Hi Family!
I wish I could tell you EVERY detail of this week because it was just that good! We see so many miracles everyday! It’s interesting because often those miracles are so small that if you aren’t watching for them you might miss them. We just have learned to keep our eyes open.
It sounds like you are keeping busy! Good luck this week with the Wedding, and Easter, and farewells. Dad, I was waiting for your birthday week but it seems like you need this picture now. Ha ha. I saw it and I thought to myself, “Dad needs to see this.” Just know that I’m thinking about you and praying you through tax season.
Well this week we definitely had a spiritual “feast” with some incredible lessons! We were able to meet with the Randall family at the Livingstons. I hope you can meet them all someday. Nate Randall is a less-active and his wife has been investigating the church. Oh man, they have the most adorable three kids! Their oldest is eight and he is a gem! Seriously! He talked his mom into letting him read the whole Book of Mormon. She was a little worried because she doesn’t have any religious background and she didn’t know how to answer his questions, so we started them on the Book of Mormon reader. Well this week when we had our lesson on the Restoration Tyler says, “We read that in our book,” and proceeded to tell us the story of Joseph Smith. Kids are so smart! He had all the answers! We watched the movie about the Restoration and Crystal (the mom) totally lit up. The Spirit was so strong in that home! Sister Thacker and I were seriously walking on clouds the rest of the day!
We had a sweet lesson with Dennis too. We talked about having “real intent.” If we want Heavenly Father to answer our prayers we have to show Him we really want it! No half-hearted efforts will do for Him. We have to walk in faith believing that the answer will come. We promised him that if he came to church EVERY week and made plans to attend ALL of General Conference he would receive his answer. But Heavenly Father is going to hold us accountable for what he tells us so we have to be ready and willing to act. I’ve been pondering that lesson all week and re-evaluating MY half-hearted efforts I make sometimes. The conclusion is the same for us as members. If we wish to keep our testimonies, no half-hearted efforts will do. God wants our heart and he expects us to give it to Him!
Oh and guess who came to church! Finally! Gina and her whole family came! We called her before church and her mom said she was still asleep so we got her to wake her up and put her on the phone. We told her so could be late but she needed to come, so she did. See, it wasn’t so hard was it Gina! Ha ha. The Young Women were wonderful! They arranged to pick her up for the activity on Thursday at the Bishops and made sure she’d come next week. It was great!
And yesterday we had the neatest lesson with Ernest! We talked about Scripture Study and he shared his budding testimony with us about the Book of Mormon and the principles of the church. It was so tender! He explained how since he decided to start living the principles of the gospel he’s seen the blessings, like not going to jail. Seriously. Awhile back he had a friend that wanted him to go drinking with him and Ernest told him no and explained why he shouldn’t go drink either. Well his friend decided to go anyway, ended up getting arrested and spent some time in jail. Now that he is out he’s been coming to church with Ernest. :) Hopefully this week we’ll be able to set another date with him.
Oh one more I have to share! This week we had to take in the car to get some more maintenance done. While we were there one of the employees of the dealership came up and said he had recognized us from when we were there a few months ago. He said he would never forget us, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a wallet size picture of The Savior he had seen in our car and we had given him months ago. He told us he keeps it in his pocket and it’s what gets him through every day. “By small and simple means are great things brought to pass!” Isn’t that precious! There are so many small ways we have to share the gospel! Just keep your eyes open!
I am so grateful for the gospel! I’m grateful for the principles of the gospel (that keep me out of jail). But I’m especially grateful for our Savior! For the love He has for us! I love Him so much!
Have a good week this week!
Sister Painter
This is for you dad. . .
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