Sunday, October 19, 2014

The Family: A Proclamation to the World - God's Plan for Our Lives - PART THREE! :)

In church today the Primary children (now ages 3-11 or 12) gave us a musical program based upon the First Presidency message given 25 years ago, titled "The Family A Proclamation to the World." (See a copy of the Proclamation hereI was so touched! The children were so genuine and beautiful. The testimonies given were inspiring, real, and true. I really felt The Holy Spirit during that program, testifying to me that the Proclamation WAS inspired by God, and shows clearly much of God's plan for each of us in our lives.

When the Proclamation to the Family came out my husband and I had been married for about 5 years, I was greatly stressed and confused (up to that point), not knowing what God expected from each of us individually concerning our family. I had a habit of taking on too much, and shortly before the Proclamation came out I remember hearing for the first time the lines from a song "Which part is mine? Which part is yours?" and sobbing... I felt I didn't know which part was mine, my husbands, or the Lords...

As I heard this proclamation for the first time these questions were answered and a new vision of what our family could look like gradually emerged with each careful study of the Proclamation... replacing confusion and overwhelming stress with clarity and direction.

This Proclamation has been one of the greatest blessings and sources of direction for our family. If balancing family life is a struggle in any way, I strongly encourage you to read and study it!

Now - back to the Primary Program and other thoughts... :)

I think the thing that hit me the most came to my heart and mind as the children sang... I looked out  - in awe over how beautiful they were - in voices and in appearance. And the beautiful thought came to mind that these children were created in the image of God, and their parents - and I marveled that it was SO EASY to look at each child individually, and to instantly know by looking at them who their parents were... 

Then I wondered if our actions might perhaps affect how we appear spiritually, in such a way as to cause others to look at us and they INSTANTLY  KNOW, just by our countenances, that we are children of our Father in Heaven and true followers of His Son, Jesus Christ... (I realize that may sound silly :o),  but it made me want to REALLY STRIVE to be more like Him... :)

The program was a spiritual feast, and later this week I hope to get a hold of a typed print of the local Primary Program I witnessed today so I can share it with you! 

But for now, I would like to copy and paste some of the writings and thoughts I reviewed this morning before church as I contemplated my life and how I should be spending my time... This is part of my effort to make it a top priority to remember and put first in my life God's Plan for Me.  

(By the way... One of the things I LOVE  about my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints IS the DESIRE - ACTIVE CHURCH WORSHIP INSTILLS IN ME - TO CONSTANTLY REEXAMINE MY LIFE TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE MYSELF AND BECOME MORE LIKE MY SAVIOR.  :))... I have a lot of notes; you may want to look to the bold first to decide what is worth your time to read... 

*See my Patriarchal Blessing to remember God's plan for me personally...
*Help my Father in Heaven with His Mission - To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man...

Blessings of Christ's gospel and church: It helps us to 
  • Come unto Christ - LOVE CHRIST - Learn of Christ's life and gospel teachings and strive to LIVE as He commands and to LOVE OTHERS as He loves us - SERVE - Make and Keep Sacred COVENANTS with the Lord - Prepare as much as possible to be able to be self sufficient... 
  • Proclaim the Gospel Teach the gospel to others / be a missionary / be an example for good / be a light to the world
  • Redeem the Dead - Find my ancestors (genealogy), and go to the temple to serve them------------------
An old blog post of mine...  (click link below for entire article)

“God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to 
keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future—to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities… God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.” Jeffrey R. Holland

"Along with free-agency, we have the ability/power to do many good things without having to be told to do these good things. We have the power to dream, think, plan, create, and make good things happen. (See Doctrine and Covenants 58:28)
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LDS.org (click link below for entire article)
"True happiness comes from following Christ’s example and developing Christlike attributes such as obedience, goodness, honesty, gratitude, humility, love, charity, and forgiveness. It comes from serving others and helping them to follow Jesus Christ. It comes from controlling the appetites of our human bodies and following the promptings of the Spirit. It comes from working hard and having a healthy lifestyle, friends, family, and personal achievements.
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Another old blog post of mine... (see the link below for the entire writing)

"First, His plans are all very small and simple, so simple one would never expect life to be so sweet as a result of such simple acts. My plans for myself are often overwhelming and big, but God knows that "by small and simple means are great things brought to pass."

