Quote - No Matter What Your Past Has Been, Your Future is Spotless

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It has provided a lot of hope for me.  I thought it was fitting to put it on my blog at Easter time since Jesus Christ is the reason our future can be spotless.

It Is What It Is...

In June 2011, I received a phone call that you never want to get.  As I was busy finishing the frantic "last minute before company arrives" cleaning of my house, the phone rang and it was my mom.  She said, "We've been in a horrible accident."  They were driving across the desert to come and visit us and my mom had fallen asleep at the wheel while my dad was already napping in the passenger seat.  She said they both seemed to be okay but that the emergency vehicles were coming.

My heart sank and I sent my husband off on the 2+ hour drive to get them.  I was so shaken that I feared I would cause another accident so I stayed home with the kids, planning to meet the at the hospital.

The car had been on cruise control and my sleepy mom drove from the slow lane across the lanes of traffic and sped right into the median area.  Luckily the median was wide and they didn't cross into oncoming traffic.  They rolled their car and landed upside down in the middle of the freeway.  My dad was able get out of his seatbelt and crawl out through the trunk which had been blown open.  My mom was hanging there, upside down, until a good samaritan came and helped pry the door open with tools.

I met them at the hospital, insisting that they get medical care.  They went through all sorts of tests and x-rays and were told how lucky they were to be alive and relatively unharmed.  While we were waiting for hours and hours at the hospital, the discussion kept turning to questions such as "Why did this have to happen?", "What could we have done to prevent it?"  There were complaints from my tired parents about the long and slow hospital process.  They were upset that I had to be up all night at the hospital with them and that we were all losing sleep.

Finally I said, "IT IS WHAT IT IS."  There was no use second-guessing what we could have done differently.  There was no use complaining that the care we were getting was not quick enough at the busy hospital.  There was no use worrying about what tomorrow would bring.  We were all in the situation we were in and we just needed to deal with it the best we could in the best way we knew how.

Thought of the Day - Clean out the Closet in your Mind

It is possible to live with all your power in the present. You can replace old doubts with new hopes. So clean out that closet in your mind and haul a load of needless negative baggage off to D.I.

You can begin by practicing just three simple exercises in right thinking: (1) Remember that any failure is only temporary in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The decision to carry on in spite of disappointment turns the worst circumstance into success. (2) There can be no self-pity--and that means no self-pity. Nothing dissipates our strength faster or more quickly drives away those who would truly wish to help us than self-pity. (3) Eliminate all "would haves," "could haves," "should haves," and " if onlys." What has happened is past and finished. Leave it there. Profound power will come in living and making things right in the present. 

Be Renewed in the Spirit of your Mind PATRICIA T. HOLLAND Brigham Young University on 6 September 1988

(For those who don't what D.I. stands for... it means Deseret Industries which is a place where you donate things you don't need anymore and someone else can buy it.  Like a thrift store.)

Things Always Work Out

I've been thinking about adversity and challenges lately. While hardships will always be a recurring part of our lives, I think the important thing is how we face them.  Everyone has their own set of problems.  The severity of our adversity tends to ebb and flow.  The truth is, we never really know what another person is struggling with.  But we all are struggling each day with something, rather big or small.  And if we think we have no struggles, then we have the struggle of pride, right?

Here are some of the ways I personally deal with challenges.

Have faith and hope, not fear and worry.  Our natural-man tendencies lead us to fear.  Having faith instead of fear is a choice and must be worked for.  Everyday.  Try to look at things optimistically instead of focusing on the negative.  Think about all the wonderful things in your life and all the wonderful things yet to be.  Don't allow yourself to mope, stay in bed, wallow in self-pity, or embrace depression.

Trust Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  They love us and wants to help us.  They will never abandon us.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), humility is key to learning to trust Heavenly Father.  I attempt to be one of those people who chooses to be humble, but it is really hard to keep pride out of our lives.  Challenges compel us to be humble and therefore should be valued.  Humility leads to trusting God and increasing faith.

