Stretchy-Stretch

I had this great idea the other day to strap on my shoes with my orthopedic inserts for my bad feet and run a couple miles outside.

I actually didn't feel too bad while I was running, but as soon as I stopped the pain started. My muscles began to yell at me- loudly. I'm pretty sure they said some bad words.

I've never been really good at stretching after exercise because, well, once I'm done exercising, then I'm done. I'm ready to move on. But, this day, I opted to try it.

So, I started doing this hamstring stretch:

 

(This is SO not me.  Imagine her plus about thirty more pound, a dozen rogue gray hairs and a grimace on her face.  That would be me.)


When I first leaned over I could only reach my ankles. And it hurt. I didn't like it. But, I was told that a stretch isn't a good stretch until you hold it for 30 seconds. So I did. And it still hurt.

Until something amazing happened.

At about 20 seconds into the stretch, I felt the strangest sensation of relief in my hamstrings, and it didn't hurt as much. Great! But weird.

With this new sense of relief, I attempted to reach over a little farther and touched my shoe laces. And it hurt. But, I held it.

Then something amazing happened.

At about 20 seconds into the stretch, I felt the same sense of relief in my hamstrings, and it didn't hurt as much.

Intrigued, I leaned in further- as far as I could go- and barely touched the edge of my toes. And it hurt. But, I held it.

Then something amazing happened.

At about 20 seconds into the stretch, I felt the same sense of relief in my hamstrings, and it didn't hurt as much.

Can you see the pattern?

After about five minutes of doing this, I could reach my fingers past my feet and wrap the around the sole of my shoe.

 Pretty cool, huh?!

My husband pops his head into the room. He's a much better athlete then me.I proudly show him my fingers touching the dirty soles of my shoes.

Me: Did you know that if I hold the stretch like this for a while it doesn't hurt as bad?

Him: Yes.

Me: Well, did you know that when I hold it long enough, then I feel this sense of release and I can stretch farther?

Him:  Yes.

Me (thinking I've tapped into some great physical anomaly): Is there a name for this?

Him. Yeah. Stretching.

Me: No, I mean, is there a name for the sensation you feel when your muscles are stretched to the limit, and you hold it, then you feel relief, the you can stretch even farther?!

Him: Stretchy stretch?

His answer made me chuckle, but it also made me think life.

Sometimes in life we go through trials that hurt. They really do.

Some hurt so bad that we just want to quit. And sometimes we do.

But, here is the great spiritual anomaly I tapped into, that really isn't an anomaly at all:

When we hang on during those times - through our faith, prayers, study, the help of others, and maybe even some tears - God can give us a sense of release, or relief during our trials.

We can find relief from our pain through Him in the middle of our trials.

Oh wait. It gets better.

Along we don't only feel a sense of relief and maybe even peace amidst our trials, but as we hold steady in our stretch- in our faith and testimony - we can gain strength and the flexibility to do more.

We can stretch more. We can fight more. We can run more. We can survive more. We can do more.

We can be more that we imagined when the trial (spiritual stretching)  first began!

It is a spiritual stretchy-stretch!


I think sometimes we get tired under the burdens of our afflictions. Many people ask Why? Why must we go through difficult times like this? Why did this happen to me? I don't want this trial. I don't want to hurt.

The truth of it is this:

  Trials can hurt. But they stretch us. And it is only through stretching our spiritual muscles (enduring in faith and hope) that we can achieve greater things. 

The key is to trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They knew we are going to hurt. They know it can be for our benefit. And they are there to help assuage any unnecessary pain.


Joel 2:32: "...whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered..."

11:28 the Savior Himself says: "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy lade, and I will give you rest..."


If any man was stretched- it was Paul, and yet, he said this:

Phillippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me."


He understood what the Savior was saying.

Now, I'm not as strong as Paul yet. I don't "glory in tribulations" (Romans 5:3), but what I do know what it feels like to be stretched so thin you can see through yourself to the other side. It's a scary place to be.

But I can tell you that it is not a permanent place, either. It is part of the stretchy-stretch that will make us like Paul, if we just hang in there.

In  Acts 14:22 Paul speaks of his great mission, where he taught this principle. He went about "...exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."


Much tribulation = major stretchy stretch.


But, in the end (and even in the middle) it will be worth it.

God is aware. He knows our pain. He also knows stretching is the only way. Have faith in Him that relief, strength, growth, and even blessings will come. Because they will.

