There was a lady who baked and decorated several cakes for a living. One day she had an exceptionally large order that needed to be delivered, so she carefully placed them in the backseat of her van and started driving to her destination. But because there were so many cakes and she didn't want them to get smashed or ruined in any way she drove very slowly so that they wouldn't move while she drove. Well as one could assume would happen as she was driving on the highway, several people became irritated at how slow she was driving and they would pass her in the other lane. While they were passing her some would scream at her to speed up or not go so slow and various other things. At first she just kept driving at the slow speed she knew that she should and tried to ignore them and focus on what she was doing. But eventually she decided that if she rolled down her window she would try to tell them that it was because she had cakes in the backseat. Well as one can imagine, no one could hear her as they were speeding by and making their own comments towards her. Finally, the lady reached her destination and felt horrible that she had had to drive so slowly, she paused for a moment and said to herself " if only they could realize it was because I had cakes in the backseat."
A similar story was told at our recent Stake Conference in November being related to judging others. That most of the time when we are judging others we forget to aknowledge that everyone including oursleves often have "cakes in our backseats." Reasons others do things that we may not know why because we are too busy telling them what to do, when we need to stop and listen to why they are doing the things they are or why they are acting the way they are.
I thought of this story this past sunday. We were talking about President Thomas S. Monson's recent speech to the women at the General Relief Society Meeting.
I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that conintually keeps me in check on the little things and brings me great joy by reminding me and teaching me how to continually strive to be better.
Tender Mercies....
The other day I got an email from a past coworker that I had worked with. Her email was just to say hi and comment about the Christmas card we had sent out, but it brought so much more. When I worked at that job she was one who helped me to get through the muck of politics that seemed to often run rampant. I don't know if she ever knew it then but she was what I like to refer to as a " tender mercy" from a loving God. I had to have that job, and it was a blessing to have one, but it was a huge challenge for me and her daily smiles, hellos, and conversations truly helped me take it a day at a time and lifted me. I am grateful for all of the tender mercies I receive on a daily basis.
Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave a speech on this very subject, go here.
Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave a speech on this very subject, go here.
28 years of blessings..
Well yesterday, I, Kara turned 28 years old...a crazy but fun number! We actually ended up celebrating it with family on Sunday ( Bryan had class yesterday night.) It was a lot of fun and a great time to take a moment and count my blessings and all the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father. Thank you to all the well wishers:)
A New Year Brings New Beginnings...
One thing that I love about each new year is that somehow it allows us as human beings to feel like we can start over and begin something new. That has always been an interesting concept to me especially since the new year is just one day after the old year, but yet it brings this sensation and feeling of a fresh clean start where we can make resolutions and almost a reason to become better people and children of our Heavenly Father.
One thing that I would start a new is to start over in reading The Book of Mormon. I can't count how many times I have read this marvelous book, but I just felt like reading it from the first page on the first day of a new year would be something new to do. I love this remarkable book!
President Ezra Taft Benson (a past Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) once said the following: "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.The Bible sits on the pulpit of hundreds of different religious sects. The Book of Mormon, the record of Joseph, verifies and clarifies the Bible. It removes stumbling blocks, it restores many plain and precious things. We testify that when used together, the Bible and the Book of Mormon confound false doctrines, lay down contentions, and establish peace. (See 2 Ne. 3:12.)We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. The book is its own proof. All we need to do is read it and declare it! The Book of Mormon is not on trial—the people of the world, including the members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness for Christ" ( Ensign, Nov. 1984, p.8).
too testify of this remarkable book as another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that it is. I have had the truthfulness of this sacred volume of scripture made known to me by the power of the Holy Ghost. My life has been forever blessed by The Book Of Mormon. I know it to be the word of God and a companion the the Holy Bible.
I look forward to a new beginning with reading from the Book of Mormon and encourage all others to do the same.
One thing that I would start a new is to start over in reading The Book of Mormon. I can't count how many times I have read this marvelous book, but I just felt like reading it from the first page on the first day of a new year would be something new to do. I love this remarkable book!
President Ezra Taft Benson (a past Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) once said the following: "We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.The Bible sits on the pulpit of hundreds of different religious sects. The Book of Mormon, the record of Joseph, verifies and clarifies the Bible. It removes stumbling blocks, it restores many plain and precious things. We testify that when used together, the Bible and the Book of Mormon confound false doctrines, lay down contentions, and establish peace. (See 2 Ne. 3:12.)We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. The book is its own proof. All we need to do is read it and declare it! The Book of Mormon is not on trial—the people of the world, including the members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness for Christ" ( Ensign, Nov. 1984, p.8).
too testify of this remarkable book as another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that it is. I have had the truthfulness of this sacred volume of scripture made known to me by the power of the Holy Ghost. My life has been forever blessed by The Book Of Mormon. I know it to be the word of God and a companion the the Holy Bible.
I look forward to a new beginning with reading from the Book of Mormon and encourage all others to do the same.
Happy New Year...
...and time to clean up:) I don't know what it is about me but I have always liked to keep things clean, organized, and as much clutter free as possible. New Year's Day has been no exception. Growing up New Year's Day was when we as a family had our New Year's Day breakfast and then went to cleaning up all of the Christmas Decorations around the house. Today was no exception to that. We had breakfast with my parents and sisters, but then we headed back home to take down our Christmas decor (Which gratefully is a lot less to clean in our apartment compared to my parent's home.) It's sad to pack away the nativities and take down the Christmas tree but at the same time, it's like you are giving your family and home a fresh clean start to the new year that awaits you.
So to all of our blogger friends out there: Happy New Year! May it be a great start and fresh year of all types of experiences and moments!!!!!
So to all of our blogger friends out there: Happy New Year! May it be a great start and fresh year of all types of experiences and moments!!!!!
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