O' That Cunning Plan of the Evil One

Dearest Sisters Happy Wednesday!
How are you all doing? I hope this finds you feeling the love of those around you as well as your loving Father in Heaven.
I am sorry that I have fell off the email bandwagon lately. Just returning the emails and catching up on everything that was going on for the week I was gone has taken me weeks to do. It is amazing how it can throw you off for weeks after being away for just a little while. But I am back and happy to be with you all again.

This Sunday our gifted teacher Suzann Garner taught us using the talk “O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One.” By M. Russell Ballard. Oct 2010 Conference. Please, if you weren’t with us, read that talk! It was so powerful and such a good reminder at the reality of Satan.

Sisters I testify to you that he is real and so aware of our every move and just waiting to use his venomous inticings and thoughts on us. There isn’t a time in my life where I was more aware of him, then on my mission. I saw his reality in so many ways.
The little ways:
• When we were sitting down to meet with someone investigating the church the phone would ALWAYS ring when we got to teaching about Joseph Smith or the temple (even when the family claimed it never rang).
• When we were preparing someone for baptism, there was always someone RIGHT THERE ready to give them anti-Mormon literature or someone ready to disown them.
• The first temple in Ohio (since they lost Kirtland) was opened while I was there and the strong ANTI force that we had to deal with was unbelievable.
• The discouraging of newly come missionaries. The first week in the field as our “greenies”, Satan came in and tried with ALL his might to take their confidence away. Both my greenies had very real, very scary experiences with evil.
•
How did we deal with Satan as missionaries? We gave our investigators ARMOR. We prepared them for the adversary. We told them he was real. We prepared them for when he would come and try to distract, intimidate, confuse and chase them away from what they were doing. We taught them that he was real and taught them there was power through prayer and the scriptures to help them run him out of their lives. Just as we need to do in our lives.

Sister Garner was an ALL STAR at teaching us the reality of him in our lives as well as those around us. Although we know that he is real, sometimes we too forget his tactics and we allow ourselves to become his target practice. We allow him to tell us that we are not good enough, strong enough, worthy enough, cute enough, popular enough, etc to the point that we start to believe these lies sometimes in our lives, don’t we!

Elder Ballard gave some parallels to fly fishing he said,
“The goal of the fly fisherman is to catch trout though skillful deception. The adept fisherman studies trout behavior, weather, the water current, and the types of insects trout eat and when those insects hatch. He will often catch by hand the lures he uses. He knows these artificial insects embedded with tiny hooks need to be a perfect deception because the trout will identify even the slightest flaw and reject the fly..what a thrill it is to watch a trout break the surface of the water, inhale the fly, and resist until it is finally exhausted and reeled in. The test is the pitting of the fisherman’s knowledge and skill against the noble trout…the use of artificial lures to fool and catch a fish is an example of the way Lucifer often tempts, deceives and tries to ensnare us…Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “HUNGER”, or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is!”

Here it is. Elder Ballard is preparing you for the adversary, just as I prepared my converts in Ohio years ago. He is giving us a very visual reminder of how quickly and slyly Satan can come in and catch you. He does know our weakness, our hungers he knows us better than we know ourselves because he still remembers our pre-earth existence. He knows what we were brought here to achieve. And he will do anything to keep us from our potential and growth.

As we are all aware, one of his greatest tools that he uses today are addictive habits. Things that gain more power over our soul that most of us even can imagine unless we have been through it.

Elder Ballard teaches:
“The battle over man’s God-given agency continues today. Satan and his minions have their lures all around us, hoping that we will falter and take his flies so he can reel us in with counterfeit means. He uses addiction to steal away agency. According to the dictionary, addiction of any kind means to surrender to something, thus relinquishing agency and becoming dependant on some life-destroying substance or behavior.”

