Quote of the Day:

Our religion must find expression in our everyday lives. 
George Albert Smith

New Year's Resolutions

The year has already begun, but it's never too late to start something new.  I like to just pick two or three resolutions so as to keep them attainable and easy to remember:

New Year's Resolution;
1. Testify
2. Consistant
3. Attend the temple once every month.

Since I have been attending church in Spanish for almost 3 years now, I now understand a little bit of what is going on some of the time, however, making comments has only happened 4 or 5 times.  I never realized how something so simple as making comments in church can be so vital to our testimonies. 

What is Grace?

Knowing I was going to be washing dishes for about an hour, I decided to get something out of it too.  I turned to the BYU Speeches website and clicked on the first speech, it looked good enough to give my "mom brain" some stimulation.  I must say that I wasn't expecting what I got.  This was the best, clearest, simplest definition of Grace that I have ever heard.  Mostly because I've heard much about Grace but still never got it.  Brother Wilcox's explanation and example help me to understand Grace at a level that now I can apply it in my life.  I understand now how Grace can help me with the areas I'm struggling, while I am doing all I can do. Grace can help strengthen me even though I am attending church in spanish and don't understand what is going on (my own personal doctrinal drought). Grace will help me to become a better mother, be patient with my children when I'm at the edge, see clearly when the fog of life is surrounding me.   I think that I am going to have to listen and read this talk two or three more times to really get the depth of understanding that is available through this talk.   I hope you read or listen to it--it lightened my load just by learning the doctrine of Grace through Jesus Christ.  Hearing these words has sparked that small warm fuzzy in my heart which gives me a bit more determination to keep trying.  I really needed that.  I miss feeling that way all the time, but tonight I just put one little drop of oil in my lamp.  Keep practicing.


I was going to copy the text of the talk here, but it is a bit long and was having trouble copying and pasting.  Just click here and download the free MP3 or free PDF of the whole talk.

Here are some of my favorite quotes I heard tonight:

“Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. it is about filling us.”

 "We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is what kind of body we plan on being resurrected with and how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there.”

"Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 3 Nephi 28:35)."

"Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. How many know what I am talking about? Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is giving him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used—seeing her child improve.  And so she continues to call for practice, practice, practice."

"In the same way, because Jesus has paid justice, He can now turn to us and say, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19), “Keep my commandments” (John 14:15). "

"Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, referring to President Spencer W. Kimball’s explanation, “The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. its purpose is change” (The Lord’s Way [Salt lake city: deseret Book, 1991], 223; emphasis in original). Let’s put that in terms of our analogy: The child must practice the piano, but this practice has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change."

Okay, There are just too many good quotes. I'm gonna have to stop copying them, you've got to read/listen to the whole thing. 

The Parable of the Argentine Ant

The Lord, during his mortal ministry, always used common things in the lives of the people to teach doctrine and lessons.  I have likewise come to recognize the parable of the Argentine ant in my life.  (Disclaimer: I still hate having ants in my kitchen, bathroom, dirty laundry, and especially my dinner.)


We moved into our house 7 years ago and I was unaware that the house we bought was infested with ants. Not so uncommon for the area of southern California that we live in, but previously I had lived in apartments or condos which were regularly sprayed for pests and had never had an issue.  Well, after moving in we began seeing a couple of ants here and there and then everywhere.  I suddenly realized why people would sign up for pest control the second someone knocked on their door.  I felt like I was going insane, like I had ants crawling all over me.  And the problem was, half the time I really did have an ant crawling on me.  It forced me to change some things that I had never thought of before, like: put brown sugar in a sealed tupperware instead of the packaging it came in (there is always a pin sized hole that ants can get into).  Put the honey bear in a ziploc bag because ants can crawl right up the threads where the lid screws on.  Keep all cereal in sealed containers.  Store peanut butter in the fridge even if it doesn't need to be refrigerated.  Rinse plates immediately. Et cetera.  And I also quickly threw the whole organic movement out the window and said give me what ever it takes to get rid of these guys.

I am completely sure that growing up I never once saw an ant in my house so this was quite an adjustment.  I began feeling like the ants were controlling me. I couldn't manage my house the way I wanted, I had to follow the rules they dictated to me or I would suffer their wrath (presence) again.  I couldn't leave the dishes for the morning because every time I do, I am greeted with armies of ants.  One summer I couldn't even walk away in the middle of preparing dinner to attend to the children because by time I returned 5 minutes later they were in our dinner.   Even more frustrating, were the nights I spent and still spend scouring the kitchen to make sure I have cleaned up every little shred of chicken, every dish, every spot or drip. Only to find in the morning that they still haven't gone away.  They are still just marching around, scouting for some tiny morsel I may have missed.

