Seek ye first to build up the Kingdom of God

Dear Sisters,

A couple weeks ago, I was gifted an old sturdy dresser. Doug wasn't too excited, but I convinced him I would spruce it up, and that it was a good idea.  Last week, I was sanding down the dresser to paint it; however, my project was interrupted with other duties and I decided I would have to finish it the following day.  While I was at work the next day, we got an abundance of rain, and I came home to a completely ruined dresser.  It was totally warped, and the water damage was beyond repair.  I was discourage and frustrated with myself for not finishing the project, then to add insult to injury, as Doug and I were lifting this extremely heavy dresser to put it in the back of the truck and take it away, Doug's hand got stuck in between the trail-gait and the dresser while I lifting and pushing hard.  Due to our lack of communicating, I just kept right on pushing, and in pain, he dropped the dresser, which landed directly on my big toe.  Even with shoes on, it smashed the nail and took the skin off of top.  It was very painful for both of us.

I know... this is kind of a sad series of events, and I'm sure you are wondering why I would depress you with my silly first-world problems, but I learned two lessons from this experience that I was wanted to share.

1) Simplify.  We didn't really need the dresser in the first place.  Sometimes, it's ok to pass up a good deal or let something go. (Just not on your toe ;)  In the end, it's just stuff, and we can't take it with us.

"The prophet Alma taught, “Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you” (Alma 39:14). You’ve probably heard the saying “You can’t take it with you.” Well, it’s scriptural.

So where should our focus be? The Savior has told us to look beyond the way station of this world toward our final destination. He said, “Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:38). He also taught, “Thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better” (D&C 25:10)."

2) It is so important to communicate.  If Doug and I would have talked through our "lifting the dresser" job, we both would have been spared a lot of pain.

One LDS marriage counselor has written: “Effective communication is more than just ‘talking,’ it is the type of interaction that gets the job done: solves problems, builds self-esteem, enhances the relationships, relays important messages, reinforces mutual respect, and helps bond the couple together as an effective unit.” 1

Maybe, these lessons seem obvious, but I had to learn them the hard way, so hopefully this week, you remember to keep life simple by seeking first the Kingdom of God, and communicate.  

I care so much about you and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Lydia

Contemplate the Works of Nature

Dear Sisters,

Check out this view!  

I'm not trying to brag. :)  I just wanted to share the beauty!
As I have been hiking around in the mountains this week, I have been reminded of how much our Heavenly Father loves us.  He has blessed us to be surrounded by such beauty and variety.  Take a moment this week to enjoy His creations. Even the small ones.

This was a cool moth I ran into on my way to somewhere and I just couldn’t get over every little detail.

I think as we pause throughout our day to express gratitude to the Lord for this beautiful earth, it must make his happy knowing that we enjoy His creations.

"I wish to contemplate the works of nature, and to know something of nature's God, and my destiny. I love to view the things around me; to gaze upon the sun, moon, and stars; to study the planetary system, and the world we inhabit; to behold their beauty, order, harmony, and the operations of existence around me. ... everything is beautifully harmonious, and perfectly adapted to the position it occupies in the world. Whether you look at birds, beasts, or the human system, you see something exquisitely beautiful and harmonious, and worthy of the contemplation there was a God, [even] if there was no such thing as religion in the world." (President John Taylor)

“Stop to smell the flowers.”  Hope you have a lovely week and find something in nature to enjoy!

Sincerely,

Lydia

"Virtuous, Lovely, or of Good Report"

Dear Sisters,

I hope you are well and happy this lovely Sunday.  It's been nice to find the sun again.

Last Sunday, we had a great 5th Sunday lesson about technology.  We were tutored on how to use some of the Church produced apps like LDS Tools and the Gospel Library.  

We live in a miraculous time when a wealth of information and incredible resources are at our fingertips.  It is so important to use our electronic devices for good.  I'm grateful the church has come up with some amazing apps like these and family search, so that we can use to further our understanding of the Gospel.  

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

This is a neat video clip the church created about technology:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CstRqAlAZf0

I hope you will find some good ways use technology this week.  Study your scriptures, listen to some hymns, or watch some bible videos.  Fill your lives with good, up-lifting things.

Sincerely,

Lydia

"Always Remember Him: Pray in Faith"

Dear Sisters!

Happy New Year!  I have a good feeling about 2017.  I think it's going to be a good one.  

As a Presidency, we have decided our Lorin Farr 4th Relief Society Theme for this year will be: "Always Remember Him: Pray in Faith"

​

I hope in your goal setting this New Year, you consider putting Christ at the center. 

According to Elder Christofferson, we should begin by "...stripping everything out of our lives and then putting it back together in priority order with the Savior at the Center.  We should first put in place things that make it possible to always remember him. ... Once we make adequate time and means for these matters in centering our lives in Christ, we can begin to add other responsibility and things of value, such as education and family responsibilities.  In this way the essential will not be crowded out of our lives by the merely good, and things of lesser value will take a lower priory or fall away altogether."

This is my personal goal this year.  I think I have given far too much weight to "things of lesser value" on my priority list.  I'm looking forward to setting things straight and seeing the blessings that come into my life as I put Christ at the center.

"When we always remember the Savior, we can 'cheerfully do all things that lie in our power,' confident that His power and love for us will see us through."

I love that word "cheerfully" in there.  We need to be faithful and happy about doing the Lord's work.  The gospel really is the "good news."  It's something to celebrate!

 I'm so grateful for each of you beautiful sisters and the blessing you are in my life.  You are special and unique and I know that Lord loves you!  I hope you have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Lydia 

Light the World

Dear Sisters,

Merry Christmas!  It feels good to say that.  This is such a wonderful time of year!  I have to share a cute story that made me smile.  

On Monday, the first day of snow this year, I thought it would be funny to pretend that I didn’t know what snow was with my 1^st and 2^nd graders.  First thing in the morning, I gathered them and told them something really weird had happened in the night that I needed to talk to them about.  I described it, and before I could even finish, they were all telling me it was SNOW! They were appalled that I wouldn’t know what that was.  I said, “Well, I can’t figure it out.  It’s cold and wet and making everything so white.  Why is it there?!”  One little boy raised his hand and blurted out, “It’s there because of Baby Jesus, Mrs. Stewart!”  From the mouth of babes.  Even these little ones understand the reason for the season. J

​

Speaking of little ones, I just want to share a simple experience about the importance of our examples.  Last Sunday, we were fortunate to hear some great talks from some of the young men in our ward.  Gavin Irwin talked about gratitude and made a cute little list of things he was grateful for using the alphabet.  A couple nights later, I went in to tuck my boys in, and clearly interrupted them, as they said, “Oh man, Mom!  Not yet!  We never make it all the way through!”  I asked, “All the way through what?”  “All the way through the alphabet with things we are grateful for, like that Irwin boy.”  I never would have guess my boys were listening at all during sacrament, but I was so happy to find that they found a good role model to follow.  I listened as they finished taking turns with each letter.  I am grateful for those young men for setting a good example.

Sisters, the Savior set a perfect example for us.  I love the “Light the World” video clip, that shows people following the Saviors example through simple acts of service.  

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others."

-Elder Henry B. Eyring

I want to challenge you sisters to find an opportunity to love, serve, and “light the world” this Christmas Season.  It doesn’t have to be big—just something simple. Follow this link to find some great ideas: 

https://www.lds.org/blog/25-ways-to-lighttheworld-this-christmas?cid=HP_TH_1-12-2016_dOCS_fBLOG_xLIDyL2-2_

​

Count your blessings and find joy in the Savior this season!  I hope you have a wonderful week! PS --- Don't forget to come to our fun "Appetizer" Activity this Wednesday at 6pm! (Invite your friends and neighbors!  See you there!

Sincerely,

Lydia 

A Sign of God's Love...

Dear Sisters,

I’ve had a rough time getting an email off this week, but I haven’t forgotten you. :)

As we interviewed most of you concerning visiting teaching last month, I asked many of you: “Why you do your visiting teaching?”  As I listened to your reply, I was reminded several time of how Adam responded when the angel asked him why he offered sacrifices.  He responded:

“I know not, save the Lord commanded me.”

And then the Angel proceeded to explain that,

“This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.”