"Second, I noticed that His plans for me have one goal - to make me happy... This is why his plan for us is often called The Plan of Happiness,  also known as The Plan of Salvation.
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Experts from lds.org again! :D - 
BY ELDER STANLEY G. ELLIS Of the Seventy (see the link bellow for the entire talk)
"For example, God has a plan for prayer—He asks us to “pray always” (see 3 Nephi 18:15–20). 2 Nephi 32:8), but God’s plan is that we pray always.
God has a plan for scripture reading—we need to study the scriptures every day. As Nephi said, “Feast upon the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3)."

"God has a plan for family home evening—through His prophets, He encourages us to hold family home evening each week (see 3 Nephi 18:21Mosiah 1:44:14–15)."

"The Lord has a plan for worshiping Him—we are spiritually strengthened as we attend our meetings every Sunday. The effort to attend weekly is part of the sacrifice the Lord expects of us (see Mosiah 13:16–1918:25D&C 59:9)."

"One of the main reasons we attend church each week is to partake of the sacrament. The Savior instituted the sacrament in both the Old and New Worlds (see Luke 22:19–203 Nephi 18:1–11), and He explained the role the sacrament plays in our remembering Him so that we can have His Spirit to be with us (see 3 Nephi 18:7, 11). As we partake of the sacrament each week, we renew our covenants. It is part of His plan."

"God has a plan for service—each of us needs to serve in the Church and do our best to magnify our callings. The Church of Jesus Christ is not a church of spectators; it is a church of workers. We may not enjoy certain callings, we may feel incapable, or we may think we have done our part and deserve a rest. But God’s plan is that we serve Him by serving others (see Mosiah 2:17). As we serve Him, we come to know Him (see Mosiah 5:13)."

"The Lord has a plan for tithing—each of us is expected to pay a full tithing. We live in difficult times, and some of us are having a hard time financially. We may think that paying tithing would be easier if we were better off, but God’s plan is that each of us be a full-tithe payer regardless of our circumstances (see 3 Nephi 24:10). By paying our tithing, we give the Lord an opportunity to bless us materially and strengthen us spiritually."

"God has a plan for fast offerings—each month we have an opportunity to fast and donate a fast offering to help the poor (see Mosiah 4:26). This wonderful plan blesses the needy as well as those who fast and make an offering. It is so much better than all of the world’s plans.

"God has a plan for missions—every able young man should serve a mission. Some young men do not want to work that hard or would rather get married, go to college, get a job, or do nothing. But God’s plan is that every young man who is physically and mentally capable prepare himself to serve a mission. Many young women choose to serve also."

"God has a plan for marriage—after a mission, the next step is temple marriage. Some young people don’t feel ready for the responsibility of marriage, or they think they cannot get married because they don’t have a house or a car or a job or a degree. Remember that Nephi was living in a tent and was no longer enjoying his family’s former wealth when the Lord sent him and his brothers back to Jerusalem so that they could take the daughters of Ishmael to wife (see 
1 Nephi 2:47:1–516:7)."

"Some young people prefer to just “hang out” and stay single. There are other plans, but God’s plan is that marriage follow missionary service."

"A Plan for Families

"God has a plan for families—The family is ordained of God” and is “central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”2Children are a blessing from the Lord. They are a lot of work, but they are worth it. The Book of Mormon—an account of families, from Lehi’s to Mormon’s—is replete with examples and teachings for parents and children."

