Book Winners!

I love giving away books! A big thank you to all who entered. I've had so much fun, I'll do this again soon.

Now for this weeks winners. The lucky numbers drawn from my once-a-chocolate-box are #11 and #41. #11 belongs to M&M Embley. # 41 is Marti. If you will both send me your addresses via my email (smillsjo at gmail dot com) I will send out the books. Just let me know what you think of it after you've read it! If you lke the book tell everyone you know about it. If you don't like the book just keep it a secret! Congratulations!

To everyone--remember to make it a happy day. But then what else can it be with all those excited children running around in cute costumes. Enjoy!

Joy of the Day--Enthusiasm

Many years ago while driving on I-15 the warning light on my car suddenly glared at me and the car started growling angry noises. I pulled off the freeway at the next exit and as luck would have it there was an automotive shop just a way down the frontage road. I pulled in and a young man leaped out of the bay to greet me. “How can I help you?” he asked. I explained, and he took over while I sat on a chair and watched. He and another mechanic were the only employees present, but they both dropped what they were doing and began examining my car with such enthusiasm it was apparent they were delighted at the challenge of finding and fixing another motor problem.

For the next hour, I watched as they went about their work. Was I bored? No way! They were so excited and obviously loved their work so much that it was sheer delight to watch them. Since that day I’ve watched a lot of people work hoping to find that same kind of enthusiasm. It is rare, but it is worth it when you find it. People who love what they are doing are so happy and their happiness and enthusiasm is always contagious. I walk away from them wanting to be a happier, better person.

The word enthusiasm has an interesting history. Originally it came from the Greek words en and theos which mean “in god” and in its verb form meant “inspired or possessed by a god.” From there it passed from Latin and French into the English with the sense of “divine inspiration.” During the Puritan era it took on a derogatory meaning of “excessive religious emotion.” But the modern meaning of “eagerness” has displaced the negative meaning so that it now describes those young auto mechanics in a very positive way. They were inspired and possessed by goodness and joy and love.

I learned a lot that day that I have never forgotten. Each of us is daily faced with the choice of whether we will simply do what needs to be done, or whether we will do what needs to be done with enthusiasm. I’m voting for enthusiasm!

picture from: http://silverbulletselling.com



PS Don't forget to sign up for the book giveaway.

Bring on the Light!

In the first Epistle of John we read that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). I’ve always understood the metaphor in that verse, but lately I’ve been pondering on how literal that is. I think of the things I equate with darkness in my own soul. Obviously sin and fear are darkness as are depression, discouragement, and doubt. But there are other things like worry and stress that fill me with darkness. Too often I think of these as just part of life unlike sin which has to be overcome.

But when I read John’s words I began to rethink the matter. If there is no darkness in God then obviously He doesn’t get depressed, discouraged, or doubt. But He also must not worry or stress.

Learning that is helping me. Lehi taught that “Man is that he might have joy,” (2 Nephi 2:25), and worry and stress are not part of joy. So when I begin to feel worry and stress darken my day, instead of just accepting them like I do sunshine or rain, I realize that they are choices and that I have the ability to choose them or joy and that God wants me to have joy. Then I use one of the Truth Tools to escape the dark and live in the Light of Truth where joy is found in great abundance.

Secondary Messages

Recently I had one of those awakening moments—you know, a moment when you suddenly realize that not everyone sees life like you do. You’d think that by my age I’d have exhausted those moments, but the other day after teaching a student came up to me and said, “But the real meaning in that verse is. . .” as if there could be only one meaning. As he spoke to me I realized that he really thought that the statement made by Nephi could ONLY have one meaning.

For years I’ve been obsessed with looking at what I call secondary meanings. To my way of thinking everything in life has multiple meanings, especially the things we say. When a mother says to her child, “Put on your gloves. It’s cold outside” the first meaning is obvious. It’s a simple command. But the secondary message can be one of many things. Hopefully it is “She loves me enough to care about whether I am warm or not.” However, past experience or tone of voice can change that secondary message. Maybe the child perceives the secondary message to be, “She just wants everyone else to think she’s a good mother.” Or, “She spent all that money on gloves and she just doesn’t want it wasted.” Or, “She doesn’t think I can take care of myself. She doesn’t trust me.”

Understanding that what we read and what we say can have multiple meanings changes how we interact with the world. First, when someone reads a verse of scripture and gets something out of it that we didn’t we don’t need to dismiss it as “wrong.” Every verse in scripture can teach us many things. Second, when we interact with others we need to stop and think about the secondary messages that could be attached to what we are saying or doing. When a child is struggling to cut out a paper doll and you suddenly say, “Here, let me help you,” your intentions may be very loving, but the secondary message may be “You are incompetent.”

