My life- the War chapters

 I am reading in Alma in my gospel study.  You know- the War chapters.  As I read these, it makes me tired.  They spend so much time preparing for war and then they fight in the battles and they win.  Then they go home and continue preparation and then they have more battles.  Then it looks like peace is established and they might be able to relax a little, but no.  There is an army approaching and they have to fight.  It seems relentless.  They never get a chance to take a break!

Sometimes my life feels that way.  There always seems to be something challenging occurring.  When you think the challenge is over, you turn around and there is more to be done.  It is relentless.  You work hard all day, you go to sleep, you wake up and do it over again, and on and on it goes.

But, always, there is the help of the Lord to spur you on and encourage you.  Good luck with your "War Chapters"!

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.

                                                                                                        Doctrine and Covenants 128:22

                                                                                         

Church Service

Years ago, I was invited to a couples shower where the gift we brought the soon-to-be married couple would reflect something in our own lives that had helped our marriage.  I brought a basket of church resources and manuals and I said that from the first day Kevin and I entered our first ward as a married couple, we introduced ourselves to the bishop and said we were ready to serve.  I feel that this attitude about serving in the church has been a great blessing in our lives.  We have served in various callings and have encouraged and helped each other in various callings and that has been a huge benefit to our marriage.  That is why this thought from Pres. Eyring's conference message  (To My Grandchildren  Nov. 2014 Ensign)  resonated with me:

I urge those I love to accept and to magnify every calling offered them in the Church. That choice is one of the great keys to family happiness. The pressures at every stage of life can tempt us to reject or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families. Some of those calls may seem unimportant, but my life, and my family, was changed for the better by my accepting a call to teach a deacons quorum.