Category: God’s Hand

I had a dream last night. Here are the details I can remember:

• I’m the best player on the basketball team. Our game is scheduled to start very soon.
• I couldn’t seem to find my basketball shoes so I could play in the game.
• I found an alternate pair, but the laces were too short and messed up. I put them on anyway.
• I finally get down to the game and it’s almost halftime.
• My coach looks at me and sees that I’m still trying to tie my shoes. He gives me a look that communicates he was looking to sub me in, but now he can’t cause I’m tying my shoes. I tell him I just need another minute. He must have seen me struggling because he came over to help me.
• My laces are too short and look ragged. Coach sends me to get new ones in the store connected to where we are playing.
• For what seems like forever, I run though the store trying to find laces.
• I also start to prepare a spaghetti meal: noodles with mozzarella cheese.
• I was never able to get the meal together for some reason. So, I tried eating the cheese by the handful and never really got any noodles.
• I was never able to find any sho laces either.

What does this dream mean? The only thought I have is that I’m not prepared for something that may be coming soon.

President Nelson’s “Now is the Time to Prepare”

I thought to search for President Nelson’s recent talk about revelation, I found this talk on preparation first: Now is the Time to Prepare (https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2005/04/now-is-the-time-to-prepare). It was given just after his wife died. It talks about not procrastinating to repent as a step to prepare to meet God.

President Nelson’s “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives”

The talk I initially was searching for is called: Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives (https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/04/revelation-for-the-church-revelation-for-our-lives).

• ‘Said President Lorenzo Snow, “This is the grand privilege of every Latter-day Saint … that it is our right to have the manifestations of the Spirit every day of our lives.”’
• ‘One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will.’
• ‘Imagine the miracle of it! Whatever our Church calling, we can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own.’
• ‘If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small.’
• ‘If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.’
• The process:
  1. ‘Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.’
  2. ‘Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart.’
  3. ‘And then listen!‘
  4. ‘Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.’
• ‘As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”’
• ‘Does God really want to speak to you? Yes! “As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course … as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.” (D&C 121:33)’
• ‘I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” (D&C 42:61)’
• ‘As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, “To those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe!”’
• ‘Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work.’
  1. increased purity
  2. exact obedience
  3. earnest seeking
  4. daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon
  5. temple & family history work
• ‘I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek.’
• ‘Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow.’
• ‘Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again.’
• ‘We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory.’
• ‘But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.’
• ‘My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation.’
• ‘Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.’

Shelby received her Patriarchal Blessing this afternoon at 1:30p. It was given by Brother Bruce Schreiner; he’s a really neat guy. The blessing was beautiful and I hope it will serve as a source of encouragement and hope for Shelby. This is a another example of a gift that Heavenly Father & the Lord Jesus Christ have given us to help on our way.

Roxy Lewis, the daughter of Doug & Jessica Lewis (now sadly divorced as of last week), needed a blessing today. I was able to help and be voice. She’s been having appendicitis symptoms, but he doctors say it’s not that. The blessing talked about healing her body and also her mind. The general impression that I have is that whatever is bothering her mind is causing the physical pain also.

Today, I got to follow Walker to his two basketball games. It was fun to watch. The first they won, the second they didn’t. Walker plays pretty consistently; he works extremely hard, is disciplined to box out, plays great defense, and shoots well (although not usually often enough). The second game was against a team named Stance Elite. They are currently ranked 12th in the whole country. They killed us by 50; Walker had to guard the 6’8″ 230lb center. It was a tough fun learning experience.

I then went to watch Abby run at BYU in an indoor meet. She did pretty well finishing her part (1500m) of the DMR with a 5:14 time. She was fine with it as a first race.

We also met Abby’s team mate’s family, the Geddes’. They are very cool. They see the COVID situation and the world just like we do. It was really refreshing and a blessing. We chatted for at least 30min as if we’d been friends for years. I can see us spending more time with them in the future.

Willy’s team lost in overtime tonight. They shot poorly, but it was till an emotional battle. A tender mercy came before the game. I had twenty minutes to get pizza and be back before the game started. If you’ve ever been to our Little Caesar’s then you know that’s impossible. Well, it happened today.

Chloe also played today in varsity and JV. She played awesome in Varsity. It’s fun to see her rise up and get used to varsity.

I’ve been talking to Michael Dabriel about the loss of his granddad. The conversation always has some faithful component to it cause my faith helps me deal with really hard things. Michael’s grandmother is also a believer. Well, today Michael mentioned that he might try praying again. It was a cool few minutes. I got to tell him about how the Spirit might talk to him to answer his questions of if God exists. He also told me about a vision his grandmother had about his grandad coming to her while he was in the hospital asking what he needed to do to become good with God. I felt the spirit when he recounted the experience. He asked if I thought it was true. I said immediacy, yes. I told him about how the fruits of the Spirit and how it testifies of truth. It was a fun discussion. Maybe Michael will try praying.

Abby runs at BYU on Saturday. She has been congested for a few days and so she was worrying if she’d fall ill and not be able to compete. I asked Paula this early this afternoon if she’d heard from Abby and she said no. Then about an hour later, Abby called and we got to talk about her classes and how she’s feeling. It was meaningful for me; she values my opinion. Thanks Lord for helping her think to call me.

I went to lunch with Dan Duckworth today. It was good to catch up. We talked about a number of tough things we are dealing with like Covid pneumonia and potentially recurring thyroid cancer. I felt the Spirit a number of times. It was a nice conversation. You really don’t know from looking at someone what they are going through. It’s easy to let the adversary convince you that everyone else’s life is perfect and void of struggles and while yours is crashing and burning. We discussed the need for faith and to push out fear, and always believe that a loving Father in Heaven and Savior are there to help us success as long as we turn to them.

My study in the Book of Mormon was in 1 Nephi and reinforced that the Lord will provide for and deliver us when we keep his commandments and do what he asks us to do.

Paula ordered some workout pants a month ago. They never came, so when Paula called Customer Service to enquirer, they just cancelled the order because it was lost, refunded her money, and told her to buy another pair. Fortunately, the style she wanted was still available. Today, both pairs arrived. She got two for one I guess.

Today was Nikki Smith’s home coming talk. She did a good job. I setup the nice camera for the livestream so I could record Nikki’s talk and the musical number. The livestream was tough cause the building internet connection keep dropping, but I recorded it and shared it later on ss4th.org.

As I was cleaning up the livestream equipment, Brian Kirkby came up to me and asked if I was still open to new job opportunities. I said yes and he told me his brother is a VP of Engineering at Nice InContact and they’re hiring director level people. This unexpected invite seemed like and answer to my prayers. I’ve been asking the Lord to help direct me in regards to work. I’m not saying this is my next job, but I think it’s a message that the Lord is going to help.

It was nice to have a Saturday that wasn’t busy. I was able to study the Book of Mormon and prepare for my sacrament meeting talk. I started later than normal and spent more time. I was also able to manage the kids so Paula could workout without interruption or distraction.

I did the Costco run. I ran into Michael and Julie Ward. They have 4 children ages 8 to 14. They seem to be doing well. It was fun to chat with them for a while. I was uplifted by them. They are great people and I’m grateful for their friendship.

Walker had two basketball games. Paula went to the first at 5p and I attended the second at 7p. The first game was painful and not many points were score. Walkers team still won, but they appeared rusty. The second game was much better. The team played better together and hit shots. At one point, they were up by 16. A second half lull allowed the competition to work its way back to within 4 points, but we pulled it out. It was fun to watch.

We finished the night watching the end of a Hallmark movie. It’s a Christmas time tradition that we are slow to let go in the new year. The story was heartwarming; that’s why we like them.