Where Love is-God is.
Where Peace is-God is.
​Where Faith is-God is.

Although there are times when understanding and knowing events in the world are important;
it is ok to not know everything! 

It is ok to not "keep up," with everything since things are always changing anyway! 
Why does the news change so quickly? 

Becuase we live in a world of chaos and noise,
where Satan is orchestrating as much FEAR as he can.  

He knows if we are consumed in fear and doubt and drama,
​that we will struggle to find peace, faith, and hope.  

It's a loud world and there are a lot of crazy things going on out there, but Jesus says,
"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not." D&C 6:36

God has promised that there would be oposition in all things, so instead of looking for the drama that causes fear, let that addrenaline inside of you be changed to excitement!

What great things are we missing that God is trying to show us?
We have to spend time with God and His Son in order to see the exciting things they are sending, but their news is a little more subtle and takes quiet moments and effort to see.

Spend time with Jesus in the prayer, in meditation, in music, in wholesome videos and podcasts, in service and love.  

COME...the word that I keep running into lately. 

Jesus CAME to save us, and He is COMING again to wrap us in His arms and prepare the world to meet God, the Father.
​
During His ministry, Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

​When He visited America after He was resurrected, He said, "Arise and come forth unto me...that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth."

It is time for all of us to truly COME to Jesus

How do we COME?

President Nelson says, "Hear Him."

President Eyring says, "The way to come unto Him is to feast upon His words, and to exercise faith unto repentance."

The Prophet Alma said, "Come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism."

When the Savior says, "COME," He is begging us to cleanse our hearts, our minds, and our lives of all darkness and illuminate our lives with His light.

He is urging us to turn our lives over to Him and surrender our will to His will.

He is pleading with us to run from the danger of the Devil and run into His arms of safety and peace.

COME

​"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in despair."
2 Corinthians 4:8
​
I recently stumbled upon this verse in the Bible. How fitting for the commotion that is going on in the world! We are troubled on every side and we are perplexed! We are all wondering, "What does 2021 have in store for our nation and for the world? I think we are all battling our own fears in quiet, different ways.

​That is why this Christmas should be different than any other. God sent his Son to bring healing and hope to the world. 

He delivered just that, and as we make room for Him in our hearts and our lives,
He still brings healing and hope, over and over again.

We can be amongst trouble, but not distressed.  We can be perplexed, but not in despair.

Moroni 10:22 says, "And if ye have no hope ye must be in despair."

Does that mean that we have more control over despair than we may think? I believe so. 
Make room for Him in your life;
                    Make room in your heart;                  
   Make room in your mind,
 And He will show you the miracle of HOPE in your life.

​"Hear Him."  This counsel given to us from President Nelson has influenced me greatly as we navigate through these times of uncertainty.  Not being able to attend church and the temple has made it all the more important to really try to "Hear Him."

Most of what we sift through on a daily basis is what we perceive as being in the physical realm, but I have come to learn that there is so much more going on at a spiritual level-an energetic level, if you will. 

There is much more to what we do not see than what we do see or think we understand, and the only way to really tap into that spiritual realm, the energetic world around us where truth really is and where answers truly are, is to "Hear Him."

It is to quiet our hearts, our minds, and our lives so that we can feel, sense, and hear what is true, what is right, and what is best.

May we all be like the young servant, Samuel, when after hearing the voice of the Lord 3X, said, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." 

​FIGHT
noun
a battle or combat; any contest or struggle:
verb (used without object), fought, fight·ing.
to engage in battle or in single combat; attempt to defend oneself against or to subdue, defeat, or destroy an adversary.
to contend in any manner; strive vigorously for or against something:
(dictionary.com)
​
This life is a series of battles, and at the core of every battle is a struggle between light and dark. Often, it is the choice between which wolf to feed-the good wolf or the bad wolf.  

​As I go through this daily battle of choosing light over dark, positive over negative, love over judgment, I slip a lot.  But I get back up and try again, because I will not lose the overall fight.

