Good-Bye Montana

One of the most influential times of my life has been the last year and a half. No more emotion, sweat, tears, time, energy, spirit, love, and devotion have been given at any other time of my life. Yet, no more hope, love, joy, acceptance, support, growth, understanding, and learning have come at any other time of my life. My mission has changed me and I have had the blessing and opportunity to help other change as well. The Lord is willing to give so much if we will but let Him. That however does not eliminate our own personal responsibility. We have to put forth effort as well.

I began with a very small seed at the beginning of my mission I had very little to offer the Lord. Yet I mad the choice to plant that seed and see what happened. I went out and I worked everyday. Not everyday was easy in fact most days I came home exhausted, but I was out there, and I loved it! When we choose to not act it is like holding that seed in our hand and believing that it will sprout without dirt or water. Where is the nourishment? It will never grow! So I planted it, then I nourished it. I studied, I prayed, I gave my whole heart and soul. With that the Lord was able to turn my little seed in to a sapling. I am still nourishing it and it will continue to grow.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will one day be a great oak. But I must continue to work at it. This stage of my life is over. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). But my progression and work are never done I must press "onward, ever onward, as [I] glory in his name; Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song [I] sing. God [my] strength will be. . .Called to serve [my] King" (Called to Serve).

First Snow Fall

Sometimes I am confused by the amount of accidents that happen when snow first falls each year. It's not like people have never seen snow before, didn't they drive in it last winter? It's not like they grew up in western Washington where it never snows. They live in Montana where they get feet of snow and ice every year. So why all of the sudden is it something that causes so many accidents. Perhaps we forget that we have to slow down and begin stopping earlier. Is that what happens in life? Things are going so well that we forget. We forget how we are supposed to act. Things start slipping, we think well things are going so well that I don't need to pray, the Lord will bless me anyway. Or I don't need to go to church I'm spiritually fed at home. It is in those times that we begin to slid though the stop sign, or even spin out of control.

Perhaps we need to slowdown and take a look at where we are and think about the things that might be slipping. We don't want to end up in the ditch. Just remember that there is always a way out of the ditch and that is repentance and the Savior. "we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved" (Acts 15:11).

More Love in our Hearts

I have recently discovered that I need to find more room for love in my heart. So . . . I am working everyday to be more like Christ and He loves each of us enough to be our Savior if that isn't unconditional love I don't know what is. He suffered for us, in Luke it says "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." All this that we might be mad clean and return to our Father in Heaven. I know that he is the only one that could have accomplished this task. Anyone else would have balked at what was being asked of us in the service of others. So how can we begin to have even a measure of the love that Christ has? This much I know we cannot do it on our own. On my mission I have had the wonderful experience of finding more room in my heart for another, something I'm not sure a lot of people have received from me before this. I know that my increase of love has come as a direct result of prayers, study and truly being open to all that the Lord has to offer me. Each of us has an unmeasurable capacity for love, however we don't always love to the capacity that we are able. Let us each be more loving in our lives as we go forward embracing others instead of pushing them away.