Day 4! Enlightened: My Personal Journey with Christ Through Scripture Journaling FREE

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Enlightened: My Personal Journey with Christ Through Scripture Journaling

Enlightened: My Personal Journey with Christ Through Scripture Journaling, is here!
(And I need reviewers!)

If you'd like to review this book, and you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, please let me know. We can discuss the details. Email me at kathy@ariverofstones.com.

Get it at Amazon
or send an email to kathy@ariverofstones.com
and I will autograph and send you a copy!

Is it Time?

Kathryn Elizabeth Jones has been a lover of journaling since the time she was a teenager. But the journaling that began as a keeper of secret thoughts, daily activities, and hopes and dreams of the future, one day changed direction in focus and feeling the moment she realized what personal revelation could truly mean for her.

Although personal scripture reading began at about the same time, it was much later, while Kathryn was reflecting on the power of the Kirtland Temple dedication, that the Lord’s voice was heard, and Kathryn wrote of the experience.

Connecting personal revelation to scripture study and prayer as a conduit for an even stronger relationship with Jesus Christ is the premise of this book.

May it enlighten your life and may your own path be made clear as you take the Lord’s hand, listen to His words, and follow His voice.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Chas Hathaway

CHAS WILL BE AT THE WRITE HERE IN EPHRAIM CONFERENCE COMING UP THE END OF MARCH! CHECK THIS SITE FOR DETAILS!

What is Chas' favorite part about writing? You just might be surprised. What's cool to know about Chas' characters? 

Find out in our next author interview!

Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?

Ever since I was a kid, I've enjoyed writing stories, but never took it very seriously

until I started writing Giraffe Tracks.

 

I served an LDS mission in South Africa, and I have to be honest, I was one of those annoying RMs who was always blabbing my mission stories at every possible occasion. One day, about four years after my mission, I thought it might be fun to write a book about my mission, using a sort of novel-like format (I'd not yet heard of the term, memoir). I started, and absolutely fell in love with the art of writing. I haven't been able to stop since.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand?

I can't do freehand. It's too slow (I can only freehand at about 35-40 wpm, but I can type at 60), and I just end up having to transcribe it later anyway. Plus, for some reason, it always comes out sounding too technical—blegh. I'm all about the laptop. I have a desk at home, but I can write anywhere, as long as there's no spoken audio in the background (including people talking to me). Sometimes, if there's conversation or talk-radio in earshot, I'll pop on headphones and turn on instrumental music.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

There are so many things I love about writing! It's one of the most powerful forms of pondering I know. I love playing with words. I love writing banter. I love writing humor. I love shaping sentences into something beautiful. I love turning abstract thought into a concrete idea. I love plotting. I love mentally developing backstory. I love inventing species, histories, worlds, characters, and philosophies. I love, love, love, making a difference for good in people's lives.

I don't like marketing. I'm working on that...

How do you come up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?

I'm one of those weirdos that feels more like characters are coming to me. They're constantly correcting me on what they did, said, and experienced, but I feel like my characters are real, just in a fictional universe. They are influenced by real people around me, to be sure. Ever met someone and thought, Man, he reminds me of my cousin Fred? Yeah, I kind of see my characters that way.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

Facebooking, blogging, Pinteresