Family Goals for 2014

This past week we made goals together as as family for 2014:

Our family's goals for 2014

I know they are hard to read since they were written by my kindergartner so here they are:

1. As a Family: BE MORE POSITIVE
2. Read books as a family every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
3. Share More
4. Pray more as a family
5. Don't judge others

If we do these I know that we will have a successful 2014.  Wish as luck!

Abraham and Planting Trees

I was reading in Genesis the other day and came across this verse about Abraham planting a grove of trees in Beer-sheba:

And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.
 And Abraham sojourned in the Philistines’ land many days. (Genesis21:33-34)

Looking at other versions other than the King James’ Version and looking at the foot note for grove it looks like a better translation would be: tamarisk trees.

Now I never have heard of tamarisk trees, so looked up Wikipedia’s description:

tamarisk tree

They are evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees growing to 1–18 m in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla, is an evergreen tree that can grow to 18 m tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt and can also tolerate alkali conditions.
 The tamarisk is used as an ornamental shrub, a windbreak, and a shade tree. The wood may be used for carpentry or firewood. It is a possible agroforestry species.

So why did Abraham plant tamarisk trees, and why is this significant enough to write about it in the Bible?

Reading in the ENSIGN, the First Presidency Message entitled The Best Time to Plant a Tree, has part of the answer (for me at least):

An old proverb says, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”
 There is something wonderful and hopeful about the word now. There is something empowering about the fact that if we choose to decide now, we can move forward at this very moment.
 Now is the best time to start becoming the person we eventually want to be—not only 20 years from now but also for all eternity.

Abraham was very, very old at this time.  He probably knew that he would not stay there in Beer-sheba for 20 years or however long it took for the trees to get big.  So why did he plant them?  I think for two reasons:

First, He planted the trees for his children.  He might not see the trees be full grown and beneficial but his children and grandchildren will.  God had promised this land for his inheritance and even if he would not permanently inhabit the land his children would.  Now was the time to start working on his children’s inheritance.

Now is the time to do all I can to help my kids.  I want my kids to become good, happy and God-fearing Adults.  And just like a tree, now is the time to make it happen.  I need to teach them and nurture them now at the age of 6 and 3.  So when they are 26 and 23 they will be good, happy and God-fearing adults.

Second reason,  I think can be found in last part of the verse. It says that he “called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God” there.  Obviously there was no temple there.  But just like our leaders to day tell us, Abraham made his home a heaven.  We are repeatedly told to make our homes like a temple.  Because home is where we want to invite the Lord to be.  Abraham did this by planting trees.  He wanted to invite the Savior to be there and knew that the Spirit will abide in clean and wholesome places.  So he made is home that way.

In my own life, my father has always loved trees.  (I guess that is what happens when your major in college is botany.)  Everywhere we have lived he has had us kids planning and watering trees—hundreds of them!  But we always seemed to move long before the trees got big.  I realize know how much like Abraham my dad always was.  I know my dad loves the Lord.  I know he will do whatever God tells him to do.  And just like Abraham, he was planting—and having his kids plant—trees to teach his children to be better people.  And to make his home a better place so the God’s Spirit would want to be there.

Call to Arms

There is an on-going war occurring on earth right now.  It started a long, long time ago in heaven when Satan decided to not follow Heavenly Father. (See Revelation 12: 7-9)

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The war has not ended it has only changed locations.  The war is happening all around us right now.  If anything the fighting now is more vicious and the stakes are just as high.  But this war is not being fought with guns and swords but is being fought inside each and everyone of us.  The battle is an internal battle inside our souls.  The battle's victories and losses are determined by if we act on the promptings to do good or the enticings to do evil.  It is an internal battle to see if we are going to become better people by following our Heavenly Father or if we are going to kick-back and relax and say “there is no devil, anything we do is fine.” 

When I was a teenager I loved fantasy books like: The Lord of the Rings, or The Dragonlance Chronicles.  In these books there was a clear distinction between good and evil. Evil creatures were Orcs or Goblins or other hideous creatures.  While good creatures were Elves, or Hobbits or other pretty and clean creatures.  Really the only characters that could be either good or evil were humans.  But it was easy to tell the good humans because they were aligned with the elves and other pretty creatures.

Obviously here in the real world it does not work that way.  Evil looks pretty.  Evil is charming.  Living in sin and evil looks like the “good life.”  But it is not.  This is satan raging the war inside of us trying to convince us that wickedness is happiness.

So where am I going with all of this?

I have realized that I need to take sides in this war.  And there are only two sides to this war. We either with God and are doing our best to make the world a better place by:

1. Trying to keep His commandments
2. Helping the poor and needy
3. Spreading His word
4. Teaching our families about God’s plan
5. Avoiding temptation (it is so much better to avoid temptations as much as possible than it is to try and withstand temptations)

Or we are on satan’s side by doing nothing or worse yet, doing what we know to be wrong. Isaiah spoke of this in Isaiah 5:20

 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

So did Nephi (2 Ne. 28:20–27):

20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. 

22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. 

23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. 

24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! 

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! 

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost! 

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

Satan does rage in the hearts of some. Many he will lull away into carnal security; others he flattereth, or he says there is no hell. He has lured and enlisted many followers with enticements of fame, riches, and power. He has deceived many into calling evil good and good evil. He has confused many people, even nations and leaders, to the point of an immoral approach to moral issues.

Now is the time to decide which team we are on.  We made the decision before we came to earth to follow our Heavenly Father.  Now is not the time to decide to try and switch teams.  From a talk by Elder Durrel A Woolsey in the October 1995 General Conference, ten questions are given so that we can independently determine “who’s side we actually are on.”

As you survey your individual responsibility, where do you stand? There are symptoms or warnings of the descending path. Ten symptoms to be aware of might be:

• An increasing shortness of vision or an inability to see clearly things of a spiritual nature
• An ever-increasing callousness to things of God
• A hardening of the spiritual arteries—attention to spiritual needs moves from daily or weekly to monthly, then occasionally, then not at all
• An increasing dependence upon a growing army of psychiatric specialists instead of priesthood, God, and self
• An increasing independence from spiritual things
• An increasing number of friends with lower moral standards
• Quotes from talk shows instead of scriptures
• Raised voices in place of subdued tones
• Verbal, even physical, abuse replacing a circle of love
• Gradual acceptance of evil, not all at once, but a little bit at a time

With the new year just starting, I have made a commitment to be a little better.  To get on the Lord's Team and Stay There!  Actually when you really get down to it, Christ has already won!  Christ has already paid for our sins.  He has already conquered sin and death.  The only thing that remains is for me to decide if I am going to be on the side of the winners or the losers.