Count Your Blessings NOT Your Problems

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

Throughout our lives, we all receive blessings, and we all experience problems.

Blessings

How often did you counted your past blessings? How did you received some of those past blessings?
Does receiving blessings really matters to us in our lives? In what type of ways do you think you can receive more blessings in the near future and in the future? Why do we receive blessings throughout our lives?

Sometimes our lives is filled with distractions that stops us from finding some spare time to ourselves to think about, reflect on and write down some of the blessings that we have received throughout our lives. I know that my immediate family members, my husband, my in-laws, my friends and past experiences has been the biggest blessings in my life. Past experiences has helped me to overcome them, and I have been able to learn so much from them.

My immediate family members has been mostly there for me when I needed them to. Their support, their love, their sacrifices and their appreciations to me has made me feel so grateful that they are my immediate family. I do my best to show my support, love, making sacrifices and sharing appreciations to my immediate family members.

My husband's support, his love, his sacrifices, and his appreciations to me has made me feel so grateful that he is my husband. I often do my best to show my support, love, making sacrifices and sharing appreciations to my husband.

Count your blessings, NOT your problems.

Problems

Why do you think that we have problems throughout our lives? How often did you counted your past problems? Do you remember how you have faced some of those past problems? Does problems really matters to us in our lives? What type of problems do you think that you would face in the near future and in the future?

I try not to think about some of the problems that I have faced in the past. Whenever I do think about those problems, I considered them as learning lessons. Most of those past problems has helped me to build confidence for me to do better, and become a better person each day. I know that I don't want to face the same problem twice or multiple times.

It has been so strange for me to not make so many friends roughly the same age as me and my husband while I have been living over here in US than I did made many friends in Australia. I am still grateful for the friends that I already have met and made, and do my best to stay in touch with several true closest friends.

Remember to acknowledge, count and appreciate the blessings that you do receive, even if it is a massive blessing or a small blessing. If you have a journal, you can write down the date of the day and write down the blessings that you have received throughout the day. Just being alive is certainly a blessing - I mean like waking up in the morning is a blessing too.

We do face distractions in our lives, and it doesn't stop us from facing problems throughout our lives. I would like to encourage you to do your best to see the positive side of the next problem that you do face. Remember that you aren't facing problems alone.

Stay Tuned until next time.

From Whom All Blessings Flow

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on April 1997 General Conference talk and it is called, “From Whom All Blessings Flow” by Neal A. Maxwell. I would like to share some of the highlights that I have read throughout the talk. 

Brother Maxwell mentioned the following: "... Brothers and sisters, if I have any entitlement to the blessings of God, it has long since been settled in the court of small claims by His generous bestowals over a lifetime.

... Uncertainty as to our longevity is one of life’s basic realities for all of us. Hence, you and I should importune in faith for the blessings we deeply desire, but then be “content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto [us]”. Clearly our individual exit routes from this life vary; so does the timing.

There are many who suffer so much more than the rest of us: some go agonizingly; some go quickly; some are healed; some are given more time; some seem to linger. There are variations in our trials but no immunities. Thus, the scriptures cite the fiery furnace and fiery trials. ... Even so, brothers and sisters, such emerging individuals do not rush to line up in front of another fiery furnace in order to get an extra turn! 

... The redeeming presence of our loving Father-God in the universe is the grand fact pertaining to the human condition. It is the supernal truth which, along with His plan of happiness, reigns preeminent and imperial over all other realities. Other truths, by comparison, are merely fleeting factoids about which we may be “ever learning” without coming to a knowledge of the grand truths.

"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should
also make our blessings count." - Neal A. Maxwell.

Mortal experience points evermore to the Atonement of Jesus Christ as the central act of all human history. ... When we take Jesus’ yoke upon us, this admits us eventually to what Paul called the “fellowship of [Christ’s] sufferings”.

Whether illness or aloneness, injustice or rejection, etc., our comparatively small-scale sufferings, if we are meek, will sink into the very marrow of the soul. We then better appreciate not only Jesus’ sufferings for us, but also His matchless character, moving us to greater adoration and even emulation.

                                                                                                                  Alma revealed that Jesus knows how to succor us in the midst of our griefs and sicknesses precisely because Jesus has already borne our griefs and sicknesses. He knows them firsthand; thus His empathy is earned. Of course, we do not comprehend it fully any more than we understand how He bore all mortal sins, but His Atonement remains the rescuing and reassuring reality.

No wonder, of all the things for which we might praise Jesus when He comes again in majesty and power, we will praise Him for His “loving kindness” and His “goodness”; moreover, we will go on praising Him for ever and ever! We will never need to be coaxed.

... Finally, my humble praise today flows not only to God the Father for His loving plan of salvation and to Jesus, the Lord of the universe, for His marvelous and remarkable Atonement, but also to the Holy Ghost, about whom we speak less. ...."

If you would like to read this whole talk either now or in your own time, here's the link below.

www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1997/04/from-whom-all-blessings-flow

Stay Tuned until next time.

Consider The Blessings ~ Part Two

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post may seem short and sweet. This post focuses on October 2012 General Conference and it is called, "Consider The Blessings" by President Thomas S. Monson. This post is part two and I would like to share some highlights from what I have read.

President Monson mentioned the following;
"I have learned, as I have mentioned in previous messages, never to postpone a prompting. On one occasion many years ago, I was swimming laps at the old Deseret Gym in Salt Lake City when I felt the inspiration to go to the University Hospital to visit a good friend of mine who had lost the use of his lower limbs because of a malignancy and the surgery which followed. I immediately left the pool, dressed, and was soon on my way to see this good man.

When I arrived at his room, I found that it was empty. Upon inquiry I learned I would probably find him in the swimming pool area of the hospital, an area which was used for physical therapy. Such turned out to be the case. He had guided himself there in his wheelchair and was the only occupant of the room. He was on the far side of the pool, near the deep end. I called to him, and he maneuvered his wheelchair over to greet me. We had an enjoyable visit, and I accompanied him back to his hospital room, where I gave him a blessing.

I learned later from my friend that he had been utterly despondent that day and had been contemplating taking his own life. He had prayed for relief but began to feel that his prayers had gone unanswered. He went to the pool with the thought that this would be a way to end his misery—by guiding his wheelchair into the deep end of the pool. I had arrived at a critical moment, in response to what I know was inspiration from on high.

My friend was able to live many more years - years filled with happiness and gratitude. How pleased I am to have been an instrument in the Lord’s hands on that critical day at the swimming pool. ...

"The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that
continually surround us." - James E. Faust.

The opportunity to be a blessing in the life of another often comes unexpectedly. ... Again, my brothers and sisters, our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives. ...

My brothers and sisters, the Lord is in all of our lives. He loves us. He wants to bless us. He wants us to seek His help. As He guides us and directs us and as He hears and answers our prayers, we will find the happiness here and now that He desires for us. May we be aware of His blessings in our lives, ..."

If you would like to read this whole talk either now or in your own time, here's the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/10/consider-the-blessings

Stay Tuned until next time.

Consider The Blessings ~ Part One

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,

this post should take approximately three minutes to read from start to finish.

Have you considered some of the past blessings was for your own good?
What did you learn from receiving some of your past blessings?

This post may seem short and sweet. This post focuses on October 2012 General Conference and it is called, "Consider The Blessings" by President Thomas S. Monson. This post is part one and I would like to share some highlights from what I have read.

President Monson mentioned the following,
"My beloved brothers and sisters, this conference marks 49 years since I was sustained, on October 4, 1963, as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Forty-nine years is a long time. In many ways, however, the time seems very short since I stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle and gave my very first general conference address.