To be clear, I don't appreciate the ants! And I still want them gone!  But there are few things that I can see that the Lord might want me to learn from them:

1. Determination: The ants never give up and go away.  They walk extreme distances to procure food and water.  They never take no for an answer.  Each time we spray one area, or caulk a crack they always find another way in.  I continue to have trials in my life, as we all do, but do I continue on pressing forward with faith in Jesus Christ when that trial is placed before me.  The ants never forget their purpose, their goal. Even when something is suddenly placed in their way they immediately begin searching for a new route to obtain their goal.  I heard earlier today in a speech I was listening to that if the Lord is going to make our weaknesses our strengths then we must expect that we will be tried in all of those areas of weakness.  We must trust our Lord and Savior to know that he truly has our best interests at heart.  And knows how to prepare us to meet him. 
2. Keep Trying:  Frequently (understatement) I flick the little ants off of me and they go flying off and hit the floor.  Compared to their size, that really is quite a distance.  But they just seem to bounce, land, and keep right on going.  They don't even pause to shake it off.  Undeterred.  Are we undeterred in our goals? in our commitment to our moral standards?
3. Hum, I don't know what to title this one.  But I've noticed a peculiar thing.  Often I've seen an ant carrying another dead ant that I have killed.  Now I'm not sure if he is carrying the ant back home because he wants to return him to the family or if they are just going to eat him too.  But if we are talking parable here, we will go with the more honorable hypothesis of taking care of his own.  Caring and working together as a family even in and beyond death.  Do we seek out our family history? our kindred dead?  and "carry them back" to our Father in Heaven by providing essential ordinances such as baptism and marriage. 
4. Consistency:  Consistency is something that we'll just say is an area needing improvement for me.  The ants are consistent in their search for food, returning to the colony and providing for their queens. Their consistency requires me to be consistent in the things that I need to do such as keeping a clean kitchen always, staying ahead of the dishes, remembering to put food away in sealed containers.  Consistency also applies to our spiritual lives also. Am I consistent in studying the gospel of Jesus Christ. Consistent in praying regularly morning and night, and always in my heart.  Consistently improving in patience and love with my children.  Consistently progressing spiritually through my own study.  If we are not moving forward we are moving behind--it is impossible to stand still.  
5. Working together for a common good: The ants are united in one purpose.  Not one of them seeks after himself, to get his own gain, to make a stockpile of his own, or to leave and start a better colony all of his own. They work together, each one doing his part. All are essential, one is not less or more than the other.  They are united, they are one. 

So while I continue to clean my house and spray for ants.  I do think that there are lessons to be learned in all things.  And maybe in some of these lessons I needed to be "compelled" to learn them as I wasn't seeking change in these areas on my own. The Lord is the master teacher.  

And one last lesson I've learned from the ants. When you are shopping for a house and they mention that they have maintained pest control the entire time they have lived in the home.  Don't assume that means that they were proactive, that this is a well maintained home, and that there won't be any pests.  Assume that means that there is a problem and that you will also be required to pay for ongoing pest control to maintain some small sense of sanity.

Great Answers to the Great Question

Great Answers to the Great Question Maxwell, Neal A. October 11, 1986
Here are my notes that I jotted down while doing dishes and listening. Click on the link to hear the original message. (free mp3)

Meekness: Example- Moses, well learned of the egyptians, yet was the meekest man up on the earth
indiscriminate at learning  meeknees is more than a passive attribute- seek the law of the lord and apply
most of us are unsearching  quite content with a superficial understanding,
whether out of laziness or out of being busy which is incident to the pressing cares of the world.

Meekness is in all of our virtues and pride in all of our sins.

It takes time to prepare for eternity. patience. line upon line.  coveting the drop while neglecting the more weighty matters.
if he is going to make every weak thing strong then he must test us in all of our weaknesses.

Quote of the day

Every sister who strengthens and protects her family is doing the work of God. 

In the 4th watch of the night...

We've known for a while that the tires on the family car weren't looking so good.  There were long cracks in the tire walls.  We have postponed taking it in to get it checked out because we knew they would say that we needed all new tires.  From a previous flat tire I new each tire costs $268.  Times 4 is just not something we can afford right now.  However with leaving tomorrow to drive to visit family for the holiday we decided we needed to find out how bad the tires were and if it would be dangerous to drive that far with them in their current state.  My Dear Husband took the car in and called me now to tell me the news.   DH said that the previous flat that had been replaced was still good but we need three new ones and it really would be too dangerous to travel with the old ones.  Initially it was coming to around $900, but then the costumer service guy started searching through the guarantees, rebates and anything else that could help us.  He then showed DH that the new cost was going to be $166 FOR ALL THREE.  DH handed him the keys and said do it!  I cried when DH told me--happy tears as my kids call them.  What a blessing from the Lord.  He may wait until the 4th watch of the night to answer our prayers, but he does hear them and at the right time answers them.  Now we can drive without worrying about popping a tire.  Thank you Heavenly Father and thank you Discount Tire!