Believing is Feeling

This year, inspired by our favorite Christmas movie, Elf, I decided to decorate our house with paper snowflakes and chains. We made nearly a hundred snowflakes and dozens of feet of chains, then hung them from the ceiling with clear tape.

That blur is my daughter unsuccessfully 

 It was a lot of fun - until it came time to take them down.  It took me and all three of my kids to get them all down - not fun.

At the very end, my youngest pointed out some tape in the ceiling.

I glanced at the ceiling  and didn't see it.

So, I told her it wasn't there.

"Yes it is," she said.

I looked from another angle and still didn't see it. I told her again, it wasn't there.

"Yes it is," she insisted.

So, I climbed on a chair for closer inspection. I still didn't see it.  I told her I was right, that there was no tape there.

She pointed to the spot and said, "You're not looking at it right."

I cocked my head, and squinted my eyes. Nothing. So, I reached out and ran my finger over the spot she was pointing at, eager to prove the persistent child wrong, and sure enough, I felt the smooth back of a small piece of tape.

I felt it, but I couldn't see it. And I only believed it after I felt it.

I pulled it off and handed it to my daughter. "Told you," she grinned.

Yes she did.


You've heard the saying, "Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing." I submit that it is just as equally powerful to say, "Seeing isn't believing, believing is feeling."




Our faith- our testimony- is made up by things we cannot see, but things we can feel.

Why is that?

I've thought a lot about this question, and I've reached my own conclusion.

You and I can look at the same thing, and argue over what we both see. I say the color is Cinnamon, but you say it is Burnt Red. I say a zebra is black with white stripes, and you say its white with black stripes. Mankind can argue and justify most any point of doctrine, and analyze and define most anything we see.

God gave us the Bible, and yet, how many religions interpret it differently.

If you're anything like me, I can think about something so long that I can end up thinking myself in a circle, going from one side or the other.

The answer isn't always in what we see.  But what we feel.

There is something deep and personal in the feeling of something.

I know that I feel good when I pray. No one can argue with that.

What I feel belongs to me. No one can change that, or tell me I am wrong.

When I am sitting in church, and I sing a hymn about Jesus Christ, I feel the Spirit testify that He is real. No one can tell me I felt something different, or I am wrong. I know what I feel.

This makes my testimony mine, my faith untouchable.

I've also heard it said that Spiritual things are learned by spiritual means.  God speaks to us through the Holy Ghost. He speaks to our hearts.

Minds can understand and justify, but hearts can internalize and believe.

God has given us so many things that teach us and point us towards Him: the scriptures, prophets, commandments, etc.  These things are important, and even necessary for our salvation. But, it is in the quiet chambers of our hearts - what we feel - that harbors our faith and our testimony. It is here that the Holy Ghost can testify of the truthfulness of the scriptures, prophets, commandments, etc.

It is in your heart that we come to know the truth of things - because we feel them.

For me, that is where my faith and testimony lie- in my heart, born from things that I have felt.

When I pray, I feel His presence.

When I serve, I feel His gratitude.

When I obey, I feel His satisfaction.

When I come to Him, I feel His welcoming arms.

When I am sad, I feel His comfort.

When I am weak, I feel His strength.

When I am lost, I feel His guidance.

When I make a mistake, I feel His forgiveness.

When I read the scriptures, I feel the truthfulness of His words.

When I worship Him, I feel humbled.

When I follow Him, I feel safe.

When I progress, I feel His joy.

And when I tell Him I love Him, I feel His love in return.

No one can argue with what I feel. I feel it. I believe it. I know it- even if I can't see it.

He is the Reason for Every Season

It's done. 

The presents are unwrapped.  The parties are over.   The day is past.

But, the reason we celebrate Christmas is still here. 

I often feel blue the day after Christmas.  But not this year. 

This year I really felt close to my Savior as I celebrated His birth.  Maybe it had to with Christmas falling on a Sunday.  Maybe it is because I've tried, as a persona goal, to come closer to Him in my everyday life. Whatever the reason, I have felt a deep sense of gratitude and love for my Savior.

The celebration is over, but the spirit of love and gratitude for me remains.  

As I get back to the reality of life, work, school, chores, etc, I plan on keeping that spirit with me. 

The Christmas season is gone.  But, isn't Jesus Christ the reason for every season?  Don't we owe all we have to Him?

