Year of New HOPE

I was going through some old blog posts the other day and came across this one.

I was written on August 2, 2010, six months before I started taking methylfolate again, and nine months before starting this blog.  It was entitled..."Life and Hope" 

"Sometimes my life feels like a crazy whirlwind...swirling out of control with no end in sight.
But....
The sun still rises and sets every day.
LIFE GOES ON!
Even when it feels like it wont.....
it does.
Some days it's "all" worth it...
and
some days it's not.
But....
It does goes on.

Some days I get the dishes done...and some days I don't.
Some days I remember that I am married to the most incredible man I know (whom I love very much)...and some days I take that most incredible man for granted.
Some days I stop pulling my hair out and sweating profusely in line at the grocery store while my children run around like wild boars, long enough to realize that I am truly blessed to have 4 BEAUTIFUL boys who are sweet (albeit rambunctious) and who are children of God.

So...my thought for the day....
HOLD ON to those moments!
HOLD ON to those times that MAKE IT "ALL" WORTH IT!
They may be few....
they certainly feel far between...
but there IS hope.

In hope there is Faith.
In Faith there is Jesus Christ.
And he is aware of me (and you) at every moment of every day...and he wants us to be happy.

"Adam fell that men might be...men are that they might have joy."' 2Nephi 2:25 

("Life and Hope", posted by Melanie, August 2, 2010 on Testosterone Overload.)

Back then I was barely surviving.  Struggling every day to just keep afloat.  And yet, on this particular day, the Lord helped me to see a beam of light...told me to hold on.  Better times were coming.

Other than He, who knew that in less than 7 months, I would be on cloud 9 and thriving once again?  Who knew that in less than 9 months I would be full of life and spouting faith and HOPE from the rooftops (or, I guess across the world wide web)?

I didn't.  And yet, here I am.

This year has definitely had it's ups and downs, no doubt about that.

But I've been richly blessed to be a part of something bigger than myself.  To share my story and to hear yours.  To laugh with you...to mourn with you.  To uplift....and be lifted up.  To offer HOPE...and be made more hopeful.

And I'm so thankful for it.

May we look forward to what this new year will bring.  May we hold on to those moments that make life "worth it" (as fleeting as they may be).  May we pray, not that our trials be taken from us, but that we may be made strong enough to bare them and that we might learn from them.  May we look forward with a deeper understanding of God's eternal plan for us.

This is my HOPE!

Happy New Year everyone!

Thank you for being a part of my life.

Love,

P.S. I love to hear from you!
Leave a comment or e-mail me at melaniesmethodicalmusings at gmail dot com

Another uplifting goodie....

It's no secret that I love music.  Without it...this time of year would not be the same.  There is nothing like it...to bring in the Spirit of Christ as well as the Spirit of St. Nicholas.  :)

A Christmas Eve tradition in our household is to watch the movie...the Nativity...and listen to Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven" simultaneously.  It's amazing...and breathtaking...and just plain lovely.

We've been doing it for YEARS!!!

Well...it just dawned on me...about 5 minutes ago, that someone...somewhere...may have actually taken the time to dub in the song with the movie and post it on the internet.  So I looked.  And...sure enough...

I just had to share.  So take a few minutes to watch it.  It's amazing how well the movie and the music fit together.  Like they were "meant to be".




P.S. I love to hear from you!
Leave a comment or e-mail me at melaniesmethodicalmusings at gmail dot com

Tis the Reason...

I must say that this year has been quite an interesting one.

Especially this Christmas season.

I made an extremely rash decision (at 9:35PM) on Thanksgiving night to head out Black Friday shopping...at 10:00PM....and to WALMART of all places (I thought to myself, "Why not...it's only 3 miles away").

BAD IDEA!

I walked away...in the wee hours of the morning....disgusted by humanity and what this season has turned into.

And these bad feeling lasted....for longer than I care to admit....at it was making me feel all "Bah Humbug!"-ish and horrible.