 (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:6-7)

Sometimes we do things in an effort to be obedient without understanding why, and what a wonderful place to begin!  However, I hope that you search your hearts for a deeper understanding, so that your testimony of Visiting Teaching can begin to grow. 

I am going to break a little bit from a traditional message and share some personal thoughts from my own precious sisters.  They are amazing ladies, and I actually asked them that same "Why" question in a group text.  I thought their experiences were inspiring, and hope that in sharing them, perhaps you will identify or feel encouraged.  (I apologize for the length. If you can’t read it all, at least read the underlined bits.)

My Precious Sister-in-Law:

I have to admit visiting teaching has never been easy for me and I don't necessarily love it. I often get assigned to people I wouldn't naturally enter into a close friendship with, who are struggling, or who are impossible to schedule with. So I can see why some sisters can get discouraged or struggle with it because sometimes it is hard. However, I do have a testimony of it and that's what keeps me going.

I see the visiting teaching program as a sign that God loves us so much that he doesn't want us to feel alone, friendless, or desperate especially in darkest hours.  Visiting teachers are entitled to receive revelation on how to best help the ladies they are over and in that sense it's a way that the Lord can minister to his children's needs. It's really a beautiful thing.

Currently, in my new ward, I have felt lonely. I have been here four months with no sign of visiting teachers or even a visiting teaching assignment, even though I have asked. I contrast this somewhat friendless time in my life, with my time in Ohio when my visiting teachers made such an effort to be true friends to me, and I can't help but think what a difference that would make in my life right now. I am fairly independent and can manage fine and keep busy and my testimony is strong, but what if I were someone in this new ward with no friends, dealing with something tragic or with illness or a wavering testimony? The Lord doesn't want anyone to slip through the cracks.

I also think of the sweet experiences I had in Ohio with the three ladies I visit taught. One was a sweet sister who's husband was a very busy plastic surgeon resident with three little kids. She really needed the support of her friends and visiting teachers. And everything I tried to go out of my way to do for her seemed to mean so much to her.

Another sister was a convert from Cameroon, with a heavy accent.  She hadn't been to church in ten years because of her job. We were her only contact with the ward, really. When she was able to switch jobs and start coming to church again, she at least knew my partner and I, and when she and her husband were able to receive their endowments and be sealed in the temple, my companion and I were able to go through right by her side.

The third sister was a single lady who was forty and had a bipolar disorder. When I became her visiting teacher, she was a mess. She was just about to get knee surgery and was struggling financially and trying to finish nursing school while working full time. She needed food, rides everywhere, her garbage taken out, her guinea pigs cages cleaned, her ice machine for her knee changed, and most of all, moral support. I organized everything and stopped by her house at least once a day and gave her many rides. I often had a bad attitude about it, but it made such a difference in her life. Over the two years I was her visiting teacher, she struggled with many things and was often almost suicidal. She was often crying on our couch, getting blessings from from my husband, or sleeping in our basement. I expected our relationship to be one sided and a bit of an emotional drain for me.  There were times at first when it was, but I was surprised when it developed into a true and deep friendship that was far from one sided. She became very close with my little daughter, and she would often invite me to movies or to grab a piece of cake at a bakery or to the zoo. And when I was alone in Ohio while my husband was driving the moving truck across the country, who do you think was there helping me clean, bringing me treats, and keeping me company?

I learned so much from these three ladies about the Lord’s love for his children through them. We often think of visiting teaching as one sided, but many time it was the people I taught who were there for me in times of need. I was far from perfect at doing an official message each month, but I tried to focus on their needs, even though they were all so different, and as I did, I could really feel the Lord’s love for them and for me through visiting teaching.

It is so nice to simply not feel invisible. The small things we can do to help the people we teach not feel invisible or alone can make a huge difference, even if they don't physically or emotionally seem to need help. It made me feel so good when one of my visiting teachers decorated my door the night before my birthday!

Striving to have the spirit is the key. One lady I taught years ago never seemed to need anything and always seemed happy. We didn't have the deepest connection, but we were still friends. One time when I had to do the visiting alone, I felt prompted to say "I know you never need anything from me, but is there anything you just need to talk to someone about or to vent about?" And she broke down crying and told me all about her infertility struggles. I'm not sure that I had much to say in return, but later she told me how much had needed to just say it all out loud to someone. The spirit can help us, but I think we become more entitled to that revelation if we are consistently trying to befriend them and visit our sisters.

