Christ Wants to Forgive

The Atonement is an amazing gift we have all been given.  It is amazing to me how much we all take this gift for granted in this life.  We can use it daily, hourly, every minute of our lives.

There are times in our lives where we feel sad, lonely and lost.  It is in those moments we must do our very best to remember our Saviors love for us.  I know he loves us, and he knows our pains on a very personal level.  He is never gone from us.  And though sometimes we distance ourselves from him, he is always there waiting for us to return to him.  There are times in all our lives where it would be so nice to have our problems, heartaches and trials just magically vanish.  It is in those moments we need to allow him into our souls to buoy us up and comfort us, and to help us find the path that is best for us.  I know he is there. I know from personal experience.  Jesus Christ is the Living Water.  And though we may not always realize it, we thirst for his love, every single one of us.  The atonement is the way to satisfy that thirst.

I will never forget the feeling I had after I went back to church with a true repentant heart.  I emphasize TRUE repentant heart, because there were times I thought I was sorry, but I don't know that I truly was.  Imagine with me for a moment.  Imagine you are in a desert.  You have been traveling for many days, you are thirsty and you are broken and you are feeling defeat, despair, loneliness and hopelessness. And you finally get to that tall cold glass of refreshing water.  You feel it go down your throat, and coat your stomach with relief.  That is what true repentance feels like. You step through the doors and allow your heart to begin to heal through the atonement of Christ, and suddenly your filling your thirst.  It as if you can finally take a breath, and feel relief from your troubles.  When I stepped through the doors of the church, truly repentant, it was like a breath of fresh air, like I was taking a drink after desperate thirst.  I was finally healing.

We cannot know what the future holds, what trials we will face.  But we can know that our burdens can be made light, and we can have comfort in our Savior.  I know my Savior lives and loves us.  He is the light and the way.  Letting go of our fears and anxiety can be so very hard and seem overwhelming, but it is possible through our beloved Savior.  Trust in him, trust in yourself.  Have faith and know that our Savior wants us to be happy.  We deserve great things in this life, we just need to believe that and have faith.  Our Savior wants to forgive.  All we need do, is ask.  And know that he is always there.

Through a Child's Eye's

For the past year I have had one of the most rewarding and challenging callings.  I am a Young Women's Adviser for the Special Needs Mutual.  It has completely changed my life and brought me so much joy.  I learn so much from them, far more than they could possibly learn from me.  But let me take you back to before I was given this opportunity.

I have a cousin who is special needs, I love and adore her so much.  I also used to babysit a young boy with Downs Syndrome, and I loved him so very much as well.   I think I have been blessed to have them in my life, so they could prepare me for my calling that I have now.  I have always loved those with special needs.  So when I became a mother, I wanted to make sure my children knew how wonderful these special individuals are.  When I have noticed my children staring or when they have asked me questions, I answer them with this, "They are angels. Can you see how special they are?"  So this is how my children have perceived them, as angels.  Because they are.  They are incredible.  They have perfect love.

Every year the mutual puts on a production, and they all look forward to it.  I have had the amazing opportunity to direct a scene for the past 2 productions, and it has been a lot of fun.  This year, my 6 yr old daughter asked if she could help me.  She and I would practice the dance at home, and then every Thursday at rehearsal she would help teach it to our group.  Watching my little 6 year old do this was remarkable to me.  As she grew to love these individuals I noticed something about her.  She did not see their disability, she just loved them.  She talked to them like she talked to a great friend.  She hugged them and played with them.  She just saw love.  The love just came flowing out of her, and I was overwhelmed with pride in my sweet little daughter.  I believe she saw them as God does.  Beautiful, Perfect and yes, Angels.  These individuals are so much better and wiser than I am.  Some of the things that they say are pure genius.  The amount of love they offer is amazing.  And I love them so deeply.

My wish is that everyone could see them through my child's eye's.  She sees them for the perfect people that they are.  She sees them with pure Christ like love.  She sees them as beautiful and kind.  She sees THEM, not their disability.  And it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed.

This calling has enriched my life, it has helped me gain so much more understanding about the Savior.  These choice spirits have so much love to give.  They amaze me every week.  And I am proud and so very blessed to call them my friends.

So next time you see someone with special needs, I urge you to look in their eyes, and see how wonderful they are.  See them as though you are looking through an innocent child's eye's, see THEM.  Because they are remarkable.

GIVEAWAY!

It is the season of giving!  You have the chance to win an 11x14 print of either the Bountiful Temple or Salt Lake Temple!  Photo taken by R & L Photography.

To enter go to my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/liftingthesoul and comment on the giveaway post!

The giveaway ends Dec. 18 !  Good luck!

If you are the winner the photo you choose will come to you without the watermark on it. 

 Any copying or printing of these photos with watermark and without permission or purchase from R & L Photography is prohibited by law

When to Stay or Go

We are taught that we should NEVER give up on anyone.  And I believe that with all my heart.  But there do come times in our lives, when we simply, or not so simply, have to walk away.  Walking away does not symbolize "giving up".  But as I have learned, sometimes for our own salvation, well being or happiness, we must leave a relationship behind.  It is never an easy thing to do.  In fact, it can be one of the hardest things you may ever do.  But it does not mean you have given up on the person you have to leave behind.  You can still pray for them, you can still have fond memories and you can still be a good person.

This is something I have struggled with.  Because I like to help people. I like to serve my Father in Heaven by serving and loving those around me.  By helping them know the love the peace our Savior brings.  I cannot expect them to follow my same path. And I don't.  I hope that they will feel what I feel, but I cannot make them.  I offer advice for things that have helped me in my life, because that is what I have to give.  If something has helped shape my life, and made me have true joy, OF COURSE I want to share that.  But I understand that we are here to choose our own paths, make our own choices and live our own lives.  And though I love to be a good friend, and love those around me, I have had to walk away.  It has not been easy, it has been very painful.  But through sincere prayer in searching for my answers, I know I made the right choice.  But right choices are not always easy.

With faith, I can do hard things.  Our Savior loves each of us equally.  But he knows we are stubborn and weak mortals.  We are not expected to be perfect, that is what is so comforting and beautiful.  Our journey may be difficult, but through endurance and much faith, the reward will be worth the long journey.  Our Savior puts opportunities in our paths to help or be helped.  It is up to us to follow the promptings we are given.  And when we are the helper, it is up to us to listen intently to know and understand the things we should do.  But sometimes, our help is not invited or welcomed as we hope.  But we keep trying, as long as we can.  Sometimes we help forever.  Other times we must think of our family and their's and our own well being. If it becomes dangerous, dark or starts to bring us down, those are times we get down on our knees and pray for guidance.  So we can know if we should Stay or Go.  And if the answer is to go....pray, pray for comfort, pray for strength, and do the things the Savior needs you to do. Though you yourself have to walk away, our Savior has not left them.  And we can pray for them always.  If your answer is to stay, do the same thing and pray.

This is something I have learned. There those who desire to lead us astray, at those times we must listen to the whispering's of the Spirit and trust in the knowledge and love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior.  They do know what is best for us.  They also know that the journey may be a difficult one.  That is why they have assured us that they are there for us.....Always.

Never Give Up on anyone, true, and that includes yourself.

Who Will You Be?

When I was 12 years old, I entered those life changing doors of Jr. High.  I was a skinny nerdy girl, who was terrified of the unknown.  I of course made lifelong friends in there.  But I also realized, not everyone was going to like me.  And I learned that very quickly.

