Thanks in ALL Things

 "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things." 

We know how important it is to be grateful (wrote all about that here), but how about being grateful for the bad things and the hard things in our life?

Have you ever thought about being grateful for your trials?

Angels among us-

This morning in my scripture study the reading was about the resurrection of Christ found in Matthew 28.  At the very end of that chapter, Christ says, 

"I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

Christ is always there for us.  BUT I think it is up to us to recognize and acknowledge His presence in our lives.

President Spencer W. Kimball said,

"God does notice us, and he watches over us, but its usually through another person that he meets our needs." 

A few weeks ago I was having a particularly rough morning.  I had received some devastating news.  I knew it was coming, but when it officially came, it hurt.  And it hurt bad!  I held myself together until I dropped the last of the children off to school.  As soon as I walked in the door, I immediately began to pray.  I cried and sobbed, and cried and sobbed as I told Heavenly Father how disappointed I was, how much I hurt, and how frustrated I was.  I was feeling like a failure, and a  terrible mother.  I was having myself a grand ol' pity party! 

 I kid you not, the second I ended my prayer, the doorbell rang.  No way was I going to answer the door.  I had just been crying my eyes out, and my face showed it.

A few minutes later I received a text from a friend informing me that she had left something at my door.  Sure enough, on my porch was a bucket of candy, this picture of the Savior, 

source

and a copy of the conference talk "You Can Do It Now!"by President Uchtdorf.   At the end of this talk, President Uchtdorf says, ". . . My dear friends, there will be times when you think you cannot continue on.  Trust the Savior and His love.  With faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of hope of the restored gospel, you will be able to walk tall and continue on."

 I messaged back my friend and explained what I had just been doing and why I didn't answer the door.  She told me she was led to my door.  She knew she needed to reach out to me.  

Coincidence?  No.  It wasn't at all.  The Lord sent an angel to comfort me and help me during my time of need, to remind me that He is there, He has a plan, and everything is going to be okay.  I am so grateful she chose to listen to the Spirit that day.  It was a testimony building experience for both of us.

". . .We are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

In my attempts to connect more with my Savior, I have been trying to recognize and see the hand of the Lord more in my life.  The more I become aware of Him, the more I see that He is always -always- there for me, and He is there for you too.  

Prayer

"Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often. Make time every day to share your thoughts and feelings with Him. Tell Him everything that concerns you. He is interested in the most important as well as the most mundane facets of your life. Share with Him your full range of feelings and experiences." 

"Parents, help safeguard your children by arming them morning and night with the power of family prayer. Children are bombarded every day with the evils of lust, greed, pride, and a host of other sinful behaviors. Protect your children from daily worldly influences by fortifying them with the powerful blessings that result from family prayer. Family prayer should be a nonnegotiable priority in your daily life."

Quotes from Elder Scott's Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority

Elder Scott also talked about prayer HERE

Prayer

Yesterday was a Regional Conference for all LDS members of Utah and Wasatch Counties.  It was a fantastic meeting.  I wish the Church would post the talks for these regional conferences.  They are so fantastic and are worth reading, re-reading, and listening to again.

Today I want to talk about Elder Scott's talk.  His talk was on communicating with our Father in Heaven.  Here are some of the points from his talk from my notes.

source

• Prayer is a sacred privilege.
• Remember God is your Father and you are His child.  He doesn't care if your feelings are clumsily expressed. - JUST TALK TO HIM!
• Quietly speaking your prayer, communicates better than silently thinking it in your head.
• Prayers are answered in 3 ways:  1.) With feelings of peace, comfort, assurance, confidence =yes answer  2.) With a sense of unsettled feelings, a stupor of thought =no answer   3.)You feel no response.
• Sometimes are prayers aren't answered right away because Heavenly Father would have us grow and exercise faith in Him.
• No answer is evidence of His trust in us.  He knows what's best for us and what experiences we need.
• God usually gives us small promptings "line upon line" to make us work instead of giving us the whole answer right away.  This causes you to grow, and so does your character and faith.
• Pray when you have no desire to pray.  That is when you need to pray the most.
• Never feel you are too unworthy to pray.  We have mediator who will help us work that out.
• Thank Him for all things.  "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, . . ."

I've been working the last couple of months on really communicating with Heavenly Father.  Not just praying, but asking questions and listening for His answers, then asking more questions and listening again.

I'm learning that true prayer, real prayer is a beautiful, wonderful thing!

MORE ABOUT PRAYER HERE

BIG NEWS:

Over the weekend, #1 also bought himself a new car!  It's a '01 Honda Accord.  He's pretty stoked.