How is your journaling going? Remember to write a little bit each day this week. Start with what happened today! You don't have to go back and write your whole life story or cover an entire year. Sometimes I just make an outline of major events and promise to fill in more later. I might get to it, or not but at least I have an outline down. Another idea is to print off emails you have sent to loved ones. I wrote my daughter every week for 18 months and those letters are a great history of what was happening in our family at that time. Think about the week when we looked into our own past and then in to our ancestors... what if no one wrote down things we said or did as a child? What if our grandparents and great grandparents never wrote in journals?! Many didn't and their stories are lost. Even if you don't think you have a story, you DO! People will even find small things interesting in the future, especially when it's all they have left of us. Remember the talk I sent you called "The Currant Bush" the week we focused on nature, by Hugh B. Brown? Well, when I was reading my Grandma's journal, she mentioned how they were putting on a luncheon for some church leaders and Hugh B. Brown and his wife were there! They knew her! I had no idea and she didn't make a big deal out of it. She just mentioned it but it jumped out at me because that talk is so special to me. Anyways- Think about the scriptures. They are just spiritual journals of what happened to certain tribes, families and people. Where would we be without those. I like to think that when I write down spiritual experiences of mine, that I am writing "scriptures" to strengthen the testimonies of my future grandkids etc. Kinda neat!
Thanks to all 14 of you who answered the survey! I hope you are still having fun and are looking forward to our art this next week. I'm super proud of you for hanging in there and we still have a PERFECT 40 this week with perfect 40's the whole time! Great job SPRING! Also my mom, Mary Anne, and Lachell Hull, and Cindy Siepert are hanging in there right behind her and there are so many more of you who are doing so well and thank you so much for still checking in no matter your points and for sharing your thoughts and ideas with us!
WE ARE HAVING A SPECIAL FAST THIS SUNDAY!!! That is our mystery challenge for the week! Let's fast 2 meals on Sunday and pray that those in our group will find the love and answers they seek. I hope you join us!
Here are your thoughts on last week's challenges. Thanks for your testimonies!! I LOVE YOU!!
Thoughts on Focusing On Christ
I enjoyed reading the latter chapters of John. I am impressed with the power and beauty of Christ's teachings. I am grateful for his words, and that someone wrote them down. I also enjoyed a poem--it took several readings--emailed by my Sunday School teacher last week. It is by John Donne, titled, "Good Friday, 1613, Riding Westward." Mary Anne Koski
GOOD-FRIDAY, 1613, RIDING WESTWARD.
by John Donne
LET man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
Th' intelligence that moves, devotion is ;
And as the other spheres, by being grown
Subject to foreign motion, lose their own,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a year their natural form obey ;
Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit
For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.
Hence is't, that I am carried towards the west,
This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me.
Who sees Gods face, that is self-life, must die ;
What a death were it then to see God die ?
It made His own lieutenant, Nature, shrink,
It made His footstool crack, and the sun wink.
Could I behold those hands, which span the poles
And tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes ?
Could I behold that endless height, which is
Zenith to us and our antipodes,
Humbled below us ? or that blood, which is
The seat of all our soul's, if not of His,
Made dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
By God for His apparel, ragg'd and torn ?
If on these things I durst not look, durst I
On His distressed Mother cast mine eye,
Who was God's partner here, and furnish'd thus
Half of that sacrifice which ransom'd us ?
Though these things as I ride be from mine eye,
They're present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them ; and Thou look'st towards me,
O Saviour, as Thou hang'st upon the tree.
I turn my back to thee but to receive
Corrections till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
O think me worth Thine anger, punish me,
Burn off my rust, and my deformity ;
Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace,
That Thou mayst know me, and I'll turn my face.
This week, while pondering upon our Savior and how he will lift our burdens and lighten our loads I got to share my testimony with a very special friend. While doing so the joy of our Saviour and the atoning sacrifice fill my whole soul and tears flowed from my eyes freely.
Then the day after this experience was complete. The Lord revealed more spiritual treasures on the topic of the atonement and how we can effectively use it in all aspects of our lives to lighten all our cares and worries. Once again teaching me that the Lord will continue to reveal things to us, line upon line precept upon precept, as we are willing to accept more.
keep in mind there is always more! – Dave Petersen
Thoughts on Sharing Testimony of Christ (mystery challenge)
Fasted last Sunday for an answer and received it before church was over through another sister! So grateful she was willing to be God's angel to me that day! – Cindy Siepert
My Granddad broke his neck & is in the hospital. My family was in a waiting room when a lady came in & was swearing because her sister was refusing surgery and was going to die. My sweet Gram went over & just hugged the stranger lady, which calmed her down. They talked for a few minutes & I went over to join. Because of this week's challenge, I bore my testimony about mortality not being the only part of our existence. I taught doctrine & ma'am was quite receptive. What an AMAZING experience it was to "tag-team testify" w/ my Gram! It was almost as if we were mission companions, which was cool. I volunteered my brothers to give Victoria (and her sister) a blessing before I left, which she accepted. It truly was a sweet experience!- Janell DeWitt
I posted a picture on Instagram about how my testimony of the Savior's gift of the resurrection is only strengthened because of my health challenges. It got good feedback, I think.- Jennie Blaser
I was able to bear my testimony of the Savior to one of my children and it was a very tender experience. So grateful that I know what to say when they really need guidance. He is really the answer!- Sarah Crawford
The MYSTERY challenge for this week is to HAVE A GROUP FAST next Sunday. One of our group members suggested this weeks ago and now feels like the perfect time. If you'd like to join us on Sunday... skip two meals and pray before you start the fast, and right before you eat again, that the members of our Tree of Life Challenge group will find the answers, love, guidance, peace that they are seeking on their journey (or whatever prayer you feel prompted to pray). Prayer and Fasting are incredibly powerful tools that Heavenly Father has give us and I think it would be wonderful to do this for each other. I know God hears our prayers and I'm sure there are many in the group who stand in need of special blessings.
| YES! I know that fasting and praying work! | 14 | 5.2% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yes- I will do this but I really love food! | 0 | 0% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. I don't think I can do it. | 0 | 0% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I'm already fasting for something else next week.How did focusing on the Savior impact your week?
Are you feeling like you want to continue sharing your testimony of the Savior more now that you have tried it?
Are you starting to think about your Tree of Life ART PROJECT?
| 0 | 0% |
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