Prayer can heal.The dialogue between your soul and God is essential.
Prayer can heal.The dialogue between your soul and God is essential.
Your calling is where your deepest joy and world’s greatest need intersect — Rich Mullins
Fasting works. Prayer works. God is real.
There is light . . .
The Stay family tragedy has hit way too close to home. The family lived not more than 15 minutes away from us and we have several friends who are intimately involved with the family. We knew the grandmother and the hurt and shock of what has transpired has left all of us feeling a bit raw.
So many feelings and thoughts run through my head while writing this post. The temporary nature of life. Family. Miracles. Angels. God and His infinite love and mercy for every single one of his children. Friends in the media and publishing world tell me they are getting requests for interviews from all over the world, requesting access to family, funeral, first responders. To date the media has been immensely respectful to the family and to the survivors.
For some this tragedy may trigger a pause in belief. For me it has done the opposite. As I have read accounts of angels surrounding Cassidy, covering her mouth, coaching her on exactly what to do my soul hungrily soaks in those accounts. No matter what our circumstance we are never alone. Cassidy was not alone.
I believe in angels. I believe in the tender mercies of God. I believe in miracles and the trust that everything can and will work out for our own good. As the grandfather has stated, the surviving family members have no idea how they will move on but for now they will focus on the living.
I think I will too.
How to kick that lonely feeling
Between email, Facebook, and everything else, we live in a world that can seem crowded.
But even with so much going on, do you ever feel a little lonely?
I’m here to tell you: you are not alone.
. . . what matters most in friendship is feeling understood and accepted, just the way you are.
And that can help you out in times of loneliness.
It’s something that I learned years ago that literally changed my life.
I thought, “Carol, you are always going to be with yourself—always. You might as well learn to become your own best friend.”
I was the one person who was always going to be with me, so I might as well be a little friendlier to myself!
Next time you’re feeling lonely, take a moment to understand, accept, and just love yourself.
I’ll tell you what happens when you do…
You’ll speak more kindly to yourself. You’ll see the best in yourself. You’ll be more encouraging about your dreams. You’ll spend some quality time with yourself, doing what you want most. You’ll be more willing to laugh with yourself.
Here’s the big benefit to trying this:
In your process of becoming your own best friend, other people will be drawn to you because you inspire them to be themselves.
Next time you’re feeling lonely, be friendlier to yourself for a while.
And then reach out. You may be surprised who else wants friendship, too.
Here’s to being friends to ourselves—remarkable and amazing women who are making a difference in the world.
Carol Tuttle
Will we respond with love when an opportunity is before us to make a visit or a phone call, write a note, or spend a day meeting the needs of someone else? Or will we be like the young man who attested to following all of God’s commandments:
“All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”3
The young man was being called to a greater service at the side of the Lord to do the work of the kingdom of God on earth, yet he turned away, “for he had great possessions.”4
What of our earthly possessions? … It is so important for each of us to strive to lay up our spiritual treasures in heaven—using our time, talents, and agency in service to God.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband
We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us. …
“‘… Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these … , ye have done it unto me’ [Matthew 25:40].”
“So here we have the burden of those called to bear the messianic message. In addition to teaching, encouraging, and cheering people on (that is the pleasant part of discipleship), from time to time these same messengers are called upon to worry, to warn, and sometimes just to weep (that is the painful part of discipleship). They know full well that the road leading to the promised land ‘flowing with milk and honey’ of necessity runs by way of Mount Sinai, flowing with ‘thou shalts’ and ‘thou shalt nots.'”
The Cost—and Blessings—of Discipleship
BY ELDER JEFFREY R. HOLLAND
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
An honest and poignant account of one man’s forgiveness: the how as well as the why.
Genesis 18 speaks of Abraham “entertaining” three holy men. As soon as he sees them Abraham immediately asks the angels to stay and begins to prepare the best meal in the house. Verse 4 says, “Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.” He also promises to get them some bread and a chance to comfort their hearts.
These verses suggest that the men did not come in full glory with white and delightsome clothing, but as weary, travel-stained men who looked dusty (water to wash their feet) and tired (rest here for awhile and receive comfort.)
The apostle Paul told the saints of his day to “be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)
I remembered an incident many years ago when I stopped at a gas station and quickly ran in to grab a soda. People were coming in and out and as I grabbed the door to enter I paused momentarily to hold it open for the man who was following me in. I could tell by the way he smelled and a little off balance that he had had more than one drink that day.
I grabbed my soda and stood in line to pay. The man whom I held the door open for had already paid for his 6-pack and had stepped off to the side of the cash register, waiting. When my turn arrived and I set my soda down this man tossed a dollar bill onto the counter and said, “Here. This is for the lady’s sodie pop.”
I was taken aback. I stuttered a bit but finally managed to say (most heartfelt), “Thank you!”
He turned, walked out the door, and needless to say I never saw him again. But that man touched my heart in a most unexpected, extraordinary way.
Could a scruffy, worn out, three-sheets-to-the-wind guy really be an angel in disguise? Who knows? The point is not to try and guess which of God’s servants is playing undercover, it’s that we who are NOT undercover are to use every opportunity to act as His servant.
Holding the door open for someone isn’t necessarily a conscious act, but often we consciously distance ourselves from people whom we (let’s be honest) feel superior to, a little better than, or pull away from someone we don’t feel completely comfortable around. But when we stop worrying about how someone dresses, how they smell, or judging them by the mistakes they have made (and are still making) and instead start looking into their eyes, we will see that behind the trials, pain, and choices that they are just like us – children of God. They are our brother and our sister and no amount of kindness is too small.
I was entertained that day in a tiny little gas station by a humble man who was thick in the middle of his mistakes, but with one simple gesture he made me feel like an angel.
When have you felt yourself stepping out of your comfort zone to serve either a stranger or someone you know?
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