Isaiah 25:18

"He will swallow up ^adeath in ^bvictory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the ^crebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it."

This is one I came across for an upcoming Sunday School lesson. I chose it after I had a conversation today with someone who told me that she wouldn't ever want to be made comfortable at the end of her life. She wanted to live as long as possible. Death was too scary. I told her that it was not so scary. It was just a new beginning. The knowledge of the Savior's victory over death brings such great peace to my life. I am so grateful to Him and will continue to strive to follow in the paths that He would have me take.

Isaiah 1:19

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

I have always loved the imagery of this verse. It is nice to know that the Lord is not only always there for us but has paid the ultimate price for anything we could ever do. By following his plan for us, he will clean us and make us pure. It is that process which will bring true joy to our lives. It is that joy which we are asked to sure with those around us.

Isaiah 4:5-6

•"And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory [of Zion] shall be a defence.

• And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. "

A few years back I was reading this scripture, trying to understand what it meant. I read it a few times and then it was as if the curtain was opened over the window of my mind and I could see clearly. I realized that the Lord was telling me that my own home could and should be as sacred as a temple. It should be a place where my children feel safe, where the spirit of the Lord could reside and through which he could reveal his will for us. It can be a struggle to keep such a spirit in our home all the time, but we keep trying. If we rely on the Savior, he'll make it happen.

Doctrine & Covenants 19:23

"Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me."

Rachael used this scripture today as her devotional in seminary. What greater blessing can there be than to have peace in the Lord? Truly, then we will be happy. Today I had some good moments of patience and others that were lacking. Walking in the meekness of His spirit is certainly harder for me than it seems it should be. I need to be a listener, especially to my children. I tend to tell them what I want them to do without much thinking about what they are thinking, feeling and struggling with. Certainly the Lord doesn't lecture me much, but he is always there to listen. I will work on being a better listener.

Jeremiah 16:16

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them. And after will I send for many hunters and they shall hunt them, out of the mountains and out of the hills and out of the holes of the rocks."

Just one I picked out of a pile this morning. It had me thinking that no matter where we are, what we have done, the Lord will send someone to find us. We are never alone and he knows what we are doing. He knows our thoughts, are struggles and will help, even when we may not want it. I am grateful for his love in my life.

Scripture of the Day

If you are anything like me, it is hard to do all that we know we should. We have been much better as a family about praying together lately and it has been a huge blessing. We have not done so well with scripture study, so I though I would use this format to share a brief thought about a scripture a day.

Today I read James 1:5-6. If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him, but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like the wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.

My thoughts turned to my parenting skills, or lack thereof. I get frustrated with myself and know that I need to be a better father, but don't always know how. I was reminded today to get on my knees and ask for help and then be willing to listen and respond to the answer. We'll see how it goes.