I received this Newsletter on Sunday and found a beautiful thought within...
A Message From the Bishopric
February 7, 2010
David Leigh
Grandview 8th Ward Bishopric
Recently, I read the well-loved poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand," by Myra 'Brooks' Welch and saw the movie made by T.C. Christensen. I think the message is important for our ward. The last verse of the poem reads:
And many a man with life out of tune,
All battered with bourbon and gin,
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin.
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on,
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.
But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Master's Hand.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, "We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings -- even if we don't deserve it. Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us -- even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities (General Conference, October 2007)."
I bear testimony that this is true. We are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father, and He loves us with perfect love.
I want to thank Brother Leigh for the message, it brought tears to my eyes because I, like many others, undervalue myself at times and at times feel unworthy of even the simple love and attention of others.
It is hard to hold my head up high and walk forward regardless of the sins and mistakes that I commit, hard to be humble, aware of mine and others weaknesses but neither debasing myself or debasing others.
I pray you all might gain some insight and comfort from this message as well, that we can be better than we allow ourselves to be.
Showing posts with label My Beliefs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Beliefs. Show all posts
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sacred Sundays
Today has been a really good day. I went up to church with the kids, Sam was sick with a tummy ache, left him with a bit of Redmond Clay mixed with water. I've had this home remedy around for a while but didn't really think that it worked, but when my daughter was complaining about her tummy hurting I was desperate and tried it. She immediately felt better!! I was surprised that she even tried it because she is a skeptic. :D So I tried it last week when my stomach was hurting, and it worked. Sam tried it today and it worked... so anecdotally I guess it works. :D
I've been feeling a bit detached from my faith, thinking perhaps that being a good person is enough, and I guess a little hesitant as well because it is hard for me to assert things. Afraid that I might offend someone, afraid that I might seem judgmental, afraid that if I make a mistake then somebody out there will point at me and say "Look, look at her!! Her with her high expectations, her aspirations. See her now, she is not so good. Ha, she is not so good."
It is hard to convey across the internet, the sense of who I am, the essence of who I would like to be. I am a calm observer, I believe in certain things, believe deeply in them. But recognize that others believe differently a lot of times than me and that there are certain things that people feel defensive about, and I don't want to offend.
I believe in God, I have felt his presence in my life and I believe that he is kind. I believe in Jesus Christ, I have been blessed by the power of his Atonement. He healed my heart and spirit when I turned to him. I also believe in the Holy Ghost, that he is a guide and comfort to us in times of our greatest need.
Today I sat in sacrament meeting, truly trying to listen, to pay attention. There is a lady in our ward that I met several years ago when her son came and knocked on our door asking for money for gas for their car.
I thought he was just out looking to get a few dollars from someone, he was sort of a cheeky little guy. So I thought I would let him earn it. I had him pick up a few things around the yard and then gave him the money.
I went down the street to talk to his mom, joke around a bit with her because I like to do that with people. When she opened the door I was struck by the feeling that a truly evil presence was in her home, it made me shake.
I talked with her as best as I could and discerned that they had no furniture in the home, that they had very little and I asked her if they had any food. She told me that they did not.
When I got home I called up the bishop and let him know of the situation. In our church we pay tithing and fast offerings. The tithing pays for the church programs and buildings and offerings from ward members go to feeding the hungry and clothing them as well.
My husband went over to talk with Katie and invited her up to the church to fill out a bishops food order. She came up, but she was antagonistic. The bishop asked if she would say an opening prayer, she said something like "No I won't pray!" So he asked if he could say a prayer and she let him.
It turns out that Katie has been struggling with addiction, drug abuse. She needed the money for gas so that she could go to rehab. On and off as I have known her over the years she has come to church and the members of the ward have nurtured her.
She is a bit off putting, I have felt uncomfortable around her but I have tried to be decent to her as a person and not let the negative things come in. Yet, although I would talk with her and say hi, it was hard for me to sit by her.
Many times though, others have taken up the call to serve and to love her. Many times I have seen a beautiful mature lady that I know sit by her, embrace her, rub her back as she lay her head against the back of the chair in front of her.
Katie has been coming regularly now, though she leaves early. I think that she doesn't feel well a lot of times, I believe that she still struggles with drug abuse.