He continues,

“Researchers tell us there is a mechanism in our brain called the pleasure center. When activated by certain drugs or behaviors, it overpowers the part of our brain hat governs our willpower, judgment, logic, and morality. This leads the addict to abandon what he or she knows is right. And when that happens, the hook is set and Lucifer takes control. Satan knows how to exploit and ensnare us with artificial substances and behaviors o temporary pleasure. I have observed the impact when one struggles to win back control, to become free from destructive abuse and addiction, and to regain self-esteem and independence. Some of the most addictive drugs that, if abused, can hijack the brain and take away one’s agency include nicotine; opiates—heroin, morphine, and other painkillers; tranquilizers; cocaine; alcohol; marijuana and methamphetamines.”

Each of us I am sure has been affected by these addictions in one way or the other. It doesn’t stop at drugs both illegal and prescription. It can be many other things from pornography, sex, gambling, spending, eating, drinking the list could go on and on. These are real. They affect REAL LIFE people! They affect us, in some way or another.

The good news is although Satan is always right there to tempt and persuade us, there is a power greater there cheering us on to make the right choices and free ourselves from these addictive vises! The Holy Ghost has been given us to be our companion. We can call on him for help. We can pray to our Father for strength over the very things that have become such weaknesses. There is always hope, there is ALWAYS a way out. The Savior provided the way that we can overcome our natural man. We can be whole through his atonement.

There are so many resources out there to help us along our way. Whether it be for you, or for someone that you love dearly, THERE IS HELP! We can start by little steps like prayer and fasting. Our Bishop is there to counsel with us and help open up ways that we can have the support we need. LDS Family Services is available for both the addicted and the ones trying to help them. www.ProvidentLiving. Org is also another place to find some resources. Preach My Gospel pages 187-190 gives excellent ways on how to support those struggling with addictions.

Sisters as long as we are on the earth we will have the snares of the adversary to contend with. That is what we fought for long before we came to the earth. And how did we win the war? In Revelations 12:11 it tells us, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” That is how we win the same war that rages today: WORD OF OUR TESTIMONIES! If we continue to feed our testimonies, not our addictions, we can have power over Satan. We will have the tools, the strength and the desire to win the battle with him and to be who we came here to be.

Remember, we can’t do it alone. We need our Savior (the blood of the lamb), we need each other. We can be a powerful force for good if we but cling to our testimonies and root each other on! I have such confidence in us that we can do this, one step at a time.

I love you! I have your back! You are in my thoughts and prayers. Keep feeding that beautiful testimony of yours. It came with a price, now live up to it!

Slow Down, You Move to Fast!

Happy February! 

Our trees and decorations have been put away.  Our resolutions have been started, possibly broken and restarted.  We are well on our way starting ourselves through our new year of 2011. I don’t know about any of you but have the storms of life already hit you and your family this new year?  Are there new changes, challenges and obstacles that you are facing and wish would just go away?  Have the sports, activities and schedules of your children began to overwhelm you yet? What are you doing to combat all of the challenges that are coming your way?  Are you taking time for the things that matter most?

President Uchtdorf in a recent conference taught us that we need to refocus ourselves and align our physical and social needs with our spiritual needs and steady our course.

“Slow down a little, steady the course and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions. This is a simple but critical lesson to learn…When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be… Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.”

How often do we do just that? Keep our lives at a frantic pace that we can’t even hear the whisperings of the spirit anymore.  That our anxiety levels rise and our spiritual levels deplete. That by the end of the day our heads are spinning so fast that even saying our prayers becomes a chore.

If any of you have had similar feelings as I have had, there is hope through our Father in Heaven to refocus ourselves and make those course corrections.

“As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves. As we evaluate our own lives with a willing mind, we will see where we have drifted from the more excellent way. The eyes of our understanding will be opened, and we will recognize what needs to be done to purify our heart and refocus our life.”

Sisters, we can be a light to the world, only if we have some to still give away!  May we not run faster than we have strength and may we make time for the source that provides us with the extra strength we need. I love you. 