Pray, pray, pray.  Pray for patience and to be faithful.  Pray for the Lord's will to be done.  I have the tendency to be bossy and have to be careful when I am praying that I don't try to tell the Lord exactly how to answer my prayers.  I am constantly facing the battle of "MY will be done" versus "THY will be done."  This concept has changed the way I pray.  Life experience has taught me that I don't have the full picture.  He does.  It seems logically smart to listen and be guided by someone who knows what I need and when and how I need it. 

Time Out for Women - The Clicker Experiment

I loved hearing Hilary Weeks at Time Out for Women.  Her music and songs are beautiful and motivational.  Her thoughts and musings were equally wonderful.  I particularly liked her "Clicker Experiment."  Tracking our negative thoughts, complaints and whining brings us down.  Our spirits soar when we focus on the positives in life.  Visit her blog to read about her story in her own words.


Part 1: Click HERE http://hilaryweeks.com/blog/?p=376
Part 2: Click HERE http://hilaryweeks.com/blog/?p=392

To order your own clickers click HERE http://hilaryweeks.com/moreinfo.php?SKU=2099

Life is Good

As I drove my Junior High student to school today I noticed a bumper sticker on the Jaguar car stopped in front of me.

It said "Life is Good."

That started me thinking. I wonder why the owner of that car thinks life is good? Is it because they are driving a Jaguar? Is it because they have a great job? Riches? A nice home? A "perfect" child? A healthy body? Lots of friends? Few problems/challenges? Power? Fame? Life of leisure?

I agree that life is good, but what is the REAL reason that life is good?

Life can be "good" without a Jaguar, great job, tons of money, a nice home, perfect kids, health and tons of friends. I agree that lots of these things, such as a home, health, and sufficient income can certainly make our earthly journey easier and more comfortable, but they are not the source of true happiness.

So what do you think makes life "good?"

Here are some things that I think make life good (not in any particular order):
1) Faith in Jesus Christ and in His Infinite Atonement
2) An eternal family striving to learn and grow and support each other
3) A testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel
4) Growth experiences that make us stronger, even if they make us uncomfortable
5) Spiritual insights and lessons
6) Belonging to the Lord's restored church that teaches correct principles and offers spiritual support and eternal ordinances
7) A living prophet who gives current revelation
8) Scriptures to teach us and help us learn eternal truths and how to deal with earthly experiences
9) Service and the wonderful feeling you have when our hearts are knit together in unity and love
10) Loving one another, regardless of our imperfections
11) Agency
12) Having an earthly body and learning how to conquer the natural man
13) Praying to a Heavenly Father that loves us, listens to us and responds to us
14) Blessings of the priesthood, the power of God on the earth
15) The temple and the covenants and truths that we learn therein
16) Hope and faith, rather than fear and despondency
17) Gratitude for what we have and being content with our blessings and situation
18) Serving the Lord by doing your calling well and helping others
19) Sharing the gospel with those who are prepared to learn
20) Learning and gaining knowledge
21) Clarity of thought and purpose
22) Always remembering Him and keeping His commandments
23) Being able to control our attitude no matter what the circumstances
24) Obedience and striving for righteousness. The scripture "Wickedness never was happiness" really is true. Life can't be good with sin.

I could go on all day, but you get the idea.

So during these times that seem full of economic upheaval, natural disasters, attacks on the family, loss of values, greed, materialism and self-interest, I am hear to tell you that life can still be good. Have faith, not fear. Do right, not wrong. And have an eternal perspective in all things and we can make it through these tough times. I am convinced these tough experiences are preparing us, as a society, for good things to come. But that will be another post....

The Law of the Garbage Truck

I love this analogy of "The Garbage Truck" that I heard a few years ago. It is a great way to deal with challenging people that we come across in our lives. And don't we all have some of those!

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so .... 'Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.'

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

FHE Lesson - Attitude

This lesson was designed as a family night lesson, but can be adjusted for another purpose.

Attitude
A good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. Teach your family to shape their own lives through their daily choices.

Thought:
Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude. (M. Russell Ballard, “Providing for Our Needs,” Ensign, May 1981, 85)

Song:
“If You’re Happy” Children’s Songbook, p. 266.

Scripture:
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 15:13)

Lesson:
Ask family members which of the following would be the most difficult for them to deal with:
1. Moving from your home because your parents lost their jobs.
2. Spending many weeks in a hospital because of illness.
3. Temporarily living in a shelter and relying on food storage because of a natural disaster.

Together, read 1 Nephi 16:13–21 and find out what challenges Lehi’s family faced. Ask why this would be a difficult challenge. How does it compare to the three examples above?

Ask your family to look again at verse 20 and tell how most of the group, including Lehi, reacted to the lack of food. Murmuring may be a common reaction to hardship and hunger, but did complaining help solve their problem? Compare the complaining of this group with what Nephi did in verses 22–30. How could Nephi’s non-complaining and productive example help us in our difficult situations?

(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 37.)

Story: Daddy, I Sure Do Love You (Elder Paul H. Dunn)

Have you ever noticed that whenever a person seems out of sorts or somewhat cantankerous, we often say, “He got up on the wrong side of the bed”? Were you ever accused of having such an attitude? A few months ago I was close to having “one of those days.” It came about in this way: About midnight I received a telephone call from one of the teachers in our institute of religion program, which I was coordinating at the time, and he reported that he couldn’t possibly teach his early morning class the next day because of ill health. He wondered if I would teach it for him. I assured him I would and told him not to worry, though I wondered how adequately the material could be prepared in the time left that night to meet the challenge of the group.
After hanging up, I immediately started to prepare my lesson and finally at two a.m., not being able to see the words on the page, I went to bed. Needless to say I was tired and in need of a good night’s sleep. I didn’t stand much chance of getting it, however, since the class next morning met at seven a.m. and was thirty miles from home, all of which required that I get up at five o’clock. This meant only three hours of sleep at the most.

Shortly after going to bed, and not having quite fallen asleep, I was brought back to reality by my four-year-old youngster, who insisted that she have a drink of water—she simply could not get along without it until morning. So, after a hard struggle, I pulled myself together, secured the drink of water, and went back to bed only to be awakened a few moments later by another daughter who had just experienced a horrible nightmare. Her anxious summons brought me to my feet in a hurry, and in my excitement to answer her call, I failed to turn on the hall light. As I made my way in the dark, I was suddenly stopped in my journey by a door that had been left ajar. After a few seconds and with a newly acquired bump, I hastened to her side and gave the comfort that was needed.

Once again I crawled back between the warm covers with a hope that the remaining hours would give peace and rest, only to be brought slyly and slowly back to life by my wife, who had been awakened by the previous interruptions. She had just remembered that she needed the car the next morning for her church assignment and was wondering what arrangements could be made in order that we both might meet our appointments.

When the problem was finally solved, it was three o’clock, and when, shortly after, the alarm rang at five, you can imagine how I felt. After such a night I was getting up on the wrong side of the bed, and my attitude was not the kind that should be taken into a class of religion.
And then it happened—the little thing that changed the gloom of the night into the brightness of a beautiful day. As I was leaving the house, the four-year-old, who had started the series of events the night before, appeared at the door, pulled on my coattail, and then, with my help, climbed into my arms, took hold of both of my ears with her little hands, and without any warning kissed me as hard as she could right on the nose and said, “Daddy, I sure do love you. You are sure a good sport.” “A good sport, eh!” and I tried to smile away the frown that had settled throughout my whole system. “Yep! You’re the best daddy in the whole world,” and planting another kiss on my neck, she slid to the floor and ran back to her bed.

What was about to be a bad morning for me turned out to be one of my best. As I drove to my assignment with a song in my heart, I thought of my many blessings.

(Leon R. Hartshorn, Outstanding Stories by General Authorities, vol. 3, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book,1974].)

Activity:
1. Seat everyone in the room.
2. Pick someone to be the “poor kitty.”
3. The object is for the person who is kitty to get someone to laugh. Kitty goes up to people one at a time on his hands and knees and meows. That person must stroke kitty’s head and say, “Poor Kitty,” three times without laughing or even smiling. If that person smiles, the two trade places with each other and the game continues.

(George and Jeane Chipman, Games! Games! Games!, [Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 1983], p. 36.)

We played this silly game and it was fun for the family and trust me that we all ended up laughing. And that is a wonderful sound to have laughter in a family!