-The Refiners Fire-

 I came across the following story while I have been serving 

as a missionary in the Florida Jacksonville area for the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!. 

Very powerful!

-The Refiners Fire-

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter 3, they came across verse three which says, "He will set as a refiner; and purifier of silver." (Malachi 3:3) This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week this woman called up a silver smith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silvers smith he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were the hottest to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot-- then she thought again about the verse, that  he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" 

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy-- when I can see my image in it!" 

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you. 

-Unknown Author.

I would like to add my witness that I know that the Lord is very aware of us! He is aware of all that we are going through day to day, and even moment to moment. He knows who we are and what we need to do to become as He is! Everyone has their own "refiners fire" that they MUST go through. There is not one of us that is exempt from going through this process.....be patient and know that the Lord will NEVER give you more than you can handle.He ALWAYS has his eye on YOU!! 

The Skinny Little Cow

After hearing this story the other day, I decided I should share it.

The story of 

THE SKINNY LITTLE COW! 

Mind you, this is not my story (although it has a few "enhancements" of my own for story telling purposes). I am not sure of its origin but its message is one to learn from that is for sure. 

Before we begin I would like you to contemplate two questions.

1. What is keeping you from receiving the promised blessings of the Lord?

2. What do you, personally, need to change so that you are open to receiving those blessings? 

Lets begin.....

We come upon a student who is searching for success. After not finding it on his own, he seeks out the Master, a very successful man, and asks him, "What is the key to success?" 

The Master smiles warmly, "follow me and I will show you." The student follows for many miles climbing tall hills, walking through valleys, wading rivers, and finally at the top of a hill the Master stops, "What do you see?" he inquires. "I see a small farm, a family of four and a skinny little cow." "Yes," says the Master, "and that skinny little cow is how that family of four survives." "How is this supposed to teach me the key to success? This family is just barely surviving. Why have you brought me here?" murmured the disheartened student. The Master, understanding the student's frustration, kindly told the student to, "come back to the top of this hill at midnight tonight and I will show you." 

The young student was disappointed, "He is just leading me about. Why should I return?" Once he calmed down the student realized that the Master must understand something that he didn't, for he was successful and the student was not. He decided to return as the Master had requested. When he arrived at the top of the hill he found the Master standing next to the skinny little cow. "The key to success is right before you. It has always been before you," the Master motioned to the skinny little cow. "What?" exclaimed the student, "I don't understand. This doesn't make any sense. How is that skinny little cow supposed to bring me success, it can hardly provide for the little family of four?"

The Master turned and to the shock of the student killed the skinny little cow. The student didn't know what to say, this was the livelihood of this family of four. Without the cow they would certainly die. "What did you do that for? Now the family of four will die." The Master spoke reassuringly, "You do not see yet. Come back in five year and you will understand the key to success, do not come back before that five years." The student walked away even more disheartened, knowing he would return and that family would no longer be alive. He still didn't understand what the Master had done. Why would he do that to that family? Why must he wait five years to know how to be successful? He was completely befuddled. 

Five years came and went, the student grew and became much wiser and started to find bits of success here and there, but he wanted to become like the Master, and so even though he still could not fathom why the Master did what he did late that night five years ago, the student returned to that hill top. He was astonished when he reached the top and saw a magnificent mansion and a beautiful farm with a whole heard of livestock. He thought, "surely the family of four died and a wealthy man came and purchased their farm." He decided to go find out and knocked on the door of this magnificent mansion. He was completely taken back when the door opened and there stood the family of four he had seen five years ago, but the family of four was a little fatter and a lot happier! 

When he finally came to himself, the student asked, "How did you do it? What happened over the past five years to make you go from barely surviving to thriving?" The family sat him down and shared their story, how five years ago, in the middle of the night, someone came and killed their skinny little cow. The cow was their livelihood and once she was gone, they had nothing. They were scared at first, but realized that they could survive in other ways and soon realized that they had been living way below their potential. Their were so many opportunities laid out before them now, since they did not have to feed and take care of that skinny little cow. The family continued sharing how it was NOT easy and they struggled for the first couple of years, but it was well worth it....and now they wished they could thank that man who killed their skinny little cow that night five years ago because it changed their lives forever. 