Today she was there, it is a Fast Sunday, we hold Fast Sunday the first week of every month. When the time was turned over to the members to share their testimony of the restored gospel, she walked up to the front and sat down in the stand to wait for her turn to speak.
Several others were before her, including a young boy about 8 years old whose testimony amazed me. Then she got up to speak, she read us something out of Corinthians, I couldn't catch which verses. It had to do with coming out from the unclean things of the world, to believe, to have faith, and then she gave her testimony. Something that I have been neglecting to do for fear of reprisal, for fear of offending others, for fear of judgment.
She stood there, unafraid, with 17 or more earing's in her ears, with lipstick red as red. She did not look like everyone else, yet she stood there and looked out over the congregation and spoke with assurance that there is a God, that the verses that she spoke where an answer to her prayers. The she believed that God loved her and that this church has the true and complete gospel.
I felt very honored to be there, listening to the testimony of someone who struggles with many things, yet knows that God is there. As she walked past I mouthed a thank you and reached my hand out to grasp her own, and she gave it a squeeze, an understanding squeeze, a loving squeeze.
I was very grateful to have been there today, to feel a renewal of my spiritual bank. Today I would like to repent, which I believe means to turn to the Lord.
I hope you all have a beautiful Sunday as well.
I've been feeling a bit detached from my faith, thinking perhaps that being a good person is enough, and I guess a little hesitant as well because it is hard for me to assert things. Afraid that I might offend someone, afraid that I might seem judgmental, afraid that if I make a mistake then somebody out there will point at me and say "Look, look at her!! Her with her high expectations, her aspirations. See her now, she is not so good. Ha, she is not so good."
It is hard to convey across the internet, the sense of who I am, the essence of who I would like to be. I am a calm observer, I believe in certain things, believe deeply in them. But recognize that others believe differently a lot of times than me and that there are certain things that people feel defensive about, and I don't want to offend.
I believe in God, I have felt his presence in my life and I believe that he is kind. I believe in Jesus Christ, I have been blessed by the power of his Atonement. He healed my heart and spirit when I turned to him. I also believe in the Holy Ghost, that he is a guide and comfort to us in times of our greatest need.
Today I sat in sacrament meeting, truly trying to listen, to pay attention. There is a lady in our ward that I met several years ago when her son came and knocked on our door asking for money for gas for their car.
I thought he was just out looking to get a few dollars from someone, he was sort of a cheeky little guy. So I thought I would let him earn it. I had him pick up a few things around the yard and then gave him the money.
I went down the street to talk to his mom, joke around a bit with her because I like to do that with people. When she opened the door I was struck by the feeling that a truly evil presence was in her home, it made me shake.
I talked with her as best as I could and discerned that they had no furniture in the home, that they had very little and I asked her if they had any food. She told me that they did not.
When I got home I called up the bishop and let him know of the situation. In our church we pay tithing and fast offerings. The tithing pays for the church programs and buildings and offerings from ward members go to feeding the hungry and clothing them as well.
My husband went over to talk with Katie and invited her up to the church to fill out a bishops food order. She came up, but she was antagonistic. The bishop asked if she would say an opening prayer, she said something like "No I won't pray!" So he asked if he could say a prayer and she let him.
It turns out that Katie has been struggling with addiction, drug abuse. She needed the money for gas so that she could go to rehab. On and off as I have known her over the years she has come to church and the members of the ward have nurtured her.
She is a bit off putting, I have felt uncomfortable around her but I have tried to be decent to her as a person and not let the negative things come in. Yet, although I would talk with her and say hi, it was hard for me to sit by her.
Many times though, others have taken up the call to serve and to love her. Many times I have seen a beautiful mature lady that I know sit by her, embrace her, rub her back as she lay her head against the back of the chair in front of her.
Katie has been coming regularly now, though she leaves early. I think that she doesn't feel well a lot of times, I believe that she still struggles with drug abuse.
Today she was there, it is a Fast Sunday, we hold Fast Sunday the first week of every month. When the time was turned over to the members to share their testimony of the restored gospel, she walked up to the front and sat down in the stand to wait for her turn to speak.
Several others were before her, including a young boy about 8 years old whose testimony amazed me. Then she got up to speak, she read us something out of Corinthians, I couldn't catch which verses. It had to do with coming out from the unclean things of the world, to believe, to have faith, and then she gave her testimony. Something that I have been neglecting to do for fear of reprisal, for fear of offending others, for fear of judgment.
