An Active Participant on the Stage of Service

"I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."

Why am I healthy? Why am I blessed to live in a home? Why am I blessed with safety? With the necessities and luxuries of life? While others live in poverty, war, sickness, and duress? 

"To whom much is given, much is required". I do not have more because I am more favored or blest. I have more so that I may give more of what I have; it's that simple. 

The inconsistencies of life--the law of opposition-- prove the necessity of reciprocity. 

We are here to extend compassion, love, forgiveness, and help. When I'm in good health I administer to those who are not; when I am on the road to success I elevate others to success.  I do this because when I am experiencing the flipside of the law of opposition, I am the one in need of humanities extension of love, service, and help. 

These past few weeks my family has been on the "decline", dealing with what seemed like a bout of bad luck—from injuries, sicknesses, snowstorms, urgent care and hospital visits, to surgery.  At the end of last week I felt like my reservoir of love, service, and giving back to humanity was empty...I was running on fumes. 

I can not begin to express how grateful I was to family, friends, and people I'd never met, who extended their helping hand either through a phone call, a prayer, or a comment of concern left on my Instagram or Facebook. Humanity came through for my family and now that we are back "on the saddle", it's time to pay it forward. 

President Monson said: "There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be not spectators but participants on the stage of … service.”6  

In accordance with President Monson’s remarks, Mike and I have made it our goal as a family this year to step away from being merely spectators or seasonal givers, and find some way-- large or small--we can serve each month.

 January we took the kiddos to a highly littered road by our home and picked up trash. Every time we drive by that road Beckahm says, "that's where we picked up trash". That day we left a little part of the world cleaner and more beautiful. 

With February being the month of "love", and going through the trying moments that came as a result of Amari’s sickness, this months service adventure could not be more fitting: assembling care packages for sick children at Children's Hospital. 

It was difficult for us to stay 2 nights in the hospital, getting little to no sleep, having nurses come in at all hours to check vitals, having no real place for our 1 year old to run and play, and missing out on eating home cooked meals. Our situation only made me reflect on the hundreds of thousands of children and families—whose hospital is their home—fighting the good fight against disease and sickness every day. My heart goes out to them for the fatigue, stress, concern, frustration, and sadness they must feel on a daily/weekly basis. 

I wish there was more we could do, but I am grateful for the privilege I have to make a child’s day a bit brighter by actively participating in bettering their life as so many people have bettered my own over the years.

I pray daily for you, you little conquerors, you soldiers fighting battles of sickness, pain, and fatigue.  I pray that you will be strong, courageous, and bold. That you will not let any ailment or fear defeat you. That you will keep dreaming, hoping, and believing that one day you will know what it's like to live without pain. That you are THAT awesome, THAT amazing, and THAT loved. Never give up little soldiers— little keepers of humanities dreams, imaginations, creativity, magic, wonder and awe. You are our superheroes--your light, your love, your strength, your hope, is the betterment of us all.

I dedicate this beautiful, moving song to you:

President Thomas S. Monson regarding our duty to serve: 

The Lord Jesus Christ taught, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:24).

“I believe,” said President Thomas S. Monson, “the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives.”1

“My brothers and sisters, we are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us. …

 “That service to which all of us have been called is the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.”3

“We bless others as we serve in the shadow of ‘Jesus of Nazareth … who went about doing good’ [Acts 10:38]. God bless us to find joy in serving our Father in Heaven as we serve His children on earth.”4




#service #children #love #givingback #trial #opposition 

Get Involved

Mike and I have been trying to come up with various ways we can serve more effectively and efficiently now that we have a newborn.  We still want to be active citizens in this world in helping those in need.  I got on the LDS website and found some great resources while searching through the Welfare System home page.  There are countless ways we can get involved and I thought I would include two of them on my blog:

