Today I gave a talk in Church, I thought I would put that as my post tonight. Got to see or facetime each one of my kids today. My heart is happy!
Good Night dear friends!
Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the Christmas Season. I love how everyone seems a bit kinder, and happier. I love the attitude of SERVICE and SELFLESSNESS that seems to abound, but most of all I love the spirit of HOPE that fills the air.
But every spring I am reminded that…
There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe, Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby… without being the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.
In 2 Nephi 25:26 we read "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ...that our children may know to what source they may look"
So it is vital that we talk often of Christ, to our kids and grandkids… not only at Christmas time, but at Easter too!
Brother Steven E Snow in the April 2011 General Conference, recounted this story …
"Our family grew up in the high desert country of southern Utah. Rain is rare, and hope abounds that there will be sufficient moisture for the coming heat of the summer. Then, as now, we hoped for rain, we prayed for rain, and in dire times, we fasted for rain.
The story is told there of the grandfather who took his five-year-old grandson for a walk around town. Ultimately, they found themselves at a small grocery store on Main Street where they stopped for a cold soda pop. A car from out of state pulled up and the driver approached the old-timer. Pointing to a small cloud in the sky, the stranger asked, "Do you think it's going to rain?"
"I certainly hope so," replied the old man, "if not for my sake, for the boy's. I've seen it rain."
If I could think of what the letters for the word HOPE stood for, I would say this...
I think the H …stands for HEALING
Jeffrey R. Holland said “ There is no anquish or sorrow or sadness n life that He has not suffered in our behalf and borne away upon His own valiant and compassionate shoulders.”
There have been many times in my own life that I have been given small portions of hope, as I felt comforted and blessed during a hard trial in my life.
The O I think could be for Optimism…
When you get an answer to your prayers, or strength to handle something that is bigger than you …it seems as if the Lord gives us a little bit of light… and with that light we can see a little farther, and things differently … and maybe even a little more optimistic!
Dieter F. Uchtdorf said this about hope, “The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul. The darkness may not dissipate all at once, but as surely as night always gives way to dawn, the light will come.”
P is for Personal…
In Oct. 2008 I wrote this in my blog...
Why is it that the night time is the hardest when you are sick, lonely, sad or concerned about something? It is like the whole world is asleep and you are left completely alone with your thoughts. All of these things just kept racing through my head and I couldn't seem to stop them long enough to let sleep come in.
So here I am again, it is early in the morning and I have been awake for hours. Now this blog was not meant to be a reality type blog, but a motivational blog. But it seems for the moment that I need to express a couple of personal things that have come front and center in our lives.
Yesterday we got the results back from my MRI, it wasn't good, I have been diagnosed with Cancer once again, the same cancer I had 7 years ago. I am not sure what I accomplished yesterday...not much, but the reality, that I am going to have to go down this road again is becoming all too clear.
Almost 7 years ago when I was diagnosed, I remember crying and being depressed for the first few days, and the kids did the same. It didn't take me too long to remember that I was the mom, the heart of the home… and that I needed to somehow pull myself together. Yesterday when I asked Amy (our oldest daughter ) if she was really alright, her reply was classic "I'm ok MOM, if you are ok?"
And so I need to be ok, for my sake, for my families' sake. We have fought this battle before, and I am sure we can do it again.
I keep thinking to myself… what I tell other women who I counsel with, when things of this magnitude hit their lives? I would tell them to get back to the basics, find out what their core beliefs are? Do they believe in a God or not?
That is real important, because these situations make you face exactly how much you can take, and it is vital to know that you don't have to do any of this ALONE, unless you choose to. And last but not least, I would say to them have FAITH, faith to know that we all have the answers inside us to the tough questions that come in our lives. Faith that your Heavenly Father will be there and will help you fight these battles. Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ, He truly understands what we are going through and will help comfort us and He will give us a peace, that the world doesn't have to offer.
So I will try to remember all these things that I have shared a million times with other, and apply to my own life!
The sun will be up soon, and hopefully I will be ready to take on yet another day. They say “THE GOOD THING ABOUT THE FUTURE IS …THAT IT ONLY COMES ONE DAY AT A TIME!” How grateful I am for that. ( close quote )
Last is E, I think it could stand for Eternal…
Emily Freeman in her book (Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter) spoke of the story inLuke 24 when she said…
“They left the city in the early afternoon of a spring day just after the crucifixion- two disciples traveling to Emmaus, talking of all that happened as they walked. For almost two hours they traveled. In all, their walk probably encompassed six or seven miles, and surely every mile was filled with conversation about Jesus Christ- the memories, the miracles, and the mystery of the empty tomb.
Somewhere along the way, a stranger joined them on the road. The men were so caught up in conversation they did not at first acknowledge Him. The stranger asked why they were sad. Cleopas answered by asking if the man was a stranger and wondering how it was that he did not know of the things that had happened in Jerusalem. “ What things/” the stranger asked.
So they began to tell the story, laying out the details and pouring out their hearts. They told of how Jesus of Nazareth had come, who was mighty in deed and in word, how the chief priests and rulers had delivered Him to be crucified, and how they had trusted that it had been He who would redeem Israel. It was in this moment that their pouring out turned to testimony, “ And what is more, it is the third day since this took place”
They spoke of certain women who had been to the sepulcher and returned astonished, and the women who had seen angels who testified that Jesus was alive.
Then they talked of two men who ran to the sepulcher and saw that it was empty, “ but him they saw not”
There must have been a silence hanging in the air in the pause that followed. The astonishment, the desperate hope, the wonder- all of it too great to put into words. It was in that moment that the stranger began to speak. His words were filled with scriptural verses that defined the mission of Jesus Christ. By now it was almost evening. Having reached a fork in the road, that signified they had arrived in the village that was their destination, the disciples asked the stranger to tarry with them. “Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent”
So the stranger went with them to their home. It was as they partook of a simple meal that the eyes of their understanding was opened. They suddenly recongnized the resurrected Lord, “ and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. Realization dawned in that instant: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (close quote )
The lesson from this story of these two disciples is simple, but profound- it is through the scriptures that we can come to know the Savior personally. Do we read them, do we know them? So that we might be able to show our children to what source they can go to for Peace and Hope?
Gordon B Hinckley said…
...."We know not what lies ahead of us. We know not what the coming days will bring. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know. Like the polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith."
In 1 Peter 3:15 it says…
“ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the HOPE that is in you….”
We can’t give away Hope…if it is not in us!
I love the quote that says…
"Man can live forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope"
How grateful I am for the Easter Season, as well as the Christmas Season!
It is my testimony that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, that through His amazing gift of the Resurrection that we never have to live without Hope, unless we choose to.
For this gift and knowledge I am truly thankful!
Everyone had fun but, boy was it cold outside! Fun night and it was worth braving the weather for!
