From the sounds of Gray upstairs, I think the Cowboy game is going well (even though we were losing at halftime 17-7). I'll let him and dad report on that for you.
In case you didn't see it, I didn't get the picture you sent Sunday… please resend! I never want to miss the chance to see your gorgeous, handsome face! I saw some strange paintball pics that Dany posted on FB… pretty funny.
Bachelor starts tomorrow and it just won't be the same without you! Chris, the farmer, is the Bachelor… remember him? It will prob be a boring season. He's very nice but maybe a little boring.
We are having a very cold week! Today was a high of 24! Guatemala is sounding better and better:)
We just finished up a great Christmas break. Dad was home for 2 weeks! It was really nice to have him home and now he should feel pretty refreshed to go back to work. We got a lot done around the house, but of course there is always more to do. Abby's room is looking good with stripes painted, new bedding she got for Christmas and we also hung a wire from one side to the other so she could hang pictures on the wire. Looks great!
Gray bought every flag known to Texas and is hanging them all over his room. "Come and Take it Flag" with a canon on it, confederate flag (heritage not hate - whatever!), texas, US, etc. How did I raise two rednecks??? Gray is trying to catch up so that he can get his Eagle Scout.. he will be cutting in close… but I know you know all about that!
In your room, I'm taking some of your photography shots of sunsets and stuff and printing them and hanging them in your room. I'll send you a picture when I get them on the wall. I think it will look great.. and it is so you! I love keeping things that are you in your room. Sometimes I walk in, lay on your bed and just look at all your things and smell your hats ( I know, I have a problem!). Today, I saw a little boy in primary who didn't want his mom to leave him there, so he ran up to her and she held him tight in her lap for a few minutes until he could go back to his class. I just watched them and couldn't stop the tears. I miss my son. Simple as that!
We had some discussions when Noelle and Gregg were here about missionaries struggling. I think I mentioned that to you before. But Gregg said something that I've been thinking about. We learn a lot about how Satan temps us from the movie in the Temple. But it is interesting to think that Satan was only in his infancy of evilness then. He was just learning how to tempt us and make us turn away from God. Today, he has had all those thousands/10s of thousands of years to fine tune his craft. He is so skilled at how to lure us and tempt us… so skilled to know how to tear down families which then causes generations of problems. I think if you look at what has happened in society in the past 25 years, you can see how much he has accomplished in a short time. Then Gregg was talking about how someone at the church offices estimated that about 57 billion people have lived on the earth. If you just take that number and calculate how many spirits followed Satan during the war of heaven (1/3 of the hosts of heaven) that is about 28 billion. All of those 28 billion are around us now trying to persuade us to turn away from God. It feels like we are out numbered.
But then I think about the line in the temple movie where God says to Satan, "you will be able to bruise man's heel, but he will be able to crush your head." It shows me how much more power there is in goodness and righteousness. We don't need to fear if we don't walk the line with one foot in righteousness and one foot in evil. If we can stay far from that line, stay safe, then it's not soooo difficult. But we put ourselves close to temptation, and that just makes it easy for all those 28 billion spirits that want us to be miserable. I would imagine Satan would love to get missionaries to quit, give up, fall to temptation, because they have the power to do so much goodness. So here is a quote I read and I keep it in my scriptures. I think it shows how satan plans to ruin us if he can…
"There are 3 things in Lehi's dream that are obscured by the mist (of darkness) and that correspond to the reality of our mortal lives. Satan does not want us to see the tree of life (the LOVE of God). He does not want us to perceive the rod of iron (the Word of God), which will keep us on the path when the tree is lost from our view. He is also desirous that we know nothing of the filthy river or the consequences of misery, both temporal and eternal, which come for those who leave the path." - S. Michael Wilcox
The mists of darkness in Lehi's dream are not random. They are designed specifically by satan to keep us from certain things that will help us reach eternal life. I just thought this might help you with some of your investigators and new members. It's something that I never thought of before. Think about it in your own life too.
I love you so much, Sam! I hope you had a great last week with Elder Cano. You've made friends even though it was difficult. That is an incredible lesson! Heavenly Father answered many of your prayers during these last 12 weeks. He loves you so much and I'm sure he is so happy with your service! I'm excited to hear about your changes. How are your baptisms that are scheduled? Are they progressing? How is Fredick? Keep encouraging him. He will figure it out!
Have a wonderful week! Go get a hotplate and pan if you can. Get some protien bars. You have $117 in your account. Take all your vitamins. How is your supply? Is there anything you need? I love you more than the sun, and the moon, and the stars… Infinity + infinity and even more than that!
xoxoxo
mom
p.s. I'm sacrificing most of my personal letter from you so that you can write Elder Konold today. finley.konold@gmail.com xoxoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment