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Browsing Tag: Jesus Christ

Lessons Learned

The Parable of Bread Pudding

posted on : December 7, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 2 Comments

Many years ago I had a half a loaf of french bread and I thought I would make some bread pudding with it.  I had heard of bread pudding but I had never eaten it before or had even seen it so I thought this would be a new, fun adventure.  I found a recipe and went to work.  When I got to the part of the recipe where it referred to the bread, it was only one cup of cut up bread pieces.  I thought that wasn’t very much so it had to be packed bread.  I crammed as much bread as I could into the measuring cup and proceeded to make the bread.  It came out more like bread brick pudding but I never had it before so I didn’t know the difference.  I thought it was a little “thick” and couldn’t figure out why it was called a pudding when it was more like a loaf of bread.  My family ate it and I continued to make bread pudding occasionally. Then one time I had it for dessert in a restaurant.  It was creamy, pudding-like and delicious.  Nothing even close to a brick.  It was at this point that I obviously discovered that for years I had been making bread pudding wrong, very wrong.  So I tried it without packing the bread into the measuring cup.  It was light and pudding-like and delicious.

I have discovered that life’s like that.  Sometimes it takes someone showing me a better way, the correct way to get the results I want. Sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing something the wrong way, that there is a better way.  Of course I have to laugh at myself when I find out I could have been doing something different or easier or better all along.  This also reminds me of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the many times I’ve done something my way, out of ignorance or even willful disobedience, when His way is so much better.  When I “kick against the pricks” of conscience because I want to do something my way.  This reminds me that when I’m finally ready to listen to Him and discover my way is so lacking and His way is so much better.  And I finally discover that doing something my way just produces a bread pudding brick.  And of course once I have tasted of His better way,  just like the creamy bread pudding, I want to do it His way.  The parable of the bread pudding teaches me to not settle for bricks.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/yielding-our-hearts-to-god?lang=eng

Faith,Life

Finding Comfort During Migraines

posted on : November 13, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Last week I wrote about migraines and how they have plagued my life for over 40 years.  I also wrote about a 6 year time frame where I had migraines almost every day, most of them excruciating and so bad I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep on living.  Several months into this time frame I had an experience that helped me cope a little more with the situation.  It didn’t help with the pain or lessen it but it did give me a new perspective.  I had a migraine and was sitting in church at a funeral of a neighbor, and the speaker was talking about the scripture of how God has told us He will not leave us comfortless during our hard times.  I felt so forsaken as I sat there in great pain.  I was silently crying to myself and thought “You have left me comfortless.”  Immediately I had the thought come to my mind “I blessed you with a love for church music to help you through this time.”  I thought of how I have always loved to sing church hymns.  Even as a little girl I would go around the house singing them as loudly as I could.  I walked home from school every day singing Primary songs.  I joined the Ward Choir when I was 12 and was a dedicated member until I left for college where I also joined the choirs of the various wards I was in. As a teenager when I was bored in church I would read the words of the hymns and sing the songs in my mind. The words somehow filled me with comfort and peace as well as teaching me doctrine, and they sank deeply into my soul.  By doing this I ended up memorizing many of the hymns.  When I had severe migraines I would lie in bed or sit in the hot water of a shower and sing the hymns that I had inadvertently memorized. Sometimes when it hurt too much to sing out loud I would sing the words in my mind.  I felt comfort and my Heavenly Father’s love as I focused on the words and music of the songs.  At this funeral when I had this thought about being blessed with a love for church music I instantly felt humbled and chastened.  It taught me that for some reason that this was part of my Heavenly Father’s plan for me. It also taught me that He knew me and knew about my pain and the hardship I was enduring.  It taught me that He had prepared and strengthened me to be able to endure this affliction. It also taught me to look for the ways my Heavenly Father has quietly blessed my life to deal with the difficulties and challenges that I personally face.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/04/finding-a-safe-harbor?lang=eng

 

