Once upon a time I went a whole year without buying clothes.

When you go on a shopping spree, do you think about the Lord

and all he has provided for you. I certainly don't.

I also haven't been on a shopping spree in years.

I went a whole year without buying clothes.

So when I spend money now,

it's usually on: food,

and flights to visit exotic places.

I justify my purchases like anyone, but something interesting happened

as I was reading the words of the prophets...

Here's the thought:

Think about the Lord, Think about this quote next time 

you go shopping for clothes..

Robert E. Wells

“To be poor in spirit means to be humble, teachable, contrite, meek, obedient. As the Phillips Modern Translation states, the meek are those who ‘know their need for God.’ To be poor in spirit is to recognize that we are not self-sufficient spiritually (or materially, for that matter), but rather that we are always in debt to our Heavenly Father, from who all blessings flow. In fact, our posture before our God is as the needy, even as beggars. President Harold B. Lee spoke on this subject in the following way:

“To be poor in spirit is to feel yourselves as the spiritually needy, even dependent upon the Lord for your clothes, your food, the air you breathe…It is indeed a sad thing for one, because of his wealth or learning or worldly position, to think himself independent of this spiritual need. [Poor in spirit] is the opposite of pride or self-conceit. To the worldly rich it is that ‘he must possess his wealth as if he possessed it not’ and be willing to say without regret, if he were suddenly to meet financial disaster, as did Job, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21). (Stand Ye in Holy Places, pp. 343-4)” (Robert E. Wells, The Mount and the Master, pp. 4-5)

 even dependent upon the Lord for your clothes

Why are we asked to do this?

To keep up poor in spirit and humble.

To keep his as His and to belong to

no one else.

I am sure this thought could go much deeper, but I wanted to write it up before the thought escaped me.

Test Revelation

There is nothing better than testing revelation for yourself.

I can't. I won't.

Dear Husband, I've been thinking about you.

Dear Husband, 

I went Australia without you.

I thought about you a lot.

I wondered if you would like this environment,

the food and the people.

I think if you are anything like me,

you would have loved it.

I went there on business, which made me excited to revisit

this location on my own terms.

I'm writing mainly to let you know, I wish you could have came.

I bought you this bracelet...and then I wore it a little, but I kept feeling bad,

because I didn't know who you are, and I bought you this gift, not me.

I guess I just wore it to remember how great I think you are.

I'm very excited to give it to you.

And I hope you like it.

I bought it when I stayed in Surfer's Paradise.

The ocean was majestic, perfect and almost romantic.

I did read passages of the Book Of Mormon to a great friend I met there.

She liked Alma and his ability to explain faith as a seed.

If for some reason you do not, you will not have to worry about it getting worn.

But until I give it to you, I will refrain from wearing it out, that's your job.

I love you.

Jenny

Rosemary, my memory.

How I feel about Rosemary:

I can't stop smelling it.

I poured it on my meat tonight.

drenched it actually.

When I smell it, the memory surfaces.

Rosemary has made a large

 difference 

in my kitchen, in my recipes, and in my life.

Lets back up for a moment.

Here are some factual interesting thoughts

about Rosemary:

So how does Rosemary really become a parable...

Humans have long believed that rosemary can improve memory.....

Now think of that memory... That deep, heavy, detailed one.

You think about it alot....Hopefully it makes you smile..

And you catch yourself, adding your own current emotions and

thoughts to that lasting memory, just to keep it lingering.

Rosemary resonates with me, for both its connotations

 of funerals and

weddings.... Love and Death... Death and Love.

holding hands.

Rosemary can cure us... 

or at least improve us..

Ancient Greeks believed

 that Rosemary was a 

magical plant that 

could strengthen memory.

Dried, well-preserved

 Rosemary is able

 to retain most of the flavor and fragrance.

Overwatering is 

Rosemary's biggest enemy.

Rosemary is quite

 difficult to grow from seeds.

Rosemary is my memories, my favorite ones.

I'll strive my whole life to re create them, in my mind and in real life.

I hope my rosemary is everlasting.

I hope Rosemary does strengthen memories.

Patience, do you know him?

I am 29.... I don't I will have to wait another 29 to receive the awaiting blessings that ache my hear now because of the lack thereof.

In fact, this single thing has only be hard for a couple months... 10 to be exact..

What's another 10 days, 10 months or 10 years..

We learn alot about patience as we study it as a doctrine.

the ability to wait

—to be patient—

is a key character trait

that might predict

later success in life

Later success comes in many forms and timelines.

I have been guided all of my days by the hand of the Lord.

Why would he stop now?

There is no reason for me to be sad or lazy about 

what Heavenly Father has in store for me.

As long as I do my best and approach each day

as a small mini test preparing me for what's to come the next

day, I will really have no regrets.

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace.

patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort.

the work of patience boils down to this: keep the commandments; trust in God, our Heavenly Father; serve Him with meekness and Christlike love; exercise faith and hope in the Savior; and never give up. The lessons we learn from patience will cultivate our character, lift our lives, and heighten our happiness. They will help us to become worthy priesthood bearers and faithful disciples of our Master, Jesus Christ.

patience will be a defining characteristic of we who hold the priesthood of Almighty God; that we will courageously trust the Lord’s promises and His timing; that we will act toward others with the patience and compassion we seek for ourselves; and that we will continue in patience until we are perfected. 

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Heavenly Father had a purpose in requiring that His children wait.

Every one of us is called to wait in our own way. We wait for answers to prayers. We wait for things which at the time may appear so right and so good to us that we can’t possibly imagine why Heavenly Father would delay the answer.

So what are you waiting for?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer

If we take into account that Heavenly Father wants the best for us... Why wouldn't we exercise our ability to be patient.

Dallin H. Oaks said:

"In all the important decisions in our lives, what is most important is to do the right thing. Second, and only slightly behind the first, is to do the right thing at the right time.

People who do the right thing at the wrong time can be frustrated and ineffective. They can even be confused about whether they made the right choice when what was wrong was not their choice but their timing."

Oaks continues: "The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said:

“The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best? The same is true with the second coming and with all those matters wherein our faith needs to include faith in the Lord’s timing for us personally, not just in His overall plans and purposes.” ¹

Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing.

In our service in the Lord’s Church we should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where, and how."

 "continuing revelation is the means by which the Lord administers His timing. We need that revelatory direction. " -Dallin H. Oaks.

"It is not enough that we are going in the right direction. The timing must be right, and if the time is not right, our actions should be adjusted to the Lord’s timetable as revealed by His servants."

one talk down..... 

"

loyalty

HOPE

To move backwards, stops our progression. 

Heavenly Father has so much in store for us. 

It would be in our best interest to 

love hope, 

study hope,

develop hope,

and be hopeful.

Reflection

How can we really see what our reflection looks like. When we think about reflection, we think about a mirror or a still glass pond. So still we see our perception of ourselves through this reflection.

This is just physically speaking.

The message given by Elder Nelson, should redefine 

our own reflections of ourselves, spiritually.

I'm grateful revealed truth is current, fluid and applicable to every aspect

of our lives.

I'm in love with life.