A litte word on Perfection ...

Have you have ever noticed how perfect a rose bud is? Each petal is the right shape and size and colour and is positioned is just the right place. Anyone who has been given roses that are just in bud will quickly realise that as the rose blooms the flower loses some of it perfection. With time and the wind and the rain the rose petals will lose their colour and their perfection and eventually die, but the memory of the perfect rose bud will remain.

When a child is born, it is perfect. Everything is just as it should be. However with the storms of life our perfect form, changes. Our hair contains streaks of grey and our hands and our faces the lines of time and the storms of life we have weathered.

We may look at ourselves and think, how can I be perfect?

The Saviour Jesus Christ tells his disciples before His crucifixion "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48) Implying that only His Father was perfect whilst He was in His earthly form, although He was the most perfect man ever to have lived, it is only through death that he became perfect.

When Jesus Christ appeared unto the Nephites after His resurection He told them something slightly different; "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect."(3 Nephi 12:48). It was only after Christ was resurrected that He proclaimed to be perfect, even has His Father was perfect.

Jesus Christ is my Saviour, my Redeemer and He wants the same for me. He wants me to be return to live with my Heavenly Father and become perfect in Him and His Atonement. To be one with the Father and with Him the Son. No more to die but to live eternally.

Matthew's Passion

Recently I was blessed by being invited to listen to a rendition of Matthew's Passion by Bach. It was awesome, inspiring and totally amazing. That was three weeks ago. However it wasnt until Sunday just gone that i realised what Matthew's Passion was, it was Matthew's testiomony of Jesus Christ.

It got me to wondering if Jesus Christ was my passion? Was He my everything?

He invited us to 'Come unto me', come learn of me and become even as I am, Perfect.

So how can I, lowly has i am come unto Christ, be like Him and find my passion, my testiomony?

Now let me put you mind at rest, this is not a difficult or a arduous task but it needs to be a steadily ongoing. A testimony is knowing that something is true, without doubt and is something that once we know it, changes our lives and the lives of people around us. But to gain that testimony of Christ he needs to know we are serious about finding out. So try the following;

- pray often

- read the scriptures

- attend church

- learn of Him

- keep His commandments

- serve others and by doing so, serve Him

We have just finished 40 days of lent where we have given up at least temporarily all sorts of things, so for 40 more days give up a little of your time to know Christ.

It's 4am

Yes, it really is!

I'm working see. My patient's are sleeping and all is calm and quiet. The world is sleeping. Waiting for the new morning.

The world is sleeping!

Yes, the world is really sleeping!

It's like a child who knows it should wake up but it doesnt want too.

The world is waiting for a king to save them. To come in his might and create mayhem with his weapons of destruction. But when the wars come, the world hangs its head in shame saying 'why oh why'.

But there is a new king. A king that will come silently into the hearts of those who are listening, waiting. Do you hear what He say 'Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' 'Learn of me' become 'even as I Am.' He is the greatest King of all. He would show the world the way to survive but they do not listen because it is too easy, too quiet.

Choose the Good part ...

"Now it came to pass, as they went, he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha recieved him into her house.

And she had a sister calle Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me.

And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her".(Luke 10:38-42)

How many times do we get to the end of the day and wonder what it is we have been doing all day? How many times do we set out a 'to do' list that never seems to get finished and we become disillusioned by our achievements?

Sometimes we become so caught up in the world that we get to end of the day and find we havent included the Lord along the way, even though we had planned to, he somehow gets forgotten.

Martha was instructed to choose the 'good part' and that instruction holds true for all of us, we need to choose the good things that bring us closer to Our Heavenly Father and thereby allowing Him to bless us in return.

To choose the good part, we need to put the Lord first. That means before we venture out into the world we should pause and spend time with Him. This may be through prayer, scripture study, or meditation or all three. By putting the Lord first we are showing him how much we love him and then he will bless us accordingly.

I know when i put the Lord first that i find time, energy and motivation to do the things i need to do every day.

At the crossroads

Every once in a while i find myself standing at crossroads in my life. Actually it feels more like i'm in a rowing boat without any oars. Just spinning round and round, allowing the waves and the winds to carry me this way and that.

After a year or more of heartache and sorrow Jesus offered me his grace. It didnt come in bright coloured paper, no did it have bright gold ribbon, but it came quietly but unmistakenly into my heart.

Accepting his grace means to know that He is always there with hands outstretched to recieve our hurt, our pain and our brokeness. No one but the Saviour who suffered even unto death for me and for you can understand those moment when through life's grief we think we will never breath again. But we do!

With his grace comes faith, knowledge, understanding and eventually acceptance. He asks us to take upon us His name, to always remember Him and to keep His commandments that one day when our work is done he will welcome us home to live with him.

The One and Only Son

The naming of the son. I only have one but i think he's a blessing from God. When i first discovered i was pregnant it was a bit of a shock. First to my brain and then too my body. Which decided it didnt like being pregnant and promptly made me sick morning, noon and night, constantly. To the point that i feared for myself and my baby. 