I know I do.

There are so many people in need of our kindness, our help, our understanding, our love, our forgiveness, ourselves. So, for me, the way I'm going to keep celebrating the reason for every season is through being His hands here, serving others, trying to be like him and learn of him. 

Below is a great video that was part of my inspiration to do just that. It's a Christmas video, but it applies to every season.  I hope you enjoy it.

Hope and Faith- and a Car.

Faith and hope.

They are talked about a number of times in the scriptures.  Paul speaks of them in various forms and fashions in nearly every book he authored in the New Testament.

I have read much and thought much about faith and hope, the integral nature of their relationship, the very meaning of their words.  It has always been a notion of mine that they were one in the same- a belief in something.

But as I was reading my scriptures this morning I came across this verse,that, when I read it, painted a clear picture (at least in my mind) of the relationship of hope and faith.


"And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this becasue of your faith in him according to the promise." (Moroni 7:41)

I thought about it for a bit, and this is what I came up with. You'll have to forgive me for the somewhat juvenile analogy - but sometimes that is how my brain grasps things the best. :)


Our testimony is a car.  Faith is the engine.  Hope is the steering wheel.

We choose the car we like, then we accessorize it to our taste.   In turn, we choose the church with the doctrine we like, then we fill in our testimony with the things we like: the Atonement, Heavenly Father, healing, tithing, service, Sunday service, miracles, prayer, priesthood etc.

We can be comfortable in our car, even love our car, but without an engine, our car will take us no where. It will just sit there, looking good.

We can be comfortable in our church, even love it, but without faith, we will not be moved to action. Faith is the belief that the elements of our testimony are real and true, even though we cannot or feel immediate proof.      Faith in what we believe moves us to align ourselves with our beliefs, not the other way around.  With faith we move and grow.  Without faith, we will simply sit and go no where.

A car with a with an engine is great- especially if you know where you want to go.  In order to reach your destination, you need to steer the car, so that it moves in the proper direction.  Without a steering wheel you could probably get through Nevada, but you would be lost in the Rocky Mountains.

Hope is the desired destination or outcome.  We hope to live with God again.  We hope we can find peace through prayer. We hope that following the commandments.  Our hope points us in the direction of where we want faith will take us.

Would our faith move us to action that would bring us to a hopeless conclusion? No.  We hope that we will reach our highest potential, be with our families forever and achieve ultimate joy. And we have faith that as we follow the gospel in word and deed we will make it there.

We believe in Jesus (testimony). We have faith that he died for us(so we follow Him.) and it is our hope that, because of our testimony and our faith in action, we will become like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and have eternal life.


Again here is the verse: And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this becasue of your faith in him according to the promise."


I have read this verse many times in my life, and this morning it took on a whole new meaning. (Personal revelation- a topic worthy of not only a blog post, but volumes of books written about it.)

Testimony is the car.   Faith is the engine.  Hope is the destination.

What do I hope for?  How will I get there?  What will take me there?

What do you hope for?  How are you going to get there? What will take you there?

For me, I know what I hope for.  I have faith that my Savior and Father in Heaven will guide me there.  And I believe that the doctrines I have a testimony of will carry me through.

How about you?

Did it Get Into You?

I have another blog, a daily scripture reading blog, where I read a chapter and share my thoughts, welcoming the thoughts and comments of others. At the end of each post I usually write, "What did you get out of this chapter today?"

It's a common term: "What did you get out of it?" You have probably said it yourself.  But, today at church we had a speaker, a young man, that added a bit more to it.

He asked not only what we "got out of" the gospel and scriptures, but what part "got into" our hearts.

That make a connection within me.  I have always imagined "getting something" out of life- but how much of what I've gotten out of it has gotten into me.

I thought of orange juice.  You can squeeze an orange and get juice.  One might ask, "How much have you gotten out of if?"  and get an answer from a teaspoon to a full cup.  But, if you don't drink the juice, if you don't let it get into you, the effort is in vain. You benefit somewhat from the effort, but you do not receive any nourishment.

We can go through the motions of obedience, faith, reading scriptures and even praying.  We might think we are getting something out of those things.  But, how much of those things getting into us? Are any of those things changing our character, our heart, our soul? Does partaking of any of those things make us better, more full people?

It caused me to take a break and look at my life and my decisions, to look at what I believe in, how I worship and how I act.  I know what I get out of it, but how much of it is getting into me?

