Potential.

Lesson Learned:
"When in situations of stress we wonder if there is any more in us to give, we can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed."
(Neal A. Maxwell)

"You were given this life because you were strong enough to live it."
(unknown)

Individual Worth

Lesson Learned:
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."
(Doctrine & Covenants 18:10)

"If only we could see ourselves the way God sees us."

We are great in the eyes of God. We need to treat ourselves as such.

I am His daughter

I recently heard this song on the radio and fell in love with it.  The words are so powerful and have truly helped me feel of more worth and recognize my divine potential as a daughter of God.

Lesson Learned:

Be sure to push pause on the music below to watch this video.

*I am His Daugther*

The photos in the magazines

Don't dictate who I'm supposed to be

The world can't recognize, all that I am inside

But I know in His eyes, I am a part of, the bigger picture.

{Chorus}

There's so much more to me 

He helps me see that I have so much to offer 

I am His daughter

He loves me the way I am,

He's my strength when I stand

He is my King, and my Father,

I am His daughter

The People on the TV screen, 

The leaders, rulers, and queens

I watch them shape the world,

And though I'm just a girl, I still know for sure, 

That I am a part of, the bigger picture

{Chorus}

And when I'm feeling small,

 And wondering if I'll ever, find courage to stand tall

Through His love I remember

{Chorus}

(by,  Nicole Sheahan)

small but significant

Ok, so this past weekend we just had General Conference for my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).  For some reason this specific conference hit me hard.  So many things were said that I really needed to hear. If I wrote them all down in this post it would be a novel, so I will post my feelings on it one post at a time, whatever I feel to be right at the time. Today this felt right. 


Lessons Learned:
"My dear brothers and sisters, it may be true that man is nothing in comparison to the greatness of the universe. At times we may even feel insignificant, invisible, alone or forgotten. But always remember---you matter to Him!...
...no matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances, how meager your employment, hoe limited your abilites, hoe ordinary your appearance, or how little your calling the Church may appear to you, you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He knows your humble heart and your acts of love and kindness. Together, they for a lasting testimony of your fidelity and faith...
...Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe in the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with perfect love...
...God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season---He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him..."
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf) His whole talk found here.


I am a wife, stay-at-home mother, beautician, sister, daughter, friend, and I serve in my ward as the Young Women Secretary. I live in a very small 1 bedroom condo. I am small and ordinary and at times I feel my life to be of no extra-ordinary significance... but I know that I matter. I am significant in the eyes of the Lord. I matter. You matter. I know this to be true. 

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. 

Treasures of Heaven

I had the opportunity to attend girls camp with my ward this past weekend. One evening we had a little fireside and a testimony meeting. Our theme for girls camp was "Seek ye the treasures of heaven." (Everything was pirate themed) Our guest speaker gave a great talk.

He started by showing us this painting that was very old and explained how this painting was a treasured family heirloom. He then asked someone to hold the painting for him up while he explained how this painting became apart of his family and the importance of it. And how he had inherited it after his mom died and he now is the coveted owner of the painting in his family. The person holding the painting (who happened to be my husband) slipped and accidentally dropped it in the fire. Shock. Everything went silent. Not knowing what to do someone finally attempted to grab it out of the fire. The look on the speaker's face was enough to make anyone want to cry with him and jump into the fire yourself to save such a thing. It was a horrible feeling. The speaker stepped aside with his painting, clutching it in his arms looking at the damage. It was all burned. It was damaged. Blackened from the flames. It seemed as if the world had just stopped moving and silence took over. Then he threw it back in the fire and explained that this painting was just a $2 painting that had no meaning to him. Oh my gosh. Seriously. Then he told one more story as we are all sitting there in shock.

He told a story of a fire fighter that arrived at a barn that had been burned beyond repair. As he entered the rubble he noticed a hen still alive surrounded by soot and ashes from the fire. This hen had all her babies clutched under her wings, still alive. The mother hen had saved her babies through the fire.

In the scriptures the Savior uses many parables to help teach us, one of these is he is compared to a hen and we are the chicks. 

Lessons Learned:

As we are trying to find the treasures of heaven, trying to live the gospel, we are becoming like the Savior. We are His treasures.  The hurt I felt for the speaker and the burnt painting was great, I can only imagine the pain he must have felt. Just as we are the Lord's treasures, I can only imagine the hurt and pain He feels as we make choices that in a sense is like throwing our spirits in the fire. Burned and torched. But it also brings me hope knowing that has the mother hen was able to protect her baby chicks from the fire. The Savior sacrificed, atoned for our sins, and died for us so that He might be able to at times protect us from the fire but also heal us when we are burned and torn. Seek ye the treasures of heaven. For we are the His treasures.  

"...The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; BUT they are numbered unto me, for they are mine." (Moses 1:37)

We are of importance. We are treasures. We are His. His treasures. May we do all we can to strengthen our value. 

