Be Careful What You Ask For

Learning to Praise God

Last month I shared in my blog that I was working on learning to praise God better.  Someone asked me why I chose that topic.  To be honest it came from conversations with friends from different churches, people in my own church, and even the youth in my seminary class.  The topic of how different Christian churches praise God has come up many times, and the LDS church always seems to come up short in the eyes of other Christians.

Here is a sample of some of the things people have said to me:

Why do all the hymns sound like funeral music?

Why are you guys so quiet in church?

Everyone seems to be so serious, like they aren't enjoying themselves.

It is eerily quiet, especially after a musical number, and there is no clapping or any sign that the congregation enjoyed it. How do people know?

It felt awkward.

Your speakers seem to lack enthusiasm for the gospel. (Ouch!)

People just ignored me, not one person talked to me! (This one really hurts!)

So I started to think that maybe I was missing out on something better.  Am I lacking in the praise department? Is my church dropping the ball in the praise department?

I don't think anything I do will result in big changes being made in my church, but it might make some changes in me.  It might even strengthen my relationship with God and make me a better Christian.  I'm up for that!

I had to come up with a plan. I chose to pick one topic of praise each month and work on it.  Last month I choose praising God through my trials.  My theme was: How would I answer if the Lord asked me, "Am I enough?" When the trials were piling on would I still praise Him?

I asked the Lord to bless me with opportunities to praise Him.  I really should have thought that through some more. The thought, "Be careful what you ask for' has come to my mind many times during the past month. January was a tough month.  My family suffered through the flu, we had hundreds of dollars in car repairs, there were family challenges, time challenges, and just this last week we were hit with a need for a new washing machine (hundreds of dollars more) and some medical issues.  

I blame myself for this.  You would think that I would learn to stop and think before I ask God to bless me with opportunities like this! 

On the flip side, it has been a month of keeping eternal perspective at the forefront, of not sweating the small stuff, of thanking the Lord for listening to my prayers, and learning to praise God even when I felt like sitting in the middle of the room and crying.  But maybe that is the point I needed to get to before I was ready to say, Yes Lord you are enough!

So I would like to take a moment to show a little love to my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, for their awesomeness. I know that they love me, that they know me, that they hear me, and are a part of my daily life.  I know that they have been with me through every step, of every trial, that I've had this month.  I know that what might have seemed like a month of endless torment, was actually a month of teaching and learning and I love them for that!!! I learned a lot about myself and my limitations. I learned the difficulty of letting go of worldly things and seeing the value in my relationship with God. It is not always easy to put the Lord first, when you feel like your world is crumbling around you. It is nice to be able to say "That's right I survived January!"

That just leaves me with the task of picking a new topic of praise to work on for the month of February.  I'll be honest, I was a little afraid to pick one for fear of putting myself in another pattern of testing and learning.  But after some thought, I decided to go with the theme of showing praise to God through loving others, it being the month of Valentine's Day, it seemed appropriate.  

I think I'll start with some scripture study to find out the expectations before I pray this time!  Wish me luck!

Am I Enough?

Learning to Praise God

The other day I was listening to the radio and they had one of the musicians do a "Behind the Music" moment. This is an opportunity to let the listeners know what inspired the musician to write the song.  The song is called Holding Nothing Back by Ray Stevenson.

He shared the story of how his life was falling apart with huge challenges like his wife loosing their unborn twins and his record label dropping him. The trials started to pile up and he was feeling angry with God.  

In these moments of darkness he turned to the story of Job and was impressed with the fact that Job had lost everything, yet he still praised God.  He felt as if God was asking Job "Am I enough?"

That's when his inspiration came and he decided that he would not let anything come between him and the Lord. He was not going to hold back.

I've been thinking about the question "Am I enough?" If God were to ask me that question directly how would I answer? I would want to say 'YES', but do my words and actions always express that sentiment? The answer is 'NO', but the simplicity of the question "Am I enough?" inspires me to work towards being able to say 'yes'.

