Polka dots and Pineapple: September 2009

I had a very powerful learning experience this last monday where I learned the importance of prayer. and so the story begins. I was driving to Highland for FHE and since I don't live at Raintree anymore, I didn't have anyone to go with so I decided to drive myself. I was all alone. I thought I knew the way because I had been there before. I had never driven there myself though. As I was driving there, I got off of the wrong exit, got stuck in traffic, lots of construction and detours. I was totally lost, but thought that if I kept driving, I would get familiar with something and be able to find my way. I dept driving, and got even more lost to the point I didn't even know how to get to the freeway. I will be honest, I have never felt so lost in my life, and I was scared. As I was driving, I called my dad and told him I was lost. I told him what I saw and what I was driving past. He told me to keep driving and where I should go. He was pretty sure he know where I was. I followed his directions and they brought me to Thanksgiving point. Thankfully, my dad was coming home from work and his next exit was the one by Thanksgiving Point. We met there and he told me exactly how to get to where everything was familiar to me, and where I would be able to find my way. If I hadn't called my dad, he would not have known to help me.

If I ever feel lost, I cannot just expect Heavenly Father to help me. I need to ask for His help. He isn't going to force His help on me because we have our agency. But if I ask for His help, He will gladly give it to me. If I am lost, He will find me. He knows where I am and He knows how to get me to my end destination. I just need to follow His exact directions. And If I mess up, or get lost again, He will still be there for me, and He will still help me get back on the right path and find my way. I am so grateful for that little experience that helped me reallize how important my relationship should be with my Heavenly Father. I think he gave me that experience to show me that He is wating for me. He is ready to listen and answer me if I will just talk with Him.

I have also been thinking a lot about Satan, and the power he has over us. I found this story which hit me how hard Satan is working on all of us, and how his plan really is working. Even on me.

Satan's Worldwide Convention

Satan called a worldwide convention.

In his opening address to his evil angels, Satan said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.

So, let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogues, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly!

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions.

"Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"

It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.

Satan knows he can't keep me from going to church, or from doing what is good, but he knows that if he fills my life with good stuff, that I will forget the essentials fo the Gospel,. I see it almost everyday with reading the Book of Mormon. I get to "busy" with other "good" things, but forget the "essential" things. This has made me more and more about wanting to do the essential things first, and then I will have time for the good things. Everything will fall in to place.

I know that Satan is real, but I also know that Jesus Christ is real. I am so grateful for the knowledge that through Christ, I can progress every single day. If I fall short, Christ is there to make up the rest. I know that I can follow Christ, He is calling to me to follow him. If It is too hard for me to follow him, he will stand by me; if he isn't standing by me or in front of me, I know that he is behind me, pushing me, giving me encouragement. And if he isn't there, during my hardest times, he will be there carrying me. He loves me. I know he does. I can feel his love from the people He has put in my life. I know that the people I know, and the people in my life are here to help me, to remember, and to know of the love of our Savior. It is just a taste of His love. I can't even comprehend the love He has for each and every one of us. Enough love that he would die for us and for all of our sins, and sorrows. He knows EXACTLY what we are going through. He can help us through it. Always!

There is so much more I can say. My heart if SO full today. So full of gratitude.