Tender Mercies - Gods Hands in our lives

I found this sweet image at
http://www.markmallett.com/blog/2007/12/those-hands/

I am such a believer in the Tender Mercies of the Lord.  They are all around us and His hand in directing our lives is shown through them in all the time.  This has happened for me over the past few months, as I have had some serious health issues that I have had to confront.  I have been blessed to see the Lords hand, throughout this process and today, I received the answer to my hearts desire, and my prayers.  Once again, He showed me in quite a miraculous way, that He is  mindful of me, and knows my heart, and needs.  I know that if we put our faith in Him and recognize even the little things that happen around us, we all can know and feel the
direction that is given for us in our lives, by our loving Heavenly Father. 

When we can understand that Heavenly Father knows much more about us and our lives, than we know ourselves, and that He knows our past, present and even our futures, then we can acknowledge and receive of His Tender Mercies to help and bless our lives. 

I would like to share with you one of the tender mercies that have brought me to this point today and testify that without recognizing that they came from the Lord, I may not feel quite so blessed today.
Last year, for many months I experienced some pain in my neck, below my ear, and I thought somehow it was related to my type 2 diabetes.  It became so painful that I began telling my doctors about it, and that it felt like I had the mumps on one side of my face.  This would come and go and I though at the time that it was a result of my blood sugars going to high or too low. 

In about September of last year, I began to get these feelings that I needed to go see an Endocrinologist, because I felt that I not only needed help with my diabetes management, but I felt that something was definitely wrong with my glands.  My doctor would not give me a referral to an Endocrinologist, but wanted me to come in talk about it.  I had such strong feelings inside of me that I needed to see an Endocrinologist, I found another doctor and went in and told him what had been going on with my health.  He not only referred me to an Endocrinologist, but ordered a scan on my neck to be done to try to find out what was causing me such pain.  (This was the first tender mercy.  The Lord gave me the feeling that was very strong and didn't let up, that I needed to go see an Endocrinologist. )  

The second tender mercy came when I went in for the scan and the woman who was the technician, offered to scan my whole neck instead of just where my glands were by my ears.  I had told her that I believed that I had some glandular issues and would be going in to see a Endocrinologist and would she please take a look at my Thyroid as well.  She agreed, and through the scan, she found a very large nodule on my Thyroid. In doing my own research, I realized that nodules on Thyroids can turn into cancer if left undetected.

Well to make a longer story a bit shorter, 2 Months went by and finally this past week, I went in to see the Endocrinologist, who scanned my neck once again and found a second nodule on the other side of my thyroid.  She did a fine needle biopsy and told me that I needed to have my Thyroid removed. She sent the biopsy in to be tested.   I scheduled an appointment with a surgeon and will be seeing him to schedule surgery in a couple days. 

Just about an hour ago, I experienced yet another tender mercy, that just about swept me off my feet.  I had been praying to my Heavenly Father, along with all of my family and some friends who I have told about what has been going on with me, and I received a direct answer to all the prayers that have been said on my behalf.  Even though the biopsy and scans indicated that one of my nodules looked irregular, deep, dark, and contained many elements that could indicate caner, the biopsy results came back that there are no cancer or unusual cells in the tissue samples taken.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am feeling after receiving this news.  I have been worried and actually making plans about how things would be orchestrated with the iodized radiation or other means of treating thyroid cancers.  I also knew and had faith that Heavenly Father could bless me to be healed if it was His will. 

I have a long road to travel before this experience is over and once my Thyroid is removed, it will still need to be tested further, but for now, I am so humbled and gratified by this tremendous tender Mercy sent my way. He put into my mind, what I needed to do to care for something only He knew was happening inside of me.  He inspired the technician who found the nodules, and He guided the Endocrinologist to find yet a second nodule. It was Him, who answered the prayers and fasting that had taken place on my behalf, and I acknowledge all of these tender mercies came directly from God!

I testify to all of you who read this blog post, that I know the Lord loves each and every one of us, no matter what and including how imperfect we are!!  I also know that He is in our lives all the time and watching over us, and we can know and feel His hand and presence in our lives if we are in tune to His promptings, and recognize even the little things, that lets us know He is near.  I have felt His continued presence and I am so grateful to know that I can pray to Him at any time, and anywhere and He will be listening and provide me comfort.   I know and testify that He hears my prayers and the prayers of all of us, and that He answers them, though sometimes in ways that we have to look alittle  harder in order to to recognize from whence they came.  He knows us and He loves us, and wants us to come back to Him one day, at the right time, that only He knows.

I hope this experience will help you in some way and that you will feel Gods love and power in your own life.  Now.... Have a marvelous day!!  Love, Katie G.

I'm Back!

Wow, what a wierd week.  My gmail was hacked into, and after I changed my password, all of my blogs disappeared.  Now all of the sudden they are back... Go figure???  I am certainly glad that they are back because I was so very sad that I had thought I had lost all of those years of working on them.  I have one word for hackers..... well, I guess I just won't say that word because I am better than that, but hackers need to get a REAL Life.  Enough said.