School Kits Even when children are fortunate enough to attend schools, they often lack the educational supplies needed to create a functional and engaging learning environment. A school kit can transform even a meager setting into an appropriate educational space. Assembly Instructions 4 unsharpened pencils 1 pencil sharpener 1 box pre-sharpened or unsharpened assorted colored pencils (approximately 7" long, about 12 pencils to a box) 1 pair blunt-nosed scissors with metal blades 1 rubber pencil eraser (approximately 1" by 2") 1 straight edge ruler—not to exceed 12", with metric measurements 450 pages of paper in glued or spiral-bound notebooks or letter-size legal pads, all with lined sheets. Sheet sizes 8 ½" by 11", 8" by 10 ½", and 8 ½" by 11 ¾" are acceptable (no more than 6 notebooks or pads per kit). 1 durable cloth bag made of heavy fabric (see cloth bag guidelines below) Cloth Bag (for School Kit) Cut two pieces of fabric into 14" by 18" rectangles. Serge or zigzag all edges of both pieces of bag fabric. Put right sides of bag fabric together. Starting at the top of the side seam (side seam = 18" length), sew around three sides of bag (2 long sides, 1 short side). Make sure to backstitch. Turn top hem down 1". Press top. Handles Cut two 26" by 3 ½" handles from a piece of fabric (½" webbing may also be used). Zigzag or serge one long side of each handle. With right side out, fold over raw edge and overlap serged edge. Stitch lengthwise down center of handle. Pin or secure handle in place. Repeat with the other end of the handle on the same side of the bag. Repeat on other side of the bag. After handles are secure, stitch hem of bag, including handles around entire hem. Reinforce stitching on handles. Place a 3" strip of Velcro on inside of bag between handle straps, and sew in place. Place all items inside the cloth bag. Take or ship the completed school kits to the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center, or a bishops' storehouse. Hygiene Kits Hygiene kits provide disaster victims with basic items necessary for health and cleanliness. Assembly Instructions 2 unbreakable combs (no sharp handles) 4 toothbrushes (packaged) 1 tube of toothpaste (6-8 oz., no pumps) 2 bars of soap (approximately 4 to 5 oz.) 2 hand towels (new towels, approximately 15" by 25". Please do not use dish towels or washcloths. To sew towels, serge or zigzag the edges of terry cloth to make a 15" by 25" towel.) Place items in a heavy-duty, one-gallon sealable bag. Remove all air before sealing. Place hygiene kits in a cardboard packing box, and take or ship them to the Latter-day Saint Humanitarian Center, or a bishops' storehouse. ***If you don't have time to serve you can always donate online.  Check out the LDS Charities the church supports.

Character of God

Mike felt inspired to send this to his family, something we talked about last night laying bed.  I thought it was equally valuable to share with everyone here. 


Amanda and I were laying in bed and talking after we had read the scriptures and we had an interesting conversation.  We were talking about trials and blessings and where they come from.  Through talking, I realized that I've had a misconception about where and why trials and blessings come.  I thought back to various experiences and trials I've gone through and remember thinking, "Why is God not blessing me?" or "Why do I HAVE to go through this?'.  I realized that somewhere along the line, I developed a belief that God withholds blessing from us or puts us through things--that he doesn't want me to be rich or wealthy.  I remember times when I've wanted to be making more money and thinking, "Why isn't God blessing me?"  

Over the past few months my beliefs about God and my understanding of God's character and will has changed.  And talking the other night with Amanda it all hit me and became clear.  The lack of success we are having in life isn't because of God. God isn't sitting up in Heaven saying, "Nope, I'm not going to bless you yet. Just don't think you're doing enough." God wants to bless us--he wants us to have all the money and success the world has to offer.  What good are we to the Lord if we can never reach outside of ourselves and make a difference in the lives of others because we are so consumed with just getting by and making ends meet?  Think about how much of an impact we can have in the world if we can focus on sharing the Saviors love with others by serving and giving to those in need. (That's not to say we can't serve and make a difference just because of our financial circumstance--we can) We can be so much more useful to the Lord if we don't have to spend so much time worrying and working just to support ourselves.  Therefore it makes sense that He would want to bless us financially and temporally.  So why doesn't He?  