My Amazing Baby Sister: 

​

I have struggled with visiting teaching and I still do sometimes, just because I'm not the best conversationalist,  I don't anyways feel like the women "need" me (they're already so put together) and truthfully I'm exhausted with my calling and being a mom to smalls. It's sometimes tough for me to ask "can I take your little rambunctious two year old for you so you can have a break?" when I already have one of my own plus three more. And sometimes it's hard to give a real spiritually uplifting thought when I'm trying to calm my son who is screaming and crawling up my body because he's terrified of the giant dog sitting in the couch, :) Or I know my baby needs a nap and we've been visiting for two hours, and I go home thinking I was just a warm body in the room.

I'm sounding like a downer and I don't mean to be, but I'm just saying "I get it." Sometimes we might feel like it's a waste of time. BUT then I remember the times where having visiting teachers come to visit me and get to know me has meant the world to me. When I first moved to here, I was so intensely lonely. Technically I was fine, I was busy with a new baby and I didn't HAVE to have someone to talk to, but boy, it would have been nice. 

Last year, I got a visiting teacher who tried so hard to be thoughtful. She would drive by the house and notice me unloading groceries and she would stop to help me. She was one of the only ward members at the time who I felt brave enough to tell about my blog.  And she looked at it regularly and encouraged me. She even looked to see my list of "favorites treats" and she brought them to me on my birthday. They were just little things but I felt like I actually had a friend who cared about me.

I have to think of those things and pray for small things within my limited capacity that I can do for the women I visit teach, even if it's just saying something kind. I remind myself that it means a lot to me to have someone come to my house and care about me; maybe it would mean something to them.

Whether the situations end in a positive experience or not, all women have a chance to become more Christ-like, with an opportunity to stretch and grow. I guess that's what I've always fallen back on. Whether I make a friend or not, I know that it's giving me the opportunity to do what Christ would do.

_____

My other sister-in-law suggested that “a big part of visiting teaching is just knowing who you teach and knowing who teaches you. It would be great if we could get rid of the guilt that comes with not being a perfect visiting teacher or getting the "right numbers".”

My hope is that we can all begin to see visiting teaching as a sign of God’s love for his daughters, and an opportunity to become more like our Savior.

I love you sisters!  Hope you have a Happy Halloween! Don’t eat too much candy. ;)

Sincerely, 

Lydia 

Distinct and Different in Happy Ways!

Dear Sisters,

Do you realize how precious you are?  Do you recognize the vital part you play in preparing the world for the second coming of the Lord?  Our lesson today was on Leadership, and I couldn’t help but think of this quote by Elder Packer:

“We need women who are organized and women who can organize. We need women with executive ability who can plan and direct and administer; women who can teach, women who can speak out. …

“We need women with the gift of discernment who can view the trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or dangerous.”

Tonight, I would like to echo Elder Nelson’s words from his most recent talk, “A Plea to My Sisters.”  This is a talk I urge each of you to familiarize yourselves with—I would very much like to quote the entire talk… in fact I did, and then I had to painfully edit and re-edit. Brevity is not one of my strong suits.  

He quoted a prophecy President Kimball made over 30 years ago.

“Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world … will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.”

 

Elder Nelson exclaimed that we are the women he foresaw!  Do you think of yourself as distinct and different in happy ways?  I absolutely love that idea and the reminder that we need to stand out and “lighten up.”  The Gospel should be bringing you joy!  

“I wonder if we as Church members might benefit from asking ourselves from time to time: “Is my experience in the Church working for me? Is it bringing me closer to Christ? Is it blessing me and my family with peace and joy as promised in the gospel?” (Elder Uchtdorf)

If we are not feeling joy in the gospel, Elder Uchtdorf urges us to “simply” and “start where we are.” 

“God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you. All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord.”

“Today, we need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world.

 

I pray each of you will do your part to fulfill President Kimball’s prophecy. Elder Nelson promises that as we do, “the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way!”

Start where you are!

Sincerely,

Lydia