Faith,Life

Making Me Something More

posted on : October 30, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

One of my favorite Bible stories is told in the New Testament of Christ feeding the 5,000.  In Luke we read that Christ had taken his apostles to the desert near the city Bethsaida and when the people heard where He was they followed Him to the desert.  He received them, spent the day teaching them, and as it says in Matthew, had great compassion on them and healed any that had need of healing.  As it got late in the day the apostles were worried and asked Christ to send the people away to find food and lodging. But Christ had something else in mind.  He asked His apostles to feed the people and the apostles replied that they only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, not nearly enough for 5,000 people.  Christ had them organize the people into groups and then took the bread and fish and looked to heaven, and blessed it and gave the food to the disciples to set before the multitude.  The people ate and were filled, and the remaining bread and fish filled 12 baskets.  In the Hands of the Savior miracles happen.  And just as Christ took the offered bread and fish and made them more than they were, when we offer to Christ what we have in our time, talents, and abilities He will take them and multiply them and make them more than they were.  In all of the aspects of our lives, in our own personal strivings He will take us where we are and the little we have to offer and make it more than enough, with much left over.  President Thomas S. Monson said “When we qualify ourselves by our worthiness, when we strive with faith nothing wavering to fulfill the duties appointed to us, when we seek the inspiration of the Almighty in the performance of our responsibilities, we can achieve miracles.”  The miracle in this case was the feeding of 5,000 men with their wives and children with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  The miracle in us happens when we come to Christ and place our lives in His hands, when we trust that He will take us as we are and make us more than we ever thought possible. The amazing thing is that there will be more to us than we started with!  This story teaches me that Christ is a God of miracles, that he is all-knowing and compassionate.  It teaches me that He can, through the redemptive powers of the atonement, take me and fit me for the kingdom of God.  It teaches me that He can take me, with all of my flaws and inabilities and make me something more.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/i-have-a-work-for-thee?lang=eng

Church,Family

Change Is Good and So Is Family History

posted on : October 23, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I have decided to do just one posting a week instead of two.  Sometimes I scramble to find something I think people will be interested in reading. Obviously I don’t know as much as I thought I did!  This will also free me up to work more on my family history which has taken a backseat to the blog since I started writing it a little over a year ago.  When I was younger family history seemed a mystery to me, and expensive.  I didn’t understand the process of finding information and knowing for sure it was the right information.  It was also expensive to send away for records and there was a lot of wait time.  My church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, places a lot of value and emphasis on family, both living and dead.  We believe that all need to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ and that those who have died without the opportunity to hear about the gospel are taught it in the next world after they die.  Since they weren’t able to receive saving ordinances while they were alive we perform the ordinances for them as proxies. They have the choice to accept the teachings or not, but we do family history to find family members who need to have their work done giving them the opportunity.  While in the past it was difficult to do family history, now it’s very easy.  Almost everything is available online and I have yet to need to send away for a record.  Since my family is second generation members of my church there’s a lot to be found and I have found many people in which I can have their ordinance work done.  I can spend hours and hours doing it, which is interesting to me because I never thought I would like doing it.  Sometimes I find so much information that I have to force myself to pull away and go to bed or eat or do necessary tasks of life. One of the things I like about it is finding personal information about a relative.  The person becomes real to me and I feel connected to them, and it’s interesting to see patterns in families that are carried out in subsequent generations.  I have had many spiritual experiences with family history, sometimes feeling like I have been guided to find certain information which had been so elusive.  Recently I have been blessed to find information about my great-grandfather who came to this country from Bulgaria in 1913.  Bulgarian records are hard to come by and we now have information that dates back to 1730, but it’s all in Bulgarian which is Cyrillic writing!  Studying this information and trying to translate it will take a lot of time. Somehow I feel driven to do it and so now I will have more time by only posting once a week. So, change is good and so is family history.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/family-history-and-temple-work-sealing-and-healing?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/generations-linked-in-love?lang=eng