Every year I choose some area in my spiritual journey to work on.  This year I am working on learning how to praise God.  I decided that each month I would study one aspect of praising God and try to implement it into my life. My encounter with this song on the radio helped me choose this month's topic: Praising God through my trials. 

When life's challenges start to pile up and I'm not handling the stress well I stop and picture the Savior asking me "Am I enough?" It's amazing how quickly my perspective changes and my priorities start to fall into the proper order, just by saying these three words.

I've also been blessed to study the scriptures everyday and to recognize the examples of people who have decided that God truly is enough for them.  Abinadi is one of those examples. As I've read Mosiah 11-17 I am so impressed with this prophets ability to give up his life to share his message with the wicked people of King Noah. When given the opportunity to save himself by recanting his words, he chooses to stay true and sacrifices his life to seal his testimony. For Abinadi God truly was enough.

Abinadi was inspired by the words of Isaiah concerning the Savior and the Atonement. As the Savior was asked to sacrifice himself for all of us, Abinadi was willing to sacrifice his life to share his message. His sacrifice was not in vain, his words and actions changed the heart of one man who would go on to do some great works.

I don't think that I will be called to sacrifice my life for my beliefs, but I do know that He is asking me to share His message and not to worry about the consequences. It means overcoming my fears (which have been many over the years) and letting my words and actions say to Him, "Yes Lord you are enough!"

In my class today there were some questions that really seemed to get everyone thinking:

How strong is my testimony? Am I willing to die for it?  Better yet, am I willing to live for it?

Living for my testimony really got to me. What a great way to praise God during my trials! 

I want to thank my Savior and my Father in Heaven for blessing me with so many inspirational moments. They know me so well and know exactly what I need and when I need it. I love them so much for that. With each of these moments I get one step closer to being able to say "Yes Lord you are enough for me!"

My Ungrateful Twist

The Itch That Won't Go Away

This time of year always brings out the "I am Grateful for..." posts, and that's a good thing.  It's nice to check your Facebook posts and see people expressing their gratitude in a positive way... well, usually.  This year something happened to me and I can't seem to get it out of my head. I keep thinking about the LARGE list of things I am usually UNGRATEFUL for.  What is wrong with me?! 

I tend to think about things way deeper than I should (which I probably should be grateful for), and it often leads me to the issues that I need to work on in my life (which is another thing I should be grateful for), but there are times when I would love to just take the easy way. Why can't I just be happy with choosing one thing I was grateful for and sharing it? I'm such a freak!

My craziness has led me to keeping a list of things I was ungrateful for instead of listing the things I have been grateful for each day.  Sadly, it's a long list. There is a bright side to this though. In my 'gotta think things into the ground' way, I have realized that it has forced me to look at my life and see the positive out of the negative. It challenges me to see God through the opposition in my life. It also has led me to start blogging again in the hopes that I am not alone in my craziness.  Surely there are others out there that get me! (Do I sound too desperate?)

I want to share one thing from my Ungrateful List and see where it goes. 

I am ungrateful for the difficult people in my life. Maybe you have some in your life too.  You know the type. These are the people that can get you so angry and frustrated that you have a hard time loving them. These are the people that you find yourself talking to yourself about out loud. They have a way of getting under your skin and becoming the itch that won't go away no matter how hard you scratch! So annoying!!

Where did this take me?  It took me to the law of opposition. How could I know joy if I didn't know sadness or anger or frustration?  Opposition is a teaching tool and an important part of the Plan of Salvation. It's there to remind me to see things with an eternal perspective.  And that's when I had my epiphany: Frustration is God's way of letting me know that I need to change my perspective!

I have to make a choice: do I let these people frustrate and anger me or, do I choose to look for the eternal lessons they are teaching me and be grateful that the Lord loves me enough to put them in my life. There it is, my ungrateful twist! 

I'm feeling a little better about the situation, less itchy.  It's interesting to me how the Lord has a way of tempering my anger and frustration when I let Him. I love Him for that!

What Can We Do For God?

