We are to forgive even as we are forgiven

Understanding that Jesus Christ has been forgiving and merciful to us can help us forgive and extend mercy to others. "Jesus Christ is our Exemplar," said President Thomas S. Monson. "His life was a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. At the end the angry mob took His life. And yet there rings from Golgotha's hill the words: 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do'—a crowning expression in mortality of compassion and love."

If we forgive others their trespasses, our Heavenly Father will also forgive us. Jesus asks us to "be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). "Forgiveness for our sins comes with conditions," said President Dieter F. Uchtdorf "We must repent. … Haven't we all, at one time or another, meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? Haven't we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy—to be forgiven for the mistakes we have made and the sins we have committed? … Allow Christ's Atonement to change and heal your heart. Love one another. Forgive one another."

"We are to forgive even as we are forgiven," said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland The story of the prodigal son shows us both sides of forgiveness: one son is forgiven and the other son struggles to forgive.

The younger son took his inheritance, quickly spent it, and when a famine arose, he worked feeding swine. The scriptures say "when he came to himself," he returned home and said to his father he was not worthy to be his son. But his father forgave him and killed a fatted calf for a feast. The older son returned from working in the fields and became angry. He reminded his father that he had served many years, never transgressed the commandments, yet "thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry." The father replied, "Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found"  Luke 15:11–32.

Upwards and onwards

One day at a time . . . smile . . .

The ultimate virtue

Find your inner fire

Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (32-oz.) bag tater tots (not thawed)
• 1 lb, ground beef
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 (1.5-oz.) pkg. taco mix 
• water (add the amount of water to the meat that the taco mix says to add, ¾ cup is what my packet said)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (8-oz.) pkg. sharp cheddar cheese (divided, half in sour cream mixture and half on top at the end)
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• diced tomatoes for servings (about 2 small tomatoes)

 Instructions

1. Spray a 6-quart oval slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add the tater tots down in a single layer. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, set over medium high heat, brown the hamburger, onions and bell pepper. When the meat is browned, drain the fat. Add the amount of water the taco packet says to add to the meat (my packet said to add ¾ cup). Add the taco packet, and continue cooking and stirring until the meat and the seasoning has thickened.
3. Pour the meat mixture over the tater tots in the slow cooker.
4. In a medium sized bowl add the sour cream, salt, pepper, onion powder, and half of the cheese (this is about a heaping cup of shredded cheese, save the other half to top the casserole at the end.)
5. Spread this sour cream cheese mixture over the meat mixture in the slow cooker.
6. Cover and cook on LOW for 4.5 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
7. After the cooking time is up add the remaining cheese evenly over the casserole.
8. Cover and let the cheese melt, this will only take about 5-10 minutes.
9. To serve, top with diced tomatoes.

Gravitate towards Heaven

The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him.

Paul E. Koelliker

Remember

It will happen

Be true to you

The power of words

This is a wonderful, one minute clip filmed in Glasgow
Full of wisdom. . . . And very brief.

It's not a joke, it's not religious, it's not political .
It's just . . . Special.
I think you'll agree.

Please enjoy this one minute clip.
It has a meaning for all of us.

The Power of Words 

Honeybun Cake

Ingredients

One 15.2 ounce package yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker SuperMoist butter yellow cake)

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

8 ounces sour cream

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup chopped pecans 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon milk (more if needed to make the glaze)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instruction

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Put ½ cup of cake mix into a small bowl.

Put the rest of the cake mix into a large bowl with the butter, eggs and sour cream. Beat with a mixer for 2 minutes.

Add the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon to the reserved ½ cup of cake mix and stir.

Spread half of the cake batter in the pan. Sprinkle with the pecan mixture. Drop the rest of the batter in spoonfuls over the top of the pecan filling, and then smooth the spoonfuls together until they cover the filling.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. The cake should spring back when you touch it with your finger.

Mix confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla together. The glaze should be pourable - if it's not, add more milk by teaspoonfuls until it is. I needed 2 additional teaspoons.

Pour the glaze over the cake and spread quickly with a spatula. Cool for one hour and then it is ready to be cut into squared and served to your honeybun, with a kiss!

Send flowers

No bird soars in a calm

In 1897, the Washington Post boldly announced, "It is a fact that man can't fly." Apparently, someone forgot to tell that to Wilbur and Orville Wright.

In 1900, Wilbur glided 300 feet over the dunes of Kitty Hawk on North Carolina's Outer Banks in a glider he and his brother had designed. Three years and many attempts later, Orville flew in a powered plane for 12 seconds. It wasn't long before they were in the air flying for miles, and the Wright brothers had become the unlikely inventors of the world's first successful aircraft.

