2 Nephi 4:15-35 - Nephi + the Natural Man, Faith & Trusting in God

My scripture journals are all over the place and I really want to remember this scripture study. 

I'm slowly reading through the Book of Mormon along with the Old Testament for Come Follow Me. Today, I read 2 Nephi 4:15-35. 

Emery still isn't sleeping great yet. Some nights are really good, and others, she's breaking out of her swaddle like crazy. Due to that, I'm usually tired and not super present when it comes to scripture study. 

I'm grateful that today, for whatever reason, these verses stuck out and I was able to relate to Nephi. 

Vs 15-16:

Nephi is writing the things of his soul. I love that wording and that these are truly the most important important impressions he could share with us and his people.

My soul delighteth in the scriptures and the things of the Lord.

My heart pondereth continually the things which I have seen and heard.

Vs 17-19: This is the reality of the natural man. We all live in a fallen world and are subject to sin and temptations. We all make mistakes no matter how hard we are striving to choose the right.

Vs 20-24: But... Nephi comes back and remembers the blessings he's received because of Heavenly Father's love and Jesus Christ's Atonement.

- Filled with His love

- Confounded mine enemies

- Heard my cries

- Given me knowledge and visions

- Angels came down and ministered to me (because of being bold in mighty prayer

Vs 27: Back again to the natural man. Even with all of ^^^ blessings, why do I let Satan take my peace?

"Why am I angry because of my enemy?" really stood out to me. I know many who have anger and hate toward certain people. It's so easy to get sucked into news (that is mostly untruthful) and let it control your thoughts. 

I'm a worrier and let media I intake sometimes have more power over my emotions than I want to admit. 

This is Satan taking my peace away. I'm a covenant daughter of God. I know in Whom I trust, yet I live in a fallen world and sometimes the natural man takes over. The fear rises above my faith.

Vs 28-29: Nephi has his realization of what matters most and regains his eternal perspective. This happens to me usually in the form of talking about my worries with Justin. He listens then reminds me in Whom we need to put our trust in. 

"Give place no more for the enemy (FEAR) of my soul."

Vs 30: Remember the Lord forever. This is what I covenant to do every single week when I take the sacrament. Pray unto & praise him. Don't let this enemy have power over you during the week. The promise for remembering the Lord is having His Spirit with us. 

I've never felt fearful when I'm feeling the Holy Ghost. <3

Vs 32-33: "Walk my path", walk with God. Include Him every day while you walk your path. Using our covenants to call down His power. Asking our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ to escape our enemies (FEAR). This happens through his atoning power.

Vs 34-35: My favorite part. I have and I will trust in thee forever. Constantly thinking of Christ and praying prayers of praise and repentance is the key to overcoming this natural man and forgoing the negative feelings of worry, doubt, and anger that can influence us. 

I loved reading this chapter. I helped me to see Nephi more presently and relate to him. I can be so back and forth with my emotions in situations like this & yesterday, I felt like these verses were written for me. <3 I love the Book of Mormon!

April Little Things | 1

I can't believe I'm writing about our April. Sometimes time passes slowly and I wonder how we will fill up our days until we go home. 

Then little by little, invitations are made, texts sent, things get planned, and I feel so blessed to have spent the last month with these people I love so much. 

April 1!! Limhi returned home from his mission in Porto, Portugal. Such an accomplishment and a life-changing experience. I have literally thought about Brazil and my own mission every single day since 2019. <3

I also love that Emery got to be in the hug. :)

This sweetie girl turned 4 months old, which also means 4 months of Logan being the best big brother. He is so helpful and sweet and loves her. She loves him too. Logan's new thing is singing You are my Sunshine to Emery when she's crying in the car and telling her, "It's okay, Logan is here."

Talyn's surprise bachelorette party with the Alba girls. I'm grateful for this group. They're all so kind, fun, helpful, and build each other up. 

Justin had been dying to get to a theater to see the new Super Mario Bros movie. I suggested a daddy/son date and they looked so cute all ready to go!

Then they came home about 40 minutes later after being turned away since Logan is under the age of 6. Boo! Oh well. Justin had spent the whole car ride telling Logan about the characters so they watched clips from the first movie on YouTube. 

I spotted a Luigi car at Kaufland and now Logan yells, "I am Donkey Kong!" in his crib when he doesn't want to take a nap.

We got to go to another Alba game with the Stephens! & Logan fell asleep in the 3Q. First time that has ever happened. Ha! 

We love slower mornings when Dada doesn't have to go to work. Basketball life is a grind. Justin averages 2-3 off days the whole month. Even with the rigorous basketball schedule, he's 100% in dad-mode when he walks through the door. & Logan knows it. He adores his dad and loves to do everything with him.

We got around to opening our Easter egg dye kit. Definitely no Red 40 on those bad boys haha. We used rice in paper cups to "shake on" the dye.

My walk to the eye doctor.

Soccer in the courtyard! Logan loves to do big lion passes. 

Now that the sun is back and it's slowly warming up, I have more energy to get these kids outside and to the park!

& to Rewe for a croissant afterwards, of course. 

Easter & Conference Weekend

We did our very own Easter egg hunt this year! It's Logan's first year being old enough to understand and get excited about things like this and it was so fun watching him. 

Justin played Easter bunny in the courtyard while we waited for our friends, the Pinders to arrive!

Their kids were so sweet. They had already had an egg hunt earlier and just wanted to help Logan find the eggs. 

Claire, Emery, and Hadley

Logan is in heaven anytime he gets to be with Joey, Greta, and Louie. We're so happy and grateful they moved to Berlin.

We had a Passover dinner with them. That was one of the things on my list to help make Easter special & it was already a tradition for the Pinder family. We put together a grocery list and the meal turned out so good!

It was so fun and special to share it with these guys. How thankful I am for a church that has a built-in community anywhere you go in the world.

Easter morning, I set my alarm and woke up with the sunrise. I think I had a little extra help from Heavenly Father waking up because Emery still wasn't sleeping great at this point.

I read John 20 and pondered what Christ's resurrection means for me. Making our Easter chain & focusing on all of the sacred events around Holy Week made all the difference this year! I felt closer to Christ and heaven. I hope that becomes a tradition for our family. 

Alex, Alex, and Walli came over for breakfast & General Conference. I think this is something we've done together almost every conference for the last three years. <3 With homemade cinnamon rolls of course!

& that afternoon, we cheered on Justin from home. 

A very different-looking Easter than the ones I've been used to growing up. But the Spirit was the same. We were able to focus on Him and what matters most, with friends who feel like family.