Author: Melodies of Light

Thought

Certain Women

Melodies of Light1 Comment

Happy Sabbath, all!

This week has been full of so many thoughts! One of my favorite has been about “Certain Women.” There is a General Conference talk by Sister Burton that talks about regular, ordinary women in the bible who were witnesses of our Savior’s ministry. Here’s a large excerpt from her talk:

“The New Testament includes accounts of [certain] women, named and unnamed, who exercised faith in Jesus Christ [and in His Atonement], learned and lived His teachings, and testified of His ministry, miracles, and majesty. These women became exemplary disciples and important witnesses in the work of salvation.”

Certain women

Consider these accounts in the book of Luke. First, during the Savior’s ministry:

“And it came to pass … that [Jesus] went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

“And certain women, … Mary called Magdalene, … and Joanna … , and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him.”

Next, following His Resurrection:

“And certain women … which were early at the sepulchre;

“… When they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had … seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.”

I have read and passed over the seemingly unremarkable expression “certain women” numerous times before, but recently as I pondered more carefully, those words seemed to jump off the page. Consider these synonyms of one meaning of the word certain as connected to faithful, certain women: “convinced,” “positive,” “confident,” “firm,” “definite,” “assured,” and “dependable.”

As I pondered those powerful descriptors, I remembered two of those New Testament certain women who bore positive, confident, firm, assured testimonies of the Savior. Though they, like us, were imperfect women, their witness is inspiring.

Remember the unnamed woman at the well who invited others to come and see what she had learned of the Savior? She bore her certain witness in the form of a question: “Is not this the Christ?” Her testimony and invitation were so compelling that “many … believed on him.”

Martha bears testimony of the Savior

Following the death of her brother, Lazarus, Martha, the beloved disciple and friend of the Lord, declared with what must have been great emotion, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Consider her certainty as she continued, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” She further testified, “I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

We learn from these sisters that certain women are disciples centered in the Savior Jesus Christ and have hope through the promise of His atoning sacrifice.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/certain-women?lang=eng

I am in charge of planning the music for Stake Women’s Conference coming up we have been thinking about including this song as part of the program:

Beautiful, right? As I thought about who would be the best individual or group to sing this piece, the thought occurred to me that we could do a type of flash-mob musical number…picture this:

Many lines of the song could be sung by individual women who stand up where they are, sing a line, handoff the microphone, and then walk to the front. Some of the lines (like” I am certain that he lives”) could be sung all together. As women throughout the room stand and sing one by one, and the group in front testifying grows, it will help us all see ourselves as those “certain women”- who are imperfect, yet capable of carrying out a great work. We are the certain women of our time!

There are times that this responsibility to be in charge of the music has felt stressful or overwhelming. Today my heart is full of joy thinking about orchestrating such an experience for the women of our area, and how fun it could be to gather with other women to prepare and enjoy spending time together.

Love,

Laura

Thought

Empowering

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If I had to choose one word about the process of building our home (we’re hoping to be in some time in February!) it would have to be “empowering.”

This weekend I finished laying vinyl flooring in our downstairs bathroom. I had a little help on two tricky spots, but other than that, I did it all by myself. Maybe I’m revisiting my toddler years where the cry is constantly “Myself! Do it myself!” Regardless of where the impulse to try is coming from, I’m loving the feeling of breaking out of what I previously had thought my limits were.

It’s not conscious- but we end up drawing a box around ourselves, defining what we “can do”- and by default, what we cannot. And then an opportunity comes along and we get to decide if we’re up for an adventure our of our box. Sometimes that yes is easy, sometimes it’s harder, but it’s usually worth it.

Well, the bathroom floor is done, and fortunately that’s not the end of my opportunities- with the house or otherwise. For now, two more bathrooms await, as well as painting projects, trim projects, staining projects, landscaping projects, moving-in projects….and a whole host of others that I’ll discover along the way. Sometimes the opportunities present themselves rapid-fire (hello, this year!) and other times I have to work a little harder to find an adventure. But I’ll be forever glad that I said yes to this huge house-building adventure and many little projects along the way that took me outside my box to discover a little more about my potential.

Happy Sabbath!

Love,

Laura

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Courage

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I didn’t know I wanted to write a song about mental health. Until I started writing, and this is what I wanted to talk about. 100 days of songwriting (a website with gentle encouragement for consistent songwriting practice) has helped me stay with it to see what would happen, where it would go.

This song really shares some things from my mental health journey the past 5 years or so. I had a mental breakdown in 2021 and since then have been diagnosed with OCD and PTSD. The messages in this song are encouragements to those going through similar things, as well as helpful tidbits from my experience. As I learned about OCD, the image of a “stinky uncle” coming in and taking off his socks, and sitting in my living room easy chair was a really helpful visual. I couldn’t kick him out, I couldn’t make him be quiet, but I could choose to continue on with what I was doing and not allow him to ruin my day, week, life… (verse 2).

I think the pre-chorus was important to me because so many people talk about just not paying attention to the fear you feel, but the problem is that the fear is an alarm system going off in your mind and body. It’s no less real than what you’d feel if a bear was chasing you- it’s a different kind of “danger.” And it sucks!

