Through the Eyes of a Mother

This is a Christmas card that I've had for probably decades.  It is framed and hangs in my house at Christmas time.  I love the tenderness in the picture and the sweet baby Jesus.

My view of the Christmas story has been enriched by the fact that I've had children--three to be exact.  It helps me relate better to several things.

In the Book of Mormon, the Christmas story is from another view point--from the American Continent.  There was a prophesy about Christ's birth in Jeruselem, and the believers were continually ridiculed by the non-believers.  (See 3 Nephi Chapter 1 at LDS.org) As the time of the prophesy drew closer, the ridicule turned to threats, as the non-believers threatened to put to death those who believed, if the prophesy was not fulfilled. 

Now, as a mother, I picture those believing mothers, heartbroken and terrified for their families, but knowing what they believed.  I picture those mothers praying so hard to know what to do, how to protect their little ones.  It is heart-wrenching in that context.

The sign, of course, came, and they knew that Christ had been born in Jerusalem.  I can only imagine the overwhelming relief of those mothers, the prayers of gratitude!

Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, the Promised Messiah truly had been born.  His mother was Mary, to whom the Bible refers as "highly favoured" and "blessed among women." (See Luke chapter 1)

The young, gentle Mary must have been stunned to know that she'd bare the Son of God, but she meekly accepted: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

I don't know what Mary expected from that point on, but I know that I might have expected better accommodations to give birth to the Son of God.  But of course I am not Mary.  But I feel for her, nine months pregnant, traveling on the back of a donkey 90 or more miles. (See "The Peace and Joy of Knowing the Savior Lives.")

Now here's the part where my motherhood gives me insight.  It is so uncomfortable to be nine months pregnant!!  It is uncomfortable to be lying in a soft bed that far along!  I almost cry when I picture her, so pregnant, so LONG on the back of a donkey.   Oh, I ache just thinking about it!  I wonder if it ever entered her mind during what must have been a several day trip, "I didn't think it would be like this."

And then to not find room at the inn, to have to give birth in the middle of animals, and lay Him--the Son of God--in a manger.  I wonder if it surprised her to find herself in that situation.  It is so hard and painful to give birth.  I sincerely can't imagine doing it in those circumstances! 

Yet, I picture her, the beautiful, humble Mary, accepting the circumstances just as she accepted her calling: "Be it unto me according to thy will."

There are great lessons of humility here: the humble birth of the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I believe that God was showing the world that the way to be great is to be humble.  I so admire Mary, so humbly accepting her calling to be His mother, and accepting all things that came with it.

I ask myself: Am I humble?  Do I accept all the things the Lord will bring me through so meekly?  Am I truly His servant?

I know that Christ was born in humble circumstances and now reigns in the heavens.  I know that He saves, and is there for us.  And I testify that His birth was prophesied in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  Oh the beauty of the Christmas story in this mother's eyes!

He Strengthens Us

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon talks about weaknesses and strengths:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Ether 12:27

I taught the 12 and 13 year-old girls at church recently and the lesson was about how much the Lord loves us, and then goes on to how he makes our weaknesses strong, if we let him.  The second part was based on this scripture.  I have always loved this scripture, but something jumped out at me during the lesson.  I'll explain.

When we come to the Lord, he shows us our weaknesses.  This can be painful.  We can choose several things: anger, insecurity; but what he really wants us to do is be humble.   It says so in line two.  These are the two things that the Lord provides from weakness:

1. He sets the stage for us to be humble.

2. His grace is sufficient for us.

He then tells us the conditions for overcoming our weakness:

1. We humble ourselves before him.

2. We have faith in him.

Then he makes our "weak things become strong" to us.

Here's what jumped out at me during the lesson: the two things that the Lord provides from weakness, and the two things that we do to overcome weakness are the same things. They are combined below:

1. He sets the stage for humility/we choose to be humble.

2. His grace is sufficient/we have faith in him (that his grace is sufficient).

He set us up to succeed!   He sets the stage for us to be strong, to overcome our weakness.  It is dependent on our accepting and choosing those conditions.  He is so kind, and loving, and he truly can make weak things strong to us.  What a powerful scripture!

Spiritual Music!

