doing to become

do you ever feel like the same themes get reiterated to you in a variety of ways and finally you decide to pay attention and see what you can learn?

lately it's how our actions effect what we are becoming, in fact, what we are.

so, switch it around and decide to take control.  do to become.

in light of valentines day being this week:


i want to be a loving person, lover, friend, good gift giver, (fill in your own blank), so I am going to act like it.

i know that it isn't always what we do but how.  but not doing it at all isn't even close.  so, do it and focus on how you're doing it.

i recently ran across this quote and it has stuck to my brain.

"service without love is slavery" -Mother Teresa

love is a verb.  it is something you do.

in the february Friend the article by President Eyring explains how to grow in love perfectly.  "As you serve others for Him, He lets you feel His love.  And in time, feelings of charity become part of your very nature."

sometimes it is hard to love some people, including our spouse.  do it for Christ.  His love and the Spirit we feel reminds us we are doing what we should and can give us the strength to continue...and your love for that person will grow.

valentines day finds us all right where we are in our relationships.  it doesn't make our troubles disappear, it can be easy to fall into the trap of our troubles being magnified.  why?  because it is uber hard not to focus on what our spouse is or isn't doing for us.  

there are no quick fixes here.  focus. focus. focus. and you can be for dang sure that the adversary is going to test your resolve.  try so hard to act like the difference maker, to do loving things and it will be tested.  it seems like sometime around 5:00 o'clock my tests get really hard.  that's when we put on our game face and pray until we feel better.  battles can be fought alone or with the help of the Lord.  I know He plays to win.  I want Him on my team.

doing things that i know i should do will lead me to become who i want to become.  i hope your valentines day and this week is really nice.  i hope that we are able enjoy our spouses.  laugh and love.  simple gestures of kindness and admiration go a long way.  we can decide to be better people and start doing the things that will help us become that way.