New Years Goals

Do you set goals for the New Year?

I have NEVER liked setting goals. 

It seems that setting goals is so confining.

Now that I've made my confession, I want also say that setting goals is a good way to progress so I decided to make goal setting FUN!

Here are some things I've learned from experience -

• go small
• allow for spontaneity
• be flexible
• quality vs quantity

It can be refreshing to start out the New Year by first making a gratitude list of what you are grateful for from the previous year.  Even being grateful for the hard stuff and reviewing how the hard stuff helped you grow will be a good way to lift you out of a negative mode.

Setting a New years resolution can be as simple as finding ONE WORD for the year. One word that will remind you of your goal. For example posting the word 'Gratitude' where you'll see it everyday, will be a simple reminder that you are choosing to look for more ways and things to be grateful for.

 With love and gratitude,
  

Each of us lead a life filled with miracles, we just need to pause and see them! What's new and good with you?

Solution For Stubborn Green Tomatoes

After going to all the work of cultivating, planting, weeding, watering...and all the rest that goes into a good harvest, it can be decidedly discouraging when those lovely green tomatoes never ripen and turn red.

This has happened to me several times.  Fortunately I have a 96 year old gardener friend who clued me into the simple solution to my discouraging tomato patch. Over the years, I have tried this and it has worked everytime.

Recipe for success:

1. 2 Tablespoons Epsom Salt (will not harm you or your plants)
2. 1 gallon warm water
3. Combine and stir until dissolved 
4. Pour over the soil and around the roots of the plant

NOTE: this recipe is per plant

For more gardening tips with epsom salt, I found this post helpful:  click HERE

 With love and gratitude,
  

Each of us lead a life filled with miracles, we just need to pause and see them! What's new and good with you?

Recipe for How to Grow Organic Worm-Free Apples, Cherries, and Pears

I've used this recipe for years. The result is much better than pesticides.

Worm-Free Apples, Cherries, Pears

• Using a cleaned out 1 gallon milk jug, cut a hole about the size of a small egg just below the milk jugs shoulder.  This can easily be done if you first put hot water in the jug and shake it around until the sides get warm.  Empty out water and cut hole with a sharp knife. 

Recipe:

1 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup dark molasses

                        1/2 teaspoon ammonia

                        Add enough water to make 1 1/2 quarts liquid

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 8: Synoposis

View entire 'Vision of the Tree of Life' Series  HERE

The Tree of LIFE:

I Nephi 11:25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

“…the term “life”—the Greek term zoe—means everlasting fullness of life. Life in this sense—everlasting fullness of life—constitutes humankind’s Highest Possibility, our Ultimate Good, the overall End of our existence. The whole purpose of God in making possible our eternal existence is to bring to pass our never-ending fullness of life (Moses 1:39). That is what God is all about. And what we are all about.

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 7: The Large and Spacious Building

View Parts 1-6 HERE

"THE GREAT AND SPACIOUS BUILDING REPRESENTS 

PRIDE AND THE VAIN THINGS OF THE WORLD THAT 

ARE DESIGNED TO DRAW US AWAY FROM THE PATH" 

I Nephi 8:26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth. 

NOTE: 'In the air' signifies the building has no foundation, there is also no foundation for what the people in there are doing.

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 6: The Mist of Darkness

View parts 1-5 HERE

"THE MISTS OF DARKNESS ARE THE TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN AND ARE DESIGNED TO BLIND OUR EYES AND HARDEN OUR HEARTS."

I Nephi 8:  23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 5: The Rod of Iron and The Straight and Narrow Path

View Parts 1-4 HERE

The rod of iron  = The word of God

(1 Nephi 8:19-24,30; 11:25; 15:23,24; Hel.3:29,30)

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 4: The River of Filthy Water

View Parts 1-3 HERE

I Nephi 8:13 And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.

 14 And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head thereof a little way off; and at the head thereof I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go.

 15 And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit.

 16 And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.

 17 And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them.

 18 And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.

I Nephi 12:16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.

"Let's talk for moment about the way in which filth is presented . . . . I am talking about the advertising . . . as you watched the beer commercials, did you notice the people 

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 3 - A Tree Whose Fruit was Most Desirable to Make One Happy

View Parts 1-2 HERE

Tree of Life, by Kazuto Uota

1 Nephi 8: 10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.

11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.

12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 2: A Man Dressed In White

Click HERE for Part 1

Lehi is in darkness and prays 

As you study this portion of Lehi's Dream, compare it to the process of repentance. As spiritual beings in a mortal body, at times we may feel we are lost in a dark and dreary waste, but Lehi shows us what to do.

Vision of the Tree of Life - Part 1: Introduction

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

The Lord often teaches His servants through dreams. Some of the most meaningful revelations contained in the scriptures came in dreams.

Lehi and his son Nephi are prophets that lived in Jerusalem around 600 BC. Through revelation, Lehi was warned to take his family from Jerusalem before it fell into the hands of Babylon. As they were journeying through the wilderness, Lehi received this dream known as - Lehi's Dream, or The Vision of the Tree of Life. Later, Nephi wished to see and understand his fathers dream. Nephi was also blessed to have the same vision.

(NOTE: Lehi and the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah are contemporaries. Nephi lived in Jerusalem the same time as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - compare Daniel and 1 Nephi )

From Tabernacle to Temple

On December 17, 2010, the historic Provo Tabernacle caught fire and was completely gutted. This tabernacle was a special and sacred place for my husband and I. In our early married years, we attended church here and when my husband graduated from college, this is where he gave his valedictorian address.

All that remained were the four outside brick walls.

I wondered if the tabernacle would be demolished or rebuilt. There are over 100 years of history in the Tabernacle. Several months later, the LDS General Authorities announced that this building would be re-built into a temple -

A house of the Lord. 

I cannot express the excitement I felt at this announcement!

As I have watched the transformation of this building, it calls to my mind, that this building is a lot like our lives.

Most of us have experienced total devastation in our lives, trials that may have left us with little or no hope for the future. But, these trials give us strength to not only survive but to grow and become more like our Savior. (The refiners fire you might say!)

We can rebuild on a firm foundation, A foundation built on Christ can never fail or falter.

"God is trying to re-purpose us into something 

grand and glorious!"

To all my readers, friends, and family I would like to extend a special invitation for you to come and attend the Provo City Center Temple Open house. Come with me and view this beautiful House of the Lord.

"The free public open house for the Provo City Center Temple starts on Friday, January 15, and will go through Saturday, March 5, 2016. It will run every day except for the Sundays of January 17, 24, and 31 and February 7, 14, 21, and 28."

Note: This post was inspired by a Fireside I attended that was given by Elder and Sister Dewitt, the LDS missionary couple, in charge of the reconstruction.

Added information


 With love and gratitude,
  

Each of us lead a life filled with miracles, we just need to pause and see them! What's new and good with you?

The Parable Of The Sower - Synopsis

I have enjoyed this study of The Parable of the Sower. As I have looked at what modern day prophets have said, I was reminded of the recent General Conference address Parable of the Sower  given by Elder Dallin H Oaks, April 2015.

Special Note: Wayside soil people are those who have no place in their hearts for seeds/the word of God. The other soils made a place for the seed/word and in one form or another made a commitment to follow Christ.

Below is a short summary of some of the key points Elder Dallin H Oaks made. 

What do we do with the Savior’s teachings as we live our lives?

Parable Of The Sower - Part 5: Seeds in Good Ground

Mark 4:8  And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that ^aheareth the word, and ^bunderstandeth it; which also beareth ^cfruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

What makes Good Ground?

Parable Of The Sower - Part 4: Seeds in Thorny Ground

Luke 8: 14  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Choked= properly, choke (cut off) – literally, "choked because joined with."

Parable Of The Sower - Part 3: Seeds in Stony Places

I am really learning a lot about the Parable of the Sower with this in-depth study. It is so exciting! Today I studied about the seed that fell into stony ground.

Matthew 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

Matthew 13: 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

STONY= Inflexible; cruel; unrelenting; pitiless; obdurate; perverse; cold; morally hard; appearing as if petrified; as, a stony heart; a stony gaze; (Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary). Parched, no depth, rocky land which a thin layer of soil is spread.

I also found that Zechariah 7:11-13 added to my understanding: 

Parable Of The Sower - Part 2: The Seed By The Wayside

Matthew 13:4, Mark 4:4, Luke 8:5

Matthew 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

Way side = path, trench, traveled road, hard ground that has been traveled much.

Devoured = (compare to how Satan is) leaving nothing, greedy, aggressive, grasping, unquenchable, gluttonous, massive, (NOTE: Satan is never pacified nor satisfied).

Parable Of The Sower - Part 1: Introduction

 

I've decided to do an in-depth study comparing:

1. Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 (see also Mark 4:1-9, Luke 8:4-15)
2. Lehi's Vision - Nephi 8, 11
3. Zenos's allegory of the tame and wild olive trees - Jacob 5

Mother's Day Depression

A SPECIAL NOTE to Mother's who find Mother's Day DEPRESSING:

When my children were young, I loved Mother's Day. My kids adored me and they told me often that I was the best Mom ever. But, as my children grew into teenagers, things changed. Mostly I was reminded of how my skills as a mother and even as a person were sorely lacking. Mothers Day became a sad day for me.

On Mother's Day we hear story after story of the 'perfect mom' being praised by their husbands and children. At the same time, our own failings and weaknesses glare back at us. Deep in our heart we know our children are constant reminders of our deficiencies. It has taken me many depressing Mother's Day's to finally get back to enjoying them.

This is what I have learned: Peace comes to me from knowing that I did my best with the knowledge I had. I'm sure you all agree that if you had known then what you know now, you would have done things differently and would not have made the mistakes you made....it is nonsense to judge our past mistakes with our present knowledge...so it's time to stop doing it.

I also gain joy and peace realizing that my successes really do exceed my oopies. This Mother Heart of mine has always been filled with a desire to do Gods will - This Mother Heart of  mine has always loved my children.

Raising my children has brought me closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I understand more fully, but not completely, Christ's Atonement, patience, long suffering, repentance, and forgiveness and unconditional love - the pure love of Christ.These choice experiences have prepared me to be a more humble disciple of HIM.

I AM engaged in HIS work and HIS glory. So if you are still in the middle of hating Mother's Day, I hope you will search deep into your heart, and ask God to help you feel His love for you.

....and a special hug from me to all you Moms.

 With love and gratitude,
  

Each of us lead a life filled with miracles, we just need to pause and see them! What's new and good with you?

What Really Happens To Little Children When They Die?

Many people are confused or even feel lost, anger, and inconsolable grief, when it comes to understanding what happens to little children when they die - especially if they have not been baptized yet.