Wasted Watermelons

August 18, 2014

Today I threw several watermelons away that rotted because I never harvested them.  Sadly, this isn’t the only thing I’ve grown that has gone to waste.  I do great at planting a garden and weeding the first month or so then when things get a little hot outside I get too tired, busy, lazy, etc. to go out and harvest the things that are there waiting for me.  This made me think about other blessings that I might be able to claim if I made a little effort.  What is keeping me from those blessings?  Laziness, being to busy, anger, resentment, low self-esteem, inability to forgive, pride, feeling ashamed, fear, retaliation, and vengeance are all tools of Satan to keep me from claiming the blessing that could be mine.

However, the teachings of Jesus Christ, which are the key to mostly likely achieving happiness in individual and family life, gives the antidote to those temptations.  Jesus Christ teaches, diligence, being still long enough to ponder, joy, happiness for others, individual worth, divine nature, reaching out to others, forgiveness, humility, asking for advice, heeding good advice, praise, faith, sympathy, turning things over to the Lord by using his atonement.

I also realize that I could have also blessed other’s lives if I would have shared my watermelons with my neighbors instead of letting them rot in my own yard.  The Lord wants me to claim blessings to bless my life and the lives of those around me.

Love,

Mindy

Hymns are Powerful Sermons

I love Hymns!  I love primary songs and sacred music.  I love that with only a few, simple words they can teach powerful sermons.  I love that they can penetrate deeply into my soul.  Several times in my life I have had words to hymns and primary songs come to my mind to give me comfort and peace and/or teach me the words of God.  On Monday morning as I was driving school carpool we were listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Pandora.  As they sang “Where Love Is” the phrase “'Tis love we get when love we bring” stood out to me.  To back track a little farther, on Sunday in my ward’s Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class, my friend Nicole Rudd shared that when we do good to others, we get good returned to us because it is a principle of the law of the harvest.  So on Monday morning that phrase stood out to me as another principle of the law of the harvest.  It also reminded me to give love in all my relationships and to teach my children to love others if they want to be loved.

Life Lessons

What life lessons have you learned?  A few weeks ago I was asked if I had any suggestions or wisdom about life. These life lessons are what popped into my head: 

1) Give sincere compliments to as many people as you can
2) Be confident
3) Read your scriptures daily 
4) Say your prayers every night and morning and keep a prayer in your heart
5) Look for opportunities to help others
6) Stretch yourself by doing hard things
7) Attend church every week and be on time so you can take the sacrament

These things have brought me happiness even through hard times.