I don't matter, I am needed

I was reading my friend's blog and it caught me off guard. The post was titled "My mom doesn't tell me I'm pretty" you will find the whole post here. She asked her mother why she didn't ever tell her she was pretty or smart when she was growing up. And what her mother was trying to teach her because of it. And this was her mother's response:
"That you, in and of yourself, are not nearly as important as the good you do for other people.  You may have to use your brain and your looks to make it through life, but at the end of the day, it isn't what your face looks like, or if you graduated from college, it is what you sacrificed to help someone in need.  No beauty, no degree, no accomplishment will make me as proud as knowing that my children know how to love and serve those around them."


I have been having a really hard time with some emotions recently. I got my "feelings hurt" so to speak, and I really have been letting it get the better of me. I swore I wouldn't let that happen when the feelings got hurt, but seeing that I am no where near perfect I let it get the best of me. And in return it has been affecting my actions. I have been less willing to serve in certain situations.  So many things have happened this month that have been "eye openers" or as I would like to call them "tender mercies" for me.


Lesson Learned:
It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter how pretty, smart, funny, dumb, ugly, and so forth, you are. It matters what you do with yourself. It matter who you serve. How often you serve. And why you serve. 
"Our lives are a gift from God. What we do with that life is our gift to Him."
I would like to share something a little bit more personal, which I normally wouldn 't do, but I feel strongly I should share it. I was recently given a Priesthood blessing because of an illness I had a couple weeks ago, in the blessing I was only expecting something on how I was sick but this statement was said: " Kimberlee, the Lord relies on you to help those around you."
I don't matter, I am needed. I am grateful to be needed. And I will try my best to do all that I can to fulfill that need. I hope to be quicker to forgive and not so easily offended in the future so that I can focus more on what work the Lord has for me to do. I hope to not let the less important things matter more then what really matters most. As the Mormon Ad would say:" It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

His Child, His Love, His Life

I was reading my friend's blog today and I really appreciated what she had to say. To read the whole post click here. I recommend reading it :)  (The post isn't titled so scroll down for her "March 3, 2011" post)

She talked about being a child of God and feeling of the love He has for us. And that He loves all. I recently had an experience where I felt such love. Such overwhelming, almost felt unworthy of it love. It's hard to sometimes revert back to the simplicity of the gospel. The simplicity of being a Child of God. And yet there is so much more depth to that statement then we will ever know. But because we are a His children, we are loved by Him.

Lesson Learned:
"Then. Then I remembered a tangible concept taught in a recent Relief Society activity. The speaker discussed how the worth of a painting is based upon the price a buyer will pay for it. A mother may pay a huge sum of money for her child's finger painting, because it is her child. An art collector may pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for an original DaVinci, because to the art collector it is worth that money. The same goes for me, as an individual for whom the Atonement was completed. Because Heavenly Father paid the price of His only Begotten son for me, I am worth something to Him. Because I am His child, my finger painting is worth the price of His Son." 
(Jessica Brinkerhoff)

Youth

"I want to say to...the vast majority of the youth of the Church... around the world how extraordinarily proud we are of you. Moral and physical danger exists almost everywhere around you and temptations of a dozen kinds present themselves daily, yet most of you strive to do what is right...I wish to raise my voice in praise of you, to express 

my love, my encouragement, and my admiration for you."

-Jeffrey R. Holland

Lessons Learned:
1.I have great youth in my ward! I am so grateful for their examples to me and strength they have to conquer each challenge that faces them.
2.If the Youth can conquer their challenges, I can conquer mine.

Virtuous Women

This past week we did a really fun activity for Young Womens. Our theme for this month is Virtuous Choices. So we had some virtuous women of the past come and speak to our girls.

We had Eve, Mary, a Stripling Warrior's Mother, Emma Smith, and Queen Esther talk. I think the girls liked it, or it could have been because they were making fun of our bad acting skills and silly costumes. I thought it ended up being a very spiritual night. We had the room only lit by lamps to kinda tone down the mood for the night. It was a big success.

Lesson Learned:
 I chose to be a Stripling Warrior's mother because of their obedience to the Lord. I can't imagine first not being able to defend for your life and second sending your son to battle not know if he would ever return to you. What a hard covenant to be obedient to. They were so brave.  I felt I could relate to this the most out of all the other Virtuous Women. I know that I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and son because of my obedience to the Lord.  There was a point in my life that I wasn't making the best decisions. It was when I asked for forgiveness and changed those things about my life the Lord blessed me. He blessed me with Brian. I have been so happy ever since.  I know my happiness has come from obedience to the Gospel.  I know I didn't have to worry for my life or send my son out to battle to keep a commandment but there definitely were hard moments and choices I had to make. People to say goodbye to. But the Lord knows best. He always will. I'm grateful for this activity and for the lessons it taught me.

Be That Woman

Lesson Learned:
“Women of God can never be like women of the world.  The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.  There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.  We have enough greed; we need more goodness.  We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.  We have enough popularity; we need more purity.

(Margaret D. Nadauld CR Oct. 2000)