The student walked away realizing what the Master was trying to teach him about success. You have things in your life that are keeping you from receiving the blessing and success you are meant to have, those are you skinny little cows that you must "kill." Once you kill those skinny little cows in your life, that time and energy that you previously took to feed and care for that cow can now be put towards becoming all that you can become. That is the key to success, just as the Master said, "Is right before you. It has always been before you." 

There are many lessons that can be learned from this story, but i hope you take some time to think about those two questions I asked at the beginning related to this story:

 1. What is keeping you from receiving the promised blessings of the Lord?

2. What do you, personally, need to change so that you are open to receiving those blessings? 

What are you "Skinny Little Cows" in life that are holding you back? Take some time to evaluate your life. Blessing (success) is right in front of you, you just have a skinny little cow blocking your way. The Lord wants us to be successful, he wants to bless us, but as long as we have those skinny little cows blocking our view and wasting our energy he can not give those blessings to us as freely as he would like. Let us "kill" our skinny little cows, and although the road may not be easy to travel past that cow....the journey will well be worth it in the end! Have faith in the Master! He knows something that you do not, he has been there and he knows you (even better then you may know yourself, trust him when he helps you by killing one of your skinny little cows. Be patient with yourself as change happens because of this, you can do anything with the help of the Lord. We do not change all at once, its here a little and there a little to become like the Master!

The Lord (just like the Master in this story) "showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace,...that we have power to do [the hard things]." (Jacob 4:7) He knows we are capable of so much more and he shows us our weakness that we may grow. As we turn to him and trust in his grace having "faith in [him], then will [he] make weak things become strong." (Ether 12:27) 

Understand, you don't have to go out and "kill" ALL your skinny little cows at once, start with ONE, let the Lord help you and take it one day at a time!! :)

Father!

Our Heavenly Father gives us EVERYTHING!! What we wear, what we eat, and the very air we breath! He has given us ALL things and asks that we trust Him! Like a Child trusts his/her Father to provide and protect....so we must have faith and trust in our Heavenly Father to do the same with us. He knows us better than we know ourselves and has a clear view and knowledge of what is to be. He tells us that we must become "as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." (Mosiah 3:19) CAN YOU DO THAT?

 Let us all take a step back today and evaluate where we are in the process of becoming like a child and trusting in our Heavenly Father COMPLETELY! Finally, let us always be grateful for a Loving Father in Heaven who watches over us, who yearns for our happiness and comfort, who works and sacrifices for us tirelessly....so that we might one day return to live with Him and have the life (exalted and eternal) that He has!  :-)

Love and Patience!

Its been a while since i last wrote anything! Life has been just crazy! I have been nannying this 9 month old little guy named Clay! I normally watch him on Tuesdays and Thursdays but this past week, with his parents working during the Sundance Film Festival, I watched him ALL day everyday for 5 days straight last week! He is the cutest and one of the easiest babies i have ever taken care of, even while he is teething. He is a bit grumpy cause of that....but its all good! He has taught me a lot and really opened my eyes back up to what its like to be a mom. Holy Cow! Even though I have babysat before and even taken care of my siblings as we were all growing up....its been a while since I have babysat little ones, and i seem to have forgotten how much work and energy it takes!! HAHA!

From this past week with Clay, and also having time to myself while he napped, I have learned how interconnected LOVE and PATIENCE are! The Lord has taught me a very valuable lesson....in order for you to have more patience, you must first have more love. The more that we are able to love a person (even ourselves), the more patient and understanding we are with them. I used to think that sometimes it was other people's fault for getting on my nerves, or for me being impatient...it is NOT that way at all. Being patient is a Christ like attribute and is solely placed upon our shoulders to control within ourselves. This was hard thing for me to swallow this week....understanding that all the times that I have been impatient with others (or myself), it is my fault for that happening. I was very tenderly chastised by the Lord, realizing this. I then asked the Lord what I needed to do to change, to cultivate more patience with those around me and especially with myself (something I am not particularly good at). I received a very clear answer in my mind that LOVE is the answer!

There are many examples of how this works. First off, you can think about the patience a mother/father often  has with his/her children. The more they love their children and genuinely care for them, the more patient they are as those children make mistakes and do things that are upsetting. Take the example of a teacher with his/her students or a nurse with her patients. OR even take a babysitter with the child she babysits ;) I came to realize this week as I loved Clay more and more, even when he was crying and upset.....i could be incredibly patient with him....beyond the type of patience i have ever had before!

