Category: Thought

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

Thought

Creation

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What do you think of creating? Stepping into the unknown…wishing you had some directions, wond’ring why you feel alone.

This is the first verse to my new song! This song is all about my experience with creating. It expresses the discomfort, the encouragement I need to give myself, the beautiful discoveries in the process, and the unfinished business that is music writing.

A few weeks ago, I read an article that talked about how we need to “sit chilly.” (See https://stevenpressfield.com/2011/03/sit-chilly/). I love this concept which refers to sitting on a horse and tolerating the fear without being fearful (and communicating that to the horse!). In the chorus it says “Feel the cool breeze and embrace it.” I am learning how to do that!

Have a happy Saturday!

Love,

Laura

Thought

Manna

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A few weeks ago, I sent this encouragement to a stranger over the internet. I have decided to post it here as well.

Are you familiar with the story of Moses and the Children of Israel? They were wandering in the wilderness and the Lord provided them with food – straight from heaven – that the Israelites would gather every day. They called it “Manna” which literally means “What is it?” I think that name is hilarious, but it has also come to be very meaningful to me. A few years ago I listened to a talk by Elder Todd Christofferson. He shared a story about a struggle he had been through and though he desperately wanted the problem to be solved by God, he gradually learned to ask for daily bread, or in other words, manna. He learned that the miracle God was willing to give him was what he needed for that day. There was still a lot of uncertainty, but he could trust that if he acted in faith that day with what he’d been given, the next day more manna would be supplied. That is the background for this comment which refers to manna.

I am so sorry that life is so difficult and dark right now. I know in my darkest times what I wanted desperately is rescue, but often I would feel the question “He may not be willing to take it all from you because He knows what’s best for you, but what is a little miracle he may be willing to grant you right now?” For me, one night, that was the miracle of being able to fall asleep, which I felt I needed so badly- and that was my “manna” for then. I knew I would need more, but I was able to get the sleep I needed to try again the next day. I hated the fact that I was not helped in the way I wanted to be helped during the hardest times, but I can look back and see what he offered was what I needed most- it was the gift of “the Peace that Passeth all Understanding”- it would come in moments- not all the time; but those moments got me through until the next time. And gradually helped me figure out how to slow down and accept His timing. It sounds like you are in the fight of your life- you’re not alone!!! Angels on both sides of the veil are there to help and strengthen you, and though it’s not pleasant, we came here to develop the things you are in the middle of developing, even though it’s hard to see that it’s going in a positive direction. Hold on to hope and keep reaching for the Savior- he knows exactly what you need and will be there to help you through it all, even when you can’t feel Him there. Sending hugs!!!!

Love,

Laur

Thought

Discover

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I think I’m afraid to write.

Why? Because writing is discovery process and I’m not sure I’ll like what I find there. But I’m feeling encouraged by Nightbirde who has been so real that she’s a complete inspiration.

I don’t want to spend all my time telling you all the hard parts of this year. It will make me feel depressed and you as well. But if I delete all of the hard, then you lose the context. Stories about light are stories of overcoming- and the light is that much more brilliant because of what came before it. The story I want to tell is that darkness loses its hold when light is present.

I’m the first to say that if you’re feeling darkness, that doesn’t mean that you must be doing something wrong. Sometimes, like a favorite song of mine, the darkness can come from up above, down below, or just comes flying at you from across the room. Why is it there? Where did it come from? When will it go away? I don’t know. What I DO know is that light is more powerful, and your experience with darkness will always be overcome by light. Always. Just like midnight will eventually turn into dawn, no matter how long the night feels to you or me. Dawn always comes.

I used to see challenges as things I had to problem solve my way through, interruptions from the real reason I was here on earth. “Let’s get this over with,” I used to think, “so I can get back to real life.” Now I see it as part of the reason I’m here. I couldn’t speed up the healing process by learning tricks and gadgets and distractors…I simply had to walk through the process each day. And here I am, many months later, stronger than before. I wonder how much of our suffering in life comes from not accepting our current reality. We play all kinds of games to try to smother our awareness of what is really happening, but somehow we end up causing more problems than we solve. Peace gradually settles on us as we recognize that this is the hand we are dealt, we accept that this is the reality as ours to live, and trust that God will walk with us through each day of it.

Love

Laura