what do you see?

So, you know that story where Jesus is in a house teaching (and it was probably a totally amazing sermon) and some people brought a man that was sick of palsy to be healed and they put him into the house through the roof?

You can read it HERE

I was reading a book the other day and they mentioned this account and it had never occurred to me that Jesus could have been super bugged. They totally interrupted Him you know! But the scriptures point out:

20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are ^aforgiven thee.

24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to ^aforgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, ^aglorifying God.

He simply saw what was good...He saw their faith! He chose to focus on what was good about the situation and blessed them for it! AWESOME!

Of course I immediately think of marriage, family and relationships of any and every kind! What if we all did this!? Follow the example of the Savior and when someone is doing something that could possibly bother us, look for the good!

The apple: is there something that your spouse has been doing lately that is getting to you? Take a step back, look for it, look for the positive. I bet you can find it! Then act on that in a truly Christlike fashion. Appreciate them and then bless them for it. Are they asking for your help? Do they possibly need your attention or some quality time? Oh, and in all seriousness, if this is hard in some situations, I am sure we can pray for help. The Lord can always help us see the good.

Example: if your spouse is taking lots of pictures of you, it is probably because they think you are rockin' awesome. You should see that and smile for the picture!

Just kidding, but seriously. :)

a fight worth fighting

Vince Lombardi had a saying, "the harder we fight for something, the harder it is to surrender"

I read this the other day and instantly thought of marriage.

One of my friends put a quote/statement on her Facebook the other day that went like this: "If you put something on the back burner it will grow cold".

I read this and instantly thought of marriage as well.

Isn't it the truth! We live in a time when, depending on where you live and who you know, you are ridiculed, belittled or sometimes people will even try and talk you out of getting married, starting a family, staying at home with your kids or providing for a family!

We MUST fight for what we want! If we want an eternal family, then we have to do what it takes to have one! This is not meant to be a passive thing! Faith is a principle of action. If we have faith in the promise that families can be together forever, then we must act like it!

If you'd like to read up on what we (as a church) believe; what we are counseled to do and the blessings that will come if we follow the counsel of Prophets, go HERE.

the miracle.

Miracles happen all around us. Today while feeling very inadequate to meet my challenges. The member of the Bishopric who was conducting sacrament meeting mentioned a quote he had on his wall. It reminded me of this one by President Monson from THIS talk:

"My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle."

When we pray, we can pray for miracles. Right now I feel like meeting my challenges and struggles would be nothing short. of. a. miracle.

Let us always remember that the Lord keeps His promises. "Ask and ye shall receive."

Happy times...

So I came across THIS scripture in Alma: "But behold there never was a ^ahappier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni,"

It occurred to me that Moroni lived in a time of much contention and war.

Huh, well, so do I!

Why were the people so happy?

Chapters 48-50 are interesting to read with this question in mind.

A few things I picked out...

They were prepared to meet their enemies and when they weren't, they fixed the damage. We can anticipate some things and others we can't. But we can AND SHOULD have the faith that as we seek the guidance of the Lord and keep his commandments that we will prosper. We can do our best to be more like Moroni. No matter how good things were, they were always preparing. And it wasn't just Moroni that fortified their cities...they all helped. They listened to his instructions and went to work preparing.

I feel the most discouraged when I am not reading my scriptures (specifically the Book of Mormon) or the conference Ensign. I believe the reason why we have so many war chapters and stories in the scriptures is because they are for our day and we live in a time of physical and spiritual war. Fear is a tactic of our enemy. We can feel safety and even happiness as we listen to the council of our leaders and seek personal revelation as we read the scriptures. In our marriages, we can be happy even when times are hard.

As Elder Maxwell puts it:

"Brothers and sisters, by divine appointment, “these are [our] days” (Hel. 7:9), since “all things must come to pass in their time” (D&C 64:32). Moreover, though we live in a failing world, we have not been sent here to fail."

One more quote and I'll be done!

"We have work to do, you and I, so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord." -President Hinckley

Have a great week!

Someday...

Ever said that word? Someday?

No, lets be like President Kimball and adopt the Nike slogan and "Just do it"!

What have you been meaning to do for your spouse? For your kids? For yourself?

Just do it!

True or False?

Is that really why you got married?!
Good idea or BAD idea?
When I annoy Zach, I am usually the only one laughing! :) Sometimes it is probably a bad idea. That is, if he's not laughing. :)
I love being married!
What word(s) would you replace with annoy?

The apple for the day is:
If that one "thing" you do that annoys your spouse can be passed over, do that today. :) You can even tell him/her that you didn't do "that thing" just for them!