I just wanted to add a note that I forgot in my post on 'directing all your thoughts to the Lord.'  (Alma 37:36)

SPIRITUAL MUSIC CAN HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON INVITING THE SPIRIT AND HELPING DIRECT THOUGHTS TO THE LORD!!

(I think this is why I love Christmas music so much!  When else are songs about praise and Christ readily accepted by the general public?  *Christmas is Magic*!!)

We are taught that the song of the righteous is a prayer, and so listening to spiritual music all day long is like praying all day long, if we are in the right frame of mind.

I love other kinds of music, too, but nothing quenches the thirst in my soul for wonderful music like Christian music. 

So I listen to Mormon Tabernacle Choir and LOVE "Music and the Spoken Word" on Sundays on byutv.org  But I love more upbeat Christian music, too,  like the Especially for Youth songs.  Here is one that really helped me in September find comfort when a good friend passed away.  I kept singing it over and over through my day, and comfort came:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKh3wF7DBPk

My radio is chronically on K-LOVE radio in the car, and it gives my soul great joy when my kids sing along to songs like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOOFAaUGfRE&feature=related

I LOVE MUSIC!! And especially music that reminds me of my heavenly home, and feeds my spirit.  LOVE! :)

Goals

I make goals three times a year: On January 1st, and at the two General Conferences http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng.  Always, one of my goals on Jan. 1st is to read through the scriptural book that is being studied in Sunday School; for example, this year the church has been studying the New Testament in the Bible, so I am reading it.  I have a reading schedule in the front of my scriptures telling me how many pages I need to read daily in each book to finish it by a year's end.

Making goals at conference times has something that has just come to be as I have grown to love Gen. Conference so much over the years.  It is a natural result of hearing the inspired word of God that one feels inclined to change for the better. 

This year I have decided to add a goal because of this Book of Mormon Forum.  I have enjoyed picking apart Alma 37:36-37 so much, that I have decided to pick a scripture at conference time and memorize it, and "work on" that scripture for six months.  Here is my picture of it again!

This picture is currently on my phone as my background to remind me of it.  I LOVE this scripture.  So I will explore it until April 2012, the next General Conf at which time I plan to pick a new one.

LOVE IT!!  LOVE MY NEW GOAL!!

(Sorry--I am subject to occasional outbursts of enthusiasm...)  But I really do love this new thought. =)

Of course I will blog about other scriptures here, but not today.  Because I have a new thought on one of the lines in this scripture: "Yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest, let it be in the the Lord."  I blogged about this a few posts ago, and analyzed the word "let."  But since then I've examined a few other words: unto, and in.

"Let all your doings be unto the Lord" made me think of Matthew 25:40: 

"Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

All my "doings" in this sense might be "unto the Lord" in this way, that my service to anyone and everyone is service to the Lord.

The next line, "Let it be in the Lord" helps me think that where ever I go, I need to have His Spirit with me--the Holy Ghost.  I will be "in" the Lord if I am in His Spirit.

Well, one final thought, and it has made a huge impact on my mind:

Since I have started this challenge, I find that I have more love in my heart for everyone.  It has been a huge blessing to look around at people and feel increased love for them.  There are some who I have felt don't like me much, and I have been able to get past the hurt and feel love now for them anyway.  I've been able to forgive the unkind words of a stranger in the store without dwelling on them.  Most importantly, our family harmony has increased, and we feel the love of the Lord more strongly in our lives.

This is something to be truly thankful for!

The Affections of My Heart

Studying and memorizing this scripture this week has been quite enjoyable for me.  I've always loved these verses, but now I love them more.  Today's line, "Let the affections of your heart be placed upon the Lord forever," has been a very tender experience.  I have always loved the Lord, but this line made me wonder if I've looked upon Him affectionately.

When I think of affection, the first thing that comes to my mind is how I feel about my children, and I LOVE when they are affectionate to me.

What kind of affection do I feel for my Heavenly Father and Christ?  This word has made an impact on the way I love them, and in the way I feel they love me.  Affection is reserved for those we know, those we treasure; it's the gentle, fond side of love for someone that you feel close to. 

This concept has deepened and softened how I feel about the Lord. 

