Little or Much

"It mattereth not unto me whether it be little or much..."

-Doctrine and Covenants 63:40

This verse reminds me of the story of the widow's mite. You know the one, the widow who had so little but she paid what she had for tithing in the midst of all those who were rich and were giving so much more. Jesus seeing the opportunity to teach his disciples told them, "That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had." (-Mark 12: 43-44)

How much we are able to give can change so much depending on circumstance. I'm not even talking about monetary giving. I'm talking about day to day giving. The service, the patience, the time, the love, all are things we give regularly. Some days we are able to give abundantly, and others we are barely able to get out of bed. 

Thankfully, the Lord has said, "it mattereth not...whether it be little or much." What matters to Him is that we give our all. It's okay that our all looks different from someone else's. It's okay that sometimes (or a lot of times) that it looks like less. 

The thing about our Savior though, is he takes our meager offerings and he turns them into abundance. Just like with the five loaves and two fishes. We might ask like Andrew, "What are they among so many?" It seemed like such a small offering, but Jesus took it and blessed it to become more. And he does the same with us. 

Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George

 

I just read this trilogy by Jessica Day George, and can I just tell you how fun they were? If you've ever wanted a horse growing up, or to be able to communicate with animals, these books are for you. They are 100% clean and so I wouldn't mind if my kids read them at all. In fact, I've encouraged it! In the second book there is a pandemic (this was written in the middle of all of the COVID crazy) which I feel is relatable to adults as well as kids because of what we all have been living the last year and a half. The main character is a teenage girl and has just hints of romance (a kiss on a cheek), but that is in no way the theme of the story. It is more of a relationship with her and her horse, her family, and her friends. 

Reading level: I would probably recommend ages 8 and up if they are reading it on their own, but honestly I felt the books were fun enough that a younger child would like them too!

Here is a link to find the first book on Amazon. It is an affiliate link so I might earn a little on the purchase (my first time trying this out), but it doesn't affect the price for you. 

Longing for Home

"He that is faithful and endureth shall overcome the world." -Doctine and Covenants 63:47

Have you ever longed for home? Maybe it's just been a long day at work or school. Maybe you have been traveling or camping for a few days and just can't wait to get back. Maybe you've been away at college for a while. Or lived far from family and longed to see them again. 

 There is just something comfortable and comforting about being home, with familiar people and things.

Have you ever longed for your Heavenly home? It's not something I can remember experiencing until I also experienced some major depression. I remember an intense longing for my Heavenly Parents and for the comfort, relief, and love I knew I would find in their arms.

At times staying faithful and enduring has seemed almost too hard and the longing for home was too fierce.

How thankful I am to know though that the end will come. The end of the sorrow and the suffering and the pain. And that through patience, the heartache will be overcome. And we will be able to achieve that rest and that and joy and peace. We just need to hold on.

Tick Tock

For the longest time, Elijah has been telling me that stop lights say "Tick Tock." I have been so confused about why he has said that but today I figured it out! We were out driving and I stopped at the stop light and turned on my turn signal. Elijah piped up, "See! That's the sound of the stop light! Tick tock, tick tock." It finally clicked. He thought the sound of the blinker was coming from the stop light. 

Held in His Hands

"Behold, the land of Zion—I, the Lord, hold it in mine own hands."

Doctrine and Covenants 63:25

The last few days the boys and I have been taking care of a family's chickens while they are out of town. Their absolute favorite part is gathering the eggs. Every few minutes while we are there, they have to check and see if the chickens have laid another egg. On Monday, I asked Elijah to hold the egg and take care of it until we got home, to make sure it didn't crack. 

He held that egg so carefully the whole way. He cradled it in his hands. He paid attention to it. He protected it. 

That is what this verse of scripture reminded me of. The careful way Elijah cradled and took care of this egg is the way our Savior takes care of us. He cradled us in His hands. He pays attention to us and he protects us. I love that image. This life is so hard at times. So stinking hard. And He knows that. He experienced it. And because he did, he knows what we are going through and he will hold us in His hands through it all. 

Side note: Elijah was so proud of himself when he got the egg home and he insisted on eating it. Then when he saw how little just one egg was, he decided he needed a second one to go with it. It didn't matter that it was nine o'clock and he had eaten breakfast not long before. Little boys always have room for a snack of eggs. 😁