I'm pleased to say the answer is: a lot.  But, I am the first to admit that I could do better, open myself up more so that more gets into me, changes me.  So, that's my goal: to not only look at my faith, my family, my life and not only ask, "What do I get out of these things?" but to also ask myself, "What from these things is getting into me."

So, tell me, what did you get out of this post? Did some of this post get into you?

What's in Your Closet?

My husband is out of town for a few days.  I can always count on a handful of things to happen when he leaves without fail.

1. I will clean out at least one closet.

2. I will eat ice cream in the morning (afternoon, or night.  Ice cream makes everything better!)

3. I will stay up until 3am watching mindless TV or chick-flicks.

4. I will rearrange at least one room in the house.

This time was no different. I have cleaned my closet out. I have rearranged my bedroom. I have eaten Breyer's Home style Vanilla ice cream with fresh blackberries mixed it it. I have stayed up until 3AM catching up on shows that I've missed lately. And that's just day one!  I still have 2 and a half days left!

My closet was a mess.  I found things shoved in the back of drawers that were from the Bush Era.  There were  clothes that haven't fit me for years. There was over a dollar in change collected, hair bands recovered and missing single socks reunited. Hidden and neglected, many items in my closet had not been seen or touched in many moons.

Three hours and many sneezes later, I am proud to say my closet is clean.  Clothes are neatly hung and folded, draws are organized and labeled, shoes are paired and orderly, and the floor can now be seen.

As I cleaned I am listening to a conference of my church leaders that is broadcasted twice a year. One person asked, spiritually speaking, "What do you know?" and began to ask a series of questions to those listening.  "Do you know God lives?" etc.

It caused me to do a personal inventory of my faith and what I knew. It was a process akin to the cleaning out of my closet this morning.  There are certain aspects of my testimony that I think of all the time, but were there parts of what I know that have been tucked away? Were there things that I once knew, that have faded into the background because of doubt and neglect? Are there elements of my testimony that are hidden under a bushel?

I love my clean closet. I feel good. I like knowing what I have.  There were many things found that I hadn't used, simply for the fact that I had forgotten they were there.  Now that I know what is in my closet and where everything is, I can fully utilized it and it's contents.

It is the same with my testimony.  I feel good when I know what I believe in. As I revisit through pondering, scripture and prayer the pieces of my testimony that have been left neglect and malnourished,  I feel stronger and closer to Him. There is great power that lies in the minutia of faith.  When you know what is in your testimony, you can fully utilize the principles in your life and the lives of others.  You open yourself to receive greater blessings and an even stronger testimony.

Take a moment or two and ask yourself what's in your spiritual closet.  Take inventory of your testimony, evaluate your faith and enjoy the feeling of knowing what you believe.  Then have some ice cream for me :)

  

Twine

I am not much of a daredevil. Oh, I talk a big talk. I like to sound all tough, but I am really not. Remember the story of the cliff-jump? Yeah- there's no cape on my back.

A few years ago the youth in our church went on a hike on Mt. Rainier. We had lunch on a small plateau by a cliff. Some of the kids walked to the very edge to look over Of course the boys spit over the ledge and watched it fall hundreds of feet to the bottom. The sun was out, the youth and leaders were laughing and enjoying their food, and I was the one herding the kids from the ledge, nauseous from worry. Even my husband told me I was worrying too much. But I just couldn't shake the fear- what if one lost their footing and fell? What if they didn't have anything to hold on to?

I read in a book a few years ago that has never left me. The author described a plain brown package wrapped with a piece of twine. Do you care about the twine? No, you want what is in the package. Now, say, you are hanging off the edge of cliff above certain death, and the only thing that is keeping you alive is the piece of twine you are holding one to. Do you care about the twine now? Do you hope and pray that it is strong?

We are all "hanging over the cliff" in this life. None of us can make it back to safety- back home- without help, without a Savior.

A testimony isn't merely a state of mind, a personal preference or even a set of beliefs. It is more than that. Our testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel is the spiritual twine that is keeping us from certain spiritual death.

I asked myself a few questions today. Do I care how strong my spiritual twine is now? Is it strong enough to hold me up?

You could take a moment to ask yourself some questions: How strong is your spiritual twine? How strong is your testimony? Is it strong enough to hold you up? If not, then change it. You have the power to: get on your knees, open your scriptures, lend a hand, and turn to God.