Alot of soul searching

The analogy is of a soul—a human soul, with all of its splendor—being placed in a beautifully carved but very tightly locked box. Reigning in majesty and illuminating our soul in this innermost box is our Lord and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the living Son of the living God. This box is then placed—and locked—inside another, larger one, and so on until five beautifully carved but very securely locked boxes await the woman who is skillful and wise enough to open them. In order for her to have free communication with the Lord, she must find the key to and unlock the contents of these boxes. Success will then reveal to her the beauty and divinity of her own soul and her gifts and her grace as a daughter of God.

For me, prayer is the key to the first box. We kneel to ask help for our tasks and then arise to find that the first lock is now open. But this ought not to seem just a convenient and contrived miracle, for if we are to search for real light and eternal certainties, we have to pray as the ancients prayed. We are women now, not children, and we are expected to pray with maturity. The words most often used to describe urgent, prayerful labor are wrestle, plead, cry, and hunger. In some sense, prayer may be the hardest work we ever will engage in, and perhaps it should be. It is pivotal protection against becoming so involved with worldly possessions and honors and status that we no longer desire to undertake the search for our soul.

Patricia T. Holland

Thank you to a person who has committed their time and energy to help others get by. To give the people a chance to heal and give wisdom and let the people vent and cry and not judge them as they do so. Thank you for making room when their time is packed with others. Thank you, you know who you are.... And yes you are good, I wish there was more like you to help those like me.

Hymn 130

Be thou Humble in they weakness
and the Lord thy God shall lead thee
Shall lead thee by the hand
and give thee answer to thy prayers
Be thou humble inthy pleading
and the Lord thy God shall bless thee
Shall bless thee with a sweet and calm
assurance that he cares.

Be thou humble in thy calling
and the Lord thy God shall touch thee
To serve his children gladly
with a pure and gentle love
Be thou humble in thy longing
and the Lord thy God shall take thee
Shall take thee home at last to
ever dwell with him above.

Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.

–President Thomas S. Monson

I was talking to my sister last night and one thing that she stressed was that I need to make sure that as a family we are reading our scriptures and praying but not only that but reading and praying on my own. It is the things that are so simple that we forget to do. I am grateful for that little reminder.

In order to do our part as women under the Lord's plan, we must stand strong and immovable in faith, strong and immovable in family, and strong and immovable in relief.

–Julie B. Beck
Relief Society General President

A good quote I heard in American Lit class

Don't be afraid of contradicting yourself!! You might say, or hear something better tomorrow.
Dr. Bywaters class....

I also thought to remind myself that things will be better from here on out. Be stron Darci do your school work, take care of the home, and your family and all will work out. Be strong in the church and do your duties, serve and listen.

Even though I do things wrong

I can go back and make it better...

Some quotes from "Time Out For Women"

I was blessed with free tickets to this amazing event.

Emily Watts spoke about Keeping Up Apperances...
-We forget about the inner commitment
-apperances can change so quickly, sometimes fruit takes a long time to ripen, if you base fruit on the unripe apperance you will be dissapointed.
-Fruits of motherhood ripe at different rates.

Kenneth Cope
-He sang a song that just touched me so deeply. It is called God Loves Broken things I think...
Broken Clouds brings rain
Broken soil grows grain
Broken bread feeds 1000 men for days......

Mary Ellen Edmunds
This lady is so unbelievebly amazing. She is my hero my idol. She is everything I would want to hope for in a woman of God.

-Life is good life is hard things but life is good.
-We don't ponder enough
-Additude is a choice

Jill Manning

-If we choose to reclaim the homefront, we have power to protect our young ones. It is our turf they will not be able to hyjack our loved ones.
www.deseretbook.com/Jill

Emily Freeman

-Make the most of today
Serve
Giving it our all
John 6:9

-Get out of the comfort zone
-Giving up our seat
-Being there
-Always on the Lords errand
BE THERE!!!!

Learning to be content, Abundance comes when we are content

I can do this I am tough. I know Heavenly Father loves me and is giving me these trials because I can handle them. I know I am not perfect but I am ok. I will be better and I cannot wait for this weekend for Time Out for Women. I am not thrilled with the choice of speakers this time other than Mary Ellen Edmounds but it will be a spiritual weekend that I completely need.

Saturday thoughts

Dave, the girls and I got lunch after visiting the dogs at the PAWS event and went to a fun park down off of valley view. It was so beautiful sitting on the swinging benches watching the girls play looking off to the mountains and thinking "man this is the life". It was a moment in time that everything was ok, that we were safe, that we didnt have any money problems, that I was healthy. It was perfect.

This came up on my google page this morning.

Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us – even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.

– Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Good to remember

Life isn't supposed to be an all or nothing battle between misery and bliss. Life isn't supposed to be a battle at all. And when it comes to happiness, well, sometimes life is just okay, sometimes it's comfortable, sometimes wonderful, sometimes boring, sometimes unpleasant. When your day's not perfect, it's not a failure or a terrible loss. It's just another day.
- Barbara Sher

In this discovery about myself I have found more opprotunities to do little acts of service. It really hit me hard the other day when I was driving to school and saw a man stuck in his chair. He was older and could not get himself upright and kept falling back into the chair. I was at a stoplight in the left turn lane and in order to get to him I would have to get into the middle lane. I could have waited a few second when the light turned green to let the the 2 cars in the middle pass and then go straight but I didnt I turned and headed to school. All day it bugged me that I did not help this man. Since then my eyes and ears have been open to any small thing i can do to help. Today Dave and I saw an older gentleman having a hard time lifting some salt bags into his car and I mentioned to Dave how many acts of service we can find if we just open our eyes and that was enough for Dave to go over and help the gentleman with his last bag of salt. I hope we can be an example to our girls and help with the little things that pass by so many others.

