General Conference Miracle

General Conference weekend!!  During this weekend our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, along with many other General Authorities broadcast spiritual messages of inspiration and revelation over internet, satellite, and television to the entire world membership- translating that message into 92 languages.  There are over 14 million members including 65,634 missionaries serving throughout the world.  We watch three 2-hr. sessions on Saturday (one of those is just for the men), and two 2-hr. sessions on Sunday.  

This weekend takes place twice a year, and our family always looks forward to the messages we'll hear.   We prepare by praying that our hearts will be open to know the improvements we should make in our own lives.  I am always comforted by many of the messages feeling as if the speakers are talking just to me!

Yesterday, the unexpected happened....

Abe set up our projector to show conference, and the children were all in the family room ready to watch it.  Mariah brought milk and cups in for everyone so that nobody would have to leave to get a drink, and the boys all had their notepads and pencils ready to take notes.  

It was 5 minutes before start time, and Abe and I had just started a disagreement over a silly matter.  We both became frustrated.  The choir was singing, and conference was starting!!  We hadn't resolved our concern yet, so we kept talking!  Right then, one of the kids came around the corner and said, "Why are you guys letting Satan stop you from watching General Conference?"  

Ouch!!  It hurt to hear that, but of course it was the adversary because we had absolutely no problems all morning until 5 minutes before we would hear our prophet's message!!  We had been waiting for General Conference to start for 6 months- why were we letting a silly matter keep us from watching? 

Still feeling grumpy but trying to be humble, we both sat down to listen to the opening prayer.  After a couple of talks on forgiveness, repentance, the importance of marital relationships, and Satan's attempts to destroy the family, I felt like they were giving the talks just to me again.  Abe and I apologized to each other from across the room... to which the children gave their (parental) smile of approval.  

We had a beautiful, uplifting experience watching conference today because two miracles took place... 

*The exact message I needed to hear was spoken right when I needed to hear it.  Because we chose to listen to God's word, God's miraculous power softened our hearts and sent the negativity away.

*The other miracle was that our children recognized whose influence it was that started our disagreement, and they also understood why that negative influence was trying to enter our home at that particular time. 

I believe that when something really great is about to take place... baptism, marriage, scripture study etc., the adversary tries extra hard.  I don't like to talk about the adversary, but I do believe it is important to recognize that he is real so that we can better fight his influence. 

I'm grateful our children understood the cause of our conflict and had the courage to bring it to our attention.  

I'm also grateful that we can send that ugly influence away quickly and simply by humbly calling down the powers of Heaven.

A Body of Strength in Christ

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to the students at the Institute of Religion at the University of Michigan.  I spoke on the subject of Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things in Christ which strengtheneth me."

I love that scripture!!  As I prepared, I kept envisioning a body of strength, so I spoke on what and who should be in our heart, mind, and body in order to be truly strengthened.  This image of a body kept returning to my mind, and I thought I might use my oldest child Jackson as my body of strength.  My plan was to tape my topics on his personal body.  I even had my posters made to do it; but it was just a thought, and I never asked Jackson if he would be willing to be my "body."

Before I actually spoke, Abe and I decided that it might be better to send the kids upstairs to a play area, so we wouldn't have to worry about keeping them quiet.  I knew I wouldn't have Jackson's help, but I figured he would enjoy being with the children upstairs.  I thought to myself, "Maybe I didn't need that part of my talk after all."

Just as I was about to start speaking, Jackson came back down the stairs and sat beside me.  He said, "It felt dark and sad upstairs, and I felt like I wanted to come hear you talk instead."  Surprised, I said, "Jackson, I was hoping you would be here because I really wanted you to help me during my talk!"

He did help me, and he did fabulous.  Out of all my children, the one whose help I had wanted, returned.  It was special to me as I realized the Spirit had guided him.  Even more important though was the look on his face when he realized that he had followed the Spirit.  He had the sweetest look of understanding that God really does communicate with us.

Even later that night, on our two hour drive home, out of the blue Jackson said, "Mommy, I'm really glad I was there to help you today."  Once again, his face said it all... he knew that the Holy Ghost had spoken to him, and he had followed.

For a mother to see her child recognize the Holy Ghost's influence is one of the most beautiful things in the world.  My hope is that my children will have enough experiences while in my immediate care; so that when they go off on their own, they will have the knowledge and faith to turn to and listen to the One/Ones who have never failed them...  God, their perfect Father in Heaven... God, their Savior and older brother, Jesus Christ... and God, the Holy Ghost, who constantly whispers guidance and comfort to their hearts.

I Love to See the Temple

Today our family is traveling to Detroit to go to the temple.  We are excited to go- it's a 2 hour drive away, so we haven't been in a while.  Tyson, my 9 year old, wrote this story yesterday and asked if he could post it on my blog.  He didn't even know yet that we were going to the temple when he wrote it!

Our children entered the temple when our baby Jayden was sealed to our family in November through the miracle of adoption, but they will not be able to enter again until they are 12 years old and ready to make a deep commitment to their Savior, Jesus Christ. 

 I don't think it was a coincidence that he wrote about how much he loved his picture of the temple on the day before he would actually be able to see the temple. Just looking at the temple makes the children happy... me too.  

These are his words:

DAILY MIRACLES

MY TEMPLE CARD

In 2010 I got a temple card for Easter.  I kept it for about 3 years.  Then I gave it to my brother. 

I loved the temple card.  I loved it enough to give it away.

  When you love something, it doesn’t mean you don’t want people to touch it, or look at it. 

When you love something, it means you share it!  It’s you letting them look at a beautiful picture.

I love looking at pictures of the temples.  They remind me of Jesus.  They remind me of what He did for us.

  

  

The Miracle That Set My Course For Life

God gave me a miracle as a 5 year old little girl that has maintained my firm faith in Him my entire life.

We lived in a 2-story log home deep in the country surrounded by forest.  We had a big beautiful garden, a small pond close by, berry bushes for picking, and I remember a field of flowers.  There was also a large squared-off area of flowers beside the garden.  My mom worked extra hard to keep this area special and beautiful.   I loved that home and the nature surrounding it!

It was nearing the end of the summer, and my dad and brothers were gathering up the dead brush from the garden to burn it.  They didn't realize how dry the rest of the field was, so the fire spread quickly beyond the dry brush and began to burn the good parts of the garden.   I remember the panic that ensued.  Family members ran back and forth with pails of water yelling at everyone to hurry!!  I watched the fire quickly move towards Mom's special area of flowers, and I got really worried.

I stopped in the middle of the path of my brothers and sister running with water, and I prayed.

I remember well what I said in that prayer:  "Dear Heavenly Father, please oh please bless that my mom's special flowers won't burn.  She worked so hard on those."  As I prayed I heard my brother yell, "Rachel, what are  you doing?  Get some water!!"  I quickly closed my prayer and looked up towards my mom's flower garden.

I saw the fire burning in an exact line edging my mom's special garden of flowers.  The fire even made a 90 degree turn around the second edge of the flower garden.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  The fire did not touch her flowers!!

Then, I heard somebody yell that the fire was heading towards the forest!  I prayed again asking God that the fire would not reach the forest.  Right then, 2 very old men came walking over from down the street and started hitting the fire with their canes along the edge of the fire.  The fire died down just as it reached the edge of the forest.

I don't think I ever did get a pail of water.  I was in awe of the miracle I had just witnessed.  Nobody even noticed the miracle of the flower garden.  Everybody else had too much common sense; they were doing the practical thing- getting the water!!  Getting the water was definitely necessary, but God was mightier than all the pails of water put together.

I hardly ever share this experience.  My own mother didn't even know about the miracle that day, but this experience is one of my keystones that has held my faith in God my entire life.  I always knew that God was listening and still performed miracles... even for a stunned little girl who didn't know how to get a pail of water.

Because of this experience, I have always known that God cares about the little things... like the flowers.  I have always known that I could pray to my Heavenly Father and put all of my faith in Him.  Since then, I have endured many difficult challenges; and when I was tempted to doubt, I always returned to that faith I learned in my childhood.

Also, because of this experience, I have prayed for my own children to receive the experiences that they need to keep them strong through life.  I thank God for His miracles.

The Mills Boys' Half Marathon

Abe talked to the children tonight about not letting others crush their dreams just because it's not the dream others may want for them.  I added to Abe's talk that following those dreams can sometimes be very difficult, but the difficulty of the way does not mean the dream is wrong.

I reminded the boys about their quest to run a half marathon last Fall.

It started during our summer runs...

