The real teacher

Elder and sister Nelson went back home today and I will travel tomorrow to Idaho and Nebraska Yay!! I can’t wait to meet Norah and Oliver. My post today is what I learned listening to sister Nelson at the last meeting she had with the women leaders here in the Philippines.

This was a three -hour meeting so I will divide her presentation in parts. I don’t write while I am away so the next post will be after we get back from this trip to to the US and later from our trip to Japan in March.

(This is part I)

Sister Wendy Nelson started the meeting by saying: “The Lord loves it when we get together to learn His Gospel. How many here work in the Relief Society please stand! Primary? Young Women? Now one of you come up and let’s recite the theme together. We are daughters…blessing of exaltation. Now do it in a different way. Let’s recite the young women’s motto filling in your name as the one saying it like I am Veronica Flores de Almeida a daughter of my Heavenly Father…etc.

 I am _______________________ a daughter of my Heavenly Father, who loves me and I love him. I will stand as witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places as I strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good works, Integrity and Virtue.

I believe as I come to accept and act upon this values, I will be prepared to strengthen my home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation. 

Post this young women theme on your bathroom mirror and say this every single day as you start your day.

Make sure to memorize this type of themes, and covenants word by word as if you were reading it for the first time. There are so many other covenants and promises we make during our lifetime when we are baptized, to when we enter the temple that we need to memorize those covenants we make because we are covenant people.

We can’t calculate all the contacts you have each day, thousands of people over the years… but what sets us apart from the rest of the world is that the Holy Ghost is speaking directed to you and me. He tells us of what we need to know individually.

Example: “At age 24 I was engaged to be married to this great guy who would write poems and songs about me. He seemed perfect for me. My family and friends loved him. He had a wonderful personality and fun to be around but I wasn’t too sure of marring him. I was attending an Institute class at the time and a teacher in the class asked what is the one question you need to get answered? He suggested to ake that question to General Conference each time because the Holy Ghost will let you know the answer as you listened. 

I had left my home in Canada so I had told my family I would tape all the conference talks to send to them. I got my recorder and as I listened to conference I asked the question: Should I marry him? Well, all the talks that day were about marriage. Amazing! And I distinctly remember the Holy Ghost saying to me, “Wendy, do not marry him.”  

When you get a strong prompting from the Holy Ghost, you will know because it is something unforgettable. You will remember the exact place where you were when you received that confirmation. It was very clear to me, I needed to break up with him so I ended the engagement. 

My family couldn’t believe it. They thought I was crazy. Although he told me he couldn’t possible ever live without me, he got married soon after we broke up and had three children… he was happy, I was happy for him but my family and friends thought I made a mistake since I was still single past my College days... I was actually single for the next 30 years. 

To make a long story short and I don’t know why I am telling you this story because It wasn’t in my notes but perhaps someone here needs to hear it, one day, I got a letter from my ex-boyfriend saying to me that I should be glad for not marring him because he was going to divorce his wife to pursue another life style as a gay man.

Fast forward, I was asked to teach a Relief Society class on marriage considering that I had study marriage all my life as a family marriage therapist I felt at least I knew what the experts had to say but I wanted to hear what the brethren had said at that Conference long ago, so I pulled out the recording to listen to it and Not one talk was on marriage. This is when I realized that whatever I had heard came from the Holy Ghost and not necessarily from what was actually said in those talks and to me that is more than proof of how the Holy Ghost give each one of us a “taylor-made” answer. 

What you learn today from me is not me saying it to you but it’s what the spirit wants you to know.  The Holy Ghost is the true teacher. ” And that is how she started her presentation. 

(to be continued)

Con amor,

Vero

   

Choices we make

Choices.  We make them almost every second of every day.  Some matter, some don’t.  Some have lasting consequences, some have next to no impact on our life.  The most important choices we make are the choices between right and wrong.  I also think those are the easiest ones to make if you know your values.  They may not always be easy to carry out, but when you have your values set they are at least easy to know what you should choose.

What tends to be harder are those decisions where there isn’t a clear cut right or wrong – a decision between two or more good things where you have to pick just one.  

For example, whether to go to one event or the other that are scheduled on the same night, or decisions on helping out with one service project or another when the two conflict, or decisions on whether to pursue one business opportunity or another where they are both good options but you can only pick one.  I think making the choice from two good options is incredibly hard! And often we can have the most anxiety making these type of choices.  

We make our pros and cons list and sometimes those help us see which is the better option, but many times the pros and cons are fairly equal and it comes down to guessing which is the best one. Last night I could have gone to either of three things: a ward Valentine's party, a celebration with the people from Daniel's work at the US Embassy or a Valentin's party with the Latin women Club. You couldn't go to all since they were all at the same time so I picked one and have to not stress too much if I made the right choice. We ended up going with the people from the office at the US Embassy. I wanted to attend the ward party because I like to support the efforts the Bishop and the Relief Society are doing on our behalf but Daniel felt that we needed to attend this other event we had paid a lot of money to attend and it sounded very interesting. 