Down syndrome,Faith,Lessons Learned

Imperfect Singing Is Okay

posted on : October 18, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

My daughter with Down Syndrome loves to sing.  She sings with the radio, TV shows, at church and in choirs both at church and in school.  Sometimes she even has the right tune, notes and words.  I think she loves to sing so much that sometimes the correct words or tune get in the way of expressing herself.  She truly takes joy in singing.  We are fortunate that people around her accept her singing the way it is.  She’s always welcomed into the choirs she sings in and even though her school choir teacher consistently produces  award-winning choirs, and I’m sure he cringes sometimes at her lack of blending.  At church you can hear her sometimes singing in the choir standing out on not quite the right note but the choir directors always express how much they love having her sing with them.  She especially loves to sing church music and when she sings, she sings it with her whole heart.  I think that when God hears her singing He hears her love of it, sees her joy in it and takes great pleasure in seeing one of His daughters enjoying something so thoroughly.  I think her offering is acceptable to Him even though it is not even close to being perfect.  This thought gives me hope that in the many things I’m not great at, not close to being perfect in or just sometimes lousy at doing that God sees my efforts with love and acceptance. Sometimes my efforts are pretty feeble too and I fall short of my expectations and His. Then I have to pick myself up and try harder to do and be better. Sometimes the things I fall short on are the same things I have been falling short on for years.  It’s taken me a while but I have figured out that as long as I’m honestly trying I’m doing okay.  Efforts don’t have to be perfect to be good. God loves me even with all of my imperfections and I don’t have to do things perfectly for Him to accept me. Yes, He wants me to improve and to consistently work at being better but I think I am harder on myself than He is on me.  When I don’t measure up I often beat myself up with negative self-talk.  Sometimes I tell myself that I will never get better, that I will never conquer a certain problem, and this negative self-talk is actually what keeps me from rising up and doing better.  I need to remember my daughter and her love of singing and to remember that God takes joy in my efforts even though they are not perfect.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/happiness-your-heritage?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/believe-love-do?lang=eng

Church,Faith

Fasting When It’s Difficult

posted on : October 1, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

In our church, on the first Sunday of each month, we fast for 24 hours from food.  There are two main reasons for fasting.  One is that the money we would have spent on the meals is given to the church to help those in need, and we are encouraged to be very generous with our donation.  Another reason for fasting is to learn to have our spirits in control over our bodies, because going without food for 24 hours can be very difficult.  Since I have migraines I have had difficulty in fasting.  When I don’t eat I get migraines, sometimes very severe ones, which can last for days.  They not only affect me but also my family.  I tried eating lightly to still obey the essence of the fast but I still got migraines.  One time a friend told me that she got headaches too from not eating but found that when she started and ended her fast with a prayer she did fine.  So I tried that and got a huge migraine.  Obviously what works for one person does not always work for another person.  I struggled for many years with how to fast and be obedient to the principle. I felt like I was missing out on the blessings that come from obedience, even though I felt good that we were at least doing the donation part. One day a friend suggested there are many things I could fast from besides food, which hadn’t occurred to me before.  I started thinking about this and decided I could fast from technology-no games on my phone or iPad, no reading newspapers on my laptop, no TV and no radio programs. I decided I could still do family history and my journal on my laptop, because they were not entertainment based. Basically nothing that is entertainment oriented involving technology.  I have been doing this for many years now and believe it or not, it’s very difficult to do. It’s amazing how hard it is to not get my iPad out and play a game, or to watch a TV program.  In some ways it helps me realize how much time I actually spend playing games. Because it is hard to do it is actually a fast and something that my spirit has to be in charge of.  I have to remind myself what I hope to gain from fasting, which in part is to show my love for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I would like to say that it has gotten easier over the years but it hasn’t.  Every Fast Sunday I still struggle with the no technology fast but I think that’s what makes it a true fast.  If it was easy it wouldn’t really be a fast.  I do believe that when I make an honest effort to be obedient to a principle, especially when it’s hard, the Lord blesses me for my efforts.  As I learn to master myself I gain greater strength to help me in other areas of my life. Fasting is another example of a commandment that is really designed to bless those who follow it.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/is-not-this-the-fast-that-i-have-chosen?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/the-law-of-the-fast?lang=eng

Lessons Learned,Life

Things I’ve Learned The Hard Way

posted on : September 20, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Here is a list of some of the things I’ve learned along the way, and some of them the hard way:

1)  Yelling at someone never accomplishes anything positive, but controlling my temper does.

