Be Not Afraid, Only Believe.

The World.. 

It is a BIG place! 

         ..And kind of scary at times..

RIGHT??

What do y'all do to feel safe, secure, comforted, loved, etc.? 

I mean,

In a world.. 

full of lizards...

 as big as house cats... 

what can you do?!

Again.. 

I am reminded of some lyrics,
Although I am not sure who it is by or what it is all about..

But it seems to apply! Along with some handy scripture links!

"For once I have found a cure

Alma 7:11-13

No, I am not afraid to watch you change me

Mosiah 3:19

You know I am a piece of work

We aren't perfect

I'm a wreck when I'm alone

Psalms 38:21

I am taken by your words

2 Nephi 32:3

No, I am not afraid to watch you change me..

1 Peter 1:23

Anymore."

Alma 5:14

Take a look here!

So will you?

Use your Faith, take a step into the dark,

Put your trust in the Lord,

and follow His will.

..It will all come to pass..

I Will Be Light..

 

 

Well..

 

I ran out of wildlife photos to use..

 

But!

Don't worry,

They will be back shortly!

 

I took these photos

the sameday I caught

the snake in one of my

previous posts.

 

 

 

One of my favorite songs is

called I will be light by Matisyahu.

Back home I would listen to

his music often, It has a great message to it.

 

 

 

 Here are some of the lyrics I can remember!

.. They are not perfect, but hopefully enough to get the point!..

A few things that I am reminded of in the song will be in Orange.

 

 

"Yes, I am a slave

Searching for some freedom
 

What is a man with no history?
Where am I? Who am I?
What is this place?
We're just spinning in space                                              



Have you had questions like these before? ..Click here!

I will be light

Oh, I will be light

Click Here! See Matthew 5:14-16

Time will continue without you

So in the end it's not about you

But what did you do?

 

Who do you love besides you, beside you?

Click here! See John 14:15

Many died in the name of vanity
Many die in their mind's eye for justice

Click here! See 3 Nephi 13:19-21

We die for you and still do
So I say to you this is nothing new

I will be light
Oh, I will be light
 

One tiny moment in time

For life to shine, to shine

Burn away the darkness

Click here! See 1 Peter 3:15

You've got one tiny moment in time
For life to shine, to shine
To burn away the darkness"

What can you do to apply these scriptures to your life?

 

To me,

All of these scriptures are very important for us to let our "lights" shine. 



In the scriptures it mentions to be a light many times! 

Will you focus on being

a light to those around you

this week?



 

 



Deer and Antlers!

 The outdoors have always played a HUGE part of my life. I grew up having with only sisters.. So at times it was a little rough, The outdoors became my escape!

 (I still love my sisters a lot!)

Even on my mission, especially the past 18 months being in the sticks of Tennessee! I love being outside, pretty much all day, everday!

 

Recently I was moved to the Concrete Jungle of East Nashville. 

 

 

Completely different from what I am used to!

 

 

All of my open fields, ponds, cows, horses, turkeys, and deer were gone!

 

 

 

 

Now, the only wildlife I see
 consist of:

 

-Starlings

 

-Possums

 

-And the occaisional

Grafitti Deer!

 

Now I have a question for y'all!

 

-What do Mule, Whitetail, and Grafitti Deer all have in common?

 

They all have ANTLERS!

Yes, their antlers differ from eachother,

But they still have them.
 

 

 

 Every year, time after time, male deer shed their anlters.

In the spring and summer months, the deer start to grow their antlers.

In the winter months they lose their antlers.

You would think they would become annoyed by the routine right?

They do this, so their antlers can grow bigger and stronger every year!

I mean, who doesn't want to have the biggest, coolest, and best thing out there??

I am pretty sure everyone does, RIGHT?

I am guilty myself..



 

God has a plan even for the deer, a way for them to progress and grow.

 

 

Now...

 How can you relate a deer's antlers to your personal life?

 

 

Have you ever heard of the Currant Bush analogy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this analogy, God uses form of correction to guide us to a future we do not or cannot now envision but which He knows is the better way for us. President Hugh B. Brown, formerly a member of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency, provided a personal experience. As told by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the current Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 

 

 

Will you take a moment to listen

 to an Apostle of the Lord?

 

How can you apply these teachings into your life this week? And in weeks to come?

 

 

Just keep in mind,

it is not always easy,

everything will come to pass,

 and it will all be worth it in the end!



Ducks?

What do waterfowl and church have in common?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alrighty! Well as mentioned in Have You Ever Spilled Milk? ..“To err is human, to forgive divine.” ...  Duck hunting was one of my favorite things to do back home in Utah. I loved spending countless hours in the marshes along the Great Salt Lake! I could just sit out there and watch all of the beautiful things.

