Thank you so so much for joining me on this Book of Mormon challenge. And thank you for sharing your miracles you've seen and felt. My heart has felt joy in a way that I haven't felt since I was a missionary.
I have also developed the unshaken knowledge that the Lord WILL take care of those who love and obey Him. When I saw the positive pregnancy test back at the end of November, it was definitely a surprise. Nate thought I was joking when I told him!! We knew that August is going to be a really crazy month for us, with moving somewhere and Nate starting a whole new career as a teacher. So we had decided to put the 3rd baby plans on hold for a few months to let our lives settle down a bit. So we just laughed and shook our heads when we saw that the Lord (yet again) had tweaked our attempt at making plans for our life!
So when I saw the positive test, my first instinct was to start panicking....How can we have a baby in August? What if we are between jobs and don't have insurance? What if we're smack in the middle of trying to move across the country? What if we can't afford another 3-bedroom place? How can Nate handle a brand new job with insane lesson planning and still have time to help me out with THREE kids??
The questions flew through my head, but then left as quickly as they arrived. We were about 3 weeks into our Read With Me challenge, and the power of the Lord's promise "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land." overwhelmed me. I COULDN'T WORRY.....the thoughts wouldn't come. I actually TRIED to worry about this summer, and I literally couldn't. The knowledge of Christ's love was SO solid in my heart, that all I could do was smile and look at Nate and say, "Wow, Honey....the Lord wants this baby to come in August, and He will provide us with a job, insurance and a place to live." I know it's true. The Lord has so many amazing things planned for the Wood Family in 2011, and all of my fears and stresses and worries have been replaced by faith, love, confidence, excitement, and pure JOY! Even though I've been sicker than I've ever been, I have never felt such happiness.
So now, as we end this challenge and this year, I invite you to NEVER LET IT END. Keep reading. Keep feeling this power. Study the scriptures and pay attention to how you FEEL. Don't worry about if the Nephites were headed northward or southward. It doesn't matter who was the descendant of whom.....or if Mormon is writing or Moroni. What matters is that the children of God who humbly obeyed God's commandments always prospered. And those who didn't....they were in Satan's power and had no lasting happiness or promise of eternal life. IT'S REAL, my dear friends. Let Christ into your life, and never let what you are feeling end. Keep going, and Christ will call you by name and welcome you into his loving arms, and you will stand in His presense with your head held high. It's worth it. This is all that matters in this life.
I love you all. Happy New Year!
(By the way, I'm reading the Book of Mormon again by my 30th birthday on March 7, if anyone wants to join me again. Then I'm going to read the Old and New Testaments before August.....)
Auggie turns one!
5 years ago
6 comments:
I am so thankful for your challenge. Like you, we have been faced with some surprises. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the comfort that this challenge brought in my time of desperate need. Thank you for sharing your inspiration to read this, and for inviting others to do so as well. I am so exicted for your next chapter- how wonderful for you all!!!! I would love to read with you again, and reading the Bible would be amazing too! Thank you! You are so great- you really are a shining light =)
I loved the challenge! Well as far as I got with it until baby was born. Are you doing ten pages again? I'm super pumped for baby for you! And it of course will all work out :)
WAIT!!!!!!!!!!
You need another red chair.
Just sayin'.
I didn't see the miracles coming that some of you did, in fact, I felt Satan was throwing more obstacles in my path to try and trip me up. The one thing that I have gotten out of reading this time and that I will continue to get as I finish over the next couple of days is the the stories actually become stories and not just black words on a white page that were difficult to understand. I learned just how incredible AWESOME Moroni really is, because his story came alive, his temperment, personality, etc. became real to me. I realized just how many times God's people fell and had to learn the same lessons over and over and over again (much like my toddler ;p) and I have learned that I hope to be more receptive so that I am not learning the same lessons over again. Thank you so much for the challenge. I plan to continue reading at least 5 pages or one-two chapters of the scriptures each day through out 2011. :)
Deja vous! We thought we had it all figured out when we were supposed to have Gwen but the Lord had other plans. I was scared to see a positive test result but just like you that fear was immediately replaced with peace knowing that the Lord wanted her to be in our life right then. We had just moved, our house had not sold, we had no money living in a very expensive city and state, and the Lord wanted me to be pregnant! It all worked out. She's perfect. We were financially taken care of while our faith was strengthened every step of my final high risk pregnancy, including when we were told she would have something genetically wrong with her. So glad she didn't but we were prepared for anything.
This Book of Mormon challenge came a few days after I felt prompted to adopt an attitude of gratitude. Between the two I have been so happy. I wanted to be as happy as I was when we moved here and I have been. The gospel is true. I love how it constantly, yet gently, invites all to come unto Christ and feel his peace.
Thank you for the challenge. I am 120 pages behind right now but there was nothing magic about finishing today. The point was to get into the habit of reading every day. The days I don't read I miss it. As you promised, many, many miracles have happened in my family's life as well as those around me. Thank you again. And enjoy every pukey second of your miraculous gift of pregnancy!
This has been such a great experience! I'm a little behind, but it was definitely the jumpstart I needed! Thanks Becca!
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