Fridays Letters Link Up & a Poem

Dear God

Thank you for allowing certain things to

happen to conform me more into the

image of thy son Jesus Christ and to

bring all the glory to you.

Dear Ann Voskamp

You are truly amazing.

I love your blog so so much!

Dear Kerrin

I am so very grateful for you

and our friendship. You are an

amazing daughther of God and

I am so happy that our paths

have crossed.

Dear Husband

I cannot begin to explain

how very blessed I am to have you.

I thank God for you each and every day.



Within the New Year in full swing, I have been focusing more on gratitude and
making time to write in my gratitude journal every night the things that I was grateful for that day.
After recording my thoughts in my gratitude journal last night I happened to pick up the Ensign
and came across this poem written by Sharon Steele in Utah.


On Gratitude

In a certain village, on a certain day,

ten lepers stood far off

and lifted up their voices unto Christ:

“Have mercy on us, Master, please,

take our infirmities away.”

And it was done. According to the grace

of the Savior, Father’s Son,

they showed themselves unto the priest

and were cleansed.

And one of them, on finding he was whole,

paused moments on a grassy knoll,

turned his back

upon the path he would have trod,

and fell upon his face in praise of God.

But of the other nine, no word of thanks

escaped their tongues;

no hymns of praise were sung.

Too busy in their haste

to get on with their lives—

to publish joyous tidings

to their children and their wives—

perhaps without intending to be rude,

they overlooked the sacrament of thanks

and lost the sacred blessing bought

by showing gratitude.

Oh, that I might

from this parable be taught

and practice well the part

of living with an ever-grateful heart.

Psalm 23

The Book of Psalms is one of the most beautiful and meaningful books of the Bible.

 

King David, who wrote this Psalm, grew up and worked as a shepherd, so he knew a lot about sheep and shepherding. He loved the metaphor of seeing God, or the Lord, as a shepherd. The shepherd’s job is to care for his flock, making sure they are safe, nourished, calm and happy at all times. Sheep are vulnerable to danger from wolves and other predators because they cannot run very fast, and they are not always smart enough to avoid danger. To care for them correctly and safely, sheep require a shepherd to take them to the fertile areas to graze, protect them from predators and other hazards, and keep them together so they don’t stray from the group. This is the job of the shepherd.  God does this for us, if we submit to His will.
 

             The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 

 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

If this prayer seems helpful for you, use it often and learn to appreciate that when you truly embrace the concept of God as your shepherd and guide, you will be protected and helped in ways you cannot imagine.



Weaknesses Into Strengths

It is usually pride that keeps us from being shown our weaknesses.

It is humility that allows the Lord to show us our weaknesses.

He says we are given weaknesses for a reason.

  That we may humble ourselves...

Our weaknesses present us with a choice.

We can choose to turn to the Lord for help, or we can choose to try and overcome it ourselves.

If we choose to turn to the Lord, our weaknesses then become strengths ... through His power.

This mortal test was purposefully designed to bring us to our knees.

To make us want to cry-out for a Savior.

One of my favorite Hymns is "I Need Thee Every Hour"

We do need Him every hour.

I think about the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane before He
was placed on the cross.

There the greatest single act of love of all recorded history took place.

Our PERFECT loving Savior was on His knees crying out to our
Father in Heaven.

 "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee;
 take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”
How much more do we need to cry out to our Father in Heaven.

Our only Hope is Christ.

There is no other way or means to heaven, but through Him!

This reality requires us to humble ourselves before Him.

Many people don't want to admit that they need help with something, that they cannot do it under their own power.

Before coming to know the Lord a few years ago, I tried that.

It doesn't work.

I became frustrated because I felt like nothing in my life
was working out.

 It wasn't.

 I felt like I was walking through life with a blindfold,
not knowing what my purpose was and I felt no hope for my future.

 I was going down all the wrong paths trying to find peace and happiness in partying, money, shopping, and other people.

Only to soon find out that it only provides a cover up for a time and then quickly fades away.

For me, knowing that I have weaknesses and I am imperfect is okay...

that in some pre-mortal realm I agreed to accept the weaknesses that I have. 

This reality changes everything for me.

 When I counsel with the Lord in all my doings I feel close to Him and I feel like I can do anything... and I can do anything through Him who strengthens me.

Together, the Lord and I are taking my weaknesses and using them to teach me, humble me, and ultimately make me stronger.

 Without my weaknesses, such growth would not be possible, and I would feel no real need to cry unto my Savior, or make use of the great gift He has given me in the form of His Atonement!

I am grateful for all my many weaknesses and imperfections
because it makes me who I am and I know I can overcome
my weaknesses and imperfections through Him!

Have a great Friday & a fabulous weekend!!

Pure and Simple Faith

 

I realize how blessed I am to have such easy access to church every Sunday. After viewing this I felt extremely humbled. I look up to those who do everything they can to worship our Father in Heaven who blesses us with all we have.

The Lord will bless us if we but put our faith and trust in Him.He really does care about us and our situations, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem.