The Fighting Preacher

I finally watched The Fighting Preacher, and I was absolutely touched. I knew the story which is amazing in and of itself, but they really knocked it out of the park. 

It's a fun, funny, light-hearted, and deeply moving story with a message for us all. I streamed it on Amazon. Actually, I bought a digital copy.

Here's a preview: https://youtu.be/8zbNxrkDUAw

Today, the Stake Presidency Member who works on the Communication Council with me and I are meeting with the government leaders of our town.  Similar to the subject of this movie, we're looking to build new relationships on behalf of the church in our area this year!  

No punches will be thrown (even if my "companion" for this meeting is a former NFL defensive lineman!)  Wish me luck!

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On my honor, I will TRY...and keep trying...

This has been my view for the last nearly 11 weeks, so can you blame me for not wanting to put him aside to hold a boring old computer?

What a blessing it has been to hold him, to experience his first smiles, just to feel his sweet spirit, and get to know this little creature.  What an honor and a blessing it is to be his Mother.

It's been a lot of work trying to keep our little world spinning.  It takes all of my time, all of my concentration and planning and continual work to move our family toward what resembles the best routine for our now family of eight.  There are a lot of needs, but I find peace in slowing down to carefully consider and meet them all as best I can in the quiet moments.  I am finding peace in being patient in responding to each child...and not forcing them to go at my pace or to respond immediately in the way I want them to, but waiting for them to willingly comply or not.  This feels right.  When I am able to do it, it feels like what God wants me to do.

After the tumultuous year we had in 2017, I was eager to turn the page and looking forward to setting and working toward some goals I personally wanted to achieve for myself in 2018.  2018 was going to be MY year, so I thought, until 2018 actually arrived bringing with it one of the hardest challenges for me yet.

What was it someone said in conference in recent years...if it were fair it wouldn't be a trial?

That's how I would characterize the trial I've been staring in the face during the first two weeks of 2018.  Unfair, hard-hitting blind-side, personal.  Also, basically, out of my control to fix, undo, or erase.

I realized that a funny thing happens as soon as you decide you want to grow in a particular area.  The Lord is more than happy to send you situations that will help you grow...but you might not like it.

And I really haven't liked it...at all.  I would have much prefered to have an easy start to 2018, but easy wouldn't have taught me what I now understand much better than I did before.

As I was going through it, I just kept rolling around in my head how unfair it was, and I kept going back and forth between being sad and being mad.

Luckily, I was realizing that being sad wasn't helping me, being mad was definitely going to hurt me, and being proud was going to keep me from moving past what had happened.

So, my first thought today was the need for me to accept what had happened without feeling the need to retaliate or right the wrong that had been done to me.  I needed to be humble.  I remembered that Jesus Christ was wrongly accused in his life, he suffered for things he did not do, but he humbly accepted it.  I began to see that my small suffering could be a blessing to me, if it allowed me to understand the Savior more.

My second thought was that I needed to forgive, because holding on to my bad feelings was only going to prolong my own suffering, so I've been praying for that as well.

But it wasn't until tonight when my husband and I were studying President Uchtdorf's talk "Three Sisters" that I heard all of the words that would help me really reach the peace I wanted to achieve.

This first quote helped me to put myself in context and realize that I had an all-powerful Being on my side ready to help me through:

"If you find yourself worrying about what other people say about you, may I suggest this antidote: remember who you are. Remember that you are of the royal house of the kingdom of God, daughters of Heavenly Parents, who reign throughout the universe.

You have the spiritual DNA of God. You have unique gifts that originated in your spiritual creation and that were developed during the vast span of your premortal life. You are the child of our merciful and everlasting Father in Heaven, the Lord of Hosts, the One who created the universe, spread the spinning stars across the vast expanse of space, and placed the planets in their appointed orbits.

You are in His hands.

Very good hands.

Loving hands.

Caring hands.

And nothing anyone ever says about you can change that. Their words are meaningless compared to what God has said about you.

You are His precious child.

He loves you.

Even when you stumble, even when you turn away from Him, God loves you. If you are feeling lost, abandoned, or forgotten—fear not. The Good Shepherd will find you. He will lift you upon His shoulders. And He will carry you home."

This second quote helped me to learn that demonizing my opposition was making it harder for me to forgive and move on.

"“When someone opposes or disagrees with us, it’s tempting to assume that there must be something wrong with them. And from there it’s a small step to attach the worst of motives to their words and actions.