This isn’t a principle that only applies with children. Any communication with spouses, friends, coworkers, or family carries secondary messages with it. If we learn to look for the possible secondary messages when dealing with others, we can make our communication more effective. And when reading scripture? By looking for secondary messages, we learn more. And when we are the recipient of a message? We should realize that the secondary message we are attributing to the person may be true, but then again, it may not!

Givaway: My Book - Gospel Insights for Everyday Living

This week, as I promised, I am giving away two copies of my new book, Gospel Insights for Everyday Living.  Writing this book was a labor of love. It consists of insights I have gleaned over the years about what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about, and how it operates in our lives to bring joy and peace and hope into daily living. The “chapters” are very short. (That’s why I put chapters in quotation marks—they are so short they almost can’t be called chapters.)  Each chapter zeros in on one gospel principle and usually just one idea about that principle so that you can read a chapter in a few minutes while waiting for the carpool or for an appointment or whenever you have a few minutes.

Soooo. . . if you would like a chance to win a copy of Gospel Insights just leave a comment below. The contest will be open until Friday at midnight. Saturday morning I will randomly draw two winners from among those who leave comments and post the names here on the blog. Tell anyone who might be interested and you are welcome to post this on your own blogs in case anyone else wants to join in.

I love this giving away thing!!! Good luck!

The Parable of the Quicksand

One day while walking in the forest watching for birds, Clarence came upon a man stuck up to his waist in quick sand. Surprised that the man who was sinking deeper each minute wasn’t calling for help, Clarence asked if he wanted help. “Another one of you bird watchers,” the man said. “You think you have all the answers.”

Startled Clarence said, “But I have a good, sturdy rope. I could tie it to a tree and give you the end so you could pull yourself out.”

“You just don’t see reality do you?” the sinking man said. “You think that all there is to life is walking along your way enjoying nature, observing birds. But reality is mud and quick sand and those are the things we need to deal with in life. You think just because I hold on to some rope I can be out of this mess?”

“Well, yes. I once fell in quicksand, but I got out by using a rope.”

“How little you know of life. Are you not educated? Have you been brainwashed so that you don’t see reality? I know your type. A Simpleton with Pollyanna solutions to life’s deepest problems.”

Clarence could see that the man was getting deeper and deeper into the muck and he feared for the man’s life. “But you are sinking fast. Please let me help you out!”
The man laughed. “You think a rope is going to save mankind from all the sinkholes in the world. Take off your rose colored glasses, man! See reality for a change! This is reality!” and he pointed to the mud that engulfed him.

“But I’m standing on dry ground. That mud is not my reality.”

“So naïve!” the man said. But by now his chin was touching the mud.

“Please,” Clarence called one last time. “Let me help you. There is so much more to the forest than quicksand. Let me give you the rope and then show you the trees and animals and flowers.”

But it was too late. With a proud, all knowing smirk on his face the man slowly disappeared into the mud.

The moral of this story? Negative attitudes sink the soul but they also blind the eyes.

Picture found at: http://www.movements.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/34776777quicksand-1.jpg

The Waters of Marah

While camped at Marah, just three days after their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the children of Israel began to complain to Moses because the water was bitter to the taste.  All they could think about was their thirst, and forgetting the power God had manifest in their behalf when He parted the Sea and allowed them not only to cross but to cross on dry ground, they murmured against God thinking He had now forsaken them.

You and I are also wandering in a wilderness called life where some days we experience miracles and other days trials. Is our memory so short that three days past the good all we can see is the bad? Marah means bitter and it was named that because of the water there, but it more aptly fits the people and their attitudes.  They forgot how the Lord had delivered them and chose to be bitter instead of grateful. But instead of murmuring, Moses turned to the Lord and asked how to solve the problem. The Lord showed Moses a tree and told him to cast the tree into the water. Moses did as he was commanded and the water became sweet to the taste.

There is so much symbolism in that story for all of us to learn from.  The cross of the Atonement is often called a tree, and the Lord was teaching the people that the bitterness of life could be made sweet through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Moses tells us that this was a test for the people and that they were then told, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26).

The bitter experiences of life are a test for all of us. Will we murmur against the Lord because of the bitterness or will we trust in the Lord? If we trust the Lord will heal us and protect us from the “diseases” of the world.

After leaving Marah, Moses led the people to Elim, which means palms.  We are told that there were twelve wells of water in Elim and 70 palm trees.  Twelve is a symbol of priesthood and it is through the priesthood that the living water of the gospel (the covenants) is administered to mankind. Seventy is a symbol of perfection or completion and palms are a symbol victory. So the people were guided out of the place of bitterness to a place where the priesthood could complete them (through the covenants) and bring them to victory.

It is a given that we will encounter bitterness as we travel this wilderness called mortality, but if we diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord, He will lead us to victory and through the Atonement heal us of the bitter experiences we encounter along the way.