Caught in a Whirlwind

At church on Sunday, I was kind of feeling overwhelmed by everything. I was there with my little ones while my husband was at home recovering from having his tonsils out. If you know our family, well, it's been a tough 4 years as far as medical things are concerned. Each of us has our trials and each of us has to learn to get through them. One thing chemo taught me was that you get to go through your trials, not around them, and that was the best thing for me. So there I was on Sunday trying to figure out the best way to get through this trial. I knew I wanted to be at church even though I would have preferred a nap at that point. I hoped that the Lord would somehow ease my burden. Then in Sunday School the teacher shared this scripture as she was comparing their War with our fight again the influence of Satan. She said that the rest of the Nephite Army started to take notice of the Stripling Warriors - they had not lost one soul. Why? As you read through Chapter 58, the answers are clear and there are many. But the thing that stuck out to me at this time was this:

But behold, they have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come.

Even though they had received many wounds, they stood fast and were strict to remember the Lord and kept his commandments.

I thought of the Armor of God and how my armor must be full of dents and dings. But I have been protected spiritually by trying to follow the Lord. It kind of put things in perspective for me.

Then to really reinforce things on my way home from church as I drove home with my two little ones (Tyler was at home recovering from having his tonsils out) we were struck by the largest and fastest dirt devil I have ever seen. The dirt clumps were the size of a softball and it really rocked the car and scared the kids. But things were okay other than all the hay stuck in every crack. Each night we read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with our little ones. This night we happened to read:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the Rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty Storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. - Helaman 5:12

and I couldn't help but think that the Lord had heard my prayer and answered it. I underlined and wrote down the things those scriptures said to do. It's been great to refer back to. This not only brought me peace, but it strengthened my testimony of church attendance and nightly family scripture study. What a wonderful experience!

The truth about life's great questions is now restored.

While Jonathan and I were living in Kansas, we were part of a big media campaign for the church. Our church tried this out in 3 areas of the United States to see how effective it was. It was a wonderful time for our ward as we prayed for missionary experiences.

We were also given a new pass along card. This card was similar to a business card. The front of the card said, "The truth about life's great questions is now restored." The back of the card said, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and underneath that, www.mormon.org." How long has it been since you have taken the time to visit this wonderful site provided by our church?

Once we started to participate in the campaign, I visited the site often. I realized that it had been changed some, and was full of amazing answers. While I was in Kansas, I used every opportunity possible to hand out the card. However, I was never able to use the website as a reference.

My favorite part about this website is the testimonies of just everyday people. These wonderful people are answering questions about life's great mysteries. These sincere people are not paid actors, but just ordinary people like you and me.

This last weekend I was reminded of this wonderful tool. I had a chat with a dear friend. Here were some of her concerns with life; I am searching for something more. Why do people have to die? Why do people have to get sick? Will I see them again? Where do we go when we die? As she voiced her concerns, I knew that this wonderful tool would give her the answers to some of her troubling questions. As she asked me these things, she had tears in her eyes. I knew she was truly searching for something more.

I know with all my heart that the truth about these difficult questions has been restored. I am thankful that our church has designed a tool that can help us answer these questions for the people in our life that we love so dearly. As a person, who has been a member for her whole life; these questions are not hard for me. I know if I didn't know what God wanted me to know, I would feel lost. Take the time to share this site with someone, or go to it for yourself.

http://www.mormon.org/

The Errand of Angels beginning...

So.. as many of you know, I love to blog about my family and other random things in my life. There are lots of wonderful ideas and feelings that I love to share. Well, because of serious promptings I have recently had... I decided to make my family blog private.
It was such a hard decision for me. I really wanted to be able to share those important feeling with others.

I specifically wanted to share my testimony about the church, and thoughts about the gospel. After reading an article in the Ensign from Elder Ballard, I really took the challenge he laid out and applied it to my blog. He said, "There are conversations going on about the church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the church teaches....Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration."

Well... a private blog kind of defeats this purpose. After lots of thoughts and prayer about this, my prayer was answered. I was talking to a friend, and she suggested doing a blog with a group of women. A blog where we could all contribute our thoughts. I really pondered on this for a few days, and I love the idea. So... this is what I came up with. I am in the process of asking some of my good friends to contribute. It should be fully staffed soon.

Why the Errand of Angels? Well, first of all I love the song As Sisters in Zion. I think the words have such a strong message. I also felt they encompassed just what I want this blog to be about. ...And that is the role of women. I truly believe that we on an errand for angels, to cheer, to bless, to serve, to love, and comfort. I hope we can share our thoughts on this, and uplift others and one another as we do so.

I am so excited for this, and I hope that you will share this blog with others. We will try to uplift and bless as we fulfill a small part of our errand through this blog.