Let All Thy Thoughts Be Directed Unto the Lord

Continuing on with my exploration of Alma 37:36-37--

The line I explored yesterday was "Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord."  This one was harder than I expected.  I frequently during the day direct some thoughts to Him in the form of little prayers, but I tried to do "all" thoughts yesterday, and it left me questioning exactly what that means.  I wondered if maybe, since He knows all my thoughts anyway, it is simply acknowledging that He is there.  Or maybe it's analyzing all my thoughts, running them by Him, making sure they are going the right direction.

One day, a long time ago I gave myself the challenge of praying all day.  I did this because of Enos, or Alma 32 where it says to pray continually--I don't remember which.  But I started the day with prayer and did not end it as I went about my life, just kept it open all day.  I wish I had been blogging then, because I don't remember exactly what happened, just that it was good.  Maybe all my thoughts to Him is keeping an 'open prayer' in my heart.

One thing that stood out to me immediately, though, as I dropped kids off to school, was that, as I was trying to direct my thoughts to Him, as I would walk by people, I had a greater desire to know them, and serve them, because He loves them.  

Well, that is all for now.  Today I am working on letting "the affections of my heart be placed upon" Him.  =)

Continuing On--Savoring Each Bite (and a little verb analysis)

I am enjoying my little pursuit of this scripture I've been blogging on so much, that I can't just let it go yet. =) This is called "Feasting on the Word."(2 Nephi 32:3 "...Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.")   Oooo--this one is "tasty," too!:

Here it is again: (Alma 37:36-37)

Today I've been concentration on the second and third lines: "Yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest, let it be in the Lord."

I've thought and thought about what exactly this could mean.  'All my doings' include a lot of housework and childcare, driving, etc.  But He, of course, understands that these are needful things.  How can all the mundane things be "unto the Lord," and everywhere I go "be in the Lord?"

What I wonder is that when I am "doing" and "going," is it ultimately to build His kingdom?  Even a kingdom has a huge TO DO list, apparently. =)  But it occurs to me that if I tackle all I need to tackle with love, and an eye single to His glory, it can be for Him, too.  And maybe it has to do with having His Spirit to be with me during these times.

It also might have to do with choosing the better part--you know, the Mary and Martha thing in the New Testament: There are things that need to be done, but am I choosing wisely the better part beyond that?  Am I spending more time with my children than my computer screen?  As much time on my Sunday lesson as on facebook?

The last thing that jumped out at me was the verb "let."  I've been examining verbs a little more closely since I noticed that the verbs in the Young Women's theme (https://lds.org/young-women/personal-progress/young-women-theme?lang=eng) are so beautiful.  This verb "let" is not a command, it is more like an invitation.  It's as if the Lord is there, wanting to be with us every moment of the day, if we will just let Him.  It strikes me as a gentle pleading: "Let me come, too."

I want Him to be here!  As I examine this scripture further tomorrow, maybe it will show me how.

There's a Reason

Since yesterday I've come to the conclusion that there's a reason that we are asked to read the scriptures daily.  I used to think it was that it helped us be closer to the Spirit on a daily basis.  In truth, I think that are several reasons, but I added one more to my list yesterday in a big way.

THE SCRIPTURES CAN HELP US AND CHANGE US EVERY DAY!!

Yesterday I talked about Alma 37:36-37, that I would like to develop it more fully into my life.  So I memorized the first line: Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support...  and so yesterday, I did.

Here's some back story: The last several months, I've awoken at odd hours of the a.m. with worries.  Worries that press on my mind enough that it takes hours to go back to sleep, if I do.  So this morning when I woke up at 4:30 a.m., instead of stressing more and praying less, I thought: "Cry unto God for all thy support."  And I did.  I asked for "support" in specific things both temporal and spiritual, and made extra effort to put my trust more fully in Him, and I felt better.  In one day, from one line of one scripture, I felt better.  It changed my perspective.  

These things that worry me are still here, but I received that support.  In the here and now the support is emotional, and as I increase my faith on these matters, I'll receive greater help than if I only worried by myself about them.  I have faith in that. 

A change in one day from the Book of Mormon--that's a concept I can get behind!!

Way Excited!! And a new goal...

Well, I've been looking through several of the blogs associated with this Book of Mormon challenge, and I'm really excited to see everyone's wonderful thoughts on the scriptures!  It has been fun, and I''ve been excited to dig into my scriptures and share more thoughts as well.  I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES!!

So I've been working on where to start reading.  Let me explain--we've been reading the Book of Mormon as a family, but I'd like to start it again for myself.  I've been concentrating on the New Testament this year, since it is the course of study in the church.  But a little extra Book of Mormon on the top will only be the icing on the cake, right?

Another thing is I don't always start in 1 Nephi.  I, like many Mormons, have read first and second Nephi several more times in my earlier life than the rest of the Book of Mormon (goals set and not completed).  So last time I started it, I started in Alma and read all the way to the end and then read back to Alma.  Is that weird?  But it's all the same when you are actually reading, once you're familiar with the material.

But while I am deciding, I've been pondering a scripture lately: Alma 37:36-37

 36 Yea, and ^acry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy ^bdoings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy ^cthoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

 37 ^aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for ^bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the ^cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

(copied from http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/37?lang=eng)

This scripture has meant to much to me in my life.  I remember times in my life when I woke up every morning--thrilled to be alive, with my "heart full of thanks unto God."  I actually thought of this the other morning when I woke up and was not happy to be awake!  I thought of this scripture and the times when I woke up thinking about my Heavenly Father, full of joy, and I wanted it back! 

I think the key is perspective and faith.  To go to sleep and wake up full of faith and joy, forgetting the cares of the world, committing them to my Father's care and trusting Him.  He is in charge, and the most powerful being anywhere, and He loves me.  What have I got to fear or not be happy about?

I frequently have times during the week when I am 100% content, completely at peace, feeling the Spirit.  I vow to try to capture that more often during the day, and especially in the morning, letting my heart  be full of thanks to God.  He is amazing and wonderful and I need to let that thought fill me more often.  In fact, I'd like to concentrate on living these particular scriptures more fully. =)

Until, the next post, take care of yourselves and KEEP READING THE BOOK OF MORMON!! =)

Getting Started

I ran across a Book of Mormon challenge from my encounter with watching General Conference with the #twitterstake on Twitter.  I had forgotten about it until I read an insightful blog post from someone else who took the challenge.  (Thanks for the inspiration @motherwhoknows! http://juliandnick.blogspot.com/2011/10/imperfections.html) 

So, while I'm not reading the Book of Mormon in October as a whole, I do read a bit (sometimes a very little bit with children bouncing off the walls) with my family at bedtime.  Let me say here that I LOVE the Book of Mormon and know it is scripture, just like the Bible is.  The Spirit of that wonderful book fills me to overflowing with the love and knowledge that the Lord has for me and all people.  I know it is true.

I just wanted to share some of my feelings about it, and the first thing I thought of when I heard of the challenge was one of my favorite scriptures: Ether 12:4.

4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with ^asurety ^bhope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which ^chope cometh of ^dfaith, maketh an ^eanchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in ^fgood works, being led to ^gglorify God.

(http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/12?lang=eng)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this scripture!  I always say that I want it on my gravestone. =)  This is what we as Christians live for and hope for: a better world.  A world that God has prepared for us, a world where all the wrongs have been righted, all God's children (us!) live in love and harmony with more joy than we can imagine!  It anchors our souls, just like the verse says.  This hope brings joy and "good works" and 'leads us to glorify God.'  Yes, definitely one of my favorite scriptures!

Reading it again, though, made me think of family scripture reading just last night.  We read in 2nd Nephi 31:

 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life.

(Another favorite!!)  I asked my family last night, "What does it mean 'with a steadfastness in Christ?'"  Here we are in two of my favorite scriptures with this concept of steadfastness.  From the first scripture we see that it comes from faith and hope, and I'd like to ponder and pursue this idea of "steadfastness in Christ" a little further.  Any thoughts?

Maybe it's never wavering from the thought that Christ is my Savior and can help me through whatever comes in my life, that He understands, that He's leading me and my family to a "better world."  This gives me peace and happiness, despite what the world can throw at me.

Thanks for inviting me along on the Book of Mormon Challenge @motherwhoknows and http://beinglds.blogspot.com/ !!