"The Lord has a plan for the temple—He expects us to worship in the temple regularly. President Howard W. Hunter (1907–1995) urged us to make the temple the symbol of our membership in the Church.3 He and other latter-day prophets have counseled us to have a current temple recommend even if we cannot attend the temple. Sometimes we feel unworthy or don’t have the means to go to the temple, or we rationalize that we will go tomorrow, next week, or next month. There are many plans, but the Lord’s plan is that we have a current temple recommend and use it often. When the resurrected Savior visited the Nephites, He came to the temple (see 3 Nephi 11:1–10). We too can feel close to Him in the temple."

"Results of Our Choice

"What are the results of our choosing the Lord’s plan? Happiness—here and hereafter. He promises that we can rise above the poverty around us, enjoy greater health, repent and be forgiven, find joy in serving, qualify for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, learn and grow, and enjoy eternal life with an eternal family—a true “multiplicity of blessings” (D&C 97:25, 28)."

"What do we receive if we choose Satan’s plan? His lies may give us joy for a season (see 3 Nephi 27:11), but in the end “he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). If we choose his plan or one of the world’s plans, we have no promise."

"I testify that the Lord’s plan is better than any other. He knows us, loves us, and desires to bless and help us. He knows best! God has more than plan—He has the plan. I pray that we will choose it."


BY ELDER STANLEY G. ELLIS Of the Seventy (see the link bellow for the entire talk)

OK - This is A LOT, I know... There is so much to share and I LOVE the gospel of Jesus Christ, SO MUCH! :D Another day... I will share more another day.

Ta ta for now! 
Corine :D

PS. Personal Application of the Proclamation and goals... 

1.) Focus on the advice in the Family Proclamation to have more wholesome family recreation 
2.) Focus on REMEMBERING opportunities for my youth - get my kids to as many spiritually nurturing activities as possible! (Youth Firesides, Especially For Youth etc. - Don't let these activities go by without my children present any more!!!!)

DO YOU HAVE A GOAL IN MIND THAT CAN HELP YOUR FAMILY TO COME CLOSER TO CHRIST? :)

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Dear Family and Friends, Life is Good... :)

Dear family and friends,

I hope you are all well and happy and life is treating you good GREAT! :)

...I recently got on FB for the first time in ... (?) in a while (I AM really trying to fit more of it into my life)... And in my message box, I saw the following note from a young friend:
"Corine you have such a wonderful family and life. Sometimes we don't fully realize how blessed we are and how wonderful our lives are ( I know you do though ) Building a beautiful life with a person you really love and seeing it unfold is so priceless and something so many people can only dream of. Going through terrible and great things together hand in hand and knowing that everything will be OK because you’re with the man that you love. I hope that someday I could be blessed like that as well."
...So true!

For those of you who were aware of recent challenges and are wondering how things are going, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Heavenly Father hears and answers them all in his own way and time; we are in good hands and you need not worry… :) My family and I have been VERY blessed. :D I have been SO FILLED WITH GRATITUDE AND WONDER at what the Lord has been doing for our family! He is so good to us! I just keep counting my many blessings - and some of those blessings are the growth and joy that have come from the challenges... :) I'm so thankful that he has the strength and wisdom to let us go through challenges!

I do still feel a bit thinned out (a blessing that is allowing me to develop skills in prioritizing etc.), thus I sometimes feel the need for MORE TIME. But everyone is healthy, and we are getting lots of work done!!! :D There is time enough... I just keep reminding myself of that. "Be smart about how you spend your time," I tell myself, "and put the most important things first!" (I really have much room for improvement; thus the blessing to develop it! ;0 Thank you Dear Father in Heaven! :D)

In addition to work we have made a little time to play in the past few months. :) I feel like it is impossible to catch you up to date with everything that has gone on, and maybe that would bore you anyhow.So for now, I think I'll just let you know I love you... :) and share photos of some of the fun the Moore family has had this summer...
At a Sailboat Race...
My handsome sailor... :D


Miles, crossing over the finish line - FIRST ~ Yeah Miles! :)
*We hiked near the Palouse Falls. Beautiful! ...so much fun building memories with family! :D I wish all four of our kids could have come with Miles and me!!!!