In the beginning, the boys were exhausted after only a couple of miles each time.  After a few bad runs, we decided to kneel together beforehand to ask God to help us to do our best and to be strong.  There was such a significant change in their mental attitudes that the boys developed a testimony quickly of the value of prayer even in running.  They never ran without a prayer.  For weeks we did a 3 mile loop.  Mariah biked, while the older boys and I ran the distance.  I pushed Jayden and Juliana in the double-jogger stroller- they had a blast too.

After a while, the boys said they wanted to run a marathon.  I suggested they start off with a half-marathon first which is 13.1 miles.  I searched the internet for a race that would allow such young children to participate, and we finally found one at Mackinac Island in Michigan on October 27th, 2012- which would fall one day after Jordan's 7th birthday.  

I wasn't positive at first if Jordan (age 6 at the time of training) would be able to handle such a long run.  I spoke with experts and bought the very best shoes for the boys.  The experts I spoke with suggested that Africans run thousands of miles through their childhood; so as long as we trained well, he would be ok.

We started our training schedule which included our long runs on Saturdays.  I told Jordan that if he could do this 1st long run, I knew he could do others, and I wouldn't let him quit.  (Unless he was injured of course.)  

The kids trained and cross-trained in the heat, cold, and rain.  They were determined.  Jordan's little legs were shorter than his brothers', so my heart broke watching him work so hard.  I knew he was developing a strong mind along with his strong body.

Race day came, and the kids were ecstatic!!  

They started the morning reading their scriptures...


After reading their scriptures, they took some quiet time to ponder their race.  They stood on the balcony of our hotel room watching the ferries which would soon be taking them to Mackinac Island.


...but young boys can only ponder for so long before they have to let the crazy out!! :-)


It was time to board the ferry!  There are absolutely no cars allowed on Mackinac island, so everyone takes a ferry to get there!  People live on the island, but they travel by horses, buggies, or bikes!  We knew this would be a memorable place to run.

Yes!!  The ferry ride was very, very cold!!  ...it's not a tropical island!!

After arriving, we said our prayer asking God to keep us strong and to help us to do our very best, and then we knew we were ready!!!

The race began, and WE WERE PUMPED!!!!

Because the boys wore their football jerseys with "Mills," across their backs, everybody cheered for the Mills boys!  People on the sidelines and their fellow runners all couldn't believe that they were planning on running the entire race!  

Their presence alone inspired other runners that were a bit nervous about the run. Everybody that ran past them both encouraged them and congratulated them for their courage.  I taught the boys to congratulate those who were passing them as well.  For several miles, they ran with smiles on their faces.  

The route took us half-way around the island and then cut through the center of the island.  It was hard to know when we would ever be done because the trails led up and down steep hills and wound through thick forests.  We stopped only a few times to take pictures, to drink gatorade, and to walk for a total of only a few minutes the entire race!

At around mile 7, Jordan and Tyson began to get really tired.  To take the younger boys' minds off the pain and exhaustion, we talked about the things that made us happy and thankful.  That helped for a couple of miles; but at around mile 9, both Jordan and Tyson hit complete exhaustion.  I took turns holding each of their hands and pulling them up the hills.

...but then they felt like they just couldn't keep going.  Abe called, and I had him talk to the boys.  They cried, ran, and talked to Daddy all at the same time.  He gave them great encouragement letting them know how courageous they were.  He told them of all the prayers being offered up on their behalf.  Jackson hardly spoke a word... just quietly ran. 

We all regained confidence after the phone call.  The poor boys' feet hurt, and their muscles hurt... but they kept running!!  We descended out of the forest reaching the marker that said we were only 2 miles away.  Then the marker finally came for our final mile stretch to the finish line.  We ran along the shore of Lake Huron.  We could hear the cheers in the distance, so we knew we were coming closer.  

We pulled our strength together and ran in a line holding hands.  Jackson still felt strong, so he took Jordan's hand.  I took Jordan's other hand and Tyson's hand as well. Jackson and I pulled their hands harder.  I could feel Jordan resisting just a bit, and I cried knowing his pain would soon be over.  I also cried feeling so proud of my little boys.  

People cheered even louder for the Mills boys as we approached the tunnel of people.  My sons continued to run strong all the way through the finish line.   After receiving their medals, the Mills boys dropped to the ground.  They did it!!  13.1 miles!!!!!

They lied on the ground for quite some time while people brought them drinks and cookies.  After a while, we finally made our way to the postings to find out our time.  When we arrived, people treated the boys as if they were famous.  At first they would just glance at them, and then they would take a 2nd look and exclaim, "Oh you're the Mills Boys!!!  You're amazing!!"  We even over-heard somebody talking on the phone to their family about them.  They felt great about their accomplishment.

They finished the race in 2hrs and 25 minutes which averages to about 11 minute miles!! 

I had told them that they would probably be really sore the next day.  Well, the next day came, and they weren't even sore one bit- they were actually more active than I would have liked them to be. :-)  Jordan explained why they weren't sore:  "I was worried about being sore today, so I said a prayer."  Wow!  I loved his simple faith. 

Running a half marathon was not an easy dream to achieve for these little boys in any stretch of the imagination.  They trained for months, shed tears, felt physical pain, and fought through mental exhaustion.  Yet, they still chose to finish the race just as committed as when they had started the race.  

They have a plaque in their room that reads, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13  

Christ was their partner as they trained and as they raced.  They chose strength in Christ.

I wanted to document this experience for my boys to remember the miracle of what they had done.  My hope is that they will never doubt that they can do hard things.  As I pondered and wrote, I discovered yet another miracle... 

Christ did not take their pain away as they ran.  Overcoming and fighting through the pain was part of their accomplishment.  He strengthened them by providing them with an older brother who literally pulled them through the finish line.  Jackson's strength meant more to his brothers than my strength.  I have already run a marathon before, but Jackson was experiencing this challenge just as they were.  What would have happened if their older brother had given up?  He didn't... and neither did they.  They achieved their dream.

HE Is Never Too Busy

Yesterday, Mariah (age 5) was struggling as she read her book.   This book was a little more difficult than the ones she had been reading.  I wasn't the most patient of mothers.  I tried to multi-task as she read to me.

She kept saying, "Mommy, are you listening?"  I responded, "Yes honey, I just have so much to do.  I really need to you to read faster ."

She eventually finished the book; and as she walked away, she sweetly said, "Jesus helped me finish the book."

She knew that when nobody else seemed to be listening or paying attention, Jesus is the perfect listener and teacher.  I was humbled as I realized the miracle of Jesus as my forever best friend who is never too busy to listen and to help.

My Easter Miracle of Strength

On Saturday, I worked on an Easter service project for someone, and it took about 5 hours longer than I thought it would take.  That set me behind for the rest of my Easter projects for my church class and my children.... I finally finished my final project at 6:15am!!  I climbed into bed thinking about my busy day that was about to start again in a couple of hours.  I didn't have any tears, but I felt very scared about how I would make Easter morning special, fulfill my church responsibilities, and make and host dinner for 19 people after church with such little sleep.  I tried to devise a plan as I prayed with all my heart for help.  I thought that maybe I would go to the van and sleep during the 3rd hour of church if I was completely drained.

As I prayed, the thought came very strong into my mind, "I will strengthen you."

I felt at peace and went straight to sleep.

I woke the next morning feeling a bit nervous about my long to-do list.  We had a beautiful time with the children in the morning going through their Easter baskets.

We even took pictures before church!  :)

Then we hurried off to church picking up two extra children on the way.

I taught my church class during the 2nd hour of church with all the feeling and love in my heart for my Savior, did my secretarial work for the primary during the 1st half of the 3rd hour, and my mind was clear and my body was strong enough to even take care of another teacher's baby during the 2nd half of the 3rd hour of church.  I didn't even need my nap!

After church, we raced home.  I made a list for each child with assignments so that things could run as smoothly as possible.  Because our time before church was so busy with our children, I hadn't made a single item of food yet.  We had a huge Easter dinner to prepare with only an hour and a half to do it all!!

We all went to work.  Our dinner guests arrived, and we were only a little delayed.

Dinner was great.  Conversation was great.  Our Easter celebration was just how I would have wanted it.  As our last guests prepared to leave close to 11pm, the mother asked me how I was able to do so much and still have a clear mind to converse.

A flash of realization ran through my heart and mind.

I said, "Oh let me tell you... It was a miracle!!  I asked God for help because there was no way I could do it all without him strengthening me."

Less than a half an hour after all of our guests left, I collapsed on the hard floor in our family room.  I told Abe I would be staying up to write.  He brought me my pajamas and laid them by my side, but I didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning!  I still had my dress and church shoes on!!!

It was a miracle that God strengthened my body for the time period that I truly needed to be strengthened.  Then, when I was done with those responsibilities, the exhaustion hit.  I have a testimony that God strengthens us to do the things HE has called us to do.