Obedience

I've been invited to speak in church on the topic of obedience. It is a challenge to teach about this topic and not make the congregation feel guilty when you are done.  I hate sitting in church and feeling like the speaker is hoping to guilt me into changing my ways.  Guilt is not a very good motivator, I think it might bring about temporary desires to change, but for the long term I think love is a much better motivator.  So, how am I going to mix love and obedience to get the desired results? I really don't know yet, but it should be fun finding my way!

One possibility is the question: What can we do for God? 

I like this question because it leads to our desire to do something in response to God's goodness in our lives. It also leads me to the thought: What does God expect of me?

This is a question that has been around a long time. There is a story in the book of Micah in chapter 6 about a time when the Lord was not pleased with His people. First , God calls them out. "O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. (Micah 6:3) 

Next, the Lord reminds the people of the good things He has done for them: "For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." (Micah 6:4). 

This leads to the people trying to figure out what the Lord expects of them. This is what they come up with in verses 6-7: 

"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?"

"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"

Watch out all you firstborns! Give up your firstborn, really? It appears that they are bargaining for forgiveness.  Did you notice that they started with bowing before God and one verse later they are offering their firstborn? It is obvious that these people had lost touch with their God.

Then comes some words of wisdom: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8)

I love the words "He hath shewed thee, O Man, what is good..." God ALWAYS gives us the steps we need to fulfill what he asks of us.

Did you catch the three things that the Lord does require of us: do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.  

These three warrant a little more research, but I have an impatient husband waiting for a haircut, so it will have to be another time. Something to look forward to! 

Discussions with God

Discussions With God

My journey to motherhood had a very rocky start. I was among the growing number of women who face infertility. For three years I went through tests, medications, and procedures to help me get pregnant.  It was a very difficult time and I was struggling to understand why God would make me go through this.  I had dreamed of being a mom my whole life and now it looked like that was not going to happen. 

At first my prayers consisted of asking my Father in Heaven for understanding, patience, and the ability to get pregnant. Then they became pleas of desperation.  Please Lord, tell me what I need to do to get pregnant! Put the right doctor in my life. Bless my body with whatever I am lacking to get pregnant.

After a year or so my prayers became more like discussions with God when it came to this topic.  I no longer held back, I shared my anger at the situation, the frustration of watching others get pregnant with ease, or seeing on the news that a child had been abused or murdered by their parent.  Why would they get a baby and I couldn’t? Lots of tears were shed and many words were said. 

When I think back on some of those discussions, I think about the honesty that I showed and how each word came from my heart.  I also see how the Lord was preparing me for the difficult tasks that lay ahead of me, including being the mother of two boys.

The day came that I did finally get pregnant and I was so excited!  I was going to be a mom! All my prayers and all the tests had worked.  My prayers were once again filled with joy…for a little while.  My body didn’t like to be pregnant.  I had a very difficult pregnancy, lots of bed rest (which I am not very good at), pills, and patience (which I am also not good at). Somehow we made it through it all and my first son was born. Oh happy day!

Next was a lesson on the Lord’s timing.  My first son was not even six months old when I became pregnant with my second son! What was that all about? Three long years for the first one and then months later I was pregnant with number two! Even the doctor’s office was surprised by the timing.  I think the response was, “Are you sure? You just had a baby!” Yep, I was pretty sure.

In my blissful ignorance of what it would mean to have two children under the age of two (and boys at that) I persevered through a second difficult pregnancy thinking how blessed I was.  My discussions with God were pretty mellow and filled with the words of gratitude. That would soon change.

Just weeks after my second son was born my husband was laid off from his job and my first son got sick with a high fever and vomiting.  As with most new moms, I was a raging hormone queen, and it didn’t take long for my discussions with God to become a little more colorful.  There was no holding back. It was pure emotion and every frustration was at the forefront of my prayers.  I needed help and I needed it to come from Him.  I prayed with the expectation that if I asked He would answer.  And you know what? He did.