Wilbur and Orville were talented mechanics who owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, and they funded their efforts with its proceeds. They "had no college education, no formal technical training, no experience working with anyone other than themselves, no friends in high places, no financial backers, no government subsidies, and little money of their own." But they knew how to work, they worked well together, and they were comfortable making slow and steady progress. And because of that, they changed the world.

In honoring their accomplishment, it's easy to forget the hundreds of failures that preceded it. In fact, it was those failures that made human flight possible, because they inspired Wilbur and Orville to rethink, tinker, and rebuild their flying machines. The work wasn't glamorous. On their ventures to Kitty Hawk they slept in tents and faced mosquito infestations, hurricanes, and blistering heat. They worked in quiet seclusion, and even their successes were ignored by the press at first. 

Their story holds some valuable lessons for anyone who dreams, who faces challenges, or who labors at worthwhile work that seems difficult or even impossible. First of all, don't be disheartened by those who say it cannot be done; most of life's meaningful achievements come as a great surprise to the doubtful. And don't be discouraged when defeats and failures start piling up; quite often it is the adverse wind that gives us just the right amount of lift we need. Or, to use the eloquent words of Wilbur Wright, "No bird soars in a calm." 

Lloyd Newell

Full body intelligence

Its always good to laugh

A truck driver saw a sign ahead of him that said 'low bridge ahead', before he knew it, the bridge was right in front of him and he got stuck, cars were backed up for miles. Finally a police car arrived, the officer got out of his car, walked around to the truck driver, put his hands on his hips and said, "Got stuck, huh?"  "No" the truck driver replied. "I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas." 

There’s an Oreo in my cupcake!

 

Oreo Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 22 oreo cookies, 15 left whole and 6 coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 pound cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla extract.pinch salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 275˚F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners and put one whole cookie in each paper lining.

2.  Beat the cream cheese on medium high speed until smooth. Gradually add in the sugar until well combined, then beat in the vanilla. Pour in the eggs slowly, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

3. Divide the batter between paper cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set. They will not get brown, but don't worry, they're done. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.  (recipe from Framed Cooks)

Each of us has a heritage

Happiness is the destination but also the Path.  

Deiter F. Uchtdorf

"We cannot always control everything that happens to us in this life, but we can control how we respond."

  L. Lionel Kendrick

"We need to accept His love, love ourselves, and love others. Remember that every soul on this earth is also a child of God. We must treat each other with the love and kindness befitting a child of God."   

 Barbara Thompson

The adversity and afflictions that are ours, however difficult to bear, last, from heaven's perspective, for 'but a small moment; and then, if we endure it well, God shall exalt us on high.'  We must do everything we can to bear our burdens 'well' for however long our 'small moment' carrying them lasts."

  L. Whitney Clayton

"Each of us has a heritage—whether from pioneer forebears, later converts, or others who helped shape our lives. This heritage provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings."

  Thomas S. Monson

Focus on the Future

Feel Joy Today

The Road Less Travelled

We walk the same rocky ridges

We walk the same rocky ridges as those who went before.

Ours may have different names, but the burden that exhausts…it is the same.

Rocky Ridge 

by Emily Belle Freemen

 It rained on Pioneer Trek.

The kind of rain that pelts your skin, soaks to the bone, chills you through.

It came down hard and fast, the dark clouds splitting open, unleashing torrents of rain.  At first it was a reprieve from the blistering sun.  But it wasn't long before it drenched our clothes adding extra weight to the journey.  Shoes, once a means of protection, became a danger for blisters.

I walked against the rain.  Head down, bonnet protecting my face against the fury. At one point I lost sight of the goal, putting just one foot in front of the other, focused only on the path ahead of each step…nothing more than that.

And I wondered how many days the pioneers walked like that.

Head down.

Focused on the path ahead of each step.

What was it that pushed them forward on those days?  That thought occupied my brain as the rain fell down, step after step until the answer finally settled in my heart. The simplicity captivated me.

A prophet.

A book.

A temple.

That's it.  That's what they clung to.  When the rain soaked in, when the snow seared through blistered and bloody feet, when hunger gnawed relentless.  Up rocky ridges, across frozen rivers, against the biting winds of Wyoming.

A prophet.

A book.

A temple.

It was what they held onto.

On the last day the sun inched its way up over the horizon.  We stood at the base of Rocky Ridge determined to walk the trail we had heard so many stories about.

They call it the trail of blood.

In ninety degree weather it was hard to imagine below zero, snow obscuring the trail, bare and bloody feet slipping over sharp and frozen rocks.  To think of cracked and frozen hands grasping to the handle of a cart filled full of belongings, filled full of loved ones, filled full of a burden you no longer have the energy to bear. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine as we started off, and then I opened them and looked up to the trail ahead.

You see them walking there?

It is more than 150 years since that November night, and yet they know what it is to bear burdens.  To struggle in the battle between God and mortality.  To fight against the challenges of our day …not snow, sleet, or rocky passes that seem insurmountable, but challenges that are just as hard to pass through.

God knows how to refine a soul.  He knows the battles that will besiege us.  Our generation?  We walk the same rocky ridges as those who went before.  Ours may have different names, but the burden that exhausts…it is the same.

For each it is a struggle that has the potential to destroy us.

And yet, God is there.

And he sends rescuers to walk with us.

To strengthen us.  To guide us.  To protect.

I wonder, when Ephraim showed up with the buffalo meet if there were any who said, "No thanks"?

The thought seems preposterous.

But how many of us turn our backs to those who reach out a hand of rescue instead of leaning in, finding strength there, holding on.

It was when we reached the top that I studied these three boys.

Mine has been the privilege to watch over them for many years.  I have seen them there for each other every time the path has gotten rocky.  To lift, to strengthen, to pull each other through.

They know what it is to rescue.

Even more important, they know what it is to be rescued.

And through the process they are coming to know God.  All three learning in to Him.  I see them pushing through…sometimes with head down just one step at a time…focused only on the path ahead.

And clinging.

To a prophet.

A book.

A temple.

Sometimes they come to me, holy scriptures clasped in humble hands, and they read verses and teach me truths I would never have come to understand unless I saw them through their eyes.  And in those moments I know, in the deepest part of this heart of mine, that they will see this journey through.

Cinnamon-Sugar Casserole

Ingredients

Topping

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup pecans (roughly chopped)

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

FOR THE CASSEROLE

1 package sweet Hawaiian dinner rolls

2 tablespoons butter (for greasing dish)

8 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup pecans (roughly chopped)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pinch salt

powdered sugar (garnish)

step-by-step directions

For the Topping: combine all the ingredients in a small mixing bowl until crumbly. Set aside.

For the Casserole: preheat oven to 350ºF.

Butter the inside of a 9"x9" baking dish.

Remove the top of the rolls from the bottom rolls, keeping the top rolls connected and the bottom rolls connected. Place the top buns upside-down on a baking sheet. Place the bottom rolls on a separate baking sheet. Place the rolls in the oven to toast, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, light brown sugar, pecans and ground cinnamon. 

Spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer on top of the bottom rolls. Top with the toasted top rolls.

Pull each roll off creating individual sandwiches.

Then, make the custard. In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, cream, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Whisk well to combine. Dip each roll into the custard. Shingle the rolls into the baking dish. Crumble topping on top.

Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

For it must needs be

"Life is never easy, and we cannot escape our own case of 

feeble knees from time to time. It is thus essential 

that we love and support one another."

Marvin J. Ashton

"Life will not be free from challenges, some of them bitter and hard to bear. We may wish to be spared all the trials of life, but that would be contrary to the great plan of happiness, 'for it must needs be, 

that there is an opposition in all things'. 

This testing is the source of our strength."

Boyd K. Packer

"What's in it for me?" This is an almost universal question.  All of us who embark on a new adventure, who try a new job, who make concessions in a relationship, who put forth extra effort in an assignment, who give up something desirable, are inclined to want to know the answer to this question  before we begin.   But in the beginning of Matthew 6, the Savior teaches another law--a higher law--a law which requires us to look for benefit and welfare for others rather than for ourselves.  The overriding sense of the first 21 verses of Matthew 6 is that we ought to deal with others much like a friendly clerk in a neighborhood market: "What can I do for you?"  If we mean to take advantage of the gospel and its teachings and opportunities, we must turn the focus of our lives away from ourselves.

TED L. GIBBONS

"Happiness here and now consists in freely, lovingly, joyfully acknowledging God's will for us—and doing it in all ways and all affairs big and small."  

 Ezra Taft Benson

There is no place for mediocrity here. The Sermon on the Mount demands our best efforts in discipleship. "Good enough" will likely never be good enough. Our commission is to serve God with our hearts, minds, might, and strength. I found a poster of the leaning tower of Pisa showing two men regarding the perfectly upright tower of Pisa: One of the men said to the other, "And we saved 800 Lira by omitting the soils test." The truth is, we must build on a reliable foundation.  If we do not, someone, someday, will notice.  

You can count on it.

TED L. GIBBONS

Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, you can acheive

It'll happen!

He sees your efforts even if no one else does :D

Cucumber Avocado Ranch Dip

ingredients

1 avocado (mashed)

1 packet Hidden Valley® Greek Yogurt Dips Mix

12 ounces Greek yogurt

1/2 English cucumber (diced)

1 lemon (zested and juiced)

2 tablespoons fresh mint (chopped)

multigrain pita chips (to serve)

celery, carrots and bell peppers (to serve)

step-by-step directions

In a medium bowl, add the avocado. Mash the avocado using a fork.

Add the Hidden Valley® Greek Yogurt Dips Mix, Greek yogurt, English cucumber, the zest and juice of a lemon, and chopped mint. Mix to combine.

Serve Cucumber Avocado Ranch Dip with multigrain pita chips and crudité.

Open arms of welcome-homes

If it's true, as Shakespeare wrote, that "parting is such sweet sorrow," then perhaps we could say that reuniting is the sweetest joy. While saying goodbye can be heart-wrenching at times, reconnecting with loved ones we haven't seen in a while can be among life's greatest moments. 

For this reason, airports can be the happiest and the saddest of places—full of goodbyes and hellos that bring a tear to the eye and a lump to the throat. Soldiers returning from active service are joyously embraced. Loved ones away for a season are welcomed into open arms. And weary travelers are almost instantly rejuvenated by the sight of their family or friends. It matters not if they've been away for a few days or a few years—welcome-homes are moments to cherish.

In reality, we are continually saying goodbye and hello. And because life is short, we must make the most of each homecoming. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, we can be constantly looking forward to such homecomings, even if they seem to be "a great way off."

One grandmother will never forget the day her daughter's family, who lived across the country, knocked on her door for a surprise visit. She didn't know they were coming, but she could not have been more thrilled to see them. They were home! She welcomed them into her loving arms; she prepared their favorite foods; she made sure they were warm and comfortable and happy. She could not stop hugging them—especially the grandchildren. It had been too long since she was able to hold them close, so she did not let an opportunity pass to wrap her arms around them. The family felt like they belonged—like they had never been away. They were welcomed home.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone, prodigal or not, could return home and find kind words, warm hearts, and a loving embrace? 

Is it possible that all those away from home could someday, somehow find the open arms of welcome-homes? 

Lloyd D. Newell

One step

Paradigm Shift Happens

You cannot solve a

 problem with the same

 mind that created it.

Visions of Zion

"Look forward with hope rather than backward with despair." 

Deiter F. Uchtdorf

Peach Slab Pie

Ingredients

• 2 refrigerated uncooked pie crusts
• 4 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (about 6 peaches)
• 1/2 cup crushed cornflakes (regular or sweetened)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with nonstick foil, using 2 pieces so you have some overlap hanging over all sides.
3. Cut the piecrust dough into rough 9x9 inch squares. Place the first square in the baking dish, pressing the edges a little ways up the sides.
4. Scatter the cereal over the dough, and then put the peaches in a layer on top of the dough.
5. Pour the brown sugar evenly over the peaches.
6. Top with the second crust and press the edges down towards the bottom crust. They don't have to be sealed. Cut a few steam slices in the top crust and bake until golden, 50-60 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan for about ten minutes and then carefully remove from the pan, using the foil edges as handles. Cool on a rack in the foil until completely cool. The waiting is the hardest part!
8. When the pie is cool, make the glaze by mixing the milk and vanilla into the powdered sugar. If it is too thick add a little more milk.
9. Carefully invert the pie onto a cookie sheet, and then again onto a platter. Drizzle the glaze over the top. Use it all!
10. Cut into slabs and serve.

Staying positive

Be the type of person you want to meet!

Let us encourage one another

Without compulsion

Heavenly Father has a plan

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup

Just Work It Off

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts*
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions (including whites, mince the whites)
2 jalapeños, seeded and minced (leave seeds if you want soup spicy, omit if you don't like heat)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3 medium avocados, peeled, cored and diced
Tortilla chips, monterey jack cheese, sour cream for serving (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add green onions and jalapenos and saute until tender, about 2 minutes, adding garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, cumin, season with salt and pepper to taste and add chicken breasts. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce heat to medium, cover with lid and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken has cooked through 10 - 15 minutes (cook time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts). Reduce burner to warm heat, remove chicken from pan and let rest on a cutting board 5 minutes, then shred chicken and return to soup. Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Add avocados to soup just before serving (if you don't plan on serving the soup right away, I would recommend adding the avocados to each bowl individually, about 1/2 an avocado per serving). Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream if desired.

How very important our words are

A thoughtless word can linger in the memory, replayed over and over.  Fortunately, so can a word of encouragement or praise.  Both, the negative and the positive, take their affects and leave their marks.