the negative influence that sin has upon the earth we live on and the lives we live. Nothing good comes from sin (evil) and never will.

I recognize as a witness of heaven that I am blessed to have an understanding of heaven and its virtues that few others have. It is because of that understanding that I feel a responsibility to help others know and understand the virtues of heaven and the God who created us. We were born into this world to learn and grow in positive godlike ways. However, we are free to choose the blessings that come with embracing God and his ways or the snares and degradation that comes with rejecting Him.

Oh how I wish that each of us could enjoy just five minutes in heaven. Though I fully understand why that cannot be case, I also understand the change that would be pervasive in this world if such could be the case. One taste of heaven and you would never want or be willing to settle for anything less.

Yet, if we truly want to experience heaven on earth, we have to be willing to pay the price and walk the walk. The sublimity of heaven is not reached by lowering our behavior nor our standards.  Those who seek heaven’s influence would consistently display the following characteristics:

•    Honesty

•    Self respect

•    Integrity

•    A desire to serve

•    Devotion to family and marriage relationships

•    Morality

•    Humility (which is not the same as submissiveness)

•    Chaste/Virtuous

•    Advocate of truth

•    Prayerful

•    Seek to be a positive influence

•    A devotion to God and all that is good and true

•    Accepting of God’s perfection, his unchanging character and the eternal nature of His laws

In the world around us, I see an abundant use of lies, rationalization and evil influence. I see behaviors, choices and attitudes that contribute more to a hell on earth than to a heaven on earth. I see men (and women) who are concerned more with self-gratification and concerned less with their positive influence. I see companies who are more concerned with their profits than they are with their products, services, and employees. I see the epidemic use of situational ethics and morality (the bending, twisting, and altering of God’s character and commandments to suit their wants and purposes). Worse yet, despite all of the evidences ever-present upon this earth testifying of God’s hand in its creation, we are seeing a minority of those who passionately embrace immorality raise a voice that is louder and heard more frequently than the voice of those who know and follow God.

We are soon the see the results of a presidential election. Do we want to see a man lead us whose party has abandoned God and who disrespects the sacredness of life or do we want to see a man whose life has embraced service, a love of God and who is devoted to promoting strong families and marriages?

As Gorden B. Hinckley once stated, “I think the Lord would say to us, Rise, and stand upon they feet, and speak up for truth and goodness and decency and virtue.”

How those who follow God vote in the next few weeks will matter greatly. However, how we choose to conduct our lives and influence the world around us will matter even more. There is always opposition and there always will be but we can and do have the power within us to make this world a better place – a heaven on earth. All we have to do is believe and be willing to stand for truth and righteousness.

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What a Brain Tumor Has Taught Me About the Atonement

[image error]I sit in front of my computer today well stocked with Kleenex, puffy eyes and a little more wisdom than I woke up with. Strange how wisdom sometimes finds us – even when we don’t think we are looking for it.

About a year ago now my son-in-law Adam was diagnosed with a brain tumor; initially, I thought I understood what Adam was to learn from his brain tumor – things like learning how many people loved him and that we all have to take a turn from time to time letting others help us and learning that none of us can stand alone successfully.

Those many months ago now – when Adam’s diagnosis was made, he and my daughter Melissa were thick in the middle of building a new house and Melissa was expecting their fourth child.

As plans were made to get their new home completed before Adam’s surgery, people crawled out of the woodwork (sometimes literally) to help them get their home built before Adam had to travel to Portland for his surgery. Friends, neighbors, family and even strangers came to get the work done.

I remember thinking to myself how amazing it was to watch the whole process occur and I found it heartwarming to see so much care and concern.

Adam isn’t the kind to confide his deepest thoughts and feelings to his mother-in-law but Melissa often let me know about the deep spiritual lessons they both were learning through this sometimes overwhelming trial of theirs.

Their home was completed just before Adam’s surgery and their new daughter was born in January of this year and just a few weeks ago, they got news that Adam’s non-cancerous tumor had returned and was back to its original size.  Instead of another surgery, a form of radiation using a cyber knife would be used. We were not excited about the tumor’s return but we were excited when doctors said that quite often patients undergoing this type of treatment have few, if any, side effects.

Adam started his treatments Monday of this week. By Monday afternoon, he was experiencing a horrendous headache and nausea from the cyber knife treatments. By Tuesday afternoon, Melissa was desperately trying to find information on any and all remedies that might help Adam with the severe pain in his head and his even more severe nausea.

Tuesday night I often found myself fighting back tears at the thought of what Adam was going through. Several times I found myself praying and asking God to relieve his suffering. What surprised me most was how much I questioned the need for this trial continuing as it had. Even though, if anyone should understand the meaning and purpose of trials, it should be me. If you have read my book, A Glimpse of Heaven, you know what I witnessed in heaven and what an understanding I have been blessed with in regards to the purposes of the trials and tribulations we experience in life.

Zip forward to today (Wednesday) and Adam is in the hospital hooked up to an IV for his dehydration and to try to get something into his system to calm his violent nausea.  Once again, tears are streaming down my face as I think about what Melissa and Adam are going through. I think to myself how glad I am that Melissa is communicating by text message today because if she were to talk to me over the phone – she would hear my voice quiver and know how wimpy her mother is being about this trial that they have faced over the last few days.

So…in the middle of thinking about how wimpy I am, I find several thoughts jumping out of my tear soaked brain: “What is this supposed to teach me? What purpose is this trial supposed to serve? Please Father, I would be happy to take Adam’s pain if you would just let him not hurt. “And then the final thought: “What am I to learn from this?”

This wasn’t an adventure in deep meditation. It really was more of a blubbery feel sorry for my son-in-law and daughter session but a deeply profound answer came to me anyway. As I thought of Adam and Melissa’s situation, I had had several thoughts about the love that I had for them and how willing I was as their mother (mother-in-law) to take their pain and how much I wanted to relieve them of their suffering.

The moment I asked the question: “What am I to learn from this?” I knew Heavenly Father’s answer (for me). It was that I was to realize His sacrifice made during our Savior’s Atonement.

Though I cannot understand it fully, I have often contemplated the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me and all mankind. Yet, in all those contemplations, I had not fully realized the sacrifice that His Father made in allowing him to make that sacrifice. I realized that I could easily volunteer myself to take the pain of a loved one – but I did not have the ability to volunteer my own child as a sacrifice.

I found myself profoundly moved by my Father in Heaven’s deep love for me and for all of His children.

I know that the plan of life mandated that a Savior take upon Himself the pains, sins and experiences of mankind. Now, after this morning, I understand better than I have ever understood before the incredible magnitude of the love that our Creator has for us – because only that kind of love would enable any loving parent to sacrifice their Beloved child on behalf of another.

Not only did my Savior, Jesus Christ, love me enough to sacrifice his life but my Father-in-heaven loved me enough to be willing to witness His own beloved Son make that sacrifice. That kind of love I cannot yet relate to but I am deeply humbled by it.

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The Presidential Election is About More Than Voting for a Pretty Face

[image error]It’s hard to avoid all of the political ads right now. I don’t mind political advertisements but I do mind the mindset that so many of them seem to stem from.

Like most advertisements – political advertisements are created based on their target audience or market. You may believe that everyone who is a registered voter is the target market. I don’t believe that’s true. I believe that those who create those commercials have a particular niche in mind.

As I have watched political campaigns over the course of my life – it seems to me that most campaigns gear their efforts towards that group of voters who is more concerned with the celebrity appeal of the candidate than with the intelligence, morality, ethics, business sense and/or the core beliefs and goals underlying an individual’s candidacy.

In today’s world, I’m not sure that George Washington or Abraham Lincoln would have had a chance.

However, in my heart of hearts, I believe in the basic goodness of mankind and therefore I believe that while the vocal minority often is given the lion’s share of press coverage – the silent majority have an equal opportunity to make their voices heard.

I believe that the United States of America has a Constitution that was inspired and I believe that this nation was guided to creation by God’s hand. As such, I believe that this nation is meant to embody the eternal principles that embody God’s works: truth, honesty, integrity, religious freedom, morality, benevolence, humility, virtue and service just to name a few.

When I look into the craggy faces of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and I see character born of choices based on those same eternal principles that I believe inspired the formation this nation.   Choices made not because they were popular or easy but choices made because they were the right thing to do.

I am not in favor of electing a president because he is a smooth talker, photogenic and he is willing to bend his views and policies to obtain votes. I am in favor of electing a president who not only espouses a belief in God but who utilizes a deep reliance on God to guide his choices and actions and whose life emulates those very values and principles that are taught in the scriptures.

Leading our country successfully – regardless of the problems it currently faces will depend on moral fortitude, adherence to timeless truths and understanding that even the most intelligent man or woman’s knowledge pales in comparison to that of their Creator. Hence, we need a president who is willing to utilize his own intelligence, the intelligence of the best moral minds in the country and who, once armed with the best information available, will turn to the Lord for direction, guidance, and inspiration in making his decisions.

Leading this nation should be about service – not about power.  Leading this nation should be about integrity not situational ethics. Leading this nation should be about electing a man who trusts in God, who has proven that he can be trusted, and who isn’t afraid to stand tall when those of lesser character harass or ridicule. This nation was founded upon “In God We Trust” and the freedoms we enjoy and the prosperity this country needs will depend on a leader who does just that.

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Your Endless Hours are Making a Difference!

[image error]Now that I can no longer claim to be a young mother (let’s just say that my daughters are young mothers) I like to think that I have gained some amazingly wonderful insights into the whole business of birth and motherhood!

If you have read my book, A Glimpse of Heaven, you know that I have four children that have given birth to and 2 children that my husband and I adopted from Russia.

I was determined as a young mother to stay home with my children. I was a pretty typical run-of-the-mill LDS mother who exercised lots of creativity in figuring out how I could maximize time with my children, maximize our income, minimize our expenditures, and minimize my time away from the home!

I believed President Benson’s admonition to stay at home with my children rather than pursue a career. And….there was that something inside my heart that couldn’t bear the thought missing out on all of my children’s ‘firsts” in exchange for a career. However, I can’t honestly say that I understood…really understood what my sacrifices for my children were about or what they were accomplishing.

Fast forward to our adoption…then fast forward 5 years after our adoption was finalized and VOILA….I understood. I understood in ways that I could have never understood before.

It was about five years after we adopted our children from Russia that I learned about an emotional condition called Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). I had personally been dealing with two cases of RAD for 5 years but I had not understood what it was that I was dealing with or its causes.

You see…my two Russian children were removed from their birth parents for neglect and abandonment. As a result of not receiving the care, nurturing, and love they needed as infants and young children their emotional well being was greatly impaired.

What I learned is that when a child does not receive the care, nurturing and love that they need – the appropriate development does not occur. Reasoning ability is delayed or not developed, the conscience is impaired, desire to engage in loving relationships is dismally weak and desire to engage in strange, controlling behaviors is frustratingly strong. For example, my son once deliberately failed an honors class not because he wasn’t capable but because he wanted to show the teacher who was really in control.

In the normal development of a child, the first five years is very important but the time between the ages of 6 months to 18 months is especially critical. It is during those months that a child learns to trust. That’s why we often see babies become so attached to their mother’s during that time of their life.

As a child learns to move and become more independent, they need to learn that we are there for them. They have a dirty diaper and they fight us when we want to change them yet our changing their diaper communicates our love for them and that we are going to take care of them. They try to climb something dangerous and we don’t let them and they learn that we are going to keep them safe. They try to hit us and we teach them hitting is wrong and they may cry unhappy tears but they know that we are providing boundaries that they know will help them be secure.

During those formative months and years that we carry our children within, give birth to them, and then raise them are soooo precious. It is through our presence and our care (physical, emotional and spiritual) that we are able to teach them that they are loved, that there is a safe place for them in this world, and enable them to develop in the very ways that Heavenly Father designed for them to develop. So the next time your baby cries as you leave for date night or your energetic children are exhausting you – smile! Something wonderful is happening! Know that your endless hours and daily care are making a magnificent difference!

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My Hero for the Day!

[image error]You see the picture here? This is my hero for the day…not clad in superhero attire, not a sports icon, and no lives were saved by her heroics. This is my friend Jessica. In the picture you see her decked out in her swimsuit and ready to participate in the Wild Woman Triathlon.

Jessica sent me a text wondering if I was going to the triathlon. My daughter was participating and thinking that Jessica was looking for a partner to observe the event with I committed to going with her. (I was going anyway to support my daughter) Within a couple of seconds, it occurred to me that maybe, the due to give birth any day now, Jessica was not just thinking of watching. I promptly sent her a text: “You aren’t doing the triathlon are you?”. To which she replied, “Of course, I can’t break my record of 3 years in a row”.

So…Jessica showed up, swam, biked, and walked a modified triathlon – not because it was comfortable, not because she was trying to break a world record, and not because she was into taking thoughtless risks. She was simply trying to achieve a personal goal. To that I say way to go!

To me, Jessica is the epitome of a hero. She had a goal and she was willing to challenge herself to accomplish it. Those are the kind of heroes I love!

P.S. Little Emly Ann was welcomed to the world just days after the triathlon!

 

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The Fallacy of Affirmations

Affirmations have gained great clout in the last several years. I don’t believe in affirmations – at least in the context that they are so commonly used in our modern world.

Take for example, a woman who decides that she wants to change her body type. Let’s say she used the following affirmation daily: “I am now shaped like a pear instead of an apple”. How many weeks would it take her to have a different body shape? It may seem ridiculously obvious that her transformation is never going to take place because what she is affirming to herself is based on a desire and not on truth. However, some of the affirmations that people commonly use are based on the same shaky logic.

I believe in truth. Truth is eternal and it cannot be changed.

I also believe in the power of thought. No action was ever taken that was not initiated first by a thought. I believe that we have the power to guide and control our thoughts and

I believe that when we learn truth, utilize it and internalize it – we have something amazing and powerful.

Affirmations of desire are of no consequence. Affirmations of truth – when we truly understand the truths of those affirmations, internalize those truths (believe in our hearts), and live those truths are incredibly effective.

We are so capable of amazing things. But… we must first know that we are truly capable of those amazing things.

I love the quote by Joseph B. Wirthlin: “We are created as much from the dust of eternity as we are from the dust of the earth. Everyone of us has potential we can scarcely imagine.”

Joseph Wirthlin’s quote is pure truth. We are created as much from the dust of eternity as we are the dust of the earth. And…everyone of us has potential we can scarcely imagine. However, though we may have difficulty imagining our potential – God has no difficulty at all in imagining our potential because He has a full and perfect knowledge of our potential. If we are willing to look to Him as our source of truth, add several dollops of individual effort and top it all off with faith – we have the ability to become amazing in all the ways that “amazing” truly counts!

So try this affirmation on:

“I am a child of God. He loves me perfectly and knows my potential. I will seek to know His will for me and then do it. As a unique individual, I have come to earth to accomplish wonderful things. I am a person of value and I can make a positive difference in the world around me. With the Lord’s help – anything I am meant to accomplish is and will be possible.”

That is an affirmation based on reality and truth!

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