2)  Sometimes I do my best and it’s not good enough.  Often God will make up the difference but sometimes people need to recognize it was my best and let it go.

3)  Sometimes I’m the one who needs to recognize it was someone’s best effort and let it go.

4)  Often I want life to be easier but anything worth having takes a lot of work, and that includes raising a family.

5)  Don’t worry about the small things because they are small things.

6)  Taking the long view always pays off.

7)  When I’m feeling grumpy and snap at people it’s usually myself I’m upset with. Recognizing this allows me to take a step back and make adjustments.

8)  When I’ve mastered bad habits it’s easy to slide back if I’m not vigilant.

9)  People I love get to make their own choices and all I can do is love them, but it doesn’t mean I have to like their choices.

10)  It’s better to listen to understand others instead of telling them how they should think/act/be.

11)  Input from others is good but the bigger the group the harder it is to decide something.

12)  Fair does not mean equal-each of my children get what they need and it’s not always the same or even the same amount as another one of my children.

13)  It took me a long time to figure out but I have no control over anyone but myself and even that’s iffy sometimes.

Since I have learned these things and have applied them in my life I have been happier and life has gone better. But, and this is number fourteen-

14)  Even if I am doing my best to live a good life, being kind to others and keeping the commandments I will still have challenges and problems.  The only way to deal with life and be happy is through Jesus Christ and His grace.

 

 

Faith,Friendship

Good Friends

posted on : August 6, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I have always been intrigued with the story about Christ found in the Bible in Mark 2:2-12.  It tells of a man in Capernaum who had palsy.  Christ was teaching in a home and it was so crowded that people spilled out of the doorway into the outer court.  The man who had palsy had 4 friends that carried him on a litter and tried to get him into the house.  They were sure that if they could get their friend into the house that Christ could heal him.  When they couldn’t get into the house because of the crowd of people, they took him up to the roof and made a hole in it and then lowered the man down through the hole to Christ.  In verse 5 it says “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”  Now there were scribes who were there listening to Christ teach and they “reasoned in their hearts” as the scriptures said, that only God could forgive sins and that Christ was speaking blasphemies.  Jesus knew their thoughts and in verse 8 we read that He said “Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.  And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God…”   One of the things that I like about this story is that the man with palsy had very good friends.  They obviously had great faith and were willing to do whatever it took to bring their friend to Christ and they didn’t let obstacles stop them in their quest.  So questions come to my mind: Do I help my friends come to Christ?  Am I an influence for good in the lives of others?   Sister Linda Burton, who was the Relief Society General President, asked “How can we expect to strengthen families or help others unless we first have written in our own hearts a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ and His Infinite Atonement?”  So in order to be a good friend, I must work on having a deep and abiding testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and apply the blessings of the atonement to my own life.  I can do this by increasing my own faith through obedience to the principles of the gospel.  Sister Burton also told this story: “A woman walking along a road fell into a pit so deep she could not climb out.   No matter what she did, she could not get out by herself.  The woman called for help and rejoiced when a kind passerby heard her and lowered a ladder down into the pit.  This allowed her to climb out of the pit and regain her freedom.”  She goes on to say “We are like the woman in the pit.  Sinning is like falling into the pit, and we can’t get out by ourselves.  Just as the kind passerby heard the woman’s cry for help, Heavenly Father sent his Only Begotten Son to provide the means of escape.  Jesus Christ’s atonement could be compared to lowering a ladder into the pit; it gives us the means to climb out.  But the Savior does more than lower the ladder, He comes down into the pit and makes it possible for us to use the ladder to escape.  Just as the woman in the pit had to climb up the ladder, we must repent of our sins and obey the gospel principles and ordinances to climb out of our pit and make the Atonement work in our lives.  Thus, after all we can do, the Atonement makes it possible for us to become worthy to return to Heavenly Father’s presence.”  I love this analogy, especially that Christ climbs down into the pit with us, He not only gives us the ladder but helps us climb up it. In Mosiah 18 it teaches us to “mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that need comforting and to stand as a witness of God in all times and in all things and in all places.”  It is interesting that comforting others is linked with standing as a witness of God.  Being a good friend involves both.  So other questions to ask myself are: do I do these things?  Can I do them better?  Am I like the friends of the palsied man who had such great faith that they brought him to Christ and didn’t let anything stand in their way?  I know this is the kind of friend that I would like to have and that I would like to be.  My faith in Jesus Christ is strengthened through the atonement that not only enables me to climb out of the pit but also gives me power to continue on the strait and narrow path that is enriched through good friends who help bring me to Christ.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/is-faith-in-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-written-in-our-hearts?lang=eng

Faith,Lessons Learned

Trying Counts!

posted on : August 2, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

I try to read all of the General Conference talks that are printed in the Ensign each May and November and I write the date I read the talk at the top of the page.  I say try because I am usually not successful and often feel guilty thinking that this is another area that I’m not doing great in, some other way that I’m failing and another point that says I will never fully measure up.  One day when I was feeling discouraged at my shortcomings and thinking I will never improve enough, I thought I should read a few talks in the Ensign instead of relaxing by playing a game or some other trivial thing.  I picked up the Ensign and looked through it for a talk that didn’t have a date at the top of the page.  I kept leafing through and eventually saw that every talk had a date, and surprisingly to me, that I had read them all.  I had the thought come to my mind “You’re doing better than you think.”  This tender mercy happened because I was trying to do what’s right and even though I’m far from perfect, Heavenly Father blessed me for my effort.  It’s so easy to get discourage when we think about all of the things we are supposed to be doing in our lives. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to have lessons to prepare, scriptures and Ensigns to read, topics to study, classes to prepare for by reading the assigned material, Family Home Evening lessons to get ready and occasionally talks to write. I try to do these things but sometimes fall short and then I beat myself up because I failed– again. Doctrine and Covenants 46:9 teaches me that I am blessed not only when I keep the commandments but also even when I seek to do so, so in other words, trying counts.  This concept teaches me that becoming better is a process, not an event and when I honestly try, that slowly I do better and become better.  This tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father showed me that efforts, even small ones, add up and to give myself more credit for trying.  Maybe I am doing better than I think, and maybe you are too.

 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng

Lessons Learned,Life

How Do I Know God Loves Me?

posted on : July 26, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

Recently on a very hot day I had a conversation with one of my daughters in which I said “I know God loves me because of air conditioning.”  Mostly I was trying to be funny, but it got me thinking about the ways that I truly do know that God loves me.  I remember a time a few years ago when I had spent days working in my front flower garden.  It took me many hours to trim, weed, clean out the old and plant new flowers.  When I was finished I stepped back and looked at the amazing display of colors, varieties and textures as well as sizes and shapes.  I felt complete satisfaction and joy at looking at the result of my hard work and in that moment I felt my Heavenly Father’s love for me.  I realized that He didn’t have to make so many varieties of flowers and colors with different shapes and textures but that He made, through His Son Jesus Christ, a beautiful world to please His children and to give them an amazing place to live.  When I looked at those flowers I felt His love, and there are many other ways I also feel His love.  Even though I have an average sort of singing voice, whenever I sing church hymns I also feel it. There’s something about the words and the music that combine to touch me deeply and I recognize that sacred music not only allows me to feel the Spirit but also communicates His love for me.  Sometimes this is a hard concept to not only understand but to feel.  I once had a conversation with someone where we were talking about charity and how it is the pure love of Christ.  We talked about the Relief Society motto “Charity never Faileth” and he expressed the thought that sometimes charity does fail because people aren’t perfect and sometimes let him down. I explained to him that it is God’s love that never fails, not people’s love.  People make mistakes and aren’t even close to perfect but God’s love for us is perfect and it never ends.  I could see from his face that it was a new concept to him.  It doesn’t matter what we do or don’t do, He loves each of us personally and individually.  God shows His love to each of His children in different ways and if we will look for it we will see how He tells each of us individually and personally that He loves us.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/01/young-adults/i-feel-gods-love-when?lang=eng