We too can be like Mary

Mary, Christ’s mother, amazes me. She reminds me that I am a daughter of God and I have a divine mission too. She has so many amazing virtues and is such an example.

When the angel visited Mary she didn’t know the details. She trusted. She had COMPLETE submission to the will of God. How beautiful her role was. As it says in the scriptures:

Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her”.

Mary was chosen to be His mother. She did not have wealth, but that wasn’t important.

Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

“We stand in awe at Mary’s assignment to be the mother of the Lord, but we, too, have been called to mother gods. October 1980, “Motherhood and The Family”, Mary F. Foulger

What an amazing quote from Mary F. Foulger. We all have a divine birthright! We too are seen as daughters of God. We are loved. We are watched out for.

“Your lineage is a blood relationship. That makes you literally “children of the prophets” with a noble birthright (3 Nephi 20:25). That is why we often say that you are “youth of the noble birthright” and belong to a royal, “chosen generation” (1 Peter 2:9).”

–   April 2006, “You Have a Noble Birthright”.

During this Christmas week I hope that we can slow down and remember Mary’s sacrifice by giving birth to our Savior. I love her and am so glad one day I can meet her and thank her. I hope we can all remember where we came from and that God always has a beautiful plan for us, always. No matter where you have been.

Much love and a very Merry Christmas,

Rachel

#sharethegift

To have Balance, have the Atonement

Theses last few weeks I have become overwhelmed by life. You see I get overwhelmed easily (as we all do), but I will not let that define me.

If you have ever been to a 12 Step Addiction Recovery Program you most likely have heard people talk about their “dailies”.

Dailies- things that people do to keep them humble (sober) and get them through that day.

A few examples of dailies are:

               Praying

   Reading the scriptures

   Exercise

               Listening to words of the Prophets.

              Journaling

               Act of service

As I was recently listening to re-runs of a podcast I came across Trish Blackwell. (I know I have talked about her on here before, but she is incredible and so inspiring) In her podcast she talks about her “WLWBL" (When Life Works Best List)

This is a list of things that make her ideal day. 

Balance is essential, yet it can be overlooked or under looked. We have so many “categories” or some many priorities. How could we possibly have the time to get all these things done?

Sister Beck stated that she “is able to get all things done in the day because the Atonement of Jesus Christ”.

Brent L. Top stated, “It is not a sign of weakness to avail ourselves of the Atonement. Rather, it shows courage faith and gratitude. The Atonement allows us not only to repent of sin but also to receive an outpouring of the Savior’s grace, which strengthens us when we simply do not have the power to overcome our human weaknesses. It allows the Savior to share our burdens and compensate for our many inadequacies”.

Sister Beck discussed having balance in her life here.

I know it’s 33 minutes. But it is amazing. It helped open up my eye’s so much.

I get so focused on lists (which can be beneficial) that I take it upon myself to get too much done, in too small of a period or time. Or that It must be done perfectly. Stressful!! We all do it. So stop. Listen to Sister Beck's inspiring guidance. 

She goes into detail about 

1. Focusing on the essentials in life! 

- Praying. 

- Reading scriptures.

- Doing act of service. 

2. Understanding that with the essential it doesn't need to be done perfectly, extravagant, or time-consuming. It just needs to be done! 

3. The way we can do #2 is by having our lives align with God’s life.

4. If it is good enough for the Lord it is good enough for us.

May we all remember that God loves us. We can slow down, realign and focus. 

I know that God loves us and wants to be in our lives. It is my prayer that we can listen to inspiring words of our Prophet and leaders (Sister Beck!!). And turn to the Atonement in every area of our lives, here and now. 

Much love,

Rachel

What if today was your last?

This last week has been busy. I was out of town over the weekend. I went to Oregon to go my uncle’s funeral. My uncle Tony is an amazing man. He had esophageal cancer and died at the young age of 45.

As I sat at his funeral the spirit enlighten my mind about a few things.

  Gratitude for the gospel. I cannot imagine watching a loved one die and not know that I would be with him or her again. By being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I know that life goes beyond the grave. That I will be with loved ones again. I am sure of that. I know without a doubt.