Happy Love Month! 

Meg

Kindness Begins with Me!

What an awesome Sunday we had with our Stake Leaders!! It was awesome to have so many with us and to feel of the power of each of your testimonies as you attended the meetings and listened to the messages that were carefully and thoughtfully prepared by our leaders. When I was told of the topic for RS on Sunday and was asked to choose a song that could be used for Kindness.

 The first song that came to me was “I’ll Walk With You.”

If you don’t walk as most people do,

Some people walk away from you,

But I won’t! I won’t!

If you don’t talk as most people do,

Some people talk and laugh at you,

But I won’t! I won’t!

I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.

That’s how I’ll show my love for you.

Jesus walked away from none.

He gave his love to ev’ryone.

So I will! I will!

Jesus blessed all he could see,

Then turned and said, “Come, follow me.”

And I will! I will!

I will! I will!

I’ll walk with you. I’ll talk with you.

That’s how I’ll show my love for you.

I had called several families to see if their kids could help sing this, but it just didn’t seem like what was supposed to happen this time. I asked my Roomie Nicki for some suggestions and we sat and listened to song after song and finally found “Not to far from Here” and it seemed to fit perfectly. I have always loved this song and it was fun to revisit it. Many of you have asked about it so I thought I would include it for you today.

I love the simple truths that this song teaches. There are people ALL around us. Sisters in our OWN neighborhood that need a little hope. Feel like they are on the last straw. And may feel that life is just too hard right now. A little more kindness toward our Sisters would make such a difference in their world for the day. It may be the very person that you feel has it all together that is really falling apart. If we just work on being a little better. A little more kind. Serving those around us just a little more, we will have an extra portion given us to deal with our own things that we may be going through.

There is something REALLY powerful that I have learned from a sister in this ward as I have become close friends with her. When she has a situation that may be hard to be dealing with in her life, or someone says something that might not be very nice, she chooses to be “generous” with them and try to see what they may be going through to act that way. What a great principle to be GENEROUS. To show an extra portion of love and charity to someone who may really need that. In the end an attitude like that, can only help YOU! Thank you for teaching that to me Nicole. I think about it daily as I face lives ups and downs. I have a LONG WAY to go as I work on being more kind and generous to those in my life, but knowing the principle is half the battle.

I love visiting the Mormon.org site on my down time and watching the Mormon Messages. I always feel so uplifted and refreshed hearing stories of over coming battles, service to others and being reminded of conference talks. Recently I was touched by a story done on a cheerleading squad in Utah. Kind acts and charity are all around us. We just need to open our eyes and acknowledge the people in our lives who show us that example and try our hardest to emulate it.

I am so thankful to all of you for being “GENEROUS” with me through all my short comings. For the many kindnesses that get done for me and the emails, texts, calls and visits of support and love. Those acts help me to stand a little taller, to be a little kinder, to look a little harder for others whose life I can bless. Thank you for trying to be generous in all your dealings with the Sisters in our ward. We truly are a blessed ward and where much is given, much is required.

I love you! I hope you all are holding your heads up high this week and being buoyed up in all your many challenges and you turn to the Lord in prayer. I will not be sending an email for this coming Sunday as I am going away with friends for my Birthday. But I will be back with you on Sunday the 13th.

Sisters, I want you to know that I have a testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives. I know that He has taken upon him all of our weaknesses that they can be made strong. He is our Redeemer and for that I am so thankful cause I need Him. I have a testimony in the power of prayer and fasting. I know that it works. I know that it strengthens our faith and that it reaches us closer to heaven. I know that we have a living prophet today and that He leads our church and is the mouth piece of the Lord. I know that this is His church and am so honored to belong and have a testimony in that. Most importantly, I know that he knows us and loves us one by one. He is always there no matter what and in the day which we live in, that knowledge alone is power. I know these things to be true and I say these things to you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Meg