 

 

 

Y'all probably think I am crazy right?

 

 

 

When you hear the word marsh, some thoughts that pop up in your head might be..

 

- Cold - Stormy - Stinky - Wet - Bugs - Mud -

 

Not too appeasing I guess..

 

 

 

 

But look here!

<------

 

 

Isn't that beautiful?

 

A marsh full of Ducks, Geese, Swans, Cranes, Sunrises, Sunsets, and the Mountains! The Beauty just goes on and on!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Birds have up to 25,000 feathers, and regular preening keeps each feather in top condition. Second only to feeding, preening is a common bird behavior.

 

Why Do they do it so often?

 

Preening is a bird's way of grooming its feathers to keep them in the best condition. While preening, birds will remove dust, dirt and parasites from their feathers.

Most birds will preen several times a day to keep themselves healthy.

The uropygial gland, or preen gland, is an essential part of preening. This gland produces an oily substance that contains diester waxes that help waterproof feathers. While preening, birds will spread this oil to each feather.

 That would take quite a while, Right?

 

Researchers counted 14,914 feathers on a pintail, 11,903 on a mallard, and 25,216 on a tundra swan.

But it's worth it for them to keep themselves healthy and waterproof!

 If these Ducks didn't preen regularly, They would freeze! They wouldn't be able to stay waterproof! 

 

Waterfowl have to live in the water, But not of the water as long as they preen!

 

 

Now back to us..

Just like the ducks, we need to "preen" ourselves!

 

One way we can do that is by going to church!!

Church attendance helps us live in the world, but not of the world. It is like our weekly "sin-proofer"! It keeps us "waterproof".

-How do you feel when you are at church?

-Imagine how much it means to Jesus Christ when He sees that you are there for Him, to remember the sacrifice that He made for all.


We also get to learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ!

in 2 Peter 1:2, there is a promise with power!
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord"

-What does that mean to you?

 

 

To me, Church is like a charging station.

 

Everyone has iPods, iPhones,Tablets, and some even have electric cars!

 

What do all of those need?

 

A good charge!!

 

If you would like to follow your Savior Jesus Christ by learning of Him and to "charge" yourself!

Check out this link to find a Meeting House near you!
http://www.lds.org/rcmaps/#ll=0,0&z=2&m=google.road&x=find&find=advanced

 



Stay On The Mountain!

Oh man! Last week my post was about staying away from Satan's snares.

 

This week to go along with it I have a story about a Book of Mormon character that thought he was safe!

The story begins in Alma chapter 46, when a wicked dude, Amalickiah aspires to be a king over a group of people. He wants to gain control of the people to go to war against another group of people.

Amalickiah uses treachery, murder, and intrigue to become king.

Half of the group goes to a top of a mountain and appoints a leader over them, Lehonti!



Lehonti says that are being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites.

Amalickiah needs the whole group of Lamanites to go against the Nephites.

 

Amlickiah and his men go to the bottom of Mount Antipas.

 

He sends some of his men up to the top of the mountain to speak with Lehonti.

 

He wanted Lehonti to come down to the foot of the mount, because Amalickiah wanted to speak with him.

 

Lehonti wouldn't do it, he was "..fixed in his mind with a determined resolution.." that he would not falter!

 

Amalickiah sent his men 3 times.

 

Lehonti would not go!

                          

 

 

 

This time Amalickiah went half way up Mount Antipus.

 

Again, he sent some of his men to speak with Lehonti.

 

They told him to come down..

Just part way...

And you can bring your guards..

 

You will be safe..

 

 

Sounds a little sketchy to me..

 

They met on the mountain.
 
Amalickiah told Lehonti to come down in
the night to surround him and his men.

They would also hand themselves over.

Amalickiah's only request is that he would
become second in command over the whole army..


..A little strange right?..






"And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti."

 

 Amalickiah's men pled with him that they would not have to fight Lehonti's army.

And that is exactly what Amalickiah wanted.

"Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired"

 

 "Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.

 

 

And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.

 

  Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander."

-Alma 47:17-19

 

 

 

And it came to pass that Lehonti was murdered by degrees.

 

..Little by little..

 

He didn't even realize what was going on.

 

 

 

 

Satan wants us to come down off the mountain just a little bit,

Drop out standards just a little, Do little things we aren't supposed to do.

That is what he does to snare us..

 

We have got to learn how to stay up on the mountain!

Don't lower your standards, you are a son or daughter of God!