In the end i had a priesthood blessing of healing and comfort. I didnt stop being sick not for some time anyway but i did feel comforted. 

In the blessing i was told that my baby would be a boy and his name would be Michael and no modern technology or midwife's warnings that it might not be so could change my mind.

I also knew you should have been born on the 7th June but you arrived 3 weeks early just like your sisters, on the 19th March 1987. Perfectly healthy and definately a boy. 

Whether you look the top picture or the bottom it matters not you still look the same to me. I'm glad God sent you to me, i'm sorry the journey hasn't always been easy but you turned out just right. I'm very proud of you and you should be proud of you too.

Debt is not evil

Let me say this how i see it, whilst you are a student you are not going to get rid of your debt. Now please keep reading. There is some debt that when you are a student, unless you are very rich or know someone who is rich, that you cant avoid. However there is some debt that you can and should avoid. I dont know where you are in the world but hopefully the following will help.

- own the debt, accept that you created it

- decide what is necessary debt and what isnt

- decide what debt has to be paid now, ongoing or can wait until you have finished your course and get a job

- get your debt out, put it in front of you, so you can see all of it

- forget about the debt you dont have to start repaying until after your course finishes and concentrate on the other stuff

- cut up and throw away credit cards, store cards and the like. If you have more then one bank account decide which one you will use and stick with that one and get rid of the bank card that comes with any other banks. Dont get any more.

- stop living in your overdraft, changed banks, dont get another overdraft. your overdaft is now part of your debt.

- decide how much money you have coming in, where it will be coming from and when you will be getting it

- if you dont have a job, get one. Even 5 hours at minimal pay is survival money.

- there are some bills that are essential and there are some that are not -

- essentail; rent, utilities - gas, electric, water? - if you dont pay these they will cut you off and throw you out

- you need to decide what other things you either have to pay - travel fares, mobile phone, internet, etc - or want to pay and can you afford them.

- find out what 8% of your total income is, that's your play money, clothes, hair cuts, going out, etc

- if you cant afford to pay your debtors, tell them before they come chasing you
- you also need food money

- divide up the money you have left between your debt/ors and offer them that amount but dont break your promise. Try and get them to stop adding interest too.

This is a budget. This is called survival. If you dont stick to the budget then you have to accept that you didnt. I am the proud mother of 4 children, 2 have been through university and debt, 1 is in the middle of everything and the last one goes in the autumn. I live in the uk and i know things are different here then the usa, but debt is debt wherever you are and it weighs you down and that's not good.

The naming of the three ... daughters

                                                          Bethany, Grace and Emily

My daughters are Grace, Emily and Bethany. They think they are grown up at the ages of 22, 20 and 18 respectively. However they are still the same little girls they have always been.

Before Grace was born she was going to be named Lauren. But just after she was born the midwife asked me 'did i have a name?' I dont know where the name Grace came from but even her Dad looked surprised. Grace she was and Grace she has remained. She has also been known as Gracey-Lou, Graceling and for a while she was Norma. I read recently that the grace of God empowers us to know that we are divine. I hope she knows that she is devine and lives up to the name that God gave her.

Emily is the middle one. Also known as Lemony and affectionately Gertie was supposed to have been named Fiona but again at the moment of arrival she aquired a new name. A name picked for her from God. When a couple years ago she went away to university my advice was to find the person who was different and make a friend of that person. This she did, and now has several friends.

Last but not least was Bethany. She didnt have a name at first, the only name that had been chosen was David. We were hoping for another son but God blessed us with another beautiful daughter. For 24hrs she was baby-it. Then came the discussion, I wanted Elizabeth but Dad did not. I wanted to give her the name of her Grandmother Rose but again that was disregarded. In the end  Bethany Rose was the name that was settled on and she became that name. But there is always a feeling she should of been Elizabeth Rose.

Whatever their names, beautiful all three. Kind hearted, gentle, loving and giving, I have been truely blessed.

On Being a Woman

Have you ever sat and looked at yourself in a mirror? I have one that stands on the floor and is tall enough for me to stand in front of and see the whole of me.

But truthfully have you ever sat in front of a mirror and looked at yourself?

What do you see?

Do you see a worn-face, with wrinkles and blotches and hair streaked with grey?

Or do you see laughter lines and hues of age and wisdom in your hair?

Try this. Find a mirror that reflects as much of you as possible. Preferable one that sits on the floor or near too it. Now sit in front of it, go on. What do you see?

You are a daughter of the universe. You have a right to be here and to be just who are, right now, this moment. Some of us are mothers, grandmothers but all of us are daughters. Whenever i walk pass a mirror these days i always see my mother, and my grandmother. I look at my daughters and i see me and their grandmothers. But yet, after all the looking and comparing, I just see me.