So how do we nurture that Love within ourselves? To help us be more patient with others, the Lord, and ourselves? That is a good question and something I am still figuring out. I know that this past week my love grew for Clay as I would see the good in him and the joy that he brings into this world. I would keep that in my head as he would start crying or get fussy. I guess I tried my hardest to see him as God see's him and that made a huge difference!

I guess that is what we must do. To be patient we must see ourselves and others as God see's us! :-)

Let us all take a step back today and start seeing people for who they really are....a beloved Son or Daughter of God! Evaluate situations the way our Heavenly Father or our Savior, Jesus Christ, would. Let us start NOW to allow the Saviors love in to transform us. Allowing us to be more patient!

Can you imagine what type of world we would all live in, if we all thought this way?

Have a wonderful day everyone and may today be filled with the Love and the Light of Christ! :-)

Here is the little guy that taught me so much this week:

Say HELLO :-)

Hi. My name is CLAY!

I am SOOOOO CUTE!!

             

I am Happy and get excited about EVERYTHING! 

                                                                                                       

I AM JUST A STUD!!! :-) 

Talk in Church

I had the opportunity of speaking in the Midway 2nd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints yesterday. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak to the congregation of friends and family that I basically grew up with and love so very much!

Let me share with you, what I shared with all those that I love so much.

I would like to start today by sharing a quote found in Preach My Gospel by President Ezra Taft Benson concerning the Gospel, he says, "We are commanded to take this Gospel to all the world. That is the cause that must unite us today. Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family." 

I love this quote, because it is true. The gospel is the ONLY thing that will bring to us and to all those around us the joy that we are all seeking and the peace that seems so hard to find in this world. The gospel is everything! The gospel is simple and it is simply powerful. It has the power to do all the President Benson said it can and will do! Where its power is though is in its simplicity. It is simple to understand and even the Lord himself states that it is so in the Doctrine and Covenants 133:57 as he talks to us about how he "sent forth the fullness of his gospel...reasoning in plainness and simplicity." 

Then we can turn to Alma as he declares to his son Helaman that by "small and simple things are great things brought to pass." The gospel is simple and it brings about GREAT things! Alma's declaration became very real to me as I watched simple things become great things in people lives out on my mission in Jacksonville, Florida. 

I saw this in the life of a less active woman named Jami. She struggled with many things in her life, from financial, to physical, to spiritual struggles. We were over at her house a lot sharing messages and inviting her to do small and simple acts such as praying, reading her scriptures, and paying her tithing. As she would follow these simple things in her life, her life was blessed immensly! Miracles were seen in her life because of these simple acts of faith! On one specific occassion she told us that she was not going to be able to pay her rent that month, among other things, and that could mean getting kicked out of her home. My companion and I had felt impressed to ask her to pay her tithing. She was reluctant to pay it because she was already short on money, but she paid it anyways and miraculously people who owed her money came forward with the money they owed her that month so that she was able to pay her rent. That was a changing point for her and as she continued to follow the things that we, well really the LORD, would ask of her....the small and simple things...her life began to change and change for the better! Not only that, she changed! 

Another woman on my mission who came to church on and off, who was married to a practically athiest husband was struggling in many aspect of her life and a lot with the gospel. She was specifically struggling with understanding if our Heavenly Father was really there for her and if he really loved her. She suffered from physical ailments, including chronic back pain and that was something awful. Her and her husband were struggling financially and life just seemed to be crashing in around them. She was so frustrated and felt so alone and so forsaken. We came over and were able to share a message with her and asked her how long it had been since she prayed. She didn't really answer us, as we continued with other discussion...but she pondered on that. That night she fell to her knees in tears and said "Lord if you are there and if you love me you will take this back pain from me that I might be able to do the work that i need to tomorrow to help support my family." Miraculously she woke up the next morning and what normally would have taken her 15 minutes to muster up the strength to get out of bed, took her no time at all. She was able to get up and to do the work that she needed to almost completely back pain free!! She was so excited that she called us in tears saying that she now knew that the Lord was aware of her and he loved her! This changed her life and helped her to be more active in the church and brought the spirit of the Lord more abundantly into her home! 