  Hard things happen but God loves us. As I watched my amazing aunt and her kids lose their father I cannot imagine the pain of the loss. But then I am once again reminded that God is all knowing. All loving. That He knows exactly what will happen and why it will happen. It doesn’t mean that it will be easy. Every trial we have is difficult and at many times it may feel unbearable. In the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 11:16-17, an angel asked Nephi, “knowest thou the condescension of God?” Nephi answers,” I know that He loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things”. This is a reminder to all of us that when we ourselves or someone else are going through a hardship that we do not know the meaning of it, but we do know that God loves us.

  Life is precious. If I were to die at 45 that means I have already lived half of my life. Thinking about this was shocking. Time is so precious. “Time is never for sale; time is a commodity that cannot, try as you may, be bought at any store for any price. Yet when time is wisely used, its value is immeasurable. On any given day we are all allocated, without cost, the same number of minutes and hours to use. What time we have we must use wisely. (A time to prepare, Elder Ardern. Conf. Oct 2011.)Stop worrying about the small things, do what you love, spend time with your family.

     You affect others. It was amazing to see how my uncle’s life affected so many people. He showed so many what it really means to be a hero. He showed others how to be determined. He showed others love. He lived a beautiful life. We all affect those around us. Maybe people we may never really know. What we do matters.

Dr. Seuss says it perfectly! Life today as if it was your last. Honestly imagine if you lived that way, just for today! 

May we all be a little more thankful for what we have and that we are able to be on the earth.

Much love,

Rachel

"O Remember, Remember"

I was recently asked to tell my addiction recovery story with some one over the phone. It was in the middle of my lunch break. I sat out in my car and told them all that had happen and what God had done for me.

I cried. I was so grateful to be able remember where I had come from and the help that God provided. The spirit filled my body. It was an amazing reminder!

There are 3 things I do to remember the Lord:

Praying. I remember when I was first in the Addiction Recovery Program praying was hard. I felt guilty, awkward and a lot of other negative emotions. Know that it takes time to re-open that communication with Christ, but don’t stop! I promise it will be beautiful. The Lord is there!

Journaling. I was so grateful to be able to tell my story with someone, for some of you that is scary or not something you feel comfortable doing. That’s fine! But let the Lord show you that you have made progress.  A way this can happen is to write in your journal. It can be good or bad. It can be a gratitude journal, one line from your day, quotes, or your life story! It can be whatever!!

I love these quotes about journaling:

“Our story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available. … What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity. … Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your going and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events. ... This is what the Lord has commanded and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance their daily lives."(President Kimball, New Era Oct 1975)

 “Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. This practice enhances the likelihood of receiving further light.” (Elder Scott, 1993 October General Conference)

As I have read through old journals I am grateful for what they teach me. I wish I had kept one at the beginning of my recovery. I was too shameful to even write down the word Pornography, Masturbating, etc. Maybe you are too. That’s okay. Put a P or an M, or just write “my problem”, “my issue”, “My addiction”. Don’t let Satan hold you back. I promise you that it will be a tool that will be able to use, look back on and be SO grateful for. It is something that you can pass down for generations or you can get rid of it later in life.  You can hide it in a special place, you can write it on a private blog, on your phone, etc. Stop justifying and dive in.

A number of studies show that we retain things longer if we write them down, so documenting your spiritual thought, impressions and experiences This will allow feelings we experience to become a part of who we are, available to us in every part of our lives.

Reading Scriptures: The scriptures are really a journal! I am so grateful for them. Throughout the Book of Mormon we are remind by many prophets to “Remember, Remember”. Elder Jensen said, “If we pay close attention to the uses of the word remember in the holy scriptures, we will recognize that remembering in the way God intends is a fundamental and saving principle of the gospel. This is so because prophetic admonitions to remember are almost always calls to action: to listen, to see, to do, to obey and to repent. When we remember in God’s way, we overcome our human tendency simply to grid for the battle of life and actually engage in the battle itself, doing all in our power to resist temptation and avoid sinning.” (April 2007 conference)

How grateful I am for all the ways I can remember the Lord. I know there are many more ways to remember Him: sacrament, temple work (remembering covenants), conference, etc. etc.

I can testify that the Lord is with us. He wants us to “always remember Him”. He loves us. Get on your knees and thank Him, talk with Him, remember Him.

Much love,

Rachel