GREAT ARTICLE!
The No. 1 cause of divorce may not be what you think | Deseret News.
Month: November 2014
The Hidden Miracles of Coincidence
Do you believe in miracles?
Are you able to see them in your own life?
Or do you credit everything in your life to coincidence?
Coincidence is defined as “a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.”
Is this not what a miracle is?
Miracles happen every day of our lives. Those who have eyes to see them can see them, those who do not falsely give credit to coincidence. Many falsely believe that a miracle must be grandiose, large in scale and immediately recognizable. Miracles are most often small and simple, the Lord uses small and simple events to provide the daily miracles in our lives that we are all entitled to.
Many years ago I began making a conscious decision to recognize the small wonderful miracles occurring each and everyday of my life. Sometimes it was as simple as finding a few dollars when I desperately needed it, (not simple at the time) to making every light on the way to a new job interview. I replaced my thoughts of thinking of them as coincidence and giving credit with gratitude and thanksgiving to my Heavenly Father. This decision has been instrumentally powerful in my life as I am now more clearly prepared to recognize and receive miracles as they occur, and as I need them most. I am able to ask for them with a knowledge and assurance that they will be granted in proper time. I have seen it many times over in my life.
I do believe that in this decision of mine to give credit to my Father in Heaven for the miracles in my life, no matter how small they might seem has allowed me to receive the much greater blessings and miracles that He truly desires to give us. Our acts of gratitude and recognition of our Heavenly Father actually provides a greater increase in our lives, more than we can ever truly repay.
This past week in my life I was blessed to receive from my Father in Heaven, a grand miracle, one that truly impacts my life and my health. The surgery that I had carried an extremely small chance of death, yet the outcome of my surgery held a higher chance of death, than the miracle I received.
Miracles continue to happen each day of our lives. By recognizing the small, we can better prepare ourselves receive the big ones in our lives. Give credit to our Father in Heaven and recognize his hand in all things and the world will open to you.
Don’t Worry, It Will Be Ok
Don’t worry, things will be ok”
“Things will work out how they are supposed to”
“You’ll be fine”
Common phrases we all use and hear every day of our lives. When someone we know is going through a difficult time, health issues, family issues, work issues, school.. whatever an individual is struggling with, we tell them the same thing. Often we use these phrases as our attempt to reassure or make them feel better that things will indeed be alright.
These phrases can carry great comfort to an individual when used in conjunction with a conversation proceeding such a statement. Conversely the opposite is true when it is our first response.
Have you ever truly given thought to what the other person was feeling? saying? thinking? or in our rush to make them feel better we use one of the above lines with no apparent thought and negate any help we could otherwise provide. We have forgotten the art of conversation, listening and understanding. We rush to solve problems without fully understanding them and we rush to make things better without knowing what we are making better.
These phrases end conversations. They provide nowhere to go in a conversation. Once used, a conversation is dead, even if it continues, we have expressed our thoughts independent of further understanding.
Think for a minute, every time one of these lines have been used with you. Does the conversation ever progress beyond that moment? Is there ever a further understanding of the issues? fears? heartaches? or concerns? The reality is that while we attempt to ease the concerns fears, etc.. of another by immediately telling them that things will be alright, we actually minimize the others feelings and concerns as unimportant. We never hear and can never understand what fears they may have, concerns or thoughts unless we allow them the opportunity to talk openly about them, without ending the conversation.
These phrases can send the message when used at the beginning of “i’m done with this conversation” “I’m not worried about your life” and even, “I don’t really want to listen to this”
Asking more direct questions like “what about this is scaring you?” or “what is your biggest concern?” etc.. will actually portray our correct level of concern and allow the other person to feel heard and understood.
This will provide a deeper level of compassion, comfort and empathy for those we want to help feel better in the first place.
You Just Broke Your Child. Congratulations.
This article brought tears to my eyes wondering what that poor boy must face daily. As a father who deeply loves his children, I make mistakes along the way, yet I always try to build them up and give them the motivation and ability to excel in life. As many who have followed my blog know, my biggest heartache in life is the limited time I get to spend with my children and how I try so hard to make each moment count. I will never understand parents who can so cruelly destroy their children. I would give anything to be granted the time with my children that these fools waste and squander.
From Darkness to Light
We have all heard the old adage that it is always darkest before the dawn. I wonder if that is largely due to the fact that by the time dawn comes, we have spent considerable time in the darkest night, and as the sun shines the light is warm and bright, penetrating our souls with a renewed energy.
I love sunrise as much as I love sunset. It creates a perfect balance in nature when the sun sets on one day, a new dawn is just around the corner. As the sun sets, we gradually witness a dimming and diminishing light, we are never thrust from the light to the darkness, it is a gradual process.
Conversely, the same is true at each sunrise. The sky slowly begins to glow in the horizon with the coming of the sun, it gradually increases in brightness and brilliance and then we are able to bask in the warmth of the sun after it has risen.
Our lives too are never thrust into darkness. As we sin, we move away from the light until we find ourselves surrounded in darkness, unable to feel the warmth nor experience the brightness of the light available through Jesus Christ. As we partake of the Atonement and correct our course, we too must allow for the gradual increase an light as we move toward our Savior. As we continue on the path leading to his love, we enter into more and more of the light and leave the darkness behind. Oftentimes, it is this journey through the darkness, back towards the light that can seem the darkest for us as our lives readjust to the warmth that is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hope Restored
It all seems lost, In this world of despair
We often wonder, if there is any repair
The divisions and fighting, seem to increase
The bickering and arguing, they never do cease
A world torn asunder, through violence and greed
A return to our principles, a call we don’t heed
So where does this path, take us today
Where do we turn, is there any way?
The obstacles and burdens, we all must now face
The bitterness of the cup, we must all soon taste
For the world it spirals, deeper in sin
A game being played, that no one can win
So trust in your God, return once more
For in Christ and his love, can our hope be restored.
image: Wikia
jisbell22 