This has been a crazy past couple of weeks for me but I hope things will get better, and one thing I know is that there is always lots of hope.  My greatest hope is that once I exit this blog, I will be able to come back to it again.  Let's all hope that is true.  I am glad to be back!!!  Katie G.

Visiting Teaching Videos at LDS.org

There are three really good videos on LDS.org about Visiting Teaching.  They are called this:

• This is Visiting Teaching - Sister Thompson teaches that visiting teaching "is more of a way of life than a task"
• A Visiting Teacher - In this video - Relief Society sisters share what it means to be a visiting teacher and what visiting teaching has meant to them.
• Julie B. Beck on Visiting Teaching - A sister in this Church has no other responsibility outside of her family that has the potential to do as much good as does visiting teaching.

To go directly to the videos, click on this post title.

LDS Relief Society

With this 2011 years focus on the organization of the Relief Society, I thought I would try to find some things that would be helpful.  At LDS.org, you can go to the Relief Society page for information and also research past conference talks and such as well.

I discovered a really good website that has allot of detail that I thought you might like to go to find out more about the Relief Society's early beginnings.  You can go to this link and it is a great resource for you:   http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/blog/?p=77

It was fun for me to go through the above site, and see the history of Visiting Teaching.  You can read about if for yourself here:  http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/blog/?p=2292


The document to the Left is of the First meeting of the organization of the Relief Sociey which was called "The Temple Relief Society of Nauvoo."  Click on the image and you can see all who were at this meeting.  It is a really neat document!   This is the link to that document:  http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ms3424_29.jpg

At http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/blog/?p=1013 are the minutes taken to the very first Relief Society meeting.  On the Left column, under the document, are links to the 1st - 18th meetings, as well as a few other things that are very interesting reading.

Hopefully this site and others will help you with your year for Relief Society history as well as for sharing the messages through Visiting teaching. 

If any of you have planned events for this coming year and have scripts for plays, special music, or anything else that you could share that would enrich everyone around the world's year of learning the history of Relief Society, I urge you to send it to me.  I will prepare special posts with those ideas included so that everyone can benefit and share.  After all.... isn't that what Relief Society is all about?  Please email your tips, handouts and ideas to me at ktgauger@gmail.  I will make sure that you get the credit as my blog is only a forum for helps for others. 

Best regards,
Katie G.

Happy New Year!!!

Isn't it great that a brand new year has begun, giving all of us the opportunity to get our acts together again and begin a fresh start.  I personally didn't make too many resolutions this year, because I wanted to really fulfill them this time.  I find when I make too long of a list, I always disappoint myself, so this time I am focusing on one change in myself that will have a ripple effect on other areas of my life. I am not going to tell you what that resolution is, and just get your imagination going by sharing the inspiration for my one resolution..... It is a song that my mother use to sing, when I was a child and it goes something like this....

"You've got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative,
Latch on to the affirmative,
And don't mess with Mr. In between".

Don't you just love those words?  I give them a hearty thumbs up!Well they are much  more than words for me, as they are my inspiration to becoming the a better person all the way around.  I wrote a post just moments ago on my Extraordinary Visiting Teaching Facebook page, about one of the sisters that I visit teach. No matter her adversity, she  emulates this song.  No matter how hard live has become for her, she wears a smile and never seems to utter a negative comment or thought. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful example for me, and I am her visiting teacher.  My gift to her can be friendship, a listening ear, prayers on her behalf, and service for her and her sweet husband as they need it. 

What a blessing for me to be a Visiting Teacher.  I have had another sister on my route, for about 2 years now.  We have become really good friends.  She is fun, and crazy just like me.  She has her share of adversity too, and moves forward each day with a song in her heart.  She has the voice of an angel, and I love so much to be around her.  How lucky for me to get be her Visiting Teacher.

Isn't it interesting that Visiting teaching is really a swinging door, because the blessings go both ways.  We get as much as we give.  I certainly know that I do. 

I have another sister who is fairly new to me, and I so enjoy going into her home and getting to know her.  She doesn't attend church, and I would not have normally had the opportunity to meet her if it were not for Visiting teaching. I am so glad that she was put on my "LIST" because I have just begun to scratch the surface of a smart and talented, and really nice friend.  How lucky I am to be her Visiting Teacher. 

Visiting teaching is a gift to both the giver and receiver,  that is sort of like the Energizer bunny.... it just keeps on going.  Those who don't take the opportunity they are given to get to know some really wonderful women, are really missing out.  I would like to urge you to include in your resolutions to become the kind of Visiting teacher that you would want for yourself.  Even if you don't have that kind of Visiting teacher, you can be it for someone else, and the rewards are great!

P.S. The January 2011 Message can be found at http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,2044-1-5233-1,00.html  The History and Heritage of Relief Society and a wonderful Scripture that you should recognize is found http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7.45,46,47?lang=eng#44 or you can look it up here:  Moroni 7:45-47. Now go out and make someones day!  Enjoy!  Katie G.