Practicing Abundance

I recently revisited the story of Ammon in the Book of Mormon. (For an abbreviated version of this story watch the video above or click here ) and something caught my attention in a new way.  In chapter 18, verse 10: 10  Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his  chariots  he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.   Lamoni didn't even know about God at this point, and his use of the word "faithful" surprised me for a moment. I usually (almost exclusively) hear about faithfulness in a religious sense of "having faith in God", which I currently understand as basically trusing in Him and in His plan and words (which involves knowing Him as He is (not as I think He is or imagine Him to be or want Him to be) so as not to have misplaced faith... another...

I was recently listening to a BYU devotional in which the speaker reminded me of a concept she calls "target fixation".  "Have you ever heard of target fixation? It's the phenomenon that explains why we go where we fix our gaze. Target fixation is why skiers, mountain bikers, and motorcyclists sometimes plow directly into the trees, rocks, and other obstacles they try so hard to miss. In each of these instances, target fixation leads to disaster because their eyes are focused somewhere other than their intended destinations. Similarly, in our lives, focusing too much on anything besides the Savior can lead to peril." As I was mowing the lawn later that week, the concept swirled around in my mind and collided with a memory of my dad teaching me that when you mow the lawn, you keep your eyes on the end of the row (where you're going) in order to get a straight line. If you just watch the ground in front of you, you'll end up with a wobbly line.  A single ...

Diamond, by Strive to Be, Nik Day "You are, you are a diamond So bright, treasured and priceless A timeless work of art We see the gleam in side your heart When you feel under pressure It's just making you stronger Remember you were born for this You are a diamond" This song was playing while I was stretching this morning and the Spirit nudged my heart to write. The concept of this song is not new to me - I've been a fan of Hawk Nelson's song "Diamonds" for years. But something about this one, this morning, brought the Spirit to my heart and illuminated some of my path.  The result after pressure is designed to be a priceless thing of purity and beauty.  When hard things happen - when we are scarred by trauma or death, haunted by fear, or feel trapped and unable to proceed or to live out our desires - that's certainly not what I think of first. In these moments, the thought that "this is making you stronger!" can feel way to preppy and insu...

This summer I read a fantastic book called The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good For You And How To Get Good At It. It was a life-changing, fascinating read and I learned SO much I will probably read it again soon.  One thing that made a lasting impact on me was the concept that stress could be defined as when a perceived challenge outweighs one's perceived resources.  One: that makes stress largely about perception , not events. Interesting.  Two: if we take Jesus Christ at His word, we definitely have the skills to learn to stress less. Jesus promises that He will be with us, He leaves us His Comforter and Spirit, and gave us multitudes of scriptural stories of followers learning to trust and lean on Him - and succeeding. "I am with you always" , He says.  Jesus Christ is our strength . He is our Resource. Our Reserve. What perceived challenge can outweigh us now?? What earthly power could be stronger than The Creator, Lord, and Savior of our world, not only the...

  There was bad news about the car. Again.  Really? As I heard the news I felt the competing emotions arising in my heart. One part was despaired and angry that things just couldn't work out; the other saw the situation as it was, and calmly chose to trust that all would work out.  For possibly the first time, I was observing and noticing the diverging path in front of me, rather than reacting to an event faster than I could think about it.  I had heard a discussion recently where a group of people were discussing this concept - something happens and you feel like you are flipping between opposing emotions or responses - like exhilaration and terror.  I had always thought that this vacillation was just how it was, and I would just be caught between the two until the situation was resolved. But these people said no - that is your moment of choice . You get to choose between exhilaration and terror. You can choose between faith and fear.  Right then, when you...