Much has changed since October 4, 1963. We live in a unique time in the world’s history. We are blessed with so very much. And yet it is sometimes difficult to view the problems and permissiveness around us and not become discouraged. I have found that, rather than dwelling on the negative, if we will take a step back and consider the blessings in our lives, including seemingly small, sometimes overlooked blessings, we can find greater happiness.

As I have reviewed the past 49 years, I have made some discoveries. One is that countless experiences I have had were not necessarily those one would consider extraordinary. In fact, at the time they transpired, they often seemed unremarkable and even ordinary. And yet, in retrospect, they enriched and blessed lives not the least of which was my own. I would recommend this same exercise to you namely, that you take an inventory of your life and look specifically for the blessings, large and small, you have received.

... I testify that much of that joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. Hasn’t He promised us, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers”?

"Take an inventory of your life and look specifically for the BLESSINGS, large and
small, you have received." - President Thomas S. Monson. October 7, 2012.

... My brothers and sisters, the Lord’s purposes are often accomplished as we pay heed to the guidance of the Spirit. I believe that the more we act upon the inspiration and impressions which come to us, the more the Lord will entrust to us His errands.

Stay Tuned until next time.

Abound with Blessings

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

What is your definition and understanding of "Abound with Blessings"? 

This post focuses on a April 2019 General Conference talk and it is called, "Abound with Blessings" by Elder Dale G. Renlund. I would like to share with you some highlights what I have learned throughout this post. 

Elder Renlund mentioned the following, "My dear brothers and sisters, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ desire to bless each of us. ... Some contend that blessings are completely earned; we receive them only through our works. Others argue that God has already chosen who He will bless and how and that these determinations are unchangeable. ... Restored truth reveals that blessings are never earned, but faith-inspired actions on our part, both initial and ongoing, are essential.

... most blessings that God desires to give us require action on our part - action based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in the Savior is a principle of action and of power. First we act in faith; then the power comes according to God’s will and timing. The sequence is crucial. The required action, though, is always tiny when compared to the blessings we ultimately receive. 

... The principle of activating blessings that flow from God is eternal. ... God has revealed that “there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” ... In fact, it can be seen in heaven because small acts of faith are required to ignite God’s promises.

"Faithfully activate Heavenly power to receive specific blessings
from God." - Dale G. Renlund.

To receive a desired blessing from God, act with faith, striking the metaphorical match on which the heavenly blessing is contingent. For example, one of the objects of prayer is to secure blessings that God is willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking. 

... Often, the activation energy needed for blessings requires more than just looking or asking; ongoing, repeated, faith-filled actions are required. ..

... Small actions fuel our ability to walk along the covenant path and lead to the greatest blessings God can offer. But oxygen flows only if we figuratively keep moving our feet.

... And sometimes we need to “be still and know that [God is] God” and trust in His timing.

When you receive any blessing from God, you can conclude that you have complied with an eternal law governing reception of that blessing. But remember that the “irrevocably decreed” law is time insensitive, meaning blessings come on God’s timetable. 

.. If a desired blessing from God has not been received yet you do not need to go crazy, wondering what more you need to do. Instead, heed Joseph Smith’s counsel to “cheerfully do all things that lie in [your] power; and then … stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the … arm [of God] … revealed.”25 Some blessings are reserved for later, even for the most valiant of God’s children.26

Six months ago a home-centered, Church-supported plan to learn doctrine, strengthen faith, and fortify individuals and families was introduced. President Russell M. Nelson promised that the changes can help us survive spiritually, increase our gospel joy, and deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.27 But it is up to us to claim these blessings. We are each responsible to open and study Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families, along with the scriptures and other Come, Follow Me material.28 

... I invite you to faithfully activate heavenly power to receive specific blessings from God. Exercise the faith to strike the match and light the fire. Supply the needed oxygen while you patiently wait on the Lord. .."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here's the link below.

www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/41renlund

Stay Tuned until next time.