Of course, we must always stand for what is right, and there are times when we must raise our voices for that cause. However, when we do so with anger or hate in our hearts—when we lash out at others to hurt, shame, or silence them—chances are we are not doing so in righteousness.

What did the Savior teach?

“I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”4

This is the Savior’s way. It is the first step in breaking down the barriers that create so much anger, hatred, division, and violence in the world.

Yes,” you might say, “I would be willing to love my enemies—if only they were willing to do the same.”

But that doesn’t really matter, does it? We are responsible for our own discipleship, and it has little—if anything—to do with the way others treat us. We obviously hope that they will be understanding and charitable in return, but our love for them is independent of their feelings toward us.

Perhaps our effort to love our enemies will soften their hearts and influence them for good. Perhaps it will not. But that does not change our commitment to follow Jesus Christ.

So, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, we will love our enemies.

We will overcome anger or hate.

We will fill our hearts with love for all of God’s children.

We will reach out to bless others and minister to them—even those who might “despitefully use [us] and persecute [us].”

It's funny how quickly peace was restored to my soul tonight upon simply re-reading and listening to these words of truth.

I received the answers I was searching and praying for simply by looking to the words of our dear church leaders.  And I now know how to proceed.  Two weeks in and I can already tell, this year is going to be a doozey!

P.S. Thanks to the reader-friend who emailed me out of the blue words of encouragement and support last week.  Whenever you guys do that for me, I know that you are following a spiritual prompting and your words come to me just when I need it most and do so much good. So thank you!!!

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Is the Book of Mormon Written for Us?

Is the Book of Mormon written for us?  Did the prophets writing therein really see our day and our "doings?"

As our family gets closer to our goal of finishing the Book of Mormon together for the third (?) time, it becomes increasingly apparent that it is written specifically for us and they most certainly did see our day.

Sixteen chapters away from the finale of the book, this is sometimes comforting and at times disturbing as it feels like the sins of our generation are on full blast on the big screen of our scripture reading each morning.

As a result, it makes it very easy to "apply the scriptures unto ourselves," just as it was easy to apply General Conference to ourselves last week.

While reading Ether Chapter 6, it was very easy to compare our family's recent move and all of the travails we've experienced before, during, and since to the journey of the people of Jared across the ocean.  It says that the Lord sent a wind to blow them continuously (344 days straight) until their barges reached the promised land.  I'm so grateful to a college friend who taught me during an FHE one evening to look at the storm and see that it was the method that the Lord used to bring the people to a better place.  Our storms can do the same thing for us.  We also noted that although there was darkness all around them and they spent most of their time buried under water and tossed about, they did not have to cross in darkness because of the faith of the Brother of Jared in Jesus Christ...and we don't have to either.

In Ether Chapter 8, which we read yesterday, we see the reintroduction of secret combinations into what was previously a peaceful beginning to their new society in what we know as the Americas.  Because of a thirst for power, people entered into oaths with one another to uphold the wicked behavior of their leaders or those who wished to lead.  We learn that these secret oaths are had among all nations and are as old as Cain and that the author of these secret combinations is Satan himself.  Moroni warns the modern gentiles (talking to us) to guard against these secret combinations and to not let them get above us, because if we do, it will prove, as with all people, to lead to our utter destruction.

Are these secret combinations had among us?  They most certainly are, if one glance at the news this week is any indication.  I couldn't sleep last night, and made the "mistake" of taking in all of the details of the latest sex scandal in Hollywood--and it's a big one.  Being a news person my main interest was discovering why this wasn't reported sooner by certain news outlets.  I remember seeing this man on TV during a news clip of the Oscars earlier this year and thinking, "Wow, he looks like a real sleazeball."  Little did I know how true that inkling was.  And how disgusting it was last night to read all of the accusations against him and even more disturbing to know that no one stood up to him, in fact, his associates aided and covered for him in a wide range of industries (including media and journalism companies) in order to gain access to his power.

As someone who worked in a lot of professional environments with a lot of powerful people before marrying and becoming a mother, I have some surprising insight into how widespread this kind of behavior is and how much people thirst for power, access to powerful people, and fame in our society.  As a young female, I got to see firsthand how men at almost any level of power prey on the young, eager, and naive women around them.  And my friends who worked in similar fields can share similarly harrowing tales.

Did the prophets of the Book of Mormon see our day.  I testify that they absolutely did, which is what makes it such a powerful tool in our lives today.

As Elder Nelson taught in General Conference, "The Book of Mormon provides the fullest and most authoritative understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be found anywhere.  It teaches what it really means to be born again...The full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon. Period."

So is it possible to turn our society around and become the kind of people who can dwell with God?  The Book of Mormon shows us that people can turn around rather quickly, if we desire to.  In Ether 9, we read that after losing the kingdom to his conspiring, wicked son, King Omer and then his son King Emer rule in righteousness...so much so that the Lord poured out his blessings upon the land and King Emer saw Jesus Christ in person.

However, we don't want to be flip-floppers during our probationary state--during our lives.  We don't want to be lukewarm.  The world will do what it will do, but we must worship the Lord and obey His commands so that we can cross through the darkness of this world with our lights shining brightly.

I tuned in only at the very end of last night's Face to Face live Youtube event, but what I heard in the last 5-10 minutes was beautiful.  

One young woman talked about standing strong against temptations and how hard that is as a youth today because they are faced with so many evil things.  She said that she thinks about someday after this life we will all sit around a table with the prophets.  She said that no one will want to say, "Oh, my life was easy."  We will say, "I worked hard.  I tried my best. I stood strong," etc.  Not one of us will say it was easy, but it will have been worth it, and our personal storms will be what brought us to a glorious end, to our personal promised land, if we have faith enough in the Savior to make the journey with His help and the help of the wisdom provided in this sacred book, which if read daily can qualify us for heaven's help in our lives.  Help we will certainly all need more and more of in the days ahead!

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Helping Children Value Family During Divorce by Lin Floyd

As an only child raised by a widowed mother, I always dreamed of growing up, getting married and living happily ever after. When I graduated from BYU, I did find a companion, married in an LDS temple and settled down to living my dream of eternal happiness and bliss.

Ten years later, three sons had joined our family when infidelity entered my ideal world and eventually lead to divorce and dissolution of our marriage vows. As I struggled on alone as a single parent trying to guide my sons to follow gospel truths, I learned many valuable lessons and strengthened my self worth as I dealt with my new challenging situation.

For anyone reading this who is trying to navigate through divorce while trying to raise a family, here are somethings that helped me:

My church was a big help as home teachers and scout leaders stepped in with their good examples in working with my sons. I became a den mother and encouraged my sons in their scouting, church attendance and priesthood duties. A loving bishop listened to my problems and gave me good advice. The church’s singles program gave me opportunities for meeting new friends in my same situation and offered fun activities for me and my sons: hikes, picnics, conferences, dances, etc. Although singles dances were a challenge never to be forgotten, many individuals did meet a future companion there. That happened for me someyears later.

Family members were supportive. Grandparents tried to maintain relationships with their now estranged daughter or son in laws through the grandkids. Loyalties were divided and forgiveness needed by all. Other extended family relationships had to be restructured. I missed out on being an aunt to my former husband’s siblings’ children. But time moved on. Non-custodial parental visits were disruptive of our family schedule but necessary for my children to understand that they still had two parents who loved them very much. Parents must work cooperatively for the good of their children.

Grieving for my losses was made easier by the gift of forgiveness which came from my Heavenly Father and freed me from self-pity and moved me towards acceptance of this new situation and eventually remarriage. In the process, I wrote a book about my experiences entitled: Discover Your Voice After Divorce: Writing Workshop for Healing and Recovery. Available as an e-book http://www.amazon.com/kindle/dp/B00GQ0OV8U/. For more about my life see my bloglettersfromlin.blogspot.com.

Despite dealing with divorce, the dream of an eternal marriage didn’t die for me and never will despite all the turmoil in the world, and subsequent experience with remarriage.

Because of the truths taught in The Family: a Proclamation to the World, which reflects things I've learned as a member of the Church through-out my life, I know that it is Heavenly Father’s plan for families to be together forever. For parents to remain true to their vows and set the proper example of commitment and love for their children to pattern their lives after. But for those who do experience divorce, don’t blame the concept of marriage, but rather the free agency and choices of those who choose to leave the comfort and safety of marriage to wander in the world seeking for fulfillment elsewhere. 

I have found and continue to find strength, comfort, and guidance for my life as I've lived and believed in the Doctrine of the Family.

Thank you, Lin, for sharing with us today. If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it on Facebook! We are sharing our family-related photos and the reasons why we love the proclamation under the hashtag #ILovetheFamilyProclamation all month long.

And please check out the other host blogs today for more wonderful posts and testimonies about family:

CranialHiccups
and
A Thing Called Love

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Standing for Traditional Marriage by Jeff MIchaelson

​

I was 17 when the family proclamation was given to the world.  I didn’t think much of it.  I had grown up in what I thought was a typical household.  We went to church every Sunday and had family night every Monday.  My dad was my bishop, and I was worried about what was going on next weekend, not what marriage and family meant to me or my faith. 

On my mission I was able to really see the devastation first-hand of homes where marriage was not important, where it was just a silly piece of paper.  I was able to see hundreds of broken homes, because there was nothing holding them together, not even a silly piece of paper. 

After returning home to California from Chile, I resumed normal life and really focused on school.  It wasn’t until early 2008 that I once again found myself spreading the joy of the family proclamation.  I was calling around to different areas throughout CA before the general election in November about Proposition 8, a proposition to ban gay marriage in the state.  I felt it was part of my duty as a Christian to follow God's law and keep the bonds of marriage between a man and a women.  Needless to say, it passed.  I was overjoyed that there were so many people who believed in traditional marriage throughout the state of CA.  The few that were mad did put my name up on the internet as a “homosexual hater” and gave out my personal information and phone number, which you can still find to this day.  I do still get calls now and then but I write it off to misinformation by mass media.  

I do not hate people--of any belief. I was simply following the guidance I was given--through God's prophet and apostles in the Family Proclamation--that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. 

I know that God loves all of His children, and that is why He has given us this important guidance on marriage and family found in The Family: a Proclamation to the World.

I am so grateful for the proclamation of family and what it has meant in my life.  All of my siblings and I have been married in the temple.  We just had a family reunion at my parents’ house in August and our family has grown from our original 7 to 22 in just a few years.  The teachings of the family proclamation are true, and if followed can lead to happiness and joy in marriage and family.  I love my family, my extended family and especially my wife.  

Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your experience defending the Family. If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it on Facebook! We are sharing our family-related photos and the reasons why we love the proclamation under the hashtag #ILovetheFamilyProclamation all month long.

Scroll down to enter today's giveaway at the end of this post!

And please check out the other host blogs today for more wonderful posts and testimonies about family:

CranialHiccups
and
A Thing Called Love

Bring the Spirit into your home with this set of sacred music. Perfect for your family's Sabbath day worship!

40 Hymns for Forty Days by Paul Cardall invokes an environment of prayer, meditation, and spiritual awareness. Walk Beside Me is a classical take on LDS children's favorites by the Classical String Quartet. The Master is a rare collection of hymns performed by the talented youth of the American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic.

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What is Family? by Wynd Ontiveros

My Life as a Testimony

My name is Wynd: pronounced just like "the wind"; I’m a junior in high school.  I enjoy art and pottery. I’m also involved in sports at my school such as; basketball and track. I moved to Pennsylvania about three years ago from Colorado, and I'm looking forward to graduating here! I've been invited to share my story with you, as part of this celebration of The Family Proclamation. I hope you enjoy!

My story isn’t like other stories... In my life, I have faced a lot of trials and tribulations, and for about three years I believed that my life was just full of, trials, hardship, and bad things all of the time.

At this point I lived with my mother and my five other siblings with no father figure in our life. We were not very active in the church when I was younger due to our unbelief that God was still there for us. We were moving constantly and always having to fend for ourselves. It was hard moving and not knowing where we'd be moving next.  

My dad left my mother, because he didn’t want to face the responsibilities that came with having six kids. My mom never gave up on us; ever since I was young she always gave everything to us first before herself. 

When we were young, this lead us to believe that she was okay and that she was doing fine on her own, because that’s what we saw. However, what we weren’t seeing was a single mom barely pulling through while suffering from bipolar-depression. 

My mom has made mistakes and has issues that prevent her from living the life she had hoped to. In this way, my Mom is probably not too different from many other people out there. But what most people don’t realize is that Heavenly Father puts us through these bumps and curves to see how strong we really are. 

Back then, I wasn’t so strong. I had believed that the bad things were good and that’s the good things were bad. Most of the time, I was rarely at home, and when I was, I watched my two older sisters leave in the night constantly and come back in pretty rough shape. I watched my younger brothers stay home from school many of times, because they were playing video games too long and had gotten no sleep at night. 

