Tag Archives: spiritual growth

Study the Scriptures by Topic

My scripture study has taken on a much more meaningful light in the past few weeks. I have studied the scriptures by topic before, but usually just to prepare for a talk or lesson. Just recently I have been wanting to bring my scripture study to a new level, and so I decided to study about a specific question or issue that I was worried about each day. It is amazing to me how the scriptures do contain answers to every aspect of our lives. The topical guide is a great resource to help you to find answer to questions … Continue reading →

Focus While You Pray

Prayer is a wonderful gift from Heavenly Father. It is our chance to communicate with Him. We can explain our feelings and listen to receive guidance, answers, and peace. It is too easy to take prayer lightly or to overlook praying. How many times do you rush out a hurried prayer or fall asleep in the middle of the prayer? How often does your mind wander off or you simply forget to pray? Lately I have been so tired (three sick children will do that to you) that I have been dreaming mid-prayer. I will have these very random elaborate … Continue reading →

Attending Church

Do you hate Sundays because you come home from church feeling overwhelmed by everything you should be doing, but just aren’t? Or are just worn out from chasing your children around the chapel? There are Sundays when you may be wondering why it is so important to go to church. It is important that you make the Sabbath a day of rest and church a chance to have yourself strengthened spiritually and not drained. Here are a few things you can do to help make the Sabbath and church attendance more meaningful. 1) Take the time to prepare yourself for … Continue reading →

Setting Goals for Your Christian Journey

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The following is a personal scoring chart for you to use for yourself to mark your own progress in your Christian walk. Just circle between 0 to 10 depending where you fall on this spectrum; 0 being not at all, 10 being always. Perhaps set some goals for yourself based on the answers you give today and check back again in six months or so. This isn’t to make anyone feel inadequate in any way. None of us have “arrived” at complete holiness but we should all desire to grow in our faith. My church attendance is regular. 0 1 … Continue reading →

Coasting In Life

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You go to church, you read the Bible a few years ago, you are generally a good person and most importantly you have asked Jesus to be Lord of your life. Now it’s smooth sailing, except you can’t help but feel something’s missing… While I was in church one Sunday, our pastor said something that really stuck with me. He said, “When coasting in life, you are always going down hill.” He continued by reminding us we need God’s help to go up. Indeed, heaven is up, not down. You would not eat one good meal and suggest you never … Continue reading →

Three Thieves of Joy

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God wants His children to have joy and peace in their lives. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” In God we find an inner strength and peace that surpasses anything we could ever find elsewhere. The joy that the world gives is fleshly, superficial and fleeting at best. Only the joy that comes from God can sustain and inspire the believer to be more and do more for God. It is this same joy which flows from the heart that shows those around you that you have something they need: A relationship with Jesus … Continue reading →

Do You Have Time to Pray With Your Spouse?

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Do you ever feel as though you have no idea what your spouse is thinking? Do you ever feel like you are just not thinking along the same lines or as though you don’t have the same priorities? Let me ask you another question: Do you pray with your spouse? In our busy lives it is often difficult to get five minutes alone with our husband to talk to him, much less pray with him. Our days are filled with taking care of our jobs, our homes and our children. Often when we finally have some time in which our … Continue reading →

Book Review: Spiritual Growth of Children

Many times when trying to help our children grow we think primarily of meeting their physical, emotional and intellectual needs. In many cases we forget that we are also spiritual beings that need nourishment for spiritual growth. In order to focus on my children’s spiritual needs, several years ago I purchased a book from Focus on the Family titled the “Parent’s Guide To The Spiritual Growth of Children-Helping Your Child Develop a Personal Faith”. This book is a wonderful resource that I often go back to for practical ideas. The authors state that the book is “Designed to help parents … Continue reading →

Please Understand

Another topic that popped up in a different conversation I was having a few days ago was the melding of two lives in the bonds of holy matrimony. Sometimes that isn’t so easy when one person has been raised with one understanding of the patriarchal role and the other raised in another way. Let me begin with the quote of a prophet to set the tone of this blog: President Spencer W. Kimball said this: “When we speak of marriage as a partnership, let us speak of marriage as a full partnership. We do not want our LDS women to … Continue reading →