Going Beyond the Mark

Sometimes I go overboard. I try to do too much and I  make things more extreme than they ought to be. This picture is a little creepy but sends a powerful message. Always remember, a little is good but things can always get carried away if I don't check myself.

I am grateful for the checks and balances in my life. Some say that the dos and don'ts offered up in commandments or other directions by wise leaders can be restrictive and too authoritarian. Eventually I hope that my inner guide works the best, but those external suggestions and even mandates can be a great guide to keep me from getting too carried away. That slippery slop of self deception can get me to a point I don't really want to be.

One of my best checks and balances are the brutal honesty of my daughters. They will always keep me in check as long as I welcome their honest feedback.

Too Many Requirements?

I love the admonition in Thessalonians 3:13. “Be not weary in well doing.” I have been thinking a lot about the complaint of some people that our church has too many requirements. I have to believe that when we feel like it is too much, we have to have the wisdom and inspiration to know what is needful for us personally and pull back when necessary.

So much of what I have done that has brought me stress has been done out of stroking my own ego and not out of genuinely serving. That is priestcraft and no wonder I feel stressed and resentful for what is expected of me. It is because I am doing things for the wrong reason and to please the wrong people.

What I really know is that my Heavenly Father doesn’t expect more of me than I can handle and that the overdoing is of my own creation because of a sick need to prove myself to others and live up to their expectations instead of His. Overdoing and stressing about something isn’t something my Father expects of me, it is what my cursed ego expects. If I ever feel the expectations pulling me down, just know it is really the requirements of my own ego and not what God asks of me. Give up my own ego and I can better give up the stress of what is required and thus I can serve with more righteous purpose and ease.

My Savior's Birthday

Today I am celebrating the birthday of my Savior, Jesus Christ. As my gift to Him, I am developing my own list of ways I can be better disciplined in order to be a better disciple of His. It hit me that developing self discipline in and of itself and certainly for my own glory is incomplete and would be prideful and ultimately self destructive. But doing it as a means to another more important end is what I believe the admonition "enduring to the end" is meant to convey. That is what the commandments direct us to--to draw us closer and become a worthy disciple of His; not to make us "righteous."

Going Up to the Mountain

I usually post random pictures I find on google images. Today I used my own photographs from my Saturday morning hike to celebrate my return to the mountain.

I have always lived just below these mountains and each Saturday morning in the early Spring until as late in the Fall as I can, I enjoy hiking up and experiencing not only a great physical workout but also an incredibly spiritual encounter.

The first photograph was taken from my car as I left my home. The second and third pictures are on the trail up the mountain. The final picture is the spot where I stop, sit, and give thanks for all that I am so blessed with. I am grateful for a magnificent place to come and commune with nature, which automatically puts me in touch with God. I am grateful for a physical body that allows me that labor-intensive experience, even though I am breathing like Darth Vader on the way up.
 

My Greatest Lesson

The greatest lesson I have learned and keep on experiencing is that my stress or my peace is my own creation. I simply need to have the discipline necessary to hold on to my peace. To get in and stay in that space where I am one with my Heavenly Father. That is the gift of the atonement--that "at one ment" of feeling the connection to my Father's love and peace. The thought, "It isn't what happens to us that matters, but how we react to it," is incredibly powerful and true. My reaction can bring peace or stress. It is my choice. I know that my propensity to want control my life by thinking that I need to control others or feeling powerless and fearful of their choices was my greatest deception and brought me the most stress and pain. I know that no one really caused me the most pain. I did it to myself by my negative reaction. I declare I am "response able!" It is my responsibility to stay in the place of peace and joy. Sometimes I just need to stop, close my eyes, and take a deep breath to feel that connection.

Don't Take Yourself So Damn Seriously

Once upon a time in a tiny village in Layton, Utah, a very cultured and serious Bishop lowered and looked over his reading glasses and told a young Elder's Quorum President who was obsessively concerned about how well he was doing in his calling; "Don't take yourself so damn seriously."

Some of the best advice given.

You know folks, things have a way of working out. Sure, there are always people who need to take life a little more serious, but for those of us living in the compulsive/obsessive realm; we need to lighten up and laugh a little more and know that we really aren't in charge anyway. And just know that my blog posts aren't really for anyone's benefit but my own.

We are here to learn from our experiences

I love to reflect. I have learned so much from my experiences as I sit and reflect and write.

This I know. We all have difference experiences because we all have something different to learn. I am grateful for all of my experiences because I have been richly educated and changed in the process. I am grateful for the gift of reflection because it helps me see the purpose in the story of my life and helps me gain greater understanding and ultimately gratitude.