My discussions with God would prove invaluable over the years of motherhood.  I have prayed for money, diapers, food, patience, talents and gifts, love, healings, friends, and so much more.  Mostly I have prayed for wisdom.  I just want to be the best mom for my boys and I have learned over the years that my strengths as a mother only come when my relationship with God is the strongest.  My greatest success as a mother happens when I am trying to parent like Heavenly Father does.  Here are a few examples of what this has done for me:

When my boys were very young I prayed about how to raise them to be great men.  It was soon after this prayer that I read an article about a mom with boys and she stated that if you want to raise gentlemen then you have to treat them that way.  It seems so simple, but at the time it was profound to me.  I thought about how God treats each of his children.  He treats me as if I am the person He knows I can be.  From that day on I addressed my boys as gentlemen and I have always had the expectation that they would behave as such.  If they don’t, they know that the wrath of mom will be upon them!

The scriptures tell us that ‘men are that they might have joy’. They also tell us that we should dance and sing.  Heavenly Father wants His children to be happy, to have a happy environment.  With that in mind, my husband and I have always tried to create a home where these things are a part of everyday life.  There are musical instruments to play, there is good music available to listen to, there are good movies to watch, good books to read, and we try to laugh every day.  For a really good laugh my husband will bust out his salsa moves every once in a while.  I love that man!

One of Heavenly Father’s parenting must haves is open communications.  He asks us to keep Him in our lives every day and to share with him our worries, our fears, as well as our joys.  For my family this has meant having Family Home Evenings together and saying family prayers.  Discussions with God are important, they help us see ourselves as He sees us.  They help us to know what we are capable of and how much He loves us.  Prayer gives us the opportunity to let Him know that we love Him and we want Him in our lives.  As a parent, there is no greater satisfaction than to see your child reach his/her potential and to want you to be a part of their lives. 

One more important thing I have learned from Heavenly Father is that the best parents lead by example.  I can’t think of one thing that my Heavenly Father has asked me to do that He wouldn’t do himself.  This became the foundation of my parenting.  I would never ask my boys to do anything that I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.  If I want them to know God then I had better be getting to know God.  They need to see me praying, reading my scriptures, forgiving and loving others, teaching, and all the other good things the Lord has asked me to do. 

As a side note, I would have to say that leading by example has taught me to appreciate my children’s agency.  Choosing to do the right thing EVERY time is rough and it is even harder if you haven’t seen examples of what it means to do the right thing.  None of us is perfect, but it is a little easier to be good when you have seen the benefits of it in your own home.

There are so many more lessons I have learned through my experiences as a mother, but my discussions with God have been the keystone of the success I have had in my parenting.  It is nice to know that I am not parenting alone.  I have my husband and I have the divine guidance from a Father that loves me enough to help me through every stage of it, the joys and the sorrows, the highs and lows, the laughs and the tears. How grateful I am for such blessings!

A Parable

We have been working on the Gathering Parables in Matthew 13 in seminary this week.  I learned a lot about what the Savior was trying to teach and even found myself wanting to improve in some areas of my life.  

To finish this area of study, I decided to share a modern day parable with my class.  This being the Northwest I felt a parable involving a tree would be appropriate.

The Parable of Little Spruce

Poor Little Spruce was sad. She was not tall and glorious like the whispery aspen. She could not grow apples like the apple tree. She did not have an invigorating pine scent like the proud, bushy pine tree. She was very unhappy.

She asked her friend Raccoon to dot pine sap on her branches, and Raccoon was glad to help. And it worked! The smell of pine emanated from her branches, adding to the delicious, earthy scent of the forest.

Until it rained and the pine sap washed off her.

“Maybe I can bear fruit!” she said when her cones grew in.  She concentrated very, very  hard on them, and sent every bit of her sap to the tips of her branches in hopes the cones would turn into apples.  But they did not turn into apples. Or any other kind of edible fruit.

“Well, anyway, what I really want is to be tall like the other trees,” she said.  So she asked her friend Squirrel to tie a rope to her tip-top, and then attach the other end to the tip-top of the tallest aspen. Squirrel did his best to pull the rope tighter and tighter, so that it would stretch her out and make her tall like the aspen. 

But it did not.

“I have nothing to offer the world!” She moaned.

That’s when the Creator came walking by, “Oh silly Little Spruce.” He said.  “I already have a whispery aspen, an apple tree, and a pleasing scented pine tree. I do not need you to be any of those things.”

“But Creator, I’m just nothing. Just a little scrub of a tree.”

“You already please me, Little Spruce. You are exactly as I created you to be, and you are good.” He told her gently touching her branches.

“I do? I am?” Little Spruce asked, “Really?”

“Really Little Spruce!” the Creator chuckled as He continued His walk through the forest.

I please the Creator just as I am. He made me just the way He wanted me! She thought.  The idea pleased Little Spruce to no end.  She couldn’t think about her smallness anymore, because she couldn’t stop thinking about how she pleased the Creator and how he made her so unique. Finally, she could hold it in no longer.

“Thank you Creator, for the way you made me! Thank you for all the different kinds of trees! You are an awesome Creator!” She pointed her branches to heaven, and just thought about the Creator.

Suddenly, her trunk began to stretch toward heaven. She pointed her tip-top to where the Creator sat. She heard the Creator chuckle with delight.

“Thank you!” she called.

And she spent the rest of her life praising the Creator, in snow, and in sun and in rain. She praised Him when hunting eagles perched atop her branches, and when hikers rested in her shade. She never thought about her height again, only about the Creator.  And she taught her children to do the same.

It is a simple parable, but the message is something I think every person has struggled with in their lifetime. 

To really bring the message home I gave each of my students a little tree grow kit.

It will be interesting to see if the trees will grow as well as my students do!

Advertising Happiness

This has been a crazy busy week!  And still I have, for the most part, been happy!  I have become frustrated with people and situations, but I've been able to turn it around and look for the positive. It is amazing what focusing on the positive can do for you AND those around you.

I have received more compliments on my attitude this week than I have in a long time.  I have even had a few 'thank you's' for helping others see the bright side of the situation.  I don't share this to brag, but to make the point that I obviously needed to work on this area of my life if so many people are noticing! 

In my quest to become a happier person and to bring happiness to those around me, I have come across some quotes from some amazing people that have helped me stay on track.  I've been using this one for inspiration this week:

Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you.  Everyone wants to be around somebody who can bring cheer and humor to any situation, and optimistic people have a way of finding good things around every corner.  I've seen it happen over and over again.  Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.  A negative attitude is like an advertisement for unhappiness.

Mary Lou Retton

After reading that quote I decided that I would be an advertisement for happiness.  I would be the person described in Isaiah 52:7:

¶How ^abeautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that ^bbringeth ^cgood ^dtidings, that ^epublisheth ^fpeace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto ^gZion, Thy God reigneth!

I have a lot to be happy about, even when I'm stuck in a bad situation.  My attitude is a reflection on my relationship with God and He is the most hopeful, optimistic person I know!



My goal: To keep being a living advertisement for happiness!

Be Positive Every Day

This weekend I conquered a challenge.  I was asked to speak to a group of teachers about Paul's Epistle to the Colossians. I'm not as comfortable in front of adults as I am in front of teenagers, so this was a growth moment.  And to be honest, I wasn't exactly happy about it until it was over!  

My feeling is that this will be an area that the Lord will keep pushing me into. So I have a choice, to complain about it or embrace it and choose to be happy.  I think the embracing part is the direction I should be leaning towards, but I am still apprehensive.  I'm sure God will keep working with me on that!

I have a busy schedule today so my post will be short and to the point.  Here is my inspiration for the day:

Life is a mixture of moments--
some happy, some sad,
and most in-between.

Make the most of each day
as it happens.

Don't listen to those whispers of doubt;
ignore any voice that says
you can't do something.

You're worthy,
and you can go as far
as you dare dream.

Life will lead you
according to your perceptions.

Let your viewpoint be filled with hope,
and keep your eyes focused 
on the positive.

Barbara J. Hall

My goal today: To be the person the poem is talking about.

Measuring Up

How I did: It was a good day yesterday.  I worked on my seminary lesson, which led to the topic of this post.  I love it when something I am doing leads me to another avenue to explore!

My seminary lesson covered several miracles, some missionary work, some disciples of John seeking Jesus, and the inspiration for this post (Matt 11:7-19; Luke 7:24-35, 16:16; JST Matt 11:13-15), Jesus' sermon on John the Baptist.  

When I prepare a lesson I always try to look for all the lesson(s) from the verses. There are usually many lessons in each scripture block.  It was obvious that Jesus was sharing his testimony of John as a prophet, but I wondered was there more I should learn from this story and how would I apply it. 

At one point Jesus states: "For verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater prophet than John the Baptist:"

So what made John a greater prophet than Moses or Elijah?  I came across some information about John that stunned me:

As far as we know John had performed no miracles and the approximate length of his ministry at the time of Christ's baptism was only six months. And from that time until his arrest, his ministry decreased as the Savior's increased. 

John does not appear to be the poster child of success. His childhood was not exceptional as we would see it.  He lived in the wilderness eating locusts and honey.  He wasn't a snazzy dresser, in fact, he was dressed extremely humbly. For most of us we see his achievements as: 

He was entrusted to prepare the way before Christ and declare Christ's divinity to all men (which he did) 

He had the privilege to baptize Christ and witness the Holy Ghost descend upon him

He baptized other people 

I think those are amazing achievements, but it doesn't mean much by the worldly standards. That's when it hit me: this story also presents the opportunity to discuss how we measure success. That would be the topic of discussion in class.

It was interesting to talk about how we measure success and how the world measures success, then to discuss how the Lord measures success.

My students quickly caught on to the fact that it wasn't about the numbers; it was about John fulfilling God's will to the best of his ability.

To remind them of this message I gave each of them a ruler. The ruler is flexible (representing our willingness to bend to God's will) and written on the back are the words: Be careful of the standards by which you measure your success.




The class experience made me think about how we tend to attach our happiness to the world view of success and not through God's view of success.  Which in turn took me back to the 'seeing things through God's eyes' challenge.  It is nice when you start to see the connections between the things that are going on in your life.

My goal today:  To measure the success of my day by my willingness to do God's will.

Through His Eyes

How I did: I couldn't stop thinking about how God sees the world. If you judge our world by the news, it would appear that we are in a very sad state.  If you take the time to search for the good, it would seem that there is still hope.

In the scriptures we read that when Christ looked over Jerusalem he wept and he wept when raising Lazarus (Luke 19:41, John 11:35).  What does God weep for in our world today?

I think this video shows just a little of what makes God weep today.

I know that God is aware of these things, it would be hard not to be.  I am painfully aware of them in my small part of the world.  So how does God balance this negative? How does He keep from wiping us out and starting all over?

Here is a sample of the good in the world:

I think it is in moments like this that God is smiling, maybe even shedding tears of joy. It brings me joy to see people being good to each other, I imagine that it would do the same for God, but on a much bigger scale.

I think one part of learning to see the world through God's eyes is to be aware of the negative, it is a necessary part of the law of opposites, but not to ignore it. We can't live in a bubble where everything is great, we would never progress.  We can be part of the solution and do the good that God would have us do.

Good will always prevail over evil, that is a truth.  God believes that we will do our part to do good in the battle against evil.  He presents us with opportunities each day to join him in giving hope to a world that also makes us weep. Our job is to recognize them and jump right in!

Quote:
In every event, in every circumstance, we have a choice of perspective.  Faced with difficulty, we can choose between disappointment and curiosity as our mind-set.  The choice is ours.  Will we focus on what we see as lacking or will we look for the new good that is emerging? In every moment, however perilous or sorrowful it may feel, there is the seed of our greater happiness, greater expansion, and greater abundance.

Julia Cameron

My goal today: Look for the opportunities for good in my day and take them!

