Sincerity

Sincerity is "The quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy." After a recent conversation with someone about the sincerity of birthday wishes on Facebook, I've had this word on my mind. We tend to get stuck in repetitive motions without always thinking sincerely about why we are doing what we are doing.

For example, in my faith, we are asked to minister to individuals in our congregation. When I was growing up this was called home teaching or visiting teaching. The expectation then was that you would visit the family or individuals once a month to see how they were doing. In April 2018, they changed the program and called it "ministering" and broadened the scope of what that looks like. I can be anything from visiting someone, going to lunch with them, taking a walk with them, or just a simple text or phone call and it can be as often as needed.

Some individuals have taken the road of, "Oh, good, I can do less," but more sincere individuals have seen it as, "Look how much more I can do!" This was exemplified in a movie my husband and I recently watched about a woman who was hired to care for a young man in a wheelchair. One of the things that stood out to me was the woman's sincerity. It was apparent at the beginning that the man was not interested in her being there but as she showed interest and her willingness to care he opened up to her and it allowed a great love to build.

While reading the book "Courage to Be You: Inspiring Lessons from An Unexpected Journey" by Gail Miller I was inspired. She said, "Love without service isn't love at all. It might be admiration, but it's not love." Service is wonderful and much more powerful when you add caring to the action. Gail also said, "What they appreciate most is a pure, two-word message: "I care."

Adding caring to the service and sincere love to the action will make all the difference. I chose these pictures because years ago my wonderful husband bought me roses which I loved and appreciated. My son was 4 years old and picked dandelions from the yard which I equally loved. The fact that they both loved me and cared about me made both gifts wonderful and sincere.

As you do daily tasks, recognize the importance of being sincere in what you do. This is a great time of year to slow down and be certain you are intentional in your efforts. As you do this your sincerity will shine forth and others will feel your love!

Why Isn't Grace Enough?

This question was posted on the Worldwide Unified Facebook group a few months ago, and it has been on my mind ever since. Many Christian religions believe all that is required is accepting Christ's gift of grace. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints accepts Christ's grace and also has a strong belief in the need for works in addition to grace as stated in 2 Nephi 25:23. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

I was thinking about this question again last week on Christmas Eve as I walked through a junkyard for the first time ever. My husband and I had some shopping to finish at the grocery store. He mentioned he needed to grab some parts for my son's car. I figured it would be a quick stop at an auto parts store, but I was wrong. I wore warm clothes but was dressed in nicer boots with a heel which was not ideal for walking around on the dirty, muddy, uneven junkyard ground. As I watched these men wandering around in grungy clothes I thought of how odd and out of place I must look.

 
I realized that while I felt uncomfortable there an upper-class businessman or woman dressed for a fancy party would feel even more uncomfortable there. The men in the yard would also feel very out of place at a fancy office party in their attire. In fact, even if they washed and dressed up they would likely still stick out like a sore thumb.

 
This is why work and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is required. As you scroll through the photos in this post you will see beauty can be found in the junkyard, but it is still a junkyard. Just as I didn't belong in a junkyard (other than to retrieve the parts) we can't live in beautiful places and still reside in a junkyard. It's not where the royal family of God belongs. We are literally sons and daughters of God, but we must learn the ways of God. Just as royalty is groomed for the throne, we must be groomed for the royal family of God.

 
As we are reminded in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Just as an Olympic athlete has to train for their Olympic Event or a concert Pianist has to practice for hours and hours we too must practice living the law of the Lord. If we don't we will never feel comfortable with allowing the grace of God to cleanse us enough to live in the presence of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. Our works will never cleanse us. Only Christ's atonement will do that! They will, however, teach us the proper way and prepare us to live as the Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses we were born to become.

 
Until that day we will rely on his grace and continue to work on becoming as he is!
I wish a Happy New Year to you all!


With Love, Marlies

Carried, Lifted, and Supported

When thinking of New York one of the first things that come to mind is the Subway. Of course, there is always the old-fashioned way of getting around on your two feet, but taking the Subway can save you time and energy. Another interesting way to get around New York is to use bike carriers. This is where a trailer with a seat for two is behind the biker and you sit and ride while you are carried around the city. Both modes of transportation bring to mind the importance of allowing others to lift you and carry you when needed. While there we walked 6 to 10.62 miles a day and climbed 23-30 flights of stairs some days. We did all this and we took the Subway often. I can't imagine how exhausted I would have been if I hadn't used the resources available! While we never used a bike carrier, they added an interesting dynamic to the city.  

