Patience

I wonder if what makes us the most unlike God is our impatience?

Sacrifice

Sacrifice will always be part of the price we pay for success. Sacrifice is the price we pay before, during, and/or after we have paid the price of our plan.

Easy and Hard Times

Potential Book Title: Easy Times and Hard Times - Both a Trial and a Blessing

This Day Part 2

If you succeed this day, you have succeeded.

Find joy in the journey AND the destination. Not just the destination.

If you can't focus enough to succeed today, you'll never succeed.

If I can get to that next marker, then I'm a marathon runner....ok, if I can get to the next one, I'm a marathon runner....ok, if I can get to the next one, then I am a marathon runner.

As soon as we lose focus on this moment, we have lost focus. You can recover, but the way to reach your big goals is keeping them in sight while accomplishing every small goal on the way there.

This Day

It does not matter what opportunities come your way, you must not lose focus on this day.

Honoring God

When commandments are no longer rules you have to keep in order to receive blessings, but sacrifices and sacraments you willing give to God to honor Him for all you have received, then is the time you become favored of God.

Fix Your Faith

Don't just believe, believe in something; fix your faith on specifics. As you believe so shall it be.

If you don't believe that, examine for a moment if everything you have received is not the product of what you believed you would, or should, receive.

So, what do you believe? Fix your faith on that and go forward. It will ALWAYS come to pass.

The trick for increased blessings and rewards is to increase your faith by increasing your confidence before God. To the level you increase your righteousness and obedience, you confidence before God will grow, and the more you will come to believe you will receive.

And then what? You will ALWAYS receive...perfectly according to your level of belief.

Righteousness = confidence before God = faith = prayers answered.

So, fix your faith on something. "I know that if I will do this...this will happen." Then go forward in faith and see the blessings come.

The secret: This is the formula you have already followed for every blessing you've received.

The Second Mile

Don't put a "Road Closed" sign on the second mile.

Repentance!

Only he who understands repentance will live in a state of continual joy and rejoicing. He who does not, will not.

We Keep (or Don't Keep) the Commandments Like We Drive

We keep (or don't keep) some of the commandments about like we drive.

If the speed limit is 65, we usually go 68, 72, or 80 mph. We may go 65 if it looks totally necessary but until then we go as we please, saying that 65 is a good guideline, but rarely, or never, actually going that speed.

The Book of Mormon

It seems to me that the two most repeated messages in the Book of Mormon are: Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper AND ask and ye shall receive.

If this is so, isn't it amazing how the 2 work together: If you keep the commandments, then as you ask, you shall receive and prosper.

Now that's a powerful, reassuring, hope-filled message from an all-powerful God who wants to and is bound to bless us when we do what He has asked of us. We sometimes just need to remember to ask of Him for what we need and want.

DOers and Be-ers

We must both do and be good.

I believe there are two types of "good" people. Those who more easily DO good. And those who more innately ARE good.

(Though such a thought accounts for the basis of some generalities and has numerous angles to explore, I will simplify and shorten my thoughts greatly to give a simple overview.)

Because we must both do AND be good, it is important for those who more generally fall under one or the other description understand how and why to become the other. I also believe that most marriages are made up of one of each of these - a Doer and an Be-er.

*Those who do good, should do in order to become good. And those that are good, should do because they are.*

Read that again. That's the simple sum of the matter.

4 Stages of Progression

Nest, Test, Rest, Best

I'm not sure if everyone goes through these stages. But I am sure that anyone who desires to progress does.

Nesting is a preparation period, like a bird in the nest. You are safe and sheltered; life is fairly easy and blissful, even exciting in anticipation.

Then comes the test. This is the wilderness. A time when nothing seems to go right, when things are very difficult, confusing, trying. You may feel completely lost. But it's important to know all of this is only a test to see how well you can handle it when on your own.

After the test, is rest. Things are noticeably better; peaceful. Certainly a time of rest after the difficulty and strain of the test. A welcome friend.

From rest comes the best. This period of time is simply everything enjoyed during your rest but better. This is the time when everything seems to click, when nothing could possibly go wrong. How lovely and blessed this period is.

When we come to understand and see these stages unfold in our lives we begin to attain true perspective. Perspective that will see us through anything - yes, even the coming test periods. See, this is the meaning of it all. To know where you are at any given period so you can see it in it's true light.

NOTE: that there is only 1 out of the 4 periods that is difficult! The other 3 periods are all varying levels of good things, of blessings and peace.

NOTE: there is no set time period to a given stage. This should not cause a loss of faith in the reality of the 4 stages, rather a constant watchfulness, which is true humility.

NOTE: you will often experience the 4 stages within a stage. For example, if you feel that you are in the Test stage and may be for some time, you will very likely find that you have periods of nest, test, rest, and best within the overall Test stage. This can even occur multiple times with the Test stage...or any of the stages. This is also important to understand in perspective because experiencing a small test period within the main Test stage is literally being in the desert of deserts. But going through a test period within the main Best stage is completely different - obviously much less stress and difficulty, yet still a test.

LAST NOTE: understanding these 4 stages is fundamental to having perspective and peace in abundance as you journey and progress in any aspect of your life.

The Two Great Commandments

We are to love God and love our neighbor. But in what way? We love God by obeying his commandments. We love our neighbor by showing kindness and compassion, or charity, to them. How do we keep the two great commandments? By obedience to God and charity for each other.

Gratitude

Don't just thank or says "thanks", be thankful, or filled with thanks. This is gratitude. And this is necessary for your gratitude to shine in your attitude.

Joy in the Journey

Destinations come and go, but the journey never ends. Don't fix your expectations and desires for happiness on the stops along the way, fix it on the journey.

Wisdom (3) - Spiritual

Wisdom is relying on the Atonement when we fall short, believing He will make up the difference as we sincerely strive to get back on course AND trusting in the Lord by accepting the outcome after we've put forth our honest best effort, which includes relying on the Atonement even though we faltered briefly.

Wisdom (2)

Wisdom is effectively balancing the letter and spirit of the law.

Goals

Goals, with specific timeframes, focus our desires. And we will always get what we truly desire.

Rules and Boundaries

We give specific rules and boundaries because if we don't, all things are relative.

Scheduled vs. Spontaneous

People who are ambitious often come across as overbearing to those who are not. Often something scheduled feels manipulative.

If you're ambitous, and desire to bring about change, and you're working with somone who is not as ambitious as you are, you may have to be more spontaneous in your effort.

Don't think and plan for hours ahead of time and then schedule a meeting to discuss your fully organized ideas. Just sit down and discuss. Be more interested in their ideas and involvement. Brainstorm with them, don't do it all before and then lay out your grand plans and expect them to add an exclamation point!

Procrastination

Whenever we postpone our basic duties, we miss out on advanced opportunities.

Exactness

You have 3 choices to consider when striving to fulfill your plans:

1. Stick to them with exactness.
2. Make changes whenever things arise.
Or
3. Stick to them with exactness, make changes only when things arise that are strictly expedient, and trust in the Lord to cover for us after we have given it our very best.

There are times that call for exactness in punctuality and times for exactness in flexibility.

Alignment

What do you do if your body and spirit feel unaligned? Get in alignment with the strait and narrow path.

Dreams and Creations

To create the ideal outcome you must ideally perform your duties.

In other words, all the planning and thinking and dreaming and trying and hoping and desiring and worrying won't accomplish anything close to what you are dreaming of.

Perfectly perform what you have power over and watch to see the results you desire come to life!

Success...

Success is fragile. Handle with care.