But...the other night, while watching the LDS church annual Christmas Devotional, I was reminded again why it is we celebrate this season.  It is because of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As the world, and humanity as we know it, deteriorate and become more sinful, selfishness, greedy and hateful, we are in need of our Savior even more.  The comfort and cleansing power of the Atonement are vital to our staying "in the world, but not of the world".

I'm so thankful for this reminder...and was able to let go (or at least I'm working on letting go) of those bad feelings I was harboring.

As a part of the devotional, the LDS church presented a new video of the "Christmas Story" they have just finished producing (it's actually a compilation of a few of their new BIBLE story videos...you can find them here).  They are extremely well done and readily invite the spirit in to your home and life.

I wanted to share it with you.

It's BEAUTIFUL!  I HOPE you enjoy!




P.S. I love to hear from you! Leave a comment or e-mail me at melaniesmethodicalmusings at gmail dot com

What do YOU radiate?

I was reading today and came across this quote:

"Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil.  It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does.  It is what he is.  Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is....It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.

As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts.  We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations.  We shall radiate them if we do.  If we think noble thought; if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meet people, especially when we associate with them."  (David O. McKay, Man May Know for Himself, p. 108)

It caused me to pause and think...."What do I radiate?  What kind of influence do I have on others?  What do my associates see...coming forth from within me?

Is it what I would want them to see?  and more importantly, Is it what the Lord wants them to see?

And then I thought about an experience I had the other night.

I was out at a Christmas gathering and stayed late talking to a sweet friend.  In the course of our discussion she paid me compliment.  She told me that I had a big heart.  I appreciated her words but had a hard time accepting them.  I mean, I try to care for, and about others...but often feel like I fail miserably.  One of my greatest desires is to become as compassionate and caring as the Savior, Jesus Christ, and I pray for and about this desire often.  That's why her words meant so much to me.  And yet, all I could think was, "If only she really knew me.  She wouldn't think that."

When I read this quote today, an understanding dawned on me.

If this quote is true...(and I believe it is, since these words were declared by a prophet of God)...then maybe what she see's is my desire, my "noble aspiration", to be charitable and loving and not the imperfections of my outward being.

I mulled over this for a while.  It made sense to me.

Then, I started thinking about all of the "maybe not so noble thoughts/aspirations" I have at times.

Do others see those too?  (Yes.)  Do I want them to see them?  (No.)  Do I want to have them? (No.)

What can I do to do away with them?

Unfortunately I didn't have such a ready made answer to that question (in fact, I'm positive there is more than one answer), but you can sure bet I'm going to look into it (through prayer/scripture study).

I know that in this life I will never be entirely perfect...but, at least, for today, I feel I have enough strength to at least TRY and take on the challenge (yep, today has been a good day).

And so I ask you....

What do YOU radiate?  

Take a minute...think about it.
 
P.S. I love to hear from you!
Leave a comment or e-mail me at melaniesmethodicalmusings at gmail dot com

A Sparkling Reminder

 

As I sat in our living room last night during prayer and scripture study with our children (which, more days than not, equates to "wrestle, be obnoxious and overly silly until Mom and Dad get so fed up they send everyone to bed without books for the night" time),  I found myself staring into our semi-eclectic, children decorated Christmas tree with awe (I LOVE the twinkling white lights).

My eyes were drawn, over and over again, to two ornaments in particular.  Only, I didn't realize it for a while.

Once the realization entered into my conscious thought, I couldn't help but marvel.

You see...I bought these decorations last year, at an after Christmas clearance sell (for $.25 each...score), months before I started this "HOPE" blog and months and months before I knew I would be struggling so desperately to hang onto it.

Coincidence?  or  Inspired purchase? 

I don't know....It doesn't really matter. 

I'm just grateful for the sparkling reminder I will have hanging in plain sight on my Christmas tree this holiday season.

Because Jesus Christ, whose birth and life are the reason we celebrate this time of year, is He who we can, and should, look to for this very important element of life...here on earth and in the eternities to come.

HOPE! 

Hold onto it and never give up!

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

Love,

P.S. I love to hear from you! Leave a comment or e-mail me at melaniesmethodicalmusings at gmail dot com