There is Sunshine

From an article by Thomas S. Monson, "Living the Abundance Life",  January 2012

"William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."

"So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment."

"Charles Swindoll—author, educator, and Christian pastor—said: “Attitude, to me, is more important than … the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.”

"We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude."

A Child of God

Elder Neil L. Andersen, January 6, 2013

“You are a child of God with eternal possibilities available to you, 

and one of the greatest things you can do with your life is

 to accept who you are, where you came from, and where you are going,” 

he said. “Now, with a monarch butterfly it is very innate. 

We as sons and daughters of God feel this is true, 

but we must confirm it and believe it.” 

I Am a Child of God,

1. 
   
   I am a child of God
   And he has sent me here,
   Has given me an earthly home
   With parents kind and dear.
2. I am a child of God,
   And so my needs are great;
   Help me to understand his words
   Before it grows too late.
3. I am a child of God.
   Rich blessings are in store;
   If I but learn to do his will,
   I'll live with him once more.
4. I am a child of God.
   His promises are sure;
   Celestial glory shall be mine
   If I can but endure.
5. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
   Help me find the way.
   Teach me all that I must do
   To live with him someday.
6. Words: Naomi Ward Randall, 1908-2001. (c) 1957
   Music: Mildred Tanner Pettit, 1895-1977. (c) 1957 
   
   
   “Come to believe it,” he said. “Sometimes when you feel like you are a caterpillar and say to yourself: ‘I’m not smart, I’m not very coordinated, I’m different, I don’t have this, I don’t have that’—keep in mind who you are. We don’t all have to be the same. We come in different sizes, different shapes, different colors. Some have some talents, some have others; we don’t have to be exactly like someone else.”
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We are of infinite worth.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   With God, all things are possible.
   Matthew 19:26
   
   

Bluebird of Happiness

 “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously 
in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious 
choice which secret garden we will tend … 
when we choose not to focus on what is missing 
from our lives but are grateful for the abundance 
that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, 
the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring 
us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls 
away and we experience heaven on earth.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., 
The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), 342.

"Day by day, minute by minute, second by second 

we went from where we were to where we are now. 

The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar 

alterations and changes. 

The difference between the changes in my life and 

the changes in yours is only in the details. 

Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, 

and with the marching come the changes.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. 

The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. 

Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among 

the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn 

upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish 

between what is important and what is not. I plead with you 

not to let those most important things pass you by as you 

plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will 

have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, 

find joy in the journey—now."

Thomas S. Monson, 

October Conference 2008

He Knows Our Name

Psalm 145

 1 I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

 2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatnessis unsearchable.

 4 One ^ageneration shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

 5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

 6 And men shall speak of the might of thy ^aterrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.

 7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

 8 The Lord is ^agracious, and full of ^bcompassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

 9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

 10 All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy ^asaints shall bless thee.

 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

 12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty ^aacts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

 13 Thy kingdom is an ^aeverlasting kingdom, and thy dominionendureth throughout all generations.

 14 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.

 15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

 16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

 17 The Lord is ^arighteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

 18 The Lord is ^anigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in ^btruth.

 19 He will fulfil the ^adesire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

 20 The Lord ^apreserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

"We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance." David Bednar, 2005

The Best Is Yet to Be

BY ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From a Brigham Young University devotional
address given on January 13, 2009.
For the full text of the address in English,
 visithttp://speeches.byu.edu.

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Look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future 

"...you can remember just enough to avoid repeating the mistake, but then put the rest of it all on the dung heap Paul spoke of to the Philippians. Dismiss the destructive, and keep dismissing it until the beauty of the Atonement of Christ has revealed to you your bright future and the bright future of your family, your friends, and your neighbors. God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go. That is the thing Lot’s wife didn’t get—and neither did Laman and Lemuel and a host of others in the scriptures.

This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year—and every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life. Such is the wonder of faith, repentance, and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The poet Robert Browning wrote:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, “A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!” ²

Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep."

Finding hope and faith in this life of turmoil can be a weighty task. I testify to you that there are great things in store for those who endure.

I testify to you of our Savior's love.  He knows our names, and he knows our trails.

Have faith, have hope, have charity and this year will be filled with the tender mercies of our Lord.

I know it is true for me, and true for you.

Hope, Faith and Charity by James C. Christensen    

http://www.swoyersart.com/james_christensen/faith.htm

Mother and Child

Mother Mary

and the 

Christ Child

Matthew Chapter 1: Verse 21

 21 And she shall bring forth a son, 

and thou shalt call his name JESUS: 

for he shall  save his people from their sins.

“And the ransomed of Yahweh shall return and come to Zion with singing … 

they shall obtain joy and gladness, 

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 51:9-11)

  “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low:  and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”  Isaiah 40:4-5

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”  Isaiah 60:3

Hallelujah! 

For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

The kingdom of this world

Is become the kingdom of our Lord,

And of His Christ, and of His Christ;

And He shall reign for ever and ever,

For ever and ever, forever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,

Hallelujah! 

xoxoxo

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