Proper Perspective

How I did: I tried to make every experience worthwhile yesterday, it was an interesting experiment in perspective.  I had to decide if I was trying to make the most out of each moment through my productivity, my attitude, or by what I had learned from the experience.  

I found myself wondering if I could make better use of the time while I was driving, should I listen to the radio, listen to scriptures on cd, or just have a great conversation with God.  I chose the latter.   Although I love music and it is a great mood booster, and the scriptures are always good, I really felt like a good discussion with God was what I needed to make my drive worthwhile.  I do not regret that decision.  It set the tone for my day. I had taken the time to ask God for the proper perspective and he didn't let me down.  

I've been thinking about how the simple act of asking God to help me see things through his eyes really made my day seem better.  So today I am digging a little deeper into the topic of perspective.

I found the quote first:

The reality of life is that your perceptions- right or wrong - influence everything else you do.  When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.

Roger Birkman

What's the difference between perceptions and perspective? And why is it important to get the proper perspective of your perceptions?

Perceptions: 

Noun The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. The state of being or process of becoming aware of something in such a way.

Synonyms realization - understanding - comprehension Perspective: Noun 1.  A mental view or outlook: "It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present" (Fabian Linden). 2. The ability to perceive things in their actual interrelations or comparative importance: tried to keep my perspective throughout the crisis Synonyms view - position - orientation If I am understanding this correctly, then having the proper perspective (view, position, or orientation) enhances my ability to process the stimuli around me into clearer perceptions  (realization, understanding, and comprehension). So what is the proper perspective? This is where the scripture come in... Colossians 3:2 Set your aaffection on bthings cabove, not on things on the dearth. 1 John 2:15-16 Love not the aworld, neither the things that are in the bworld. If any man love the world, the clove of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the alust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the bpride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the cworld. Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this aworld: but be ye btransformed by the crenewing of your dmind, that ye may eprove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, fwill of God. There are many more scriptures about what the proper perspective is (looking at things from God's view, position, and orientation, not the world's), which says to me that this is a pretty important topic. In my quest for happiness this year I can see that perception and perspective will play a part in my success.  I should probably spend more time and effort on this. God is not done teaching me to have the proper perspective.  Sometimes I just need a reminder that the world, our Earth, is just a small part of the bigger picture. My goal today:  I will take the focus off of the things of the world and put more focus on the 'things above."

  

A Worthwhile Experience

How I did: I had finished my post and was on my way to work yesterday filled with the desire to choose happiness, when I hit traffic.  If there is one thing that frustrates me and sucks the happiness out of my day it is having to deal with less than stellar drivers.  

On a normal day I would have shaken my head at them and when the opportunity arose I would have made eye contact and mouthed the words, "Don't be so rude!"  But I was in happiness mode and I was not going to let them take that away from me!  So I turned the radio on to some good music, I still shook my head at them, but instead of telling them they were rude I told them to have a happy day.  I'll be honest, it was through a smile of gritted teeth, but I'm sure they weren't aware of that.  

Amazingly, a few of them mouthed the word, "Sorry" with a sheepish look on their face.  Others were not so kind and just turned away. However, it was my reaction that surprised me the most. I started to feel sorry for these rude people.  I wondered what could be happening in their lives that would make them behave like this. I found myself on a mission to bring them a little bit of happiness.  That is when my fake smile turned into a real effort to change some one's heart.  It is interesting that it took a change in my heart to bring that about.

I had been given the opportunity to see the situation in a different light.  This led me to think about other areas in my life that I needed to change my attitude about.  One such area is work.  I am not always excited about the chance to work, especially when it comes to the chores around the house.  I catch myself thinking that surely there is more to my life than laundry and dishes!  Well, this scripture helped me put it in perspective.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:24

There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.

Then I came across this quote.

Quote: 
Find time in each day to see beauty and love in the world around you. Realize that what you feel you lack in one regard may be more than compensated for in another. See your future filled with promise and possibility.  Learn to view everything as a worthwhile experience.
Sandra Sturtz Hauss

And I got a little motivation from one of my favorite childhood movies Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Watch the mouse and the spider's reactions, I think that is me sometimes!

