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!