 It was the week just after the first snow of the year and I had gone sledding that weekend.  As I entered the doors of the classroom I saw a girl, who I had seen at the park.  So with a smile on my face, I turned to her and said, "Hey!  I saw you sledding!" I thought I was about to make a new friend.....oh no, that was not the case.  She must have heard me wrong.  Now, this girl was much taller and larger than I was, and she glared at  me with so much anger, I instinctively just started to RUN!  She then began chasing me screaming horrible names at me and things she was going to do to me.  I ran into the bathroom and hid in a stall.  She came bursting through the door, still screaming.  "I KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE!  I'M GONNA HURT YOU SO BAD!" I was shaking in absolute fear, wondering why telling her I saw her sledding made her so angry?  I heard the 2 min bell ring, and I prayed she would leave so she would not be late to class.  "I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL YOU COME OUT!", she screamed.  And then the toilet in the stall next to me began to overflow, seriously this moment just kept getting worse.  Until, a voice yelled back at this girl that was threatening my very life saying, "SHOULDN'T YOU BE IN CLASS? GET OUT OF HERE AND LEAVE HER ALONE!" The girl in route to my very destruction tried to argue back, but this voice won the argument.  I don't remember what was said, but she left. She actually let me live!  Then there was a knock at the stall door, "Hey are you ok?" I unlocked it.  Her name is Erin, and she walked right through that toilet water that was all over the floor and rescued me.  She hugged me and told me she would walk me back to my class to make sure I would be safe.  She was my hero!  And I bet she does not even remember that moment, but I will never forget it, and I will always be thankful to her for the rest of my life.  Because though I don't think the girl would have actually killed me, I would have been injured for sure.  So Erin, Thank You!  From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

Jr. High was not an easy place for me.  But there were always those people who made it better.  Who were not the bully's.  I had other moments in Jr. High that were not pleasant, but thankfully that was the only time my life ever felt threatened.  And with great parents and faith in my Father in Heaven and my Savior and a few friends, I made it through all in one piece.

So I ask you, who are you going to be? The one who traps someone in a stall? Or saves the one hiding? There are always going to be those who strive to put us down.  But we can make the choice how we choose to react.  I for one hope to always be willing to help the one in need.  Because I think it is what our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ would want us to do.  Be the hero, not the enemy.


  There are times in our lives when we feel scared and threatened, beat up and put down, lost and angry, sad and lonely, helpless and afraid.  But in those times, if we turn to our Heavenly Father in prayer, we can make it.  We can overcome the battle that has brought us down and get back up.  Will it be easy?  Probably not.  But it will be worth it? Yes.  I look back at my many challenges in life, and though I wish I never had to go through any of them, I am who I am because of them.  They made me stronger and more understanding and compassionate to those around me.  And I know there will still be challenges ahead, and I pray daily that I can have more strength to overcome my weaknesses and more strength to make it through it all.  Life is scary, but it is also beautiful.  Remember we are NEVER alone, we have a Savior who loves us, and has felt and experienced our pains.  He will be there to buoy us up in our time of need.  This I promise you.

His Love is UnFailing

Life on this earth can be hard, at times completely overwhelming and devastating.  But we must do our best to keep faith, and remember that the Savior will not forsake us.  He is there to buoy us up, comfort us, hold us and bless us.  We must remember that he knows and feels our pains.  Though people on this earth may not fully understand what we feel, or what we are going through.  Our Savior does.  I myself have needed this reminder many times in my life.  And I am sure I will need it again and again.  The words of President Henry B. Eyring are inspiring and warm.  Take comfort in them.  Know, that you are a child of God and that your troubles do not go unnoticed by our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ.  He will place people and tools in your paths to help you.  I know this to be true.  I know that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are continually mindful of our needs.  We are never forgotten, we are loved.

Being a Mother

I am a mother........the thing I have always wanted to be.  Today has been a trying day for me.  One of those days where I long for bedtime to come.  As I sat in tears tonight over the trying day I have had.  I watched this video.

Being a mother is not an easy job.  But it is so rewarding.......I know this.  I KNOW THIS.  I hope this brings you comfort and peace tonight.

Love to all my readers.