The Gospel brings about great things! It changes lives! Despite the fact that it can do great things, it is still incredibly simple. It wasn't the deep doctrines of the gospel that changed these women's lives, it was the basic simple truths that touched their hearts and brought the spirit in to change their lives. That is was the gospel is all about. AND...just as simple as the gospel is, it is just as simple to share. We dont need to always use words, often times we must use our actions. We must be a good example and serve. A wonderful example in my life, who I personally didn't know in this life, but who I have heard countless stories about and I am inspired by daily is my grandfather LeRoy! He was an extraordinary man and he LIVED the gospel. If someone's washer broke in the middle of the night he was there. If someone was sick and needed a blessing, he dropped whatever he was doing and he went to them. It didn't matter who you were or what your need was, Grandpa was there to help and he would put aside anything that he was doing and help whoever it was the was in need of his assistance. My Grandfather knew how to live the gospel simply by serving those around him and there are countless number of people in this world that have been touched by that service. Who knows how many people he was able to influence for good to come into the Gospel? He was such an inspiration to me! We can share the gospel by being that example and giving selfless service. THEN....when the time comes that we can use words to share our knowledge of the gospel....we do not need to fear because the gospel is so simple...and it is the simpleness that people need to know and understand to enter into the celestial kingdom and be with our Heavenly Father and their families for the eternities! 

Its all about the simple things in life. Living your life simply is such a great way to live and living the gospel is the ONLY way to live. So living the gospel simply is the ONLY GREAT way to live! I can testify to that and that I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church here on the earth! I know that Joseph Smith saw God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. I know that he was able to translate the Book of Mormon through the power of God and that the Book of Mormon was written for us here in our day. That we might know who to look towards for answers in this life. That we might know that we are sons and daughters of a loving, merciful and powerful Heavenly Father! I know that my Savior lives. I know he loves me and knows me personally, as he knows everyone else here on the earth. I know that he died for my  sins and your sins. The Atonement is very real! It is because of our Savior Jesus Christ that we all have the opportunity to repent and return to live with our Heavenly Father! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it is another testament of our Savior Jesus Christ and that if you read it and then get on your knees and ask God sincerely to know if it is true, he will make it known unto you as he has unto me! I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet here on the earth today and that he leads and guides this church in righteousness! I know that this Gospel is true! I know these things and will never deny them! I know that as we live the simple aspect of the gospel we will be greatly blessed and we will see miracles in our own lives as we do these things and keep the commandments! I know all these things are true and I say all this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen! 

Have a blessed day everyone! :-) 

This

I love this song! I love the message that he has to share with all of us, whether we are holding that baby, going through a break up, graduating college, whatever your story may be.....you have been brought to where you are by all the ups and the downs in life. So.... if you are at a happy place in life, be grateful for all the struggles and things that didn't go the way you wanted that brought you to where you are and if you are not there yet, be patient and know that it will all lead you to where you are meant to be!

I dont really know how I got here
But I'm sure glad that I did
And its crazy to think that one little thing
Could've changed all of it. 

Isn't it crazy to think that one little thing really could have changed where you are today. Every decision and everything that has or hasn't happened to you, has brought you to exactly where you are right now!

Maybe it didn't turn out like i planned.
Maybe that's why I'm such, such a lucky man

We should all consider ourselves lucky for life not going how WE have planned. Like I have said before, the Lord see's the end, we don't. We must trust that when things don't go the way we planned them, they are going exactly the way the Lord planned them to. :-) You will be grateful for it in the end!

I am so grateful for everything that has lead me to where I am. Despite the heartaches and the tears, I know that the Lord knows where I am meant to be and who I am meant to become! I am so grateful for this life and everything that has "lead me here to THIS!" :-)

Hold Your Head High

“This is my depressed stance. When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this.” 

-Charlie Brown

Even Charlie Brown recognizes that you must stand up straight and hold your head high to start feeling better! 

 We must not be in a "state contrary to the nature of happiness." (Alma 41:11) Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy! If we walk around with our shoulders hunched with a frown on our face, this is contrary to the nature of happiness!! Lets show the world (and the Lord) today as we straighten up and hold our heads high that, despite how difficult life can get, we know who we are as Children of a God and we know His plan! 

Oh...and Smile! :-)