My goal today:  To make every experience, even work, a worthwhile experience!

Choosing Happiness

How I did: Yesterday was about resting to rejuvenate and renew my body, mind, and spirit.  Well my spirit was energized with the testimonies that I heard at church and reading the scriptures.  My mind didn't really rest because whenever I get filled with the Spirit my mind starts to go a mile a minute pondering what is going on. But that is a good thing so I'm going with; I did okay in that area.  As for resting my body, I didn't do any strenuous work, but I did play with my niece and nephews and that is anything but calm, but it is super fun!  I don't get to see them often so I try to make the most of the time I do see them.  I think it was important and therefore I'm saying I did alright in this area too.

I had choices to make as to what was appropriate behavior for my day of rest and I think I did okay.  It might not have been completely restful but it brought me and others joy.  And if anything makes things look better it is seeing them through the eyes of joy.   

Scripture:  Alma 27:18 

Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.


Quote:

You have a choice. You can select joy over despair. You can select happiness over tears. You can select action over apathy. You can select growth over stagnation. You can select you. And you can select life...
Leo Buscaglia  

My goal today: Chose to seek happiness and joy in my day!

A Day of Rest

How I did: It was an interesting experiment yesterday.  In my effort to focus more on the solutions to issues than to grumble, murmur, or complain about them I realized that you have to think about the solution prior to opening your mouth and complaining.  In order to make sure that 80% of your time is spent on the solution you really have to limit the time you complain. Basically, you state the problem and then let the complaining go and you begin the journey of finding the solution.  

Another tip is to chose someone who will listen to the issue and then encourage you to move forward.  An interesting observation: men do not really want to listen to the problems (I know because I live with men), but lean more towards finding the solution.  It used to annoy me when they didn't want to listen to my complaints and would tell me to let it go.  Now I see that it is their way of pushing me off the issue and on to the solution. It's too bad that I didn't see this earlier, it would have saved me some complaining about them!    

Yesterday was not filled with a lot of issues (I'm so thankful for that), but the issues that did come up were not as burdensome as they would have been had I focused on them all day. It took some effort to not complain so much, I had to remind myself of the goal a few times, but as soon as I got back on track the problem seemed to get solved faster.  Faster solutions, less complaining, I would say that my experiment definitely was a success and my positive attitude was enhanced!

In my efforts to continue building my positive attitude on this Sabbath Day I did a little research on the importance of taking a day of rest.

Scripture: God Designed Rest from Labor Genesis 2:2-3

 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had ^amade; and he ^brested on the seventh day from all his ^cwork which he had made.

 And God blessed the ^aseventh day, and ^bsanctified it: because that in it he had ^crested from all his work which God ^dcreated and made.

He even commanded that we rest Exodus 20:8-10

Remember the ^asabbath day, to keep it ^bholy. ^aSix days shalt thou ^blabour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy ^astranger that is within thy gates:

Everyone needs rest Exodus 23:12

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the ^aseventh day thou shalt ^brest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

I think it is interesting that God talks about rest from the very first book in the scriptures and that He emphasizes it's importance by making it a commandment.  That says something to me about how important it should be to me. 

Christ was a great example of taking time to rest Mark 6:31

And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a ^adesert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no ^bleisure so much as to eat.

Rest is a necessity.  It's a scriptural principle that all creatures must rest.

Quote: 

Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.

Ralph Martson

I love that quote.  I can picture God saying that to me! And who am I not to keep his commandments?! 

There are weeks when I wish that I could wear a Do Not Disturb sign everyday because I feel overwhelmed with life.  I am not a happy person when I don't get my rest.  I think this sign would be appropriate for those days:

At least I am willing to warn people about the consequences of my not resting and the impending attitude that comes with it!  And so I have found my goal for the day.

My goal today: Refresh and renew my body, mind and spirit so that I can get back to work tomorrow with a healthy, happy attitude!