Month: January 2018

“In life, as in business, there has always been a need for those persons who could be called finishers. Their ranks are few, their opportunities many, their contributions great.

From the very beginning to the present time, a fundamental question remains to be answered by each who runs the race of life. Shall I falter or shall I finish? On the answer await the blessings of joy and happiness here in mortality and eternal life in the world to come.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Finishers Wanted,” General Conference, April 1972)

I’m enjoying going back and reading President Monson’s talks from years past. It is striking to me how very applicable talks from 40 years ago can be to us today.

Like everyone else I have a health/fitness/weight loss goal to start the new year. My birthday is the first week of January, so I don’t usually start working on that goal until closer to the middle of January. Starting a new diet is exciting and the first few days of it you feel great about yourself. And then the weekend hits and something yummy creeps in, or you get a winter cold that makes exercising difficult. The difference between the January gym goers and those who are still there in March and April is how they handle the middle part of the journey when things get difficult. When you ineveitably stumble, will you give up or get back up and keep moving forward?

The same is true in our spiritual endeavors. When life gets hard and temptation is strong, when a point of doctrine is confusing or a commandment seems difficult or not-as-crucial, will we finish strong or will we give up? Do we have the power to push through and rely on the faith we once had that led us to Christ in the first place?

I can tell you I may not meet my weight loss goal in the time frame I would like. Fortunately my heart is more committed to the gospel than my body is committed to running. I am determined to finish strong with my Savior by my side. I hope you will be there too.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Where can you increase your resolve today?

“All of us are prone to excuse our own mediocre performance. We blame our misfortunes, our disfigurements, or our so-called handicaps. Victims of our own rationalization, we say silently to ourselves: “I’m just too weak,” or “I’m not cut out for better things.” Others soar beyond our meager accomplishments. Envy and discouragement then take their toll.

Can we not appreciate that our very business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves? To break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our todays, to bear our trials more beautifully than we ever dreamed we could, to give as we have never given, to do our work with more force and a finer finish than ever—this is the true idea: to get ahead of ourselves.” (“Yellow canaries with gray on their wings,” General Conference, April 1973)

This is from one of President Monson’s first conference addresses (at least as far as I can tell on lds.org) and the message really resonated with me today. Trying to break into the social media world is hard folks. I have definitely felt that this project is inspired, that it has a purpose and that there are people out there I need to reach. But trying to reach them and find my voice in the interwebs is hard and scary. Instagram is full of amazing mommy bloggers and influencers and it is easy to find myself comparing this little project to their broad reach. I doubt myself almost daily.

This does not just apply to me and this platform either. There are a lot of excuses and a lot of reasons to give up. Every day. Why finish cleaning this house when it will just be a mess again in five minutes? Why spend time making dinner for kids who will refuse to eat it? I’m not very good at this, that or the other – my neighbor is WAY better. That’s just not my thing.

All that nonsense comes from Satan. God doesn’t really care where we are on the path as long as we are continually moving forward. We aren’t meant to compare ourselves to others, just to our own yesterday. Or maybe are we doing better now than we were 10 minutes ago. Or maybe even just we are trying to do better, even if we are failing. So I am trying to do better now than I was last hour… when I was being a grump. Cheer up buttercup. You are doing better than you think you are.

Challenge: Find this talk by Elder Monson and read the whole thing. It is really beautiful and even 35 years later, so applicable.

“Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you” (D&C 68:6)

I will allow President Monson’s words to stand alone today:

“It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future—or even fearful of what might come—if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. The Apostle Paul declared, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges—and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.” …

Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments.There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.” (“Be of Good Cheer,” General Conference, April 2009)

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Do you believe President Monson when he tells you that there is “nothing in the world that can defeat [you]?” How can you exercise your faith today so you no longer feel defeated?

“May we choose to build up within ourselves a great and powerful faith which will be our most effective defense against the designs of the adversary—a real faith, the kind of faith which will sustain us and will bolster our desire to choose the right. Without such faith, we go nowhere. With it, we can accomplish our goals…
May we maintain the courage to defy the consensus. May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.” (President Thomas S. Monson, “Choices,” General Conference, April 2016)

Of course our hearts and minds are turned to the legacy left by President Monson today as he graduates from this life. I had plans for this week’s devotionals, but find my study returning to his words again and again, so I am deviating from the plan and will spend some time reflecting and pondering on this great man and the words he has left for us.

It does take so much courage to stand up to the majority, or sometimes just the vocal minority. I think of the courage President Monson must have had to stand as a leader in these times and hold positions that certainly “defy the consensus” of the world. It is terrifying to put ourselves up and face the scrutiny of others. It is so much easier to just go with the crowd.

But President Monson also gives us the key to that courage: faith. A true faith in Jesus Christ. That kind of faith doesn’t come easy and it must be constantly nurtured and fed. If we take the time to do so it will sustain us, strengthen us and empower us to do great things because we will not stand alone.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: What have you learned from President Monson?

“And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold…” (Doctrine & Covenants 82:18)

I love a fresh new year. It is so full of possibility. I love that the whole world is focused on setting new goals for improving themselves. While I don’t love the idea of resolutions that are either kept or broken, I like to take some time at the start of a new year to set some goals and measurable action steps for accomplishing those goals. The focus is not on fixing everything right this minute and if I eat too many cookies tomorrow then I have failed. It is about stepping back and seeing how I want my life to look at the end of the year so that when I reflect on 2018 I can feel good about the way I spent my time and energy. President Hinckley said “We have work to do, you and I, so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord…May we go with determination to try a little harder to be a little better.” (“We Have A Work To Do, General Conference, April 1995). His words come to mind every time I think about goal setting – “try a little harder to be a little better” every day.

In 2017 one of my big goals was to launch this devotional project. It still doesn’t look exactly the way I would have wanted it to, and I have so many big dreams and plans for it that I still hope to reach, but it is launched. And it is reaching people. Thank you for being here. I still feel a pull to work on the project and feel there are others out there who it needs to reach. I would love your help to find those people (and don’t forget to enter the giveaway on yesterday’s post!). In 2018 I hope to grow the reach of this project and get to work on a yearly devotional book – something tangible you can hold in your hands with devotionals for every day of the year. I am working to improve my mindfulness and meditation practice and make it more consistent. And I am working to put down my phone and be more present with my family. And to get the dang budget under control so we can live the life we want to live…

Meditation/Journaling Prompt: What are your goals for the year? Think small, big, realistic and big dream. Then make some action steps you can take today. I would love to hear some of your ideas as I am still working on mine and I might borrow them 😉