That which fosters confidence in God’s will for us, love for us, and plans for us. Those things that inspire a trust that God really does know best, and will be an active part in helping us to achieve the best if we will allow Him into our lives.
Pearls start as a grain of sand,
Withing the oyster shell.
The oyster slowly smooths the grain,
From this a pearl grows well.
We each have irritations
That grind upon our soul.
If we pray and strive to understand,
Pearls of wisdom grow.
A few days ago my daughter presented us with this glittering oyster shell ornament for our tree. It is a good reminder of the value of irritations, troubles, frustrations, etc.
Can preparation help all these disasters that come in different ways?
Only our testimony of JESUS CHRIST, helps us through our darkest days.
We can learn from the HOLY GHOST, how to choose our safest path.
Only through our LORD’S true church can we grow strong through heaven’s wrath.
When we’ve felt the flames of wrath and lost all that we own,
Our hearts are stretched beyond ourselves, as we lose house or home.
Our tears flow more free for others grief; we see through deeper eyes
The heart-torn pain of strangers caught in devastation’s cries.
Disasters come in many forms: tsunamis roar, to lightning storms,
Volcanoes erupt, freezing rain, famine’s starvation, to war’s dark pain.
Please, LORD, help us to have eyes to truly see
The suffering of all caught in these last days tragedys.*
Remember, every trial we face is here to help us grow.
From war we learn the true joy in peace, from hate, we see love’s glow.
From the loss of precious loved ones, we can learn true empathy.
For others caught in sorrows song, our LORD’S charity gives us clarity.
We thank Thee LORD, for sorrow; it helps us past our pain.
We thank Thee, LORD, for heartache; it gives us deeper grain.
We thank Thee LORD, for clarity to see, taste, touch and feel,
That when trials pour upon us, we can serve, help and heal.
As oceans over jump their bound and armored insects roar,
On air fields and on freeways, we see men’s faces soar.
As jets and choppers shoot fire down at souls on land and sea,
We see the faces of those souls in the armored dragons of insanity.**
As earthquakes in diverse places increase, as heart attacks do grow,***
We hear John’s revelations play upon our heart, mind and soul.
May we remember JESUS CHRIST, and pray each dawn through eve,
And be prepared through these troubled last days; May we give love and receive.****
* Matthew 5:44
** Revelations chapter 9
*** Matthew 24:6-8
**** Luke 10: 30-37
The devastation of the camp fire in Paradise, California, has been foremost in our minds lately. I’m sure it has to do with our family, who were evacuated, and then learned of the total destruction of home and property. We live in a world full of pain and suffering, but we cannot allow this to immobilize us and to take away our hope. May God strengthen us to be His hands.
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-05-22-o-remember-remember?lang=eng&_r=1
Each soul is like an iceberg that flows upon life’s sea.
We see the tip and think we know just who that might be.
But like earth’s flowing icebergs, the part we see is small,
Compared to the immensity that’s hidden beneath us all.
Within every person are parts we do not see.
They hold uncounted feelings within both you and me.
Few ever see these hidden things of each soul,
But they are real within us, and determine how we grow.
Each soul needs a true friend to know how they really feel;
To have someone who really cares is something that can heal.
An ear to hear, an eye to see, a heart to understand,
Can melt the coldest heartaches within each woman or man.
We each need loving friends to help us through our day,
To try to understand us and our deeper ways,
To care enough to listen to all our troubled thoughts,
We all need the warmth of God’s pure Son within God’s melting pot.
Unlike all previous posts, I inserted a text document. Just click on the above link and open the document. I’m curious to see how this works for you, and would really appreciate feedback. I suspect that you will not like this new “easy for me” style–too many clicks. Let me know.
I cried when I viewed the following link that shows a married couple and how they dealt with physical obstacles. I think that mental obstacles are also demonstrated. To me, it shows the unspeakable things that dwell deep inside the heart. No words are spoken because it doesn’t need any. Love trumps everything, doesn’t it?
On a note (not quite so somber as the last)…my grandchildren. Before they moved out of state, lived roughly a mile from our home. In 5 minutes, I could be there. In many ways, they depended on that. I drove them to school. They came by the house after school and I drove them home; sometimes stopping a McDonald’s if they hated school lunch that day. They were a big part of my time and life. And then they moved. 3 l/2 hours away. It left a hole that I still struggle to stop tripping over; and that hole was really big last week when they started school…a new school. I wanted so badly to be there and do whatever Grandmas do to make things better, or, at least to think you’ve made things better. It’s painful. I worried. I prayed. I fasted. I worried, and then I worried again. Then they got sick, and some had to miss school. I realized that I had to ‘let go’, just like I did before when they left.
I remember those days. I’d sit in the car and play the Mormon Tabernacle Choir verse of ‘How Firm a Foundation’…feeling the words: “Fear not, I am with thee, Oh, be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand….” I’d play it loud and could almost imagine heavenly help descending upon me, not just from God, but from dear ones now departed who also cared deeply.