We were moving so much, and that moving made us used to running from our problems. I remember going to school for three months and then leaving again and hardly knowing my teachers. My mom was always on the run from everything that she believed was too hard or running to the things that hurt the most. 

At that age, I believed that was just what you did whenever you were faced with trials: that running to have a new start and leaving the ones who care about you most was the way to live life. 

Well, that’s what I was doing by the time I was 13!! I was tired and alone I wanted to leave and escape my home life. At the time, being with someone else and their family was the solution to my problem. I had stayed with my friend and her family mass amounts of time--so much that I was staying there for weeks on end. I was to the point where I was so oblivious to my family that I quit talking to them and interacting with them. The only times I remember talking to them was to fight with them or to yell or to blame them for the way I was feeling. I knew nothing about my siblings, however I worried about them. I worried about my brothers who were becoming ruined by lengthy exposure to playing violent video games daily at a young age, I worried about a younger sister who was being neglected, and many more problems.

But what bothered me most of all in all of this was the feeling that my siblings and I would never know the true meaning of Family. We would never know or appreciate the blessing of having each other, but instead we would always take that for granted.  And then where would we be?

It was July-something 2012, and at this point I was visiting some friends in a town that we had previously lived in, about an hour from where we were currently living. On this day my life changed drastically. My mother came to her senses and did something so brave for her. It is probably the number one thing that really makes me love my mom! 

She knew that her kids were living a life she was dreaming they would never live, so she did what most mothers can’t. She let us live with my aunt and grow up with her, because she knew that living the way we were wouldn’t help us in the end. 

But, to give us up for the greater good--to help us--would be probably the most selfless and courageous thing I have ever seen my mother do. 

I'd never believed in miracles before, but in that moment my mother's courageous act was a miracle to me--one that would change my life. 

Being able to leave a tumultuous situation, in order to have a good life and a family again was a miracle. My siblings and I were given the opportunity to call a place home and not have to worry where our next temporary home would be. Getting the chance to meet and have friends and grow in the church and in our lives. This is what saved us from enduring what no kids should go through. 

My aunt is a saint. She took us in knowing our circumstances and helped us. Many people don’t know their cousins or aunts and uncles well, but I assure you my cousins are like my siblings and my aunt is like my mother and my uncle is like the Father us kids never got. 

The Family: a Proclamation to the World teaches many beautiful truths and an ideal way to live in family life. It also states that "Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation," and that "Extended families should lend support when needed." My aunt and uncle have certainly done that.

For us to leave our home and start over one last time, knowing that we would be living a better and closer life to our Heavenly Father has been a blessing. Us girls have always been baptized members of the church, but we were never fully committed until we moved with our aunt and uncle. Their faith and belief changed ours. 

Although our living situation changed things quickly for us, it took me a while to believe and have faith in my Heavenly Father again. When I was first going back to church, it didn’t just happen for me. It took a while to know and believe what I do today. It takes time and effort and a lot of faith to be able to say that my Heavenly Father loves me and knows me and has always been there for me no matter how alone I’ve felt, but He has! My life was hard and crazy at times but, without my Heavenly Father it could have been a lot worse. 

When people hear or find out about my past they tend to feel bad for me, but that’s not what I want you to take from this. I want you to know that you may think your life is terrible and messed up and that there are others out there with worse problems than yours, and we may not think we get enough in life…but, in reality we get more than enough. 

Family means everything to me; it is the center of my world, because I wouldn’t be anything without my family. 

Most people think that your family is your Father, Mother, and siblings. Well I think your family is whoever makes you...you. 

My testimony of family is my life, because I wouldn’t be here without my amazing family.

I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us, even though at times we may not see or feel it. It’s always there; it will always be guiding us in the direction of the path He wants us to be on.

I love my family and I wouldn’t change my life at all, because even though it’s not what I wanted, my life is what Heavenly Father wants it to be. 

If you are in a similar situation, please don’t give up! Never think that your life is too hard or too painful, because Heavenly Father wouldn’t have put you through things unless He knew you could handle it. I would like to leave you with this amazing poem that a fellow friend at girl’s camp shared with me. It has helped me out so much when I’m going through rough patches.

 One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

            Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

                 In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

                      Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

                          other times there were one set of footprints.

                                 This bothered me because I noticed

                               that during the low periods of my life,

                            when I was suffering from

                        anguish, sorrow or defeat,

                    I could see only one set of footprints.