“You’ll find answers inside of you” and “Courage” was a lot about the journey I had to go on to discover my internal strength. No one could feed me the right answers- I had to dig deep inside to find my way. It was only as I learned to talk to myself in encouraging ways, and stood up for myself internally that I started being able to find my footing. That’s not to say that external resources and people had no value- I benefitted greatly from others and other sources. But a big missing piece for me was the internal part- and that’s the part I really needed to develop.

And finally, my favorite line: “Those he’s not your favorite visitor, ask what fear came to say.” I had to learn to sit with fear and hear “him” out. Not freak out that he came, not shove him under the rug, but accept that fear had a message for me- and listening didn’t mean I was giving in to it or that I didn’t have faith- it meant I could step back and decide what to do with that message.

Here is what I came up with: (recording below)

Courage

Alarms go off, am I safe?

Usually I’m outta here, like the start of a race.

Today I pause, take a breath, turning ’round to face the foe that is all in my head.

It’s not less real- this fear I feel. It’s a diff’rent kind of danger I must face!

Chorus:

Courage facing the shadows!

Courage! You’ve got what it takes!

Though he’s not your favorite visitor, ask what fear came to say.

Dig deep inside and find courage! when you feel weakest.

Courage! You’ll find a way through.

Look for answers inside of you.

The darkness came. Didn’t knock. Settled in my living room and he took off his socks.

Perhaps he’ll go. Maybe not. Somehow I must live this day with my stomach in knots.

It’s not less real- this fear I feel. It’s a diff’rent kind of danger I must face!

Chorus

Hold on to hope. Take one step. Healing will come gradually, and not without help.

Accept your path. When its tough, do what lies within your power, and know it’s enough.

It’s not less real. This fear you feel. It’s a different kind of danger you must face!

Chorus

There are answers.

You’ll find answers inside of you!

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Two quotes for a Wednesday

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President Russell M Nelson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Did you know that in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe that there’s a living prophet today- just like Moses, Noah, Abraham..? His name is Russell M Nelson. This is a picture of him. He just turned 100 years old! We will hear Him and the apostles of Jesus Christ that work with him, as well as other leaders of our church, speak to us this weekend. Will you join us?

These two quotes are from a previous General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (this conference happens 2 times a year and is available online for free!).

H B Roberts, quoted by Todd Christofferson: “The man who so walks in the light and wisdom and power of God, will at the last, by the very force of association, make the light and wisdom and power of God his own—weaving those bright rays into a chain divine, linking himself forever to God and God to him.

Todd Christofferson: “To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes. In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny.”

Both quotes can be found in this talk here:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/reflections-on-a-consecrated-life?lang=eng

This weekend we are gearing up for another spiritual feast as its conference time again!

Here is more information:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/feature/general-conference?lang=eng

Saturday and Sunday, multiple sessions, it’s going to be wonderful. First one starts at 9 Pacific time on Saturday. Join us!

Love,

Laura

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Raccoons and Cotton Candy

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This has been a wonderful weekend. It was Stake Conference weekend for us, so we had church meetings (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) gathering congregations from barely over the Canadian border to close to Spokane. There was one meeting last night and one this morning, both 2 hours long. I came away feeling that my soul had been nourished.

After those meetings (and a nap!) was a baptism. The girl who was baptised, Agnes, is in my primary class during the second part of church each week. More than that, our families have known each other for more than a decade and I’ve watched her grow up from being a newborn. She and I had a sweet connection when she was little- rocking her to sleep healed a part of me that I didn’t know needed healing. But that story is for another day.

One of the speakers at the baptism talked about this silly youtube video where a raccoon picks up a piece of cotton candy. Since Raccoons wash their food before eating, this raccoon washed the cotton candy and then looks perplexed because it has completely dissolved. He tries again, only to have the same thing happen!

Here is the video:

She then talked about how we can be washed clean from those sticky things in our lives because Jesus Christ in essence “dissolves” them when we repent. They are gone- and we can move forward. Isn’t that clever?!

That talk also reminded me of a line of a hymn that stood out to me last night in our church meeting. The hymn is “It is Well.” There is a verse that talks about what happens to our sins when we come to Christ: They’re “nailed to the cross and I bear them no more…” What a moving visual that is. I have thought about it in terms of sin, but today I felt differently about it as I contemplated other burdens I carry. They, too, are “nailed to the cross and I bear them no more” as I come to Christ.

I don’t think that means that we have to feel guilty if we carry a burden. The juxtaposition here is that sometimes we are called to carry a burden for a little while, and that’s part of our growing process- it’s part of what we came here to experience so we could grow and change. No matter how faith-filled we are. And even when we recognize that its time to move forward, letting our burden go and giving it to our Savior is a process- especially for big, challenging experiences in our lives. That’s all okay. It’s okay that it takes time to figure it out. We have a very patient Savior.

But I think there are times where tough experiences in our rearview mirror don’t need to burden us so much, and make it harder to move forward. For these situations, I think the hymn is so moving- for burdens of all sizes, shapes, and seriousness- “they are nailed to the cross and I bear them no more.” So much hope in one phrase.

Love,

Laura