into their hearts Helaman 6:15-41

Helaman 6:15-41

As children of God we have a

different perspective about our journey here on earth. As children of God we recognize the importance of understanding our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, and our hearts. As a mother to six beautiful and wonderful children I am aware of how important it is to protect what enters the hearts of my children. I have always taken my job as protector seriously. Sometimes it causes others to think of me as a pain, but this is my job. I did not bring these souls to earth for vanity or to allow them happenstance. I brought them here as a God given mission to help each one of them reach their full pot

ential, to help each one of them understand their heritage, their gifts, their perspective and their bodies. This would be one reason why I blog. I want to keep my children's hearts close to God. I want them to hear my testimony. I want them to know that my life has been a testimony of many things.

How do we protect o

ur hearts? There are so many diverse ways in which a heart can be led away from our God. There are many good educational forums that teach us of our bodies, our psyches,( a link to something I was reading today on autism), and our professions. But how many teach us to remember the spirit that dwells within us? Where can we turn when our soul is in need of comfort? To whom did God give the job of teachin

g, of comforting, of loving and of nurturing. Mothers. And to where should mother's find their strength?

Who do we co-create with? God.

Each of my children express themselves with unique strengths. When my MathMom was growing up she had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and reading. To this day, I turn to her for suggestions on books that will broaden my thoughts. Two books she suggested have changed the course of my life: Outliers and The five Love Languages My LacrosseSon always enjoyed his friendships and social gatherings. His desire and ability to serve others and bring people together has been showcased in his leadership within the Utah Lacrosse community both as a coach and now as a member of the Board of Directors. He has a unique gift with understanding what motivates people. As my LanguageLady grew her love of music translated to language and she has been able to use to help so many learn both a better way of life and how to teach others a better way. Her passion for family and communication was recently very much appreciated when she created and inspired our own family blog where we share memories, experiences, and bonding. My CrossCountryChic's love for biology (particularly the ocean) has kept our family enjoying the outdoors and always exploring nature. I have fond memories of her exploring our family rose garden and tiptoeing through the tulips. Her vivacity and curiosity for life is contagious and her ability to comfort and HELP others in need is a gift from God took her to Guatemala. I always appreciate her ability to bring joy and relaxation to our home. Our GolfGirl perspective on life has taught us about life. Her trials from an early age bonded her a deeper understanding of what is important. She has a great gift for art that she has yet to develop. I have seen it in her love of color, of animals, and her desire to be close to the part of life that brings us all together as a race, self-expression. My GuitarGuy has a love for people and musical art that helps our home-life thrive. We are enjoying watching him grow gracefully into his teenage years.

As I read these verses today, I was reminded of how I have worked so tiressly to protect the hearts of my family. As we face each of the struggles that life brings our way, we must each inventory our own talents and shortcomings. As we enjoy blessings we must each remember to give our hearts thanks to the God of our Earth and soul who has seen fit to bestow them on us. When we allow our hearts to center upon other sources of direction, strength, and information, we find that we begin to lose the power of Spirit that can come from no other source than God and his creations.

Words and Phrases

vs 16 the people began to grow exceedingly wicked - I.E. they begin to forget their spiritual roots, their voice of reason, their desires to serve and listen to others. They forgot to comfort, encourage and build one another up.

vs 17 riches... stirred up to anger... hearts on the riches... I go back to my quote

When one discovers the true meaning of contentment, they let go of the need for contention.There is a fine line between contentment and contention.

vs 20 there were robbers among them - when a family, a society discovers there are robbers among them, it is a clear sign that something is wrong. Something has not been taught, something is being taught that leads the hearts away from that which is good and right. In my own family I have seen this. I have (like the Lamanites) used everymeans in my power to teach the truth so that the robbers would be no more.

vs 21 stir up the hearts - when a heart is stirred up.. who can calm it but the truth and peace of righteousness. Hearts that are stirred up lead to robbers, murders, secret societies, plundering, stealing

vs 28 hearts of the people - here we understand that in order to get into the hearts of the people you must first find passage into "their hearts" of one person, one family. When we do not follow our Savior, we learn to follow another, voice, path, piper, ? It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children as the Savior teaches us.

vs 31 he got ahold of the hearts - God does not get ahold of our hearts, he expects us to give him our hearts. He expects us to yield to his call and come to him. Only Satan will take our hearts and lead us to addictive behaviors, to wickedness that traps and snares us, to the point where we no longer respect, teach or understand the commandments of God. Rather we turn our hearts to idols that give nothing, bring nothing, and promise nothing but mayhem.

vs 32 not many years - Why does it take such a short time for families to fall into wickedness? Why are we blinded so easily to what we hold dear to our hearts? Why do we fail to listen to God? There are so many ways families can be lead astray. Children bring home the new "fad" from school, parents watch the new "show", etc...

vs 35 And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw - When the spirit withdraws from our lives, we are left to our own strength, intelligence and devices. When the spirit withdraws we discover we are no better than the common man who lives each day in vanity. (see Ecclesiastes) We are not sent here to earth for vanity. There is a higher purpose. All mothers know this because at that time of birth, when they look into the eyes of their newly delivered spirit, an eternal spark ignites within us, and we know we are here for divine reasons.

vs 37. hunt the band of robbers - in my own life the band of robbers that came to steal my children's hearts came not in a physical band of people, but rather in the form of a video addiction. It led to the changed behaviors of family members. It led to the downward spiral of our family's self esteem. It has been one year since I have banned the use of video games and their insidious influence in our home. The year has seen a great rejoicing as we have hopefully "utterly destroyed" the Gadianton Robbers from within the walls of our home.

What do you allow into your hearts? Will I always have place for God in my heart?