He Chose the Nails

Angels for Each One of Us

“There is not one of us but what God’s love has been expended upon. There is not one of us that He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us that He has not desired to save, and that He has not devised means to save. There is not one of us that He has not given His angels charge concerning. We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes, and in the eyes of others, but the truth remains that we are the children of God, and that He has actually given His angels—invisible beings of power and might—charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”
--Pres George Q Cannon

Try Smiling :)

Try Smiling
When the weather suits you not,
Try smiling.
When the coffee isn't hot,
Try smiling.
When your neighbors don't do right,
Or your relatives all fight,
Sure 'tis hard, but then you might
Try smiling.




Doesn't change the things, of course --
Just smiling.
But it cannot make them worse --
Just smiling.
And it seems to help your case,
Brightens up a gloomy place,
Then, it sort o' rests your face --
Just smiling.

To the Men who lose

George Scarborough

Here’s to the men who lose!
What though their work be e’er so nobly planned,
And watched with zealous care,
No glorious halo crowns their efforts grand;
Contempt is failure’s share

Here’s to the men who lose!
If triumph’s easy smile our struggles greet,
Courage is easy then;
The king is he who, after fierce defeat,
Can up and fight again.

Here’s to the men who lose!
The ready plaudits of a fawning world
Ring sweet in victors’ ears;
The vanquished’s banners never are unfurled;
For them sound no cheers.

Here’s to the men who lose!
The touchstone of true worth is not success;
There is a higher test –
Though fate may darkly frown, onward to press,
And bravely do one’s best.

Here’s to the men who lose!
It is the vanquished’s praise that I sing,
And this is the toast I choose:
‘A hard-fought failure is a noble thing!
Here’s to the men who lose!’   

Keeping the Commandments is IMPORTANT

“In spite of the prosaic and commonplace aspects of this subject, I have long been convinced, my brethren and sisters, that the most challenging, dramatic, and vital thing in our lives is this ‘keeping the commandments.’ It tests every fiber of our beings. It is at once a demonstration of our intelligence, our knowledge, our character, and our wisdom.”
--Pres. Stephen L Richards

Staying Warm

“If we are not careful, we can be injured by the frostbite of frustration; we can be frozen in place by the chill of unmet expectations. To avoid this we must—just as we would with arctic coldness—keep moving, keep serving, and keep reaching out so that our own immobility does not become our chief danger.”
-William Law

Coming Close

“It is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another.”
-- George MacDonald.

(The Velveteen Rabbit)

Finding Yourself/Serving

We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to find ourselves because there is more of us to find.
-Pres. Kimball

Why Happiness Helps...

This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious.

-Thomas S Monson

Love God

God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become.

-Pres. Uchtdorf

Real Strength

Sometimes the strongest people are the ones who love beyond all faults, cry behind closed doors and fight battles that nobody knows about.

-Unknown

Gratitude

"It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy."  -Unknown

Robins and Snakes

The back windows of our home overlook a small flower garden and the woods which border a small stream. One wall of the house borders on the garden and is thickly covered with English ivy. Most years this ivy has been the nesting place for house finches. The nests in the vines are safe from foxes and raccoons and cats that are about.

One day there was a great commotion in the ivy. Desperate cries of distress came as 8 or 10 finches from the surrounding woods came to join in this cry of alarm. I soon saw the source of the commotion. A snake had slid partway down out of the ivy and hung in front of the window just long enough for me to pull it out. The middle part of the snake’s body had two bulges—clear evidence convicting it of taking two fledglings from the nest. Not in the 50 years we had lived in our home had we seen anything like that. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience—or so we thought.

A few days later there was another commotion, this time in the vines covering our dog run. We heard the same cries of alarm, the gathering of the neighborhood finches. We knew what the predator was. A grandson climbed onto the run and pulled out another snake that was still holding on tightly to the mother bird it had caught in the nest and killed.

I said to myself, “What is going on? Is the Garden of Eden being invaded again?”

There came into my mind the warnings spoken by the prophets. We will not always be safe from the adversary’s influence, even within our own homes. We need to protect our nestlings.

Choices, but Consequences

"You get to choose.  If it's too hard, it's okay to give up.  But if you choose to live and do the hard things, you will live an extraordinary life and do extraordinary things."  
-James Artimus Owen

The Atonement can HELP YOU!

If the adversary should take you prisoner due to misconduct, I remind you that you hold the key that will unlock the prison door from the inside. You can be washed clean through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ.
You may in time of trouble think that you are not worth saving because you have made mistakes, big or little, and you think you are now lost. That is never true! Only repentance can heal what hurts. But repentance can heal what hurts, no matter what it is.
If you are slipping into things that you should not slip into or if you are associating with people who are pulling you away in the wrong direction, that is the time to assert your independence, your agency. Listen to the voice of the Spirit, and you will not be led astray.
I say again that youth today are being raised in enemy territory with a declining standard of morality. But as a servant of the Lord, I promise that you will be protected and shielded from the attacks of the adversary if you will heed the promptings that come from the Holy Spirit.
-Boyd K Packer

"Fast and Slow"

The old crow is getting slow.

The young crow is not.

Of what the young crow does not know

The old crow knows a lot.

At knowing things the old crow

Is still the young crow’s master.

What does the slow old crow not know?

—How to go faster.

The young crow flies above, below,

And rings around the slow old crow.

What does the fast young crow not know?

—Where to go. ¹

 

^{-John Cairdi} 

ENDURE! one day at a time...

“I have so many problems, such real concerns. I’m overwhelmed with the challenges of life. What can I do?” I have offered to them, and I now offer to you, this specific suggestion: seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness. The Savior promised, “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.”<sup>6

-Thomas S Monson</sup>

Believe! In what? In this...

Believe that you are a daughter of Heavenly Father, that He loves you, and that you are here for a glorious purpose—to gain your eternal salvation. Believe that remaining strong and faithful to the truths of the gospel is of utmost importance.
-Thomas S Monson

The Lighthouse

Is there a way to safety? Is there an escape from threatened destruction? The answer is a resounding yes! I counsel you to look to the lighthouse of the Lord. I have said it before; I will say it again: there is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what the lighthouse of the Lord can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. It calls, “This way to safety. This way to home.” It sends forth signals of light easily seen and never failing. If followed, those signals will guide you back to your heavenly home.
-Thomas S Monson

"Climb 'til your Dreams come True"

Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember,
The hills ahead
Are never as steep as they seem,
And with Faith in your heart
Start upward
And climb 'til you reach your dream.
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it,
And you have the faith to believe.
For faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill,
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God's wisdom and will.
For faith is a mover of mountains,
There's nothing that God cannot do,
So, start out today with faith in your heart,
And climb 'til your dream comes true!

-Helen Steiner Rice