The funny thing I have realized is that I often forget what these decisions started with – they started with two or three GOOD options.  Had it been one bad option and one good option it would have fallen into the category of right and wrong choices and we have already established that those are simple to decide on.  So when I am stressing over a decision between two or three good options I literally have to stop and tell myself that I started with three GOOD options!  So no matter which I choose it will be good.  Sure, one may end up being better but I will never know for sure going into it – so rather than beating myself up over it and having major anxiety over which way to go I have to stop and say “These are both good options so I need to just pick one and rejoice.”  That is why I love the following quote:

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; And for everything you gain, you lose something else.  It is about your outlook towards life.  You can either regret or rejoice.

Sure making a choice between three good options means that you might lose something but it also means you gained something.  So make the decision not to regret what you lost but rather to rejoice about what you gained.

con amor,

Vero

George Washington's Celebration

 Today was a busy day! We went to San Pablo in the morning to listen to sister Nelson give her presentation to the women there. The meeting lasted three hours so I am posting those notes I took on my "Seeds of Destiny" blog.

Later that day in the evening we went to a George Washington celebration at the US Embassy with some other people from public affairs of the Church. Our table resolved the game they were playing so we won the prize of umbrellas and drinking cups. There was a silent auction and sister Haynie got a nice vase. There was also a rifle and sister Haydee won the reward of a gift certificate at a beauty Salon. It was a fun evening even when getting there was hard because of the traffic. In honor of George Washington I want to share some of the post by another blogger because this is much better materia than what the speakers said in that meeting because people want to be politicly correct and they don't dare say anything about his character and his beliefs in God. 

"As President’s Day comes to an end I wanted to take a minute to pay tribute to George Washington, the President’s Day holiday was originally setup to honor. His story is an amazing one and the things he accomplished with his life are truly incredible. He was a man of integrity who didn’t seek after power or riches, in fact he refused to be paid for all his years of military service for his country. By the time the war ended he was the most beloved person in the country which he could have used to his advantage, but he didn’t. When his people begged him to be their king he refused because he understood that wasn’t in the people’s best interest. He didn’t seek for power or position, in fact he famously stated, “I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” And he meant it. He was a man of values and integrity and he spent his life in the service of his fellow man and his country and his God. So today I want to say Happy Birthday to this great man.

Here are a few of his inspiring quotes that I love:

“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.”

“I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.”

“Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do – then do it with all of your strength.”

“Although guided by our excellent constitution without the beneficent interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To Him, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of his special favors.”

“…It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of the Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor…”

“I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an Honest Man.”

The character of an honest man is without a doubt the title President Washington earned with the way he lived his life. And I, for one, am forever grateful for his sacrifice and his example and the incredible legacy he left behind that has blessed my life and the life of so many others." 

I hope we can always remember and play tribute to people who were such good role models like George Washington. 

No driving on Fridays

Today is Friday and that means that our car can't circulate during the day. If we go out it has to be after 7:00 p.m.  and that rule is in place because of the pollution in Manila. So Daniel was picked up to go to work and all the different things we managed to do like sneak in to hear Elder Nelson ( I will post on my "Seeds of Destiny" blog.)

We manage to find Elder Driggs and took picture to send to his mother. Later we attended the temple and went to the store to pick up some items we left behind yesterday at the bakery. Hard to believe but we bought some bread and empanadas but when we got home we realized we had left them  on the counter. I thought Daniel picked them up and he thought I did so we get home starving with the expectation of having some yummy empanadas, heat up the oven just to discover we can't find the empanadas. I was mad to say the least.  But today we managed to go back and by some miracle they had them there waiting for us to picked them up so it worked out in the end.  Daniel was even ably to go across the street from the story to get cash we needed also.

What I learned about today is to not get upset about small things like that. Why stress over things that truly don't matter. What I liked about going to the store today is that we didn't have to worry about driving and parking. We had a driver. Nice!

Con amor,
Vero

Agree to disagree

My visiting teacher Kim Morrison and I were talking about how hard is has become to teach our children and grandchildren the truths we know about the Family and our divine nature when they are not popular at this time we live in, so while we were talking this post I saw on Facebook came to mind.  Kim was explaining to me how hard it has been for her son to feel the rejection of some of his friends in school who don't include him anymore because they found out that he is a Mormon and they don't like our strong views on the Family which is very ironic because he is the one being judged. The million dollar question is, how do we deal with opposing views and still remain friends? 