I love the fall... I love real Fall

I miss the crisp cold scent that fall brings. That wet cold that makes your bones cold. I miss the smell of dead leaves and a smoke coming from the chimneys. I love marching bands and football and hot chocolate next to the fireplace. The sweater vests, and tights under skirts. Man I sound like a preppy. I miss Ohio....

BUT... there is the red mountains, the sun shining most days. I can still sit out on the driveway and get a farmers tan as I throw the tennis ball to Mr. Pickles. I can open the windows and turn off the air and heat and be just fine. I can still wear my capris and my new Dixie State t-shirt. I can ride around town with my windows down and sun roof open and enjoy my music. I love fall in St. George.

Calm Down by Darrin Lythgoe

I need this today. Good to remember.

• Count to ten. Or from 100 to 1, backwards. Or to 20 in a foreign language. Whatever it takes.
• Go for a walk. It helps to remove yourself physically from whatever is frustrating you.
• Read an uplifting book. The scriptures work nicely.
• Listen to calming music. There is a saying that music can soothe the savage beast; when you’re angry, you just might feel like one.
• Sing a hymn, or just hum one quietly to yourself.
• Squeeze a rubber ball or some other small, unbreakable object.
• Look for some humor in the situation. This might be easier than you think.
• Look on the bright side. Is there anything good, anything at all, that might come from this?
• Think of a scripture or a favorite quote about staying calm.
• Go play some basketball, run a mile, or kick your anger away with a soccer ball.
• Take a few deep breaths and think twice before you say anything. If you don’t, you might later regret opening your mouth now.
• Ask yourself if it could be your fault. Are you to blame for whatever has you fuming? Do you know the whole story? If other people are involved, always give them the benefit of the doubt.
• Talk to someone about how you feel. It helps to talk about your feelings, and a friend may have some good advice or at least a different point of view.
• Think how Christ would act in this situation. What would he do?
• Say a prayer. Ask Heavenly Father to help you relax and do the right thing.

Whatever You Do, Don’t …
Some actions might seem justified at the time, but really only make things worse. So whatever you do—

• Don’t swear or take the Lord’s name in vain.
• Don’t take your own frustrations out on people, pets, or breakable objects.
• Don’t look for revenge.
• Don’t develop bad habits, like overeating or going shopping whenever your temper flares.
• Don’t hold a grudge.
• Don’t use “the silent treatment.”

Three Good Questions
Here are three good questions to ask yourself when your temper flares:

• Is the object of my anger really worth my continued attention?
• Do I have a good reason for being upset?
• Can I do anything about it?

If the answer to any of these is no, don’t waste your time worrying. If there is something you can do to help, don’t get angry—get busy.

What the Scriptures Say
The scriptures have much to say about losing your temper. For starters, try Matthew 5:44 [Matt. 5:44] (love your enemies); D&C 64:10 (forgive all men); Matthew 5:39 [Matt. 5:39] (turn the other cheek); 3 Nephi 11:29 [3 Ne. 11:29] (the spirit of contention is of the devil); and Proverbs 16:32 [Prov. 16:32] (be slow to anger

Woman of Infinite Worth

Elder Russell M. Nelson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles


Her self-esteem cannot be based on physical features, possession or lack of a particular talent, or comparative quantities of anything. Her self-esteem is earned by individual righteousness and a close relationship with God. Her outward glow is generated by goodness within. And her patience is much more apparent than any imperfection. (See D&C 67:13.)

Sweet serenity is found in fervent prayer. Then, we forget ourselves and remember the reaching hands of the Savior, who said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28.) As our burdens are shared with Him, they do become lighter.

Feelings of worth come when a woman follows the example of the Master. Her sense of infinite worth comes from her own Christlike yearning to reach out with love, as He does

I love

Midwest falls, the smells the wet cold.

Graters Ice cream from Cincy especially raspberry chocochip

Reality TV

Caffine Free Diet Coke with a shot of cherry coke

Halloween

Sleeping in

Cereal for dessert

massages

Now your turn, what do you love??

Forgiveness

Tonight something happened that I was not expecting a relapse from the past that came and haunted me. I wanted to come home and find peace and came across this article by President James E. Faust called the Healing Powers of Forgiveness. May 2007 Ensign. It is a powerful story about the Amish that had children killed and their ability to forgive.
Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.”
If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being.9 Another of these studies concludes “that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to themselves

My name is Darci

I am so excited to start this blog. I know that it will be a great help for me. It is a place that I can come to and remember that I am important. That things are not always perfect but things will get better. Enjoy and I hope you can use this as well as I can.

"We're not alone--at least, we're alone only if we choose to be alone. We're alone only if we choose to go through life relying solely on our own strength rather than learning to draw upon the power of God. "
— Sheri L. Dew (If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths)