Smart and Strong

The other day as we were getting 

ready to go out on an adventure,

I happened to put this shirt on L.

It's the first time she's warn it.

It says, 

"Smart and Strong like my mom"

When my mom first bought it

for her I thought it was fun.

This week I really started 

thinking about what I want

her to see in my smarts and my strength.

I realized this is a list not just

for her, but for me as well.

I want to continue to be 

the mom she needs to help

her grow strong and wise

and a righteous daughter of God

Smart and Strong

Smart enough to solve problems.

Strong enough to share your solutions.

Smart enough to know when to listen

to your heart.

Strong enough to follow your heart

even when you are scared.

Smart enough to know what's right.

Strong enough to do what's right

even if you're the only one.

Smart enough to know you made a mistake.

Strong enough to admit to and fix

your mistake.

Being smart isn't about how much you know.

It's how you use what you know.

Use it to build God's kingdom

and serve others.

Be smart and learn everything you can.

Learn all you can at school.

Learn all you can from your grandparents.

Learn all you can from your parents.

Learn all you can from all those around you.

We are all connected.

We are all brothers and sisters!

We can always learn something

from another person.

Strength doesn't mean you don't need help.

It's admitting that you do

and asking for it.

It's sticking up for others.

Asking for help.

Being vulnerable in you relationships.

Trusting in God,

Trusting yourself.

Having unshakable faith.

Pressing forward with

a steadfastness in Christ.

Loving God.

Loving others.

Loving yourself.

Embracing the bad days

and rejoicing in the good days.

Relying wholly on the Lord.

Recognizing the tender mercies 

and Grace of the Lord.

Expressing gratitude.

Especially in the small moments.

Make covenants with the Lord.

Be a covenant keeping woman.

Keep the covenants you have

and will make throughout your life.

This will help you find strength

beyond your own..

Be strong enough to sit in the

hard times and seasons

and trust in God's plan.

Pray for His help.

He will lead you.

Let other's help you.

God's greatest miracles

don't usually come from

angels and booming voices.

They come from soft whispers,

a smile, a sincere compliment.

They often come in the form of

other people, who are listening to 

the Spirit.

Be strong enough to see these

angels in your life.

Be an angel in other people's lives.

Don't listen to the world's description

of smart and strong.

Pray and read the words of God.

Listen and watch for his messages for you.

True wisdom and strength only come through Him!

Rely on Him for the strength and wisdom you need!

Stay close to the Spirit and you will

uncover strength with Christ

that you never thought you 

were capable of having!

Love,

Mom

Look to God and Praise Him All Day Long

Gratitude

Today I'm grateful to have

spent time listening

to Lara Casey as she

did a webinar on goals.

I got some good inspiration

to help me get past some

fear and press forward

with some things I

feel like God is writing

on my heart to do.

If you'd like to get the 

replay and an ebook

on goal setting

click here.

The Word

1 Nephi 18:11-16, 20-22

"And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.  

"And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass which had been prepared of the Lord did cease to work.

"Wherefore, they knew not wither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.

"And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest began to be exceedingly sore.

"And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God were upon the, and that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed the bands which were upon my wrists, and behold they had swollen exceedingly; and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.

"Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions...."

(Nephi tells how many family members--parents, Jacob, Joseph, Nephi's wife and children--tried to convince Laman and Lemuel to let Nephi go.)

"And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could soften their hearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they repented of the thing which they had don, insomuch that they loosed me.

"And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land."

I read this chapter this week and loved a few things about it.

First, I loved how Nephi had faith that the Lord was letting 

this hard thing happen to him so the Lord could

show forth His power.

It made me think about the hard things

in my life--past and present--do I 

have that faith?

That the Lord is letting it 

happen to me so that I 

can see his power

and share it with others so

they can see his power?

I believe I do now.

There have definitely been

times in my life when 

it took me some time

to see that.

The next thing that I loved

about this chapter was that

Nephi doesn't murmur because

of his afflictions, but he did look to God

and praise Him all day long.

I know that this is something

I would like to work on right now.

Looking to God and 

praising Him not once

or twice a day, 

but all day long.

I've decided to make verse 16 my scripture for this month.
I'm choosing to
Look to God and Praise Him All Day Long.
If you have any suggestions,
let me know!

On my heart...

My heart is so full of things

I want to share.

This entire month I've

had one thing after another

come to me that I wanted to

share with you,

but I let the moments pass.

I plan on doing much better

this month.

Also, if you don't already,

go follow my blog on Instagram

@uncoveringstrength.

I decided to have a separate

account for my blog so

that I can leave it public

and get the message out there.

I'm going to start posting

there at least once a day.

It will be things that I 

share here and things

that I just share on

Instagram.

August

Well, August is over.

I feel like I did really well

with my August goals.

We went to the temple.

I cleaned out my nightstand.

I created and outline for my ebook.

I read 5 books.

I didn't learn an entire song on the piano,

but I got halfway through the song.

I looked back at my summer goals.

We didn't do so good with date night this month.

I also didn't write very often on this blog.

We went on a few family adventures.

I studied my scriptures almost every day!

I exercised almost every day the last two weeks.

I didn't do so good with my journaling.

I practiced the piano about three days a week.

I also did pretty well with my eating the last two weeks.

September

I'm really looking forward to September.

I have so much I'd like to share here

today, but it's so much I'd never get to bed,

so I'm going to stretch it over the month.

Here are my goals for this month:

Monthly

-Enjoy our trip to Michigan.

-Read five books.

-Write 1,000+ words of my ebook.

-Do my visiting teaching.

-Continue learning my piano song.

-Love on my family.

-Be vulnerable on the blog and in the book.

-Be a prayer warrior and cultivate my relationship with God.

Weekly Goals

-Date Night/Temple Trip

-Write a post here.

-Read on chapter of The Finishing School.

-Work on ebook.

Daily Goals

-Scripture Study

-Prayer

-Exercise

-Send a love note to someone.

-Healthy eating.

-Practice the piano.

-Daily chores.

-Post on @uncoveringstrength (Instagram)

-The One Thing

Click on the link!

This is an awesome challenge

I'm going to be participating in!

Looking at all these goals,

I feel ready to step in

and own them.

It looks a little intimidating, but 

with His help I'll accomplish

everything I am supposed to do!

God is good!

His love unconditional!

Hello August!

Gratitude

Today I'm grateful for swimming pools

on hot summer days!

The Word

Doctrine and Covenants 25:12

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart;

yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me,

and it shall be answered with a blessing on their heads."

On my heart...

I was reviewing my goals for July

and writing my new ones for August

this weekend.

July was an awesome month

full of getting a lot of my

goals accomplished!

Here they are with how I did:

Monthly

-Go to the temple.

-Have a 4th of July picnic

-L's birthday parties

-Have fun at East Canyon

-Write my book outline--Yeah I didn't work on this:0)

-Read the books on my July list.

-Visiting teaching--I did visit with some of my sisters,

but not all of them.

Weekly

-Date nights/temple trips--Did this half the time.

-family adventures--Lots of fun times!

-Plan healthy menu  --I planned a few things.

-Visit Grandma and Grandpa -- I got to help out

with Grandma before she passed away

on Saturday.

-Connect with friends -- I have had so much fun!

Daily

-Write on Uncovering Strength  -- Finished my 100 days!

-Book of Mormon study

-Exercise I did this about half the time. 

-Power hour

I got more accomplished on my goals

than I have in a really long time!

Here are my goals for August:

Monthly

-Temple trip

-Visiting teaching

-Clean out my end table

-Write my book outline

-Read five books

-Learn a new song on the piano

-Look back and reflect on my summer goals

-Write my fall goals.

Weekly

-Date/temple night

-Write on Uncovering strength

-Go on a family adventures.

Daily

-Daily house chore

-Book of Mormon study

-Exercise

-Journaling

-Practice the piano

My main goals this month are

learning a new song on the piano

and cleaning my house and keeping it clean.

I love my life!

God is good!

100/100!! #15 The Only Way

Gratitude

I'm so grateful for the last

100 days of being able

to write on this blog.

I'm thankful for a husband

who took on putting 

the baby to bed most

of those nights so

I could do this.

I'm thankful for the

strength I found

in writing about my

life and search to

uncover more strength.

I'm grateful for a 

Heavenly Father who

loves me unconditionally

and for my brother

and Savior, Jesus Christ

and all they have done

to help me uncover

the strength I have

with them.

The Word

Mosiah 3:17

"And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

On my heart...

Well on my last day of this project

I thought I'd share the only

thing that really matters in

this search for strength.

I have learned and relearned when

I have forgotten that the only

way to have real lasting strength

is to come unto Christ.

He is the way.

Only we are weak,

but with Him we 

are strong.

I have learned this many time,

but still often forget.

I decide to do things my way.

I decide to do things myself.

I have learned that you can't

be strong by yourself.

BUT when I invite Christ

in, I find more strength than 

I ever imagined.

1 Nephi 15:15

"...receive the strength and 

nourishment from the true vine..."

I am taking this scripture

from a question Nephi

asks his brothers.

I love that it says it all.

The true vine is Jesus Christ.

He is where we receive 

strength and nourishment.

If you only get one thing

from all these 100 days

of reading my blog,

I hope you remember 

this one thing.

Christ is the only way.

Come unto Him

and you will find strength.

I know that it's true!

I love my life!

God is good!

P.S. I'm going to be taking a short break from writing.  But don't worry!  I'll be back August 1st with more exciting words!:0)

99/100 #14 Gratitude

Today I'm thankful for...

Today I'm thankful for

all of L's new toys

from her birthday

that keep her busy.

The Word

Doctrine and Covenants 78:19

"And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

On my heart...

Read this.

There are more great posts

from my Soulful Brillance Sisters.

Go check them out at soulfulbrilliance.com.

Just type "gratitude" in to the blog search.

I'm so grateful for that time in

my life when I worked with my 

sisters to write on my blog.

Gratitude is one of the best 

ways to feel happier and

full of strength.

Heavenly Father really

blesses us with so much,

even in our trials.

We just have to open up

our eyes to see them.

Things I am grateful for:

-spending time serving my grandma

-my amazing husband

-my sweet baby

-that I get to be a SAHM

-being able to write this blog the

last 99 days

-the chance to share the Light of Christ

-the scriptures and words of prophets

-to live in a time with the fulness of the Gospel

-a home to live in

-good working cars

-friends

-family

-a nice bed to sleep in

There is so much more!

When I need strength

I start listing all the things

I am grateful for and 

I am reminded that I

have Heavenly Father

blessing me and guiding

me each day.

I love my life!

God is good!

98/100 #13 People

Gratitude

I'm so thankful for

all the amazing people

around me who help me

find strength and lift

me up when I need help.

The Word

Eccles. 4:9-10

"Two are better than one; because they have good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellows."

On my heart...

It's been so important 
in my own journey
of uncovering strength
to have good people in my
life who lift me up.
People who help me
work through the tough
times and help me work
through my thoughts.
People who don't judge me
and criticize me, 
but who encourage and
support me.
People who love me 
no matter what and
cheer me on in whatever
I am doing.
Their numbers in my life
have been few, but
they have been key
in helping me discover
my greatness--
my Soulful Brilliance--
over the years.
I have been blessed
with fabulous family
who know me well
and help me.
The best part is
that I always find a
way to help them back.
So we are always
helping and supporting
each other.

I love my life!
God is good!

97/100 #12 Celebrate

Gratitude

Grateful for friends and family

and time out in nature today.

The Word

 Alma 25:17

"And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brothren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular."

On my heart...

Celebrating L's first birthday!

Celebrate your success!

Even if it is something

that seems small

and unimportant.

Every little step you

take and are able to

do is getting you closer

to your end goal.

It helps to celebrate

those small moments

because they remind you

that you are amazing

and brilliant

and can do anything

with Christ.

This is something

I'm going to work on

this week to help me!

I love my life!

God is good!