When do we fast and pray?

The Lord helped me with something big today--a project I was working on with Saren, trying to reorganize my M.O.M. program--and I feel so, so grateful to Him for His help.

Then I opened to Alma 45: 1, and I read that when the Lord delivered the people of Nephi, they did fast much and pray much, and they did worship God with exceedingly great joy.

I usually fast and pray when I need something, but I don't think I've ever fasted out of gratitude.

I will do that. 

Yesterday I felt overwhelmed by several issues, and this morning I woke up practically sick to my stomach.

However, the Lord has helped me to solve these issues, and now I am feeling much, much better.

I love Him.

Missionaries: Be His H.A.N.D.S.

Eric and I spoke at a missionary breakfast last month, and I shared an acronym about how to really work with members to be instruments in the Lord's hands.  (This is specifically related to dinner appointments.)

H - Help Out

When you get there, offer to chop vegetables, set the table, etc.  Then do the dishes, sweep the floor, or offer to do something for a few minutes when the meal is over.

A - Ask Questions about THEM

If you get to know the members of the ward--really know what they like to do, where they're from, how they gained a testimony of the Church, etc., then you will know which members can best relate with your investigators.

N - Notes

Write a little thank you note and hide it somewhere in the house where the family will easily find it once you've gone.  Notes go a LONG way.

D - Deliver a message of Christ

When you are in a member's home, they want to feel of your testimony and Spirit.  Most likely, they are struggling with something in their lives--just like you are.  Help share the joy and hope of Christ.

S - Serve and Invite to Serve

We had elders one time who knew we were hanging "Street Sweeper Warning Signs" in our neighborhood.  They called us the night before the street sweeper was to come to remind us to put out our warning signs.  I loved that.

Another set of elders came to my door one day and said they'd been fasting about who could participate in the discussions with a sister who was investigating the Church.  I came to their minds, and they asked if I would serve.  Of course I said yes!

If you can think of ways to serve the members--and then give them opportunities to serve, you will bless their lives!

The Infinite Atonement - Quote

From my friend Kristine


This quote is from Tad R. Callister's book The Infinite Atonement.  Have you ever read it?  I'm not done but it's amazing.

After quoting Mosiah 4:8, Elder Callister writes:

 

"King Benjamin was certain on this point--there is no other means of salvation than the Savior--no other conditions, no alternative ways.  Some might suggest that there are no alternative ways solely because God in premortal times chose this way (i.e., the Atonement).  Should the Atonement fail, they claim, God could still resort to one of the other options that existed in premortal times.  The language of King Benjamin, however, seems to contain no such "fall back" position.  He clearly states that except for the Savior and his Atonement, there are not "any conditions whereby man can be saved" (Mosiah 4:8).  This seems not to be an issue of God choosing the best alternative, but rather the only alternative for man's redemption.  Simply speaking, there was no easier way, nor any alternative to the Atonement of Jesus Christ,"

Those statements just take my breath away.  As I've been discussing this with my husband over the last few weeks, I have realized how much I take the Atonement for granted.  Since it has already happened, I don't think about all that was at stake.  The fulfillment of His mission was not a forgone conclusion.  I've been so much more grateful for our Savior since reading this.  My prayers have been more meaningful.  I feel a deeper love for our Savior as I think of the love He had for us during those crucial days in Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the tomb.  I hope we will fully understand one day what it was like for Him, but for now, I'm so grateful Elder Callister shared his insights in this book and I can comprehend it just a little bit more.

Bringing it Back to the Mother

I read Jacob 5 today--the Allegory of the Olive Tree.

I've read this so many times, but today, a few verses particularly stood out to me and were perfectly related to the work I'm doing at Power of Moms.

At one point in the chapter, the Lord of the vineyard is grieving over the fact that the whole vineyard is lost--there isn't any good fruit in it at all.

So He counsels with His servant, and they decide to spare it a little longer and see what they can do.

Verse 54: "Wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them.  Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree . . ."

Verse 60: "And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit . . ."

So it all came back to the mothers.

Verse 65: " . . . and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft . . ."

Verse 66: " . . . ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad . . ."

We just work hard every day--little improvements, small challenges, a bit of growing and "becoming" one day at a time.

Verse 73: "And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly . . ."  (Loved that since we use those words at Power of Moms so often.)

Verse 75: " . . . blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard . . . ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit . . ."

As I read that last verse, I just felt so grateful to be a part of the Lord's work to reclaim mothers and families.  I get emails just about every day from mothers who are grateful for this site.  They are finding hope in motherhood again, and they are feeling that they can carry these heavy burdens--and do it well (and with joy!). 

I feel that same strengthening power, and I know it is not because of me.  It's because of the goodness of God.