This past Sunday, Elder Renlund spoke to stakes in the North America Northwest and West Areas of the Church about how members of the Church often are at odds with the views of the world. As a result, our beliefs and values often disagree with those of others. While this can be frustrating, Elder Renlund shared on Facebook ways we can disagree without being disagreeable and how we can learn to embrace differences. Check out this amazing counsel from an apostle of the Lord:

This past Sunday, I participated in a satellite broadcast for stakes in the North America Northwest and West Areas of the Church. One thing I felt impressed to share was a bit of advice from my wife, Ruth. She was a plaintiff’s attorney for 23 years. She was always working with others who strongly held different opinions than she. I was impressed by how two lawyers who were fierce adversaries in the courtroom could sit down calmly together and eat lunch. She said that she had learned early in her career to disagree without being disagreeable. She might say to opposing counsel something like, “I can see we are not going to agree on this issue. I like you. I respect your reasoned opinion. I hope you can offer me the same courtesy.” Most often, this allowed for mutual respect and friendship.

Our Church doctrine does not lend itself well to sound-bite debate and argument. But if we are allowed the opportunity to explain our belief in living prophets, the plan of salvation, and the ultimate destiny of all of Heavenly Father’s children, others will at least understand why we believe as we do, even if they disagree. After offering such an explanation and respectfully listening to another’s opposing viewpoint, it might be wise to say to someone who disagrees something like, “I can see we are not going to agree on this issue. I like you. I respect your reasoned opinion. I hope you can offer me the same courtesy.”

We may on occasion find ourselves in uncomfortable situations where we differ in doctrine with our acquaintances, friends, and family members. But the doctrine can never be used to justify treating others with anything less than respect and dignity. We can stand firm in our beliefs and have a loving relationship with those who hold differing opinions. It is never an either-or choice. We love and live our doctrine, and we love those who do not live it. We need not create false dichotomies. The late Elder Marvin J. Ashton shared this insight from an inspired leader: “The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.”

Con amor,
Vero

Nixon's birthday wish

Today our gorgeous grandson turned six. He is so cute! He is so much like his mommy Cristi. By that I mean, not only his physical but how he thinks.  I love this kid to the moon and back like they say. He is not only so adorable but he has the biggest heart. Every year he has a birthday according to mom, in lieu of birthday gifts,  he tells people to donate to a cause. This kid is extra special. I came across this reminder of how special we all are. Life is amazingly wonderful to our family and I feel incredibly blessed for all the good things it brought us. It brought you to be part of our family six years ago. You need to know how lucky and special we are compare to the rest of the world. Here is an example:

Nixon is aware of this and is willing to forgo toys to make this world a better place. Happy Birthday!!

Con amor,

mami Vero

Bazar day

This was a special day and very spiritual too. We had Elder Nelson visiting our area office so the contents of the devotional is in my other blog. "Seeds of destiny" where I only write about spiritual experiences. Elder Nelson was so kind as to acknowledged Daniel at the end of his talk. I felt so touched by all the nice things he said about Daniel.

Afterwards, I went with Jeana and Caroline to the famous Bazar they have once a month in the Philippines. This was my first time and wanted to go before my trip next week to the US but why did't I think of going later after Elder Nelson left the office. I wished I had stayed with Daniel at the office since Elder Nelson came there to spend a few more minutes privately. I don't know why I didn't think of that. I needed to cancel going since it was more important to be with Daniel but I don't know whey I didn't think of that. What was I thinking? Now it's too late! There would never be another chance like this one and to think that this is the reason why I have stayed in Manila or I would have gone to Idaho by now. Oh well, live and learn.

President's day

Dear family:

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day and for those in the US, we hope you are now enjoying a fabulous holiday weekend!

Over the past few weeks Daniel and I have been watching those very entertaining Presidential debates and how desperate they all seemed to be by attacking each other.  We both look at each other in amazement to think one of them will become the next President. It’s a little scary!  

 To commemorate this day Feb. 15^th 2016 which also happens to be my mom’s birthday, I will post some quotes from former Presidents as if my own mother was saying them; quotes with substance and wisdom.

“ We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.” Jimmy Carter

“ I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world” George Washington.

“ Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first..” Ronald Reagan

“ History in general, only informs us what bad government is.” Thomas Jefferson

“ Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to ach starts with education.” George H. W. Bush

“ Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” Dwight D Eisenhower

“ Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” Herbert Hoover

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“I leave you hoping that the lamp of liberty will burn in your bosom until there shall no longer be a doubt that all men are created equal.” Abraham Lincoln

“ It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry Truman

“ I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.” Abraham Lincoln

“ As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy

“ Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive.” Theodore Roosevelt

“ Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.” Thomas Jefferson

Those were the good old days when Presidents were people you looked up to as good role models. We can only hope right?

Con amor,

Vero