The Opposite of Fear

 "Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen!"

Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, Russell M. Nelson, April 2018

This is the quote that stood out to me in my scripture study the other day.

It made me wonder, what are the longings of my heart and what do I fear?

As I began to pray and pour out the longings of my heart,  I realized that I do have fears.

I try to be a positive person and I want to look at the good things instead of what I fear.

Especially, because as I start focusing on my fears, it becomes overwhelming.

I know that God listens to my prayers and knows all of my fears.

And He answers.

This was the answer I got today.

The opposite of fear is joy.

So, I changed my "I fear" statements to "I joy" ones.

I fear that I'm not loving my children enough.

• I joy that I have children to love.

I fear that my body is going to fall apart!

• I joy that I have a body!

I fear that I'm not doing all the things that I am supposed to be doing.

• I joy that I've been given a chance to live on this earth and learn.

It is empowering.

Cinnamon Rolls & Gratitude

I have an amazing cinnamon roll recipe given to me by my mom.

They are a favorite in our home and neighborhood.

But, I don't think anyone loves my cinnamon rolls as much as my oldest son.

He brags about them to all of his friends and is always so appreciative whenever I make them.

The other day, I made them for our first day of school "bus stop breakfast".

It was the first time I have made them since my son left on his mission.

I became pretty emotional thinking about him missing out.

But, even more, I realized how much I loved making cinnamon rolls for him.

I knew how much he loved them because he told me all the time.

Then I thought that this must be how my Heavenly Father feels when I show gratitude to Him for blessings He gives me.

It must bring Him so much joy to bless me with what He wants to give me.

I hope He knows how much I love Him and appreciate all of my wonderful blessings.

And I want all of my friends to know about Him, too!

Compassion First

There are a few times in my life, where I have a learning experience that really sticks to me.

Like, I remember where I was and exactly what I was doing when I learned it.

I have been thinking about a particularly learning experience a lot, lately.

Several years ago, my husband had someone close to him make some accusations against someone else close to him.

My first response was to figure out what the truth was.

I did not want to believe it and I wanted to fight against it.

How could this person be feeling this way?

I just couldn't see it.

The way I remember my husband responding was something like this:

"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is that this is what they are feeling."

That is the saying that keeps coming to my mind over and over again.

It is not my job to figure out what the problem is, or how I can fix it.

Right now, my job is to listen to what others are feeling.

Figuring out solutions will come.

But, this is what they are feeling.

My focus needs to be on compassion first.

Making My Bed

My life often seems hectic and a bit out of control.

There's constantly something on my checklist that needs to get done.

As I begin to feel overwhelmed, there's always one was to calm myself.

Making my bed.

I have not always been a bed maker.

It just never seemed that important.

Now, I understand the power that comes from having a made bed.

For me, seeing a made bed in the middle of all the other "to-do" things brings me peace.

It lets me know that I have at least accomplished that much today.

Making my bed is a little thing.

But, "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass". (Alma 37:6)

Gathering Scattered Israel

I took the time this morning to watch some of BYU Women's Conference.

As I was listening to Sister Bingham talk about gathering Israel, I had a thought come to my mind.

Gathering Israel means coming to Christ and bringing others as well.

Am I scattered?

Unfortunately, many times, yes!

There are many times when I am focused too much on life and all the things that need "doing".

And I forget that my main focus should be Jesus Christ.

When He is my main focus, the other things in life get done as needed.

This COVID-19 time is an opportunity to gather myself.

To remember what is most important.

As I focus on Jesus Christ through deeper scripture study, praying with more intent, and listening to His voice, I am gathering my scattered self unto Him.