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Spiritual Growth

Melodies of LightLeave a comment
Here’s my view of September!

It’s been a week already?! Wow, time is flying. September is well on its way and here I am for another Friday post.

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about spiritual growth. How can we tell we (or someone we love) are growing spiritually? And if we want to grow more, what does that look like? In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we just went through an adjustment to our meeting schedule. We have 1 hour where the entire congregation meets together, and then instead of 1 meeting that alternates every other week (either Sunday School with all adults together, or split into classes for men and classes for women), we have 2 meetings so that each week we meet for Sunday School for 25 minutes and then in our classes for another 25 minutes. The meetings go quick and we are out of there before we know it.

With less time for any particular lesson or topic, I’ve been thinking a lot about conversion-(that state where our heart is progressively becoming more like Jesus Christ and turning toward Him). How can I use this meeting schedule change to deepen my conversion to Jesus Christ?

Our Sunday School President (shout-out to Sister Loftis!) prepared a beautiful bookmark recently helps us use the time during the week to do work on our conversion to Jesus Christ and prepare ourselves for our next set of instruction/discussions on Sunday. She wrote this:

Prepare your heart before Sunday

As you study this week’s Come, Follow Me, ask Heavenly Father to help you recognize something that will bless someone else.

What touched my heart? -an ah-ha!” moment, -a verse that stood out, -something I hadn’t noticed before

What is the Spirit teaching me? -a gospel principle I need to strengthen, -an invitation to change, -a prompting I received

What am I still pondering? -a scripture I don’t fully understand, -a question I’d love to discuss, -a connection I’m still exploring

What will I do? -one way I’ll follow the Savior this week, -one truth I’ll apply in my life, -one person I can bless

This week the Savior is inviting me to….

I found this set of thoughts SO helpful, and I’ve found myself pondering how similar our personal study is to practicing the piano. I’m a piano teacher, and if the student isn’t practicing between lessons (or only one or two days), we can do very little at the lesson to progress further. Lessons become a time to oversee the practice that should have been happening before getting here! Over time that gets really boring, and the student loses interest in learning the instrument. The minimal growth takes all the fun out of it. However, if the student is practicing most days during the week, by the time the lesson rolls around, they are ready to share what they’ve learned, and they’re ready to take another step. As their teacher I can help them do that.

Spiritual growth can happen much the same way. As we spend time during the week not just reading scripture but studying, asking questions, discerning truth, noticing things we hadn’t seen last time….and then go to church ready to share what we’ve learned with others and take another step forward spiritually, our Sunday experience is that much richer and all of our studies and meetings are directly impacting this upward spiral of conversion to Jesus Christ. Studying spiritual material won’t always feel amazing or enlightening- practicing the piano is like that too. Some of it feels rather routine and monotonous. That’s how it is being human! If overall our efforts are allowing us to come away feeling something, with our hearts or minds munching on something and our desires are taking us toward connection, balance and consecration, we are growing. That light inside us is growing brighter.

I can see more clearly how to be more committed, more diligent in my efforts to study, learn, grow, and share and come closer to Jesus Christ. I’m excited about the spiritual momentum I’m feeling and the opportunity to continue to share my feelings with my family, my church family, and now you!

Love,

Laura

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Open Eyes

Melodies of Light3 Comments

Hello friends! Tonight I enjoyed finished “The Hitmaker Challenge” with Seth Mosely. He teaches principles of songwriting and then provides a backup track that you use as a jump-off point for writing a song. I decided to write a pop song, and really enjoyed a different approach to songwriting.

Here is “Open Eyes.”

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Courage

Melodies of Light2 Comments

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