She stood there, unafraid, with 17 or more earing's in her ears, with lipstick red as red. She did not look like everyone else, yet she stood there and looked out over the congregation and spoke with assurance that there is a God, that the verses that she spoke where an answer to her prayers. The she believed that God loved her and that this church has the true and complete gospel.
I felt very honored to be there, listening to the testimony of someone who struggles with many things, yet knows that God is there. As she walked past I mouthed a thank you and reached my hand out to grasp her own, and she gave it a squeeze, an understanding squeeze, a loving squeeze.
I was very grateful to have been there today, to feel a renewal of my spiritual bank. Today I would like to repent, which I believe means to turn to the Lord.
I hope you all have a beautiful Sunday as well.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Some of what I believe...
I want to share with you all a few of my beliefs, I have developed my beliefs over time and have come a long way with things like religion, politics and even food (which believe me, people have a lot of beliefs built up about their food).
Perceptions change, and I find that I learn more about the world every day. I have undergone a series of changes over the past couple of years and it actually started with food. I had a crises with what I believed to be good for me because I found that I was allergic to gluten. Found in Wheat, Barley and Rye, and almost every processed food out there.
I was extremely scared a lot of times, because I had to give up certain ways of thinking, of eating, and I became the sore thumb in every situation involving food, every party that I went to.
But it ended up being a good thing, I learned that a lot of our previous assumptions may be wrong and that it is OK to examine our beliefs. It used to be hard for me to do that because of immaturity, I felt threatened by the examination of ideas which I hadn't fully formed yet.
I still feel vulnerable sometimes, but I have found that a better way of dealing with that vulnerability is to admit that I don't know, and to be open to hearing peoples sincere thoughts and beliefs as well as sharing my own.
So here are a couple of my impressions, or beliefs...
First of all I believe that God has a plan for us all, and that plan is happiness.
I believe that when we do things that hurt our bodies, our spirits and others then God is not happy and we won't be either.
I believe that God is a creative being, that nature and life. The vibrancy of the universe, the pulsating of my heart, the way that I feel when I connect with another human being and even animals and the earth. All of this tells me that I will not end with death. I have had moments even that I looked in the mirror or thought of my ancestors, their stories and lives, when I felt a connection with them. To me they are not gone.
I absolutely believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe in the Holy Ghost. I believe they are separate people. I have felt Gods healing mercy in my life, mercy for my stupidity and childish follies. In fact I think that God gives us so much, that we choose to accept it or not. If we don't accept the good things that he gives us then he is probably sad that we won't accept it, but I know that God is not going to shove his gifts down our throat so it's our fault if we don't use them.
I don't judge myself as harshly as I used to, I try also to not judge others harshly as well. I make mistakes now and then and I sometimes cringe when I see someone do something that I have done before that I now know to be harmful.
That's the hard thing right? It is not my place to step in to try and force someone, that is a bad way to be, people don't like to be forced. I think that God's way is to love, to listen, and to speak with kindness. I believe that God is Love.
I believe that God has given us many healing and wonderful foods and herbs and that we should celebrate them and use them to heal our bodies and our minds. I think that the harsh way that people treat food is not good for us.
It should be appreciated, embraced and created with passion. If not then it will be dead to us and will not fill us with the strength and energy that we need. (Though tell that to me when I am in a hormonal uprising, I am definitely in the mood for simple, no hassle food. Still, I think that the less abused your food is, the better it will be for you.) ;}
I think an irreverence and disregard for the things that we have is deadening to us. It has been a great privilege to have learned how to cook with whole, beautiful food and how to create nourishing meals. I am so grateful for it.
I believe that men and women should be respectful to each other. This is one area of my life that has been harmed in some ways because I have not respected myself and I have let others disrespect me.
But really, if food has so much beauty and healing power to it, why not the relationship between men and women? I think that the key to feeling this beautiful part of Gods plan for us is respect, reverence and being grateful for it.
I guess that is also when I have found myself to feel the most beautiful. When I respect myself and wear clothing that I feel beautiful in. Clothing that I can wear with confidence. I am picky about my clothes, I try to find things that are timeless, as much as possible. That are classy and womanly, not prudish, but feminine. Really, classy, that's the key. My ideal for this is my Grandmother who was always beautiful, because she paid attention to little details, yet she was not overly made up either.
Kind of funny that I started talking about clothes...
I also believe that we all have some power to touch other lives, to lift and heal. That if we care we can do so much good in this world. I have found so much of that through all of you. I have felt so much love from people that I have never met in person, but who have taken the time to bless my life through their small acts of kindness to me. I am grateful to you all, I respect you and I love all of the truth and beauty that is out there to find.
Perceptions change, and I find that I learn more about the world every day. I have undergone a series of changes over the past couple of years and it actually started with food. I had a crises with what I believed to be good for me because I found that I was allergic to gluten. Found in Wheat, Barley and Rye, and almost every processed food out there.
I was extremely scared a lot of times, because I had to give up certain ways of thinking, of eating, and I became the sore thumb in every situation involving food, every party that I went to.
But it ended up being a good thing, I learned that a lot of our previous assumptions may be wrong and that it is OK to examine our beliefs. It used to be hard for me to do that because of immaturity, I felt threatened by the examination of ideas which I hadn't fully formed yet.
I still feel vulnerable sometimes, but I have found that a better way of dealing with that vulnerability is to admit that I don't know, and to be open to hearing peoples sincere thoughts and beliefs as well as sharing my own.
So here are a couple of my impressions, or beliefs...
First of all I believe that God has a plan for us all, and that plan is happiness.
I believe that when we do things that hurt our bodies, our spirits and others then God is not happy and we won't be either.
I believe that God is a creative being, that nature and life. The vibrancy of the universe, the pulsating of my heart, the way that I feel when I connect with another human being and even animals and the earth. All of this tells me that I will not end with death. I have had moments even that I looked in the mirror or thought of my ancestors, their stories and lives, when I felt a connection with them. To me they are not gone.
I absolutely believe in God, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe in the Holy Ghost. I believe they are separate people. I have felt Gods healing mercy in my life, mercy for my stupidity and childish follies. In fact I think that God gives us so much, that we choose to accept it or not. If we don't accept the good things that he gives us then he is probably sad that we won't accept it, but I know that God is not going to shove his gifts down our throat so it's our fault if we don't use them.
I don't judge myself as harshly as I used to, I try also to not judge others harshly as well. I make mistakes now and then and I sometimes cringe when I see someone do something that I have done before that I now know to be harmful.
That's the hard thing right? It is not my place to step in to try and force someone, that is a bad way to be, people don't like to be forced. I think that God's way is to love, to listen, and to speak with kindness. I believe that God is Love.
I believe that God has given us many healing and wonderful foods and herbs and that we should celebrate them and use them to heal our bodies and our minds. I think that the harsh way that people treat food is not good for us.
It should be appreciated, embraced and created with passion. If not then it will be dead to us and will not fill us with the strength and energy that we need. (Though tell that to me when I am in a hormonal uprising, I am definitely in the mood for simple, no hassle food. Still, I think that the less abused your food is, the better it will be for you.) ;}
I think an irreverence and disregard for the things that we have is deadening to us. It has been a great privilege to have learned how to cook with whole, beautiful food and how to create nourishing meals. I am so grateful for it.
I believe that men and women should be respectful to each other. This is one area of my life that has been harmed in some ways because I have not respected myself and I have let others disrespect me.
But really, if food has so much beauty and healing power to it, why not the relationship between men and women? I think that the key to feeling this beautiful part of Gods plan for us is respect, reverence and being grateful for it.
I guess that is also when I have found myself to feel the most beautiful. When I respect myself and wear clothing that I feel beautiful in. Clothing that I can wear with confidence. I am picky about my clothes, I try to find things that are timeless, as much as possible. That are classy and womanly, not prudish, but feminine. Really, classy, that's the key. My ideal for this is my Grandmother who was always beautiful, because she paid attention to little details, yet she was not overly made up either.
Kind of funny that I started talking about clothes...
I also believe that we all have some power to touch other lives, to lift and heal. That if we care we can do so much good in this world. I have found so much of that through all of you. I have felt so much love from people that I have never met in person, but who have taken the time to bless my life through their small acts of kindness to me. I am grateful to you all, I respect you and I love all of the truth and beauty that is out there to find.
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