I will keep fighting, and not just for good vs. evil.  I will fight for all the desires of my heart. 

There are those who are against us.  We don't see them, but they are all around us. 

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world..." (Ephesians 6:12)

But...

"They that be with us are more than they that be with them." (Kings 6:16)

We have many on our side trying to help us win!

And so we must fight-fight with our thoughts, our words, our daily habits, our determination, and our commitment to God.

As we look back on our lives, we see the different times that we had to fight for something: our health, our marriage, our children, our friendships, our peace, our dreams, our faith, and we know that we are strong.

We are made strong. We are made to fight, and we are made to win.

And the winning comes from Christ, He who Won it all! 
​

 I think that the recent events in our lives really brings this quote to light in so many ways!

Raising kids is both a noble and a scary calling! 

​My patience has been tried more than ever this year, my time tugged at, and the order in our home hanging by a thread!  As a mother, along with many other roles I play, I seem to have a hundred thoughts going on in my head at one given time, so multi-tasking is something that is both a weakness and a strength- a curse and a blessing.

I don't think I'm the only mother that snatches a toy or an item from a fighting child and in the heat of emotions, hides it somewhere, only to forget by the next day where the heck they hid it and finds it a month later- or never. 

I can't tell you how many times I should have hit or been hit by another car because of dealing with distractions with kids in the car!  I know for a fact that God has "Mother Angels" on traffic duty at all times.

Then there are the times when I have so much on my mind that I am guilty of making all the right gestures that I am listening to my child, but couldn't repeat hardly one thing they told me. 

Sometimes early morning and going to bathroom is the only peace and quiet that can be found.  I shouldn't tell you about the time that I had to go pee so bad (because of so many things that needed to get done first), that I accidentally peed on the toilet seat because as I was taking down my pants, I was hollering at a child!

Yes, parenthood is a scary hood, but I would not trade it for the world! 

The recent events in the world have also reminded me that I am raising God's warriors.  Every moment, every day is a step in the process to helping them build their armor, the armor that they need to stand on God's side in the battles of the last days. 

And because it's a process, I have to trust the process, find joy in the process, and be patient in the process!
​
As I cling to God each day, He will guide me and He will guide you through this beautiful thing called PARENTHOOD.  

This is something that's been on my mind lately...
Our lives are literally a fight, a battle, a war to choose Jesus. 

We can only see with our spiritual eyes all the darkness and opposition that we are up against. 

In all we do, Satan is trying to distract us, tempt us, and cloud our minds and hearts so that we won't feel Jesus and #HearHim.  

So everyday, we have to fight for Him.
​
We have to choose Him in every situation.

In the scriptures, there are many accounts where leaders and prophets remind the people of past experiences, miracles, and blessings from God as a reminder to Trust in Him.  

As we look to people past and present, we can either look for the good or look for the bad.  We can either look for the miracles and great accomplishes or we can focus on hardships and failures.  

But looking at all the reasons why there is hope and all the reasons why we can trust God and all the reasons why we too can be blessed with healing and miracles will always prove to be more effective.
​
So, have courage and believe in something great happening in your life by looking at others who have had the same thing happen!

I can't really pinpoint the answer.  Perhaps in part, it is because I feel this huge responsibility to make this time in history the best I can.  I want to be that mom who helps her kids grow scholastically through this time of distant learning. But I also want to be the creative Mom who is taking this opportunity to do more crafts and activities with her kids, and not being guilty of letting them be on electronics too much.  Then, there is church.  I've got to make sure that church in our home is reverent and uplifting and that my children are growing spiritually with every scripture read and lesson taught. 

There is a lot of responsibility on us as parents right now, and maybe that scares me.

Do I have what it takes? 

Well, without Jesus, I surely don't. 

But maybe if I take it one moment, one meal, one mess, one school assignment, one day at a time, I can do this.  

Just maybe the small things will be enough.

Maybe I really can be strong and do all things through Christ.

In an attempt to sort through my thoughts, I started writing.  I wrote to Jesus, because He's the only one who can help me through this.