Category: Quote

Quote

Verdict

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concert
Photo by Rachel Lynette French on Unsplash

I don’t have any idea where I got this quote (maybe from one of you reading this!) but I LOVE it.  It sits at the very front of my “Melodies of Light” binder to remind me that “the verdict is in.”

“Performing.  It’s a subject I think about more often than most, since I make my living as a performing artist.  As my husband and I were packing this morning, preparing for an event in Long View, TX, I was reminded of a performance I witnessed a few years back.  The evening began with the MC giving some announcements, then introducing the band.  In his kind and gracious introduction, he explained that this band was a farily new band and had never played for a crowd quite this large before.  And then he did the coolest thing: He asked the audience to give the band a standing ovation as soon as they took the stage.  So that’s what happened.  The moment those young, timid, terrified musicians stepped foot on that platform, the audience erupted in applause!  At first, the band members were so shocked that they could barely remember who played what instrument, but after a few seconds, they began to smile and laugh a bit.  What followed was the best music that band had ever played.  There’s just something to be said for receiving our ovation before we even start performing.

As I start my day today, it is good for my soul to remember that God has given me a standing ovation before I even begin to perform.  The verdict is in: not guilty loved, valued, forgiven, restored, adopted, friend.  I do not have to perform in order to gain His approval, yet His overwhelming love and approval is exactly what compels me to perform for Him.  I long for the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart to be acceptable in His sight because He has already accepted me as His own.  Whether I succeed or fail at my task, His love is unconditional and was earned by another’s merit, not my own.  So as you step out today, whatever deeds you are called to perform, as a mom, an employee, a friend, know that you begin your day with His standing ovation and let that compel you towards love and good deeds.”

Have a great day!

Love

Laura

Quote

Confidence

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I have been enjoying podcasts today and this one really stood out to me.  It’s a podcast called “3 in 30” which my little sister recommended some time ago.  This quote on confidence was my favorite, but I enjoyed the whole thing:

Be willing to step into “the ring of fire” and feel all of the feelings, especially the negative ones.  The uncomfortable ones.  What we’re afraid of at the end of the day is feelings.  We’re afraid of feeling something that feel like we can’t handle or that we won’t survive.  And I started listening to Brook Castillo…and she says that – I loved her definition of confidence- it is “A willingness to feel any emotion.”

Here’s the link if you want to go listen to the podcast:

53: How to Show Up in the World with Confidence–Even When You Don’t Have Confidence // Brooke White

Quote

Re-oriented

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A few years ago I went down to a Women’s Conference at Brigham Young University.  I brought back a photo with me that was a reminder of the things that I learned.  I can’t attach it here for copyright reasons, but you can go see it (and get a copy of your own if you love it as much as I do!) if you click on this link:

https://deseretbook.com/p/humility-3×4-print-simon-dewey-15276?ref=Grid%20%7C%20Simon%20Dewey%20%7C%20Taxon%3A%203301-81&variant_id=92818-3×4-print

I look back on that conference as having a personal theme for me (though it had very little to do with the speakers’ topics and everything about what I was learning through the Holy Ghost).  This was it: “Let Him help you.”  To me, that gorgeous photo represented that message.  I was trying to do too much on my own, and it was stressing me out.  I knew that they way to more peace was relying more on my Savior.

This weekend, I heard a quote at church that goes right along with that idea.  The speaker quoted this article, which you can read if you’d like the full story:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/10/i-have-a-question/can-you-help-me-see-the-significance-of-the-account-of-peter-walking-on-the-water?lang=eng

I’m just going to quote my favorite two paragraphs.  For those of you who are not familiar with the biblical story of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus Christ, here’s a link to the verses that tell that story: Matthew 14:22-33

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/14.32-33?lang=eng#31

“As we learn the gospel and develop our faith, we reach the point where we feel strong enough to leave the boat; we determine to stand free from worldly supports and voluntarily walk by faith through the tempest toward our Savior. Each step for us may be a trial. The waves around us are as real in their way as Peter’s waves were to him. And, like Peter, we may slip! We may feel the awful descent toward destruction and, in confused desperation, consider the safety of the ship.

But wait! Our efforts to meet the trials of our faith—our footsteps over life’s treacherous waters—have somehow re-oriented us, and we reach out for safety, not to the boat, as we would have done in earlier times, but to the outstretched hand of the Savior. Hand grasps hand, and we are pulled to the Master of wind and water. No more is he seen vaguely through the storm; no more is his voice indistinct in the roar of the gale. Now we are home; now the trial is over.

And Jesus calms the storm.”

What a neat idea that in earlier times, our instinct would be to reach for the boat- to go back to what we perceive as “safe territory” and definitely less risky- at least less risky for the moment.  And yet through our experiences of walking by faith, we begin to instinctively reach for the Savior, knowing in a new way that real, lasting safety from the storm is only found by reaching toward the Savior.  Have a wonderful day, friends!

Quote

Beautiful

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Stephanie Nielson is a blogger who had a tragic accident several years ago.  Her ability to see the good and parent optomistically even in her very difficult resultant experiences is amazing to me.  Today I looked at her blog and I thought that what she shared was meaningful and I wanted to share it here.  Every morning when her daughter wakes up she tells her to
“Remember that your heart is the most beautiful thing about you and 
if your heart is beautiful, then everything else in your life will follow.”
Though this is relevant to boys and girls alike, I think little girls especially need many messages as they grow that help them anchor to the beauty within.  This strikes me as a really good place to start.
If you’re interested in hearing more from Stephanie Nielson, visit her website at http://www.nieniedialogues.com/
Have a great day!