hope

Lesson Learned:
"There are those among you who, although young, have already suffered a full measure of grief and sorrow. My heart is filled with compassion and love for you. How dear you are to the Church. How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf)


I truly believe this with all my heart. 

Believe

Lesson Learned:

"God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill  your dreams, just as He always has.  But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream.  In short, He can't if you don't believe." 

-Jeffry R. Holland

Love

My sweet Aunt Leslie's words:
"I started this week in the wee morning hours of Saturday, November 26th pleading to the Lord to keep my sweet husband, Gary alive. We ended this week in the wee morning hours on Saturday, December 3rd praying for his release. Friday evening family gathered and we held a short family meeting where my Father shared some scriptures with us from the Savior's last hours. My elder brother then gave Gary a beautiful blessing for peace and release. Because of some delays caused by the necessary steps to be taken for Gary's wishes of being an organ donor, we waited for the call for the go ahead with removing respiration. We received that call around 1:00am. They removed respiration around 1:20am but he didn't pass until 6:48 am. It was painful to watch him struggling to hold on to life. But there was a sweet peace upon his passing. I can't even begin to imagine how Heavenly Father was able to watch his Son on the cross. What a beautiful message for me to turn to this same atonement for strength, comfort, and peace.
We have truly felt the prayers and love that have gone out in our behalf. It is only through these that I am still standing. Daniel and I returned home on Saturday evening. Carli & Bo have joined us for the coming week. I know many of you want to touch base but a few days without visitors will allow us to get our feet on the ground. We are just beginning funeral service arrangements but it looks likely to be held on Thursday, December 8th. I will check both email and text messages. We are so blessed. All is well."
Leslie Burt

Lesson Learned:


I have been amazed at what the love of a family can do.  It is no wonder the Lord's plan is centered on the family.  I have learned so much in the past few days, things that I will cherish forever and hold dear to my heart, things I probably should keep between me and the Lord. It has truly been a gift to see so close at hand the will of the Lord and His plan for His children.  He truly is a merciful God of all and His plan is perfect. My heart aches for Leslie and her dear children Chris & Giannina, Carli & Bo, Spencer (currently in England serving a mission for the Lord), and Daniel. They are an amazing family and have held strong together during this tragic time in their lives. I pray they each have the comfort and strength they need to withstand the heartache. 

“He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” 
― C.S. Lewis

Love is a powerful thing. The love of family. The love of friends. The love of our Heavenly Father. The love of the Savior. Love heals, binds, and gives hope.  His love is perfect and endless.  This love has been felt this past week in our family and we are extremely grateful. 

My uncle Ben posted a few pictures in tribute of a great man.  I don't know if everyone can look at them because it's his face book page but you can sure give it a try. Gary Burt- Fish on, my friend.

Beautiful Heartbreak

Lesson Learned:

Peace, faith, gratitude

Last week we found out my husband got the engineer slot in the Air Force, we have been waiting for a very long time (last March) to find this out. And in waiting, it's interesting the things that have happened that have prepared me for my future as a military wife. Even after he put in for the slot I STILL didn't love the idea of the military. I struggled, really struggled. It's hard to explain the emotions felt but lets just say it was not something I dreamed about as a little girl.

Something changed in the last few months. I don't know exactly when it happened but I know what made it happen. My feelings of fear, anger, sadness, and abandonment have almost all but left me. In their place, I have deep gratitude and peace. 

Gratitude for my Heavenly Father, Savior, family, friends, strangers I've crossed paths with, and my country. Especially for my Heavenly Father and Savior. I put my complete faith and trust in them. My whole future. No back up plan. And in doing that one thing, they gave me more then I even bargained for.  Not only did the Lord take care of me and reassure to me that He will ALWAYS be there to take care of me but He gave me many life experiences that has taught me some very valuable things the past couple months. My perspective on a lot things has changed, and to that I am deeply grateful. My days are filled with more joy because of this perspective. I am more grateful for the little things. Like that old guy at the grocery store who stopped to simply try and make my son smile. He will never know that because of him and his friendliness, I'm not scared anymore to go grocery shopping (because of the shooting by my house).  Silly but really.
I am proud to say that I am still nervous, but I am excited. I'm excited to see what my future holds and happy to be a military wife. To support my husband and my country. I have faith knowing the Lord's plan for my little family is important and that He will always be there along the way.

Lesson Learned:
"I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you." (John 14:18)
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)


A very very good friend of mine, some one who I look up to and that I hold very dear to my heart told this to me once (she knows who she is):

"Fear knocked
Faith answered
Nothing was there"


Faith is real. It works. The Lord is real. He is there. He answers prayers. And He will never leave us. I know that to be true because I have tried faith and have felt His guiding hand in my life. Even in the darkest moments. To that I will be forever grateful.

Change

I had an experience when I was younger that was really a defining moment on how I perceived change. And that is was a good thing. I had just had a summer of pure bliss with a really good friend.  Everyday was spent doing something unproductive and fun. I really felt I had gained a "best" friendship, so to speak. Then it seemed to happen overnight, suddenly we stopped hanging out and our friendship dwindled really fast. There were never any hard feelings or anything to end it. . .  it just stopped. I had a really hard time with this.  I kept thinking why something so great would just end.  Why couldn't that friendship be what it was forever. Then one night as I was praying I had this overwhelming feeling of happiness. And I realized a couple things. First, that change is good. Second, that sometimes Heavenly Father puts people into our lives for a specific reason and then when that reason has been fulfilled they leave. Simple as that. I look back and realize she was my friend at a crucial time in my life and helped me gain the confidence I needed to overcome future trials that were coming my way.


Lesson Learned:
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."
(Helen Keller )


I feel as though change is coming on. It's that same feeling I got when I graduated from high school. It's the same feeling I got when I started college, when I first met Brian, when I got married, when Porter came into our lives. Whatever the change may be, I still have a hard time with change, even though I know that it is a good thing. I just hope to remember that one good thing is ending to make room for another good thing later.

Repentance is like a pair of pants

When I was younger I came up with this analogy. I'm sure someone somewhere has come up with the same thing but as far as I know I haven't heard it yet. My husband thought I was crazy when I first told him about it. He gave me this look like here we go again,  Kim and her weird, random comparisons to life. Ha. In YW we have been talking about Repentance this month and it reminded me of my analogy.
Repentance is like a pair of pants:

1.    Recognize that your pants are dirty: Recognizing sin.

2.    Take the pants off: Stop sinning. Nobody wants to wear a dirty pair of pants.

3.    Put them in the washer: Going to the right source for help. Whether you need your bishop, parents, or just need to kneel down and talk to your Heavenly Father about it. Sometimes we stop the sin but don't take all the steps necessary for the forgiveness to take place. Just as sometimes our pants get thrown in a corner or stay in the laundry basket to be forgotten or not cleaned yet. We need to take them to the washer.

4.    Wash Cycle:  Represents the Atonement.  There are different types of cycles depending on the quality of the clothes. Just as we sin there are different severities and need to be taking care of in their specific needs.  When all is said and done the Atonement can make us clean once more. Some cycles are just more delicate then others. And some just take more time.

5.    Laundry detergent, bleach, and stain remover:  We can’t just expect a pair of pants to be put in the washer and become clean.  We have to put the effort into making them clean.  Just as you would put laundry detergent, bleach or stain removers in to ensure your pants will come out clean after the wash cycle, we as individuals need to make sure we are doing our part of the deal when we are asking for forgiveness. Reading our scriptures, daily prayer, attending church, fasting, and living the gospel to our best ability are steps we need to take in order to have the Atonement work in our lives. So we can become clean again.

6.    Dry Cycle: When the wash cycle is done it is important to dry your pants or they will become stiff, wrinkly, and uncomfortable to wear again.  Just as Heavenly Father forgives us it is also required of us to forgive ourselves.  When we are truly forgiven of our mistakes and when we truly forgive ourselves we have a sense of peace and comfort. We feel clean again. It is no longer a burden.  When your pants are dry from the dryer they are warm, wrinkle free, and soft once more. Ready to wear again.  

Lesson Learned:

The Atonement is meant to heal, it was never meant to be easy. It is meant to break us down and rid us of our stains. We are meant to feel “Godly Sorrow.” (Wash Cycle)

“God the Father is merciful and has infinite love for you despite your
faults. Only the voice of Satan will cause you to feel of no value. In
contrast, the Holy Ghost will cause you to feel 'godly sorrow' unto
repentance in a manner that fills you with hope of positive change."
(Anthony D. Perkins, "The Great and Wonderful Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 77)

french horn or a piccolo?

Lessons Learned:
"Truly, we may each be an instrument in the hands of God. Happily, we need not all be the same kind of instrument. Just as the instruments in an orchestra differ in size, shape, and sound, we too are different from one another. We have different talents and inclinations, but just as the French horn cannot duplicate the sound of the piccolo, neither is it necessary for us to all serve the Lord in the same way." 

(Mary Ellen Smoot)

"...No one else can do what you can do. Please do not compare yourself to others; rather bloom where you’re planted! "

 ( Janet Bradford)

"...Sometimes we question our promptings because of what I call the ‘smallness factor’.  We think that because the Lord wants us to do just a tiny thing that it is not important.  This is wrong..."

 (Janet Bradford) 

We each have our own specific purposes in this life. The Lord's work, ALL the Lord's work is important and of great worth to Him. It needs to be done. We are those that need to do it. No matter how big or small a task may feel it is still the Lord's work. I am grateful to know that as an individual, I am required to serve in my own way. 'No one else can do what I can do'  The Lord needs me over here while He needs you over there. It is all the same. It is His work. I hope to be better at 'blooming where I'm planted' so to speak. And use my talents and strengths to serve in my way. 

Butterfly

Sometimes I wonder why things have to be so hard at times. I feel guilty for feeling such ways when I know that each life experience is for our good.

Lesson Learned:
"The struggle to break out of the cocoon develops the butterfly so it can fly. Without that adversity, the butterfly would never have the strength to achieve its destiny. It would never develop the strength to become something extraordinary."
-Joseph B. Wirthlin

It isn't just for our good to have such hard times, it is vital for us to experience such things in order for us to become our full potential and live with Heavenly Father again. Without those experiences we could never have the strength to live the life we need to with Him. 

Hope

Lesson Learned:
"Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

When nothing seems to go right.

Lesson Learned:
"Sometimes things have to fall apart, so other things can fall into place."

Peace

"Life often feels like a great pile of obligations, frustrations, and disappointments. But the Lord is there, always the same, His arms still outstretched. When we feel overwhelmed, we have to remember the peace He has spoken to us on previous occasions. His peace brings comfort and strength; the world cannot give that to us."
(Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 111-12)

Lesson Learned:

"Peace is not the absence of conflict.  It is the presence of God whatever the conflict."