The Lord is perfect, just and honest.  He is bound by certain laws.  He cannot bless us if we don't do our part--it's impossible.  If he did bless us when we didn't deserve a blessing he would cease to be God.  The universe runs by these laws--nothing can operate or achieve it's purpose unless it follows the law related to it.  So what it comes down to is our own lack of FAITH or BELIEF or even our lack of knowledge or understanding.  Over and over again in the scriptures it talks about faith and how if we have even the smallest amount of faith we can do and achieve all things.  God is the one talking in the scriptures and he is telling us how to be successful--"BELIEVE that you can be and that I will bless and guide you and you will be".  He said it, it's TRUE and he has to bless us when we do what he says.  He has to!  So when we sit back and look at our life and think, "Maybe God is trying to teach me something and that's why He's not blessing us." we're wrong.  God isn't trying to teach us He's just waiting for us to BELIEVE in Him.  He's probably just sitting there and thinking, "C'mon, I want to bless you.  I'm not intentionally withholding blessings from you.  I want to give you everything you want and desire that is good--but I can't until you show me some FAITH and take ACTION.  Do your part dummy--so I can do mine."  And because of free will God isn't going to intervene and make you do something.  He's not going to come down and talk with you face to face and teach you how to be wealthy.  But He will inspire you, and speak to you through the Spirit.  But if we never follow the guidance by taking action He can't and won't bless us.  

Well how do we know if we are being guided by the spirit or if it's just our thoughts?  Half the time we don't.  The key is to take action.  As long as your thought or inspiration is good and will lead to potentially positive results, MOVE!  If it's not guidance from the Lord it will fall through or something will come up and you will know.  As long as you are being prayerful along the way and truly seeking guidance from the Lord things will work out the way they should.  But if we never take action or work towards our own future success we show NO faith or belief and can't be blessed.  So we have to be pro active and try new things.  We have to make things happen.  It's up to us not God.  God will bless us along the way and lead and inspire us...but it's up to US to make it happen.  

Right now Amanda and I are trying to figure out what to do for work and income.  I don't want to go out for the summer with a brand new baby.  We don't want to leave our ward and our callings.  We have no idea what the Lord wants us to do.  We don't know what's going to happen this summer.  But we've been coming up with numerous ideas and working on putting those ideas into an income.  I've been reading a book called, "The Four Hour Work Week" and learning how to create a business and a better lifestyle and I know something is going to come from all this.  We are on the verge of something GREAT!  I don't know what it will be but I feel it coming.  I'm creating a painting line.  Amanda and I are writing a book.  I'm creating a sales training website.  We have an idea for a diet/nutrition meal program.  I am knocking twice a week.  And we have a few other things.  So as you can see, we are working on a lot of things.  I don't know what will happen or what we'll be inspired to do.  But what I've realized is that as long as I'm doing my part and being pro active in coming up with ideas, working, creating new businesses or products the Lord has to bless us.  He said he would and will...He wants to so bad but we have to make things happen and BELIEVE in Him and his desire to bless us so that He can.

Don't let Satan persuade you to have fear.  Don't let him distort your idea or perception of God.  God loves us all,  he cares about us and wants us to be successful in all areas of life. And he wants us to be positive influences on the world and be able to help and share his love and abundance with all those in need.  

Maybe you guys have a clear understanding of God and the way he blesses us but I didn't.  So I just wanted to share my experience with you because it was enlightening and hopeful. Show God you truly have faith and believe by taking action!  Let's make 2011 one of the best years ever!  LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Mike 

MLK DAY!

Martin Luther King Day! A day of service to give back to our community!

Mike and I recently joined up with a community organization called HandsOn Greater Phoenix. This is such a good reference for anyone, in AZ, wanting to get involved in service projects around their community. They list a calendar of events and ways you can sign up at there site: http://www.handsonphoenix.org/

Yesterday we went to a charter school, affiliated with ASU, and helped hundreds of other volunteers clean, paint, and organize the school. It was such a good way to start the day, being of service to those in our community. We hope to make this a family tradition, eventually taking our kids along, and signing up at least 2 x a month to help out in different causes.

Here are some quotes from such a great man who inspired so much change in this great nation.

We were proud to honor him on this day!

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better"

"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love"

"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love"

"Our nettlesome task is to discover how to organize our strength into compelling power"

"The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy"