Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Infinite worth

There is one responsibility which no man can evade;  that responsibility is his personal influence.  Man's unconscious influence is the silent, subtle radiation of his personality the effect of his words and his acts on others.  This radiation is tremendous.  Every moment of life man is changing, to a degree, the life of the whole world.
Every man has an atmosphere, which is affecting every other man. He cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constant weakening or strengthening of others.   Man cannot evade the responsibility by merely saying that it is an unconscious influence. Man can select the qualities he would permit to be radiated.  He can cultivate sweetness, calmness, trust, generosity, truth, justice, loyalty, nobility, and make them vitally active in his character.  And by these qualities he will constantly affect the world.
This radiation, to which I refer, comes from what a person really is, not from what he pretends to be.  Every man by his mere living is radiating either sympathy, sorrow, cynicism, or happiness and hope or any one of a hundred other qualities.
David O. McKay: BYU address, April 27, 1948


Her mouth speaks from that which fills her heart.


Pray through it
Prayer changes everything



Faith is more about trusting than trying.

Trust in Him

We see possibilities in others, but do we ever dream of the possibilities within ourselves?
What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you.
Decide to like yourself.  Then do it!
 
Your are a somebody, not a nobody.
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Each of us came to this earth with a special mission to perform. 
We may not know what it is, but our Heavenly Father knows.
Just as a mechanic needs tools to repair a car, we are all tools in the hands of God.  Each tool is different.  Each tool is necessary.  Do we know what tool we are and which parts we were meant to prepare?
Always remember the outside of a person doesn't usually tell the whole story.
People are like stained glass windows.  They glow and sparkle when it's sunny and bright, but when the sun goes down their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
No woman was ever quite like you.  The Lord made only one, without carbons.  You are not repeated and not repeatable.  No one else can do what the Lord sent you to do.  The value of what you have to contribute will come through the expression of your own personality, that particular spark of the divine that make you unique, setting you off from every other living creature.  The mark you leave on the world, on the hearts and minds of others is as distinct as your thumb print. 
Barbara B. Smith
" Each of us comes into this world separately, one by one. This is not an accident. I think it's the Lord's way of reminding us of the infinite worth of each soul."
Life is a state of radiation and absorption.  To exist is to radiate: to exist is to be the recipient of radiation.  Jesus knows that His kingdom will triumph, and He wants you to triumph with it. He knows in advance every strategy the enemy will use against you and the kingdom. He knows your weaknesses and He knows your strengths. By personal revelation you may discover some of your strengths through a careful and prayerful study of your patriarchal blessing. In prayer you can ask Him to reveal to you your weaknesses so that you can amend your life.
Ezra Taft Benson
 
When you understand your worth as a daughter of God, you will have a greater desire to turn your weaknesses into strengths and radiate the light of Christ.
"Like the caterpillars who will one day become butterflies, you have the magnificent potential to develop the powers within you and become greater than most of you dare to dream...You  have the power and the capacity to perform so well that you can inherit all that our Father has if you begin the process and continue until you become what you are really meant to be...You can choose to use the powers within you to have a happy life of
continual growth and development that leads to eternal progression."

Barbara B. Smith
Our task is to become our best selves. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again,
for no failure ever need be final.
Thomas S. Monson
As we mature spiritually under the guidance of the Holy Ghost,
our sense of personal worth, of belonging, and of identity increases.

James E. Faust
"I testify that the Lord loves women. He watches over us and loves our womanhood-the duties and the responsibilities of our gender-and he can speak to us directly with spiritual messages that are necessary for our personal welfare and for the callings in which we are engaged..."
One of the greatest weaknesses in most of us is our lack of faith in ourselves. 
One of our common failings is to depreciate our tremendous worth.
A shallow self-image is not improved by always letting others establish our standards and by habitually succumbing to peer pressure.  Young people too often depend upon someone else's image rather than their own.
The Savior doesn't just speak to the masses.  He ministered and showed love to the one.  They weren't all beautiful and perfect.  He looked at their heart.  He does with you also.
James E. Faust

Caramel Banana Nut Cake Recipe



Caramel Banana Nut Poke Cake Recipe:
Ingredients:
Cake:

1 (16.5 ounce) box yellow cake mix, prepared according to directions
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) jar caramel sauce
Topping:
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant banana pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (8 ounce) container Cool Whip
Nut topping
Directions:
Make yellow cake according to the box directions for a 9x13 cake.  Let cool.  Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the cake.  Pour sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce over the top of the cake, letting them soak into the cake.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together banana pudding mix and milk for two minutes, until it begins to thicken.  Fold in Cool Whip until completely combined.  Spread Cool Whip/pudding mixture over the top of the cake.  Sprinkle on nut topping and drizzle with any leftover caramel.  Store in the refrigerator until

Monday, August 12, 2013

...let us run with patience the race that is set before us




…..let us run with patience the race that is set before us
“We might compare our eternal journey to a race of three laps around the track. We have completed the first lap successfully and have made wonderful progress. We have started on the second lap. Can you imagine a world-class runner stopping along the track at this point to pick flowers or chase a rabbit that crossed his path? Yet this is what we are doing when we occupy our time with worldly pursuits that do not move us closer to the third lap toward eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin

The course of our lives is not determined by great, awesome decisions. Our direction is set by the little day-to-day choices which chart the track on which we run.