         So I said to the Lord,

     "You promised me Lord,

        that if I followed you,

            you would walk with me always.

                  But I have noticed that during

                         the most trying periods of my life

                                there have only been one

                                      set of footprints in the sand.

                                          Why, when I needed you most,

                                         you have not been there for me?"

                                The Lord replied,

                         "The times when you have

                 seen only one set of footprints,

         is when I carried you."

                                                  Mary Stevenson

Thank you, Wynd, for kicking off our celebration of The Family Proclamation. If you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it to Facebook! And please check out the other host blogs today for more wonderful posts and testimonies about family and check out the LINK below to ENTER today's GIVEAWAY! Here are links to the other blogs:

CranialHiccups
and
A Thing Called Love

********************* GIVEAWAY *********************

Check out these HOMEMAKER tees from the Brassy Apple! Megan and her daughter decided to create these after Sis. Bonnie Oscarson's call to elevate the term homemaker.

Megan says, "Stay at home Moms, Working Moms, Work from Home Moms, Homemakers, etc…..we do more good than we know. We have more “power” than we realize. We juggle more “hats” and have more qualifications for many, many, types of jobs than we give ourselves credit for! So embrace it – right now!" Enter below for your chance to win a coral homemaker tee (size large). Her shop will be up and running again after their move so check them out then to order your own! a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Hot Air Balloons and God's Power to Lift Us Up

Before I turn my blog over for two weeks of celebrating The Family Proclamation's 20th anniversary, I thought I'd share a little something we did as a family today.

Earlier this summer, we were doing tons of crafts.  For one of our crafts, we made paper mache "hot air balloons"!  These hot air balloons have been hanging in our kitchen (and Steve and I are always knocking our heads on them, but we love them.  Well, I love them!)

Just before we made these hot air balloons together, my kids and I witnessed something pretty dreadful together, which we have tried hard to forget about.  I didn't blog about it here, but perhaps I will at some point.  It was  hard thing to go through, but I know it will prepare them to stand for right and for virtue every day of their lives.

Making the hot air balloons together was just a fun way to make a memory together, but for me those hot air balloons came to symbolize our summer together, if for no other reason than that they were cheerful and happy-looking, and they made me smile whenever I saw them.

At some point, I remembered that there is a hot air balloon near where we live, which we have never attended.  So, I secretly put it on our family calendar, and told the children that I had a surprise for them.

As school started, we made important choices to continue to prioritize family time over other activities...and as hard as it was to make that choice over and over again...this is what allowed us to spend the morning together today at this local hot air balloon festival.

Even as late (or early?) as 5am this morning, the kids had no idea where we were going.

But it all became evident pretty quickly when the balloon trailers arrived.  It was interesting that we were all just as impressed with the morning sky as we were with the balloons, but both were very much worth the early wake-up call!  Magnificent!

Neither the children nor I had been to a hot air balloon event like this.  It was fun to get up-close and personal with these spectacular balloons.  

And as I type this I realize what a perfect symbol the hot air balloons are for the experiences that we had together this summer.

Although we had an unpleasant experience, thanks to "the World", early on in the summer, the Lord provided us with an escape.  He gave us a wonderful/unexpected front-row experience at the Palmyra Pageant and a VIP tour of a brand new, beautiful temple...AND a more recent special experience at the Priesthood Restoration site, not to mention many peaceful hours spent together as a family at home. 

The Lord didn't leave us to feel helpless and to wallow in our difficult, but formative, experience. 

Instead, He showed us a way out.  He showed us that no matter what the world chooses, we can always rise above, reach new heights, and see the world in all its beauty from a totally new perspective...from His perspective.

We don't always get to be lifted out of our circumstances in life, but this summer the Lord truly taught us that He is more than willing to come to the rescue at a moment's notice, to make our burdens light.

What a splendid lesson!

There is a God in Heaven. He is powerful and His influence in our lives can be felt and is real.  I'm so grateful for this knowledge.

And because of Him, families are forever and the downsides of this mortal life are only temporary.

I'm so happy and thankful to the Lord for teaching me all of these lessons again.  

Now here are some more pictures of our balloon fun from this morning.  We hope to go again next year!

Ok, stay tuned!  I'll be back with a new post about The Family Proclamation every day for the next two weeks.  

We'll be sharing testimonies of the family under the hashtag #ILovetheFamilyProclamation on social media!  Join us!

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