Another lesson in being lifted comes from our hotel. The hotel we stayed in had two elevators and 26 floors with about 4 rooms per floor. On checkout day, one of the elevators was out of order. Imagine the headache when nearly one hundred guests (our choir tour group) checked out. With all my luggage in hand (my suitcase was NOT small) I waited over 15 minutes for an elevator that never arrived. Because of the delay and my concern that I wouldn't make check out in time, my son and I carried my luggage down 24 flights of stairs. It was exhausting and made me realize how blessed I am to be lifted, carried, and supported in life! Also, I CAN do hard things...but sometimes it's just nice to be supported by modern conveniences! 

You are remembering a moment before you were born

Today on my walk, I listened to the April 2024 conference talk by President Henry B. Eyring entitled, All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants. Speaking of seeing the Celestial Room for the first time I heard him say, "I looked up at a high white ceiling that made the room so light it seemed almost as if it were open to the sky. And in that moment, the thought came into my mind in clear words: “I have been in this lighted place before.” But then immediately there came into my mind, not in my own voice, these words: “No, you have never been here before. You are remembering a moment before you were born. You were in a sacred place like this where the Lord could come.”

As I contemplated those words I realized all who are on this earth were in that sacred place called the pre-existence. We each were obedient to our Heavenly Father. We all loved Him and felt His love for us. Just as a young child loves and follows its parents we also adored our Heavenly Parents and had a desire to follow them. The greatest challenge we face is remembering that desire when we are so bombarded and distracted by the things of this world. We must always remember!

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." -Helaman 5:12 

Cedar City Utah Temple Celestial Room

Don't Sit on the Floor

 Every place you go has rules that don't make sense and New York has one that made no sense to me, at the time. While waiting there were moments that benches weren't available. One moment was waiting for the Subway and the other time was waiting for others to finish up an event. When I heard someone say not to sit on the floor of the Subway I figured it was for sanitary reasons. Those floors look like they are rarely mopped. When we were in the neat and tidy building at One Vanderbilt and the security guard asked the kids to stand up I had to ask. Why was this a rule? I mean these kids were exhausted and there were NO benches. Why couldn't they sit on the floor and relax if they wanted to? The answer surprised me. In a city with so many people, in the case of an emergency and everyone running, the kids would not have time to get up. It was literally a rule because it could save their life. This made me realize that there is no harm in asking why. Sometimes knowing why makes it easier to be compliant! 

I chose to share this lesson from New York today because I watched stories about 9/11 this week and that lesson was understood on a deeper level. Some of those who died on 9/11 were trampled as people ran to safety. It's amazing how many changes came from 9/11. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to see the memorial while I was in New York!    

9/11 Memorial Pools

One Vanderbilt

Finding Myself

For nearly four years I was working in customer service and for the last two years I have worked five days a week. Three weeks ago I made a job switch to being a teachers aid and I LOVE it! For a long time I've felt lost and stuck. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I wasn't loving my life. Whenever I discussed changes with my husband I could sense the fear and weight he was concerned about carrying alone, yet I knew I needed something different. I knew I needed something that would give me more time with my boys but still allow me to help with the financial responsibilities of my family. 

I feel truly blessed to have made this shift. I've missed having the time to share my thoughts. I've missed having the mental energy to clean my house. Thank goodness for help from my boys over the last four years. Yesterday my husband asked where all this energy came from as I kept organizing and cleaning. I realized that while working only part time my energy was drained from trying to solve others problems and when I came home I had very little energy or ambition to give to my family or my home.

I am eager to give this platform some of my time and energy as well, because with this shift in my life I feel the sun is shining brighter. I have a greater purpose in my work away from home and I have a greater capacity to give to the people in my home. Thank you for supporting me in my efforts to bring sunshine and light to others! 

Next week I am looking forward to sharing some of the lessons I learned from my trip to the Big Apple back in May! See you then!

How's Your Streak?

 

Are your friends and family like mine? Do you get daily texts revealing the New York Times' latest Wordle or Connections game someone has played? It's the worst when you've got a good streak going and you forget to play, isn't it? Sometimes I get a streak of three or four days...and that's when I'm actually trying. I'm much better at keeping up with my DuoLingo streak as I try to learn Spanish. My current steak is 144 days, but that's only because they give you streak freezes so you don't actually lose your streak when you forget every now and then. 

With all these streaks we try not to lose, it got me thinking. What if there were a streak for saying daily prayers. Would we be better at remembering to pray? What about scripture study? If your phone sent you a message telling you not to lose your streak would you make sure to pull out your scriptures and read at least a verse or two every day...you know, in order not to lose your streak?

Is this not what the parable of the ten virgins is all about? You can miss a day here and there, sort of like Duo Lingo's freeze streak. Maybe it's not a "perfect" streak, but it's consistent enough to keep your streak going. It's consistent enough to build a reserve of oil for when the Bridegroom comes! I hope that when you get those reminders "not to lose your steak" you will ask yourself how your "scripture streak" and "prayer streak" is going. Then we will be more likely to be prepared for the time when our Lord and Savior returns!