Gordon B. Hinckley


By Emily Freeman
I believe every trek experience has a moment where the lesson of rescuing comes to the surface.
“And he will take upon him death…that his bowels may be filled with mercy
…that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people…”
one of the definitions of succor means, “to run to.”
Don’t you love to think of that phrase as one that teaches of a Savior who runs to you in your times of need?
I walked next to a boy during our stake trek that all of you wish you could meet.
He is a boy with a rescuing heart.
I watched him as the women pulled their handcarts up a steep hill.
He was ready to help at the slightest slip.
It was against “the rules” to help out the sisters during their solo pull, but I heard him tell his other friends–”If you see our handcart family in legitimate trouble, don’t forget that we are there to help!”
The anticipation and anxiousness was evident on his face.
Waiting for an opportunity to succor.
I do believe the Lord runs to us in our times of affliction.
I believe that because of His perfect Atonement He knows when and where and how to do it.
I also believe that he helps us sense those same feelings so that we are prompted to run along with him.
“In our own helplessness, He becomes our rescuer, saving us from damnation and bringing us to eternal life. In times of despair, in seasons of loneliness and fear, He is there on the horizon to bring succor and comfort and assurance and faith. He is our King, our Savior, our Deliverer, our Lord and our God.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

“This is your world. The future is in your hands. The outcome is up to you.. Are you ready?”

Thomas S. Monson

“Let us never forget that we have a marvelous heritage received from great and courageous people who endured unimaginable suffering and demonstrated unbelievable courage for the cause they loved. You and I know what we should do. God help us to do it when it needs to be done”

Gordon B. Hinckley

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies



White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups white chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, beat together the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until completely incorporated. Fold in the oats and white chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 9-12 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and let cool.
Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Friday, August 9, 2013

There is no greater expression of love



"I believe in Christ; he is my King! With all my heart to him I'll sing; I'll raise my voice in praise and joy, In grand amens my tongue employ. I believe in Christ; he is God's Son. On earth to dwell his soul did come. He healed the sick; the dead he raised. Good works were his; his name be praised."

“I’ve noticed that when faced with opposition we often ask ‘why’—Why me? Why now? Why this?—when to ask ‘what’ would be more constructive. I once sent a letter of comfort to a couple in distress because the husband was dying of an incurable illness. Their reply was humbling: they enumerated the blessings God had given them in their many years together and then faithfully wondered
‘what’ it was that God was trying to teach them in this final tutorial.”
Marlin K. Jensen
“Sometimes in the midst of trials we cry out, ‘What have I done wrong to deserve this?’ Often, tribulation comes into our lives not because we are doing something wrong but because of what we are doing right. We are striving for the purification and sanctification that will lead us to exaltation. We all must pass through a certain amount of fire so that our spirits will be pliable in the hands of the Lord.”
Glenn L. Pace
“There is no greater expression of love than the heroic Atonement performed by the Son of God.”
M. Russell Ballard
“Certainly the best way for us to show our love…is by taking the time to prove it hour by hour and day by day. Our expressions of love and comfort are empty if our actions don’t match.”
Marvin J. Ashton
“Keep your faith. Look for the good in your situation. Do something kind for someone. Seek Christ….. You will find that despite external circumstances, the kingdom of God is ‘within you’.”
Jeffrey R. Holland
“My earnest prayer is that the blessings of our God may be over us in time, that when we get through and shall pass behind the veil, we shall have done all that was required of us, and be prepared to dwell with the sanctified and the just made perfect through the blood of the Lamb.”
Wilford Woodruff
“…The gospel has good news not only for the serious transgressor, but for all who long to be better than they are. Through the Holy Ghost, the Atonement makes possible certain spiritual endowments that actually purify our nature and enable us to live a more ‘eternal’ or Godlike life. At that ultimate stage, we will eat the fruit of the tree of life and partake of God’s divine nature. Then we will exhibit divine character not just because we think we should, but because that is the way we are.”
Bruce C. Hafen

Cake batter rice crispy treats



Warning: cake batter rice crispy treats. You will probably never make regular rice crispy treats again.3 Tbsp. butter 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows 1/4 cup yellow cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!) 6 cups crispy rice cereal 1 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles Method: Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined.

Monday, July 29, 2013

He's calling our names



Daughter of a King
by Jenny Phillips

 

Do you wonder if he knows who you are?


Do you wonder if he knows the secret pleadings of your heart
He has numbered every sand of the sea


And he longs for you to know that he believes in you.
Can you feel the quiet power from above
Can you feel his strength surround you when your own is not enough
He has blessed you with his spirit from on high
And he longs for you to know what lives inside of you
Oh, be true

Daughter of a king


The father's royalty
Heir to his divinity
He's calling your name


To come and take your place before his throne
He has always known
What he created you to be
A daughter of a king


You hold the promises of all eternity
Rise to claim the noble birth right you were sent here to receive


He has loved you since you lived with him before


Let him lead you to the gifts he has in store for you


Oh, be true



Daughters of a king our father's royalty


Heirs to his divinity


He's calling our names


To come and take our place before his throne
He has always known


What he created us to be.....
Daughter of a king.