I bought Miles the shirt he is wearing in this photo for his birthday last year.
It has a cheery little stick figure sailing and says "Life is good." When I saw it I couldn't resist! 

Amazing "selfie," taken just before the train got away! Way to capture it Mindy! :D



 Oh yeah... Miles and I are Sea Scout Leaders now. Miles is also President of the Coeur d'Alene Sailing Association; and I am the Secretary and Treasurer. I still work at the Family Research Center as well. It is nice to be able to do a little to serve the community. :D



...taken @ one of our camp-outs. We have more members now! :D
This collage was made from a few photos taken from a camping trip at Lionhead in Priest Lake (and I just spent a few Hours doing this!!!). The trip was AMAZING!!! We got to slide down Slick Rock, using trash bags as sleds. It was SO MUCH FUN! :D I'm sure this will be the beginning of a solid new tradition in our family... :)
Looking at these photos gets me anxious to have some more family fun in the sun, and SO THANKFUL that this fall is so warm and beautiful!

I will conclude with a brief note to catch you up to speed a bit on the happenings of the Moore home, ;)...We are down one young adult (Devry moved out this summer), and up one (Damien has been here for over half a year, but since I haven't been good about writing this year you still may not know that); and we are about to lose another (Mindy) to a mission. YEAH! :D We still don't know where Mindy will be going, but she has wanted to do this for a long time and is getting some medical and dental needs taken care of as quickly as possible so she can go. I'll let you know where as soon as everything is concrete and she knows where she is going...

TTFN!

Corine :D




Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Balancing Time

Dear Friends,

I MISS YOU! I miss socializing in general. Many years ago it was a natural part of life for me to talk to friends and family on the phone, write letters, visit friends and family etc... my life was surrounded by friends and loved ones. For some time now, it seems that each progressing year has left me busier and less connected with friends and family. I have sometimes felt like I lived in a little bubble of WORK which kept me from people.

I am SO THANKFUL for the work. All of it. But I feel I am missing out on something BIGGER. PEOPLE... I NEED PEOPLE in my life - more time with the people in my home, and more time with friends and family outside the walls of my home! I need connections. I need relationships. I need friends...

I read a quote this morning that I copied sometime ago from a book titled "The Emotion Code..."

Life is about having joy. It's about increasing our ability to give and receive love and it's about serving others, feeling grateful for all we have, and learning to create the life we want."

Joy.
Giving and receiving LOVE.
Serving.
Feeling grateful.
Creating.

It's all about people...

I must find a way to make time to socialize and consistently serve others again!

I also read a journal entry that I wrote a couple years ago. It was wonderful and inspiring! :) And it came from the Lord, through me! :o

I wondered, only briefly, why I haven't been thinking and writing like that lately... why my journal writing is so brief, and my blog nearly empty; and then I quickly realized why. One consequence of being so busy working, is that with my over busy schedule, I haven't been making time to pray a lot, and to sit and ponder... THAT is when the Lord speaks to my heart and I learn and grow the most. THAT is when I have something worth sharing.

*I am AGAIN analyzing my life and how I spend my time. I'm PRAYING that the Lord will bless me to apply the principles mentioned in my previous blog post about prioritizing and BALANCE work, with people, and with personal time to meditate and grow. I also need to consistently exercise again. And I'm REALLY hoping and praying to reconnect with family and friends! It has been SO LONG. And the road back seems so far away. But I know that all things are possible through Jesus Christ, and I believe He wants these blessings for us all... including me.

PS. I just had an inspiration. :D "By small things are great things brought to pass." The Lord is reminding me that the steps to make BIG goals happen, are small and simple steps. This goal is not as far away as it seems. :) THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER! :D

Corine :D