My grateful note

Every day, I look into the mirror and say to myself--"You're a beautiful woman."

I am living my happily ever after. I can see it. I believe we all fight for the place where I am at. I have learned that life is long--so we learn to endure the bad days, cause after they're over, there is always a sunrise, or a rainbow. I really believe this. I believe that God loves us, and that if we demonstrate our belief in that love, that all the rest is less important. This life's purpose is to develop character and faith. We need trials. If we hadn't needed them Adam wouldn't have fallen, Satan would not have been allowed to remain here, and Christ would have had much less to suffer for.

I am married to a hero. I am his "favorite." He is doing amazing things. Every day he sacrifices so much for me--to provide for my needs and he also makes significant contributions to his work. He and I can be silent together, we can talk about things, we agree about the big things, and we have learned to "not sweat the small stuff." There's a lot of small stuff, but there are only a few really important things, and we have learned what they are. We love to spend time together. Time-- it has become so precious--so precious. I have lost patience for women who complain about their husbands. I have learned that there is so much to appreciate in what men do for their families, that there is seldom justification in our complaining about what they may not do as well. I have learned to love my man freely, and I have learned that he will do almost anything for that love and affirmation. Men are cool like that. I didn't always see this fully. Now I do.

As for kids. My kids may do some dumb things, they may not choose what I would have them choose all the time. But I am honored to be their mother, and I will love them and fight for them forever. The same is true for my husband. The same is true for my extended family. I believe that I was born to be a wife and mother. That is not a burden to bear, this is my glory and honor. I believe I earned such a place, and I work to maintain it. We should not give up on our children, nor expect that they will not have obstacles to overcome. We nurture them and love them and give them a home. We try to teach them. God gives them life, freedom, agency, and opposition, and he provides a Savior for them.

Satan is a creep. I have nothing but contempt for his tactics. I am wary of him, and I do not discount his ability to mess with us. He has been practicing his schemes for a long time.

I am in a good place. I may spout off at times, but I am not in danger. I am in a secure place. I have my Father watching over me, the Holy Ghost as my companion, and the Savior as my advocate. All is well. All is well.









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My Titanic Theory

I watched a series on the Titanic last Friday, and this week we read a National Geographic Magazine article on her. I decided that the Titanic was built to carry a lot of people, that wasn't her problem. The problem was that she took on too much water and lost buoyancy. I thought about the cause of the disaster that sunk her. The cause of this tragedy had everything to do with the arrogance of people involved. Because the people in command were so convinced that the ship was unsinkable, they failed to take normal safety precautions, such as slowing down and keeping a sharp look out for icebergs after receiving a warning that icebergs had been spotted in the area where they were sailing, and such as failing to have adequate numbers of lifeboats on board, Because of the arrogance of those in command, there was too little warning and too little recourse when they were faced with an obstacle in their pathway. Although they tried to avoid a collision and received a glancing blow; the ship was scored along her side to such a degree that her hull was breached in multiple places. So although she avoided a violent collision, she could not avoid a rapid intake of water. Water came into the ship to such a degree as to weigh her down and swamp her. The water replaced lighter air, and buoyancy could not be maintained. I started thinking about this event as a analogy to life. Some of us are big beautiful ships carrying a lot of people on board, but we need to remember to proceed through life with caution, to heed safety precautions, and to carry life boats. I surmised that the key to avoiding the fate of the Titanic and becoming a sinking ship without enough life boats, is to remain humble, and to remain buoyant. You can do this by obeying council that gives you warning of obstacles in your path, You can slow down enough to watch out for and avoid dangers, and if you start to feel swamped, or feel like you are loosing buoyancy; you can do something to refill yourself with light and air. Don't allow the heavy water of the worldly weights of sin or discouragement to swamp you. Stay full of air, which is light and truth--spirit and hope. Stay light, and you can and will safely carry a large number of people back and forth across the hazardous water multiple times, in perfect safely--just don't go too fast or too carelessly, and watch out for iceburgs. Don't let Satan and his influences breach your hull so that you become swamped and you and everyone else on board your ship goes down in a spectacular but horrifying spiritual disaster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSGeskFzE0