The Truth About Luck

With St. Patrick’s Day just a few days away, I have been thinking a lot about luck and how to teach my children what “luck” really is. Is luck getting the right job at the right time? Is luck happening to win a raffle at a party? Is luck finding money on the ground, right when you need it? I guess each person can interpret these things in their own way, but many of them I feel are blessings that the Lord wants us to have.

“Luckily,” I came across this amazing quote from President Spencer W. Kimball that teaches us the truth about luck:

“Remember also that if you succeed, it isn’t because of luck. Success comes from faith and work and prayer and from constant righteous effort” (read talk here).

I love that in President Kimball’s description of luck, he focuses on us consistently doing the right things. I find that the “luckiest” times of my life are the times I am striving to be consistent in gospel living, which helps me to know even more that I am being blessed for my efforts. I can teach my children to be consistent in righteousness, to pray, and to trust that God will give them what they need as they are striving to live His will.

Despite my lack of strong belief in “luck,” I never hesitate to say, “Good luck!” to friends and family…but I usually add in, “I’m praying for you!” (Hey, can’t hurt to add a little luck and blessing both, eh?)

Happy St. Patrick’s day, my friends!

What are you doing with your family to celebrate St. Patrick’s day?

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Fear and Faith Cannot Coexist

It is so easy to get discouraged, isn’t it? For me, it is far too easy to fear the future, to fear getting through the day, to fear an event…anything! My family is preparing for a potential move across the country, which would take us away from our extended family and close friends and put us in a completely unfamiliar place. I have allowed fear to enter my heart so many times with questions like, “How can I do it?” and, “How can we afford it?” and, “Why would we leave this place where we are so comfortable?” I try to make a little room for faith, knowing that God has a plan for me and my family and that everything will probably be fine, but my fears push it out much too quickly.

In a talk entitled “You Know Enough,” Elder Neil L. Andersen said, “Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time.”

I know what he said is true, but that doesn’t make it less difficult to push out the fears and have complete faith, especially when everything looks so uncertain or unfamiliar…or scary. However, I know there have been times in my life (my mission, getting married, having kids, etc.) where there were plenty of fears that could have overcome me, but my faith was so much stronger.

Maybe I just need to do things to gain a little more faith. 🙂

I often think about the apostle Peter, who once walked on water because he trusted Christ so much, but then began to sink because he let fear enter his heart. What made him stop believing? What was it that caused him to doubt the Savior, who was right in front of him? Perhaps it was a lesson to him, an opportunity to reach his hand out to the Savior and cry for help to save his life, which maybe we all need at some point. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all have as much faith as Peter started out with?

What do you do to keep your fears out of your heart so there is room for faith?

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Unshakable Faith

I think the Lord works in very mysterious ways sometimes. It seems as if we finally reach a moment where things seem to be going just right, then a trial comes upon us. Have you ever wondered why? I sure have!

Henry B. Eyring gave an amazing talk in General Conference of April 2012 called “Mountains to Climb.” (You should see this powerful Mormon Message made from the talk here.) One thing he said in his talk is: “Now, I wish to encourage those who are in the midst of hard trials, who feel their faith may be fading under the onslaught of troubles. Trouble itself can be your way to strengthen and finally gain unshakable faith.”

I really believe this is true. I believe that hard times give us the opportunity to test our faith. The more we rely on God in these tough times, the more we recognize His hand and feel of His mercy and love. Our faith really does become “unshakable” as we become the benefactors of godly miracles. God knows what He is doing–He is helping us to reach our full, divine potential. He is giving us a chance to think about, turn to, and feel the grace of the atonement of Christ. He is building us to BE godly.

How have trials helped you to gain unshakable faith?

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(Sorry, I originally forgot to make the download public! It should be working fine now. Thanks for all of your support!)