I have often confused control with security. Let go. Let go.
The frosty autumn nights
Bid the tree (glorious and alive)
Let go their precious golden leaves
That in days past, bid them survive.
In spring, the fledgling bird will grow
Now the mother tries her best
To prod it from the nest.
Let go.
We hold our babies close,
And treasure every show.
They now seek new horizons,
And we painfully,
Let go.
Our beloved ones, we cherish
And the winds of age do blow
Now they pass thru death’s door,
As our hearts are broken,
And we let go.
But hearts are healed
When we come to know,
A loving Father,
Will never
Let go.
This short video below helps me to let go. It helps me to trade fear for faith, and helps me remember that, even though I will be required to let go, I can be confident that God will never let go of me.
I pray in the silence for guidance from above,
For protection from Satan, by God’s wondrous love,
For protection from my own thoughts and all life’s vanity,
That I may hear the sweet spirit, that can set my soul free.
Then I end this humble prayer, in the name of God’s Son,
And pray for ears to hear and heart to feel, the Holy One.
Then my mind and my spirit are prepared to receive.
I write down the feelings that come to those who believe.
The message of Christ’s love, I’ve been given today,
Is to turn to the Father, and He will teach us to pray.
The Holy Ghost waits to guide us, who search for the light,
And faith, hope and charity come to all, who seek with heart, mind & might.
The following link is a 4-minute personal story of the power of prayer.
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-01-01-prayer?lang=eng
You may have noticed that some of the poems on this site have the words, “dictations of the spirit”. That’s what Bob calls his inspiration in the early morning hours, when most of the poems are written. As described above, he prays to have his mind cleared and then listens for words, and the poems flow with much more ease than when this inspiration is not sought for, or listened to.
We believe one of the greatest challenges is to be able to discern the answers to prayers. We would love to hear stories from you concerning this subject, and your successes and failures, and advice. Your appropriate comments are always welcome.
Pray for Christ’s pure and honest grace to protect us so we may be
Free from Satan’s wiles and wrong thoughts, poisoned by our own insanity.
Ask God for ears and eyes to hear and see, and a heart to understand,
Then listen with a child-like faith, with broken heart and contrite hands.
Ask God to clear our mind and heart, to hear His sacred word,
Then listen with a humble soul and write what we have heard.
Life’s trials come with many parts we just don’t understand.
Our Father wants to enlighten us to His eternal plan….
Of light and life, hope and truth, happiness and peace,
Of wisdom beyond all our thoughts, that we may each increase.
It matters not our circumstance, in war’s hell, or in peace,
When humbled with a child-like faith, Christ’s light will increase.
I think the biggest roadblock to our receiving guidance and inspiration from the Holy Ghost, is distraction. There are so many things. Things to do, things to see, things to entertain us, things to do around the house. Many of these things are needful and should not be ignored, but I think perhaps we loose the ability to filter out the needful things from the ones that simply fill up time.
My mind goes back to the account in scripture where Jesus is visiting the home of Mary and Martha. Martha is busy doing those things that we all do when we have guests: fixing meals, cleaning up…but, Mary chooses to engage in a conversation with Jesus. Martha notices this, and asks Mary to help her with her ‘tasks’. This story, I can really relate to. then Jesus kindly rebukes Martha saying, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Are we able to recognize a precious moment and drop whatever we are doing to capture it before it’s gone?
Do we practice the ability to evaluate our activities?
Can we spot the time-wasters?
Can we identify those that have the potential of improving us in some way?
So we often look beyond ourselves to see the needs of others?…And do something about it?
Now, back to the poem…Like Mary, do we seek the things that build us? Do we stop long enough to see the ‘big picture’?
And to realize that life offers us peace and joy and contentment, IF WE SEEK IT.
IF WE ARE ABLE TO TURN OFF THE TV, STOP THE GAME, and spend some time fine tuning our lives by inspiration from Him who knows exactly how to make our lives more meaningful, peaceful and happy.
“Be still, and know that I am God..” (Psalm 46:10, D&C 101:16)
The following link is 58 second thought on stillness and revelation:
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-06-1440-reverence-invites-revelation?category=topics/holy-ghost&lang=eng
How sad that it is such a common thing. What can we do to protect ourselves from falling victim? What makes some marriages so successful, and others not so?
When changes come, are they bad, or could they help us grow,
Through life’s storms and troubled tests, we feel for those we know.
When death comes with saddened eyes, we feel for those we love,
When sickness comes we long for days when health smiled from above.
When changes come, we try to cope, no matter what they are.
Through each trial, we each must strive to reach our own star.
When our journey brings us to an unfamiliar place,
We have a chance to start anew, within life’s fleeting race.
When changes come, we each must try, our best to grow,
To strive for greater knowledge, God’s wisdom helps us know.
For within each changing moment, we can become more whole.
For changes are tools that mold us within life’s wondrous show.
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-07-28-marriage-and-divorce?lang=eng
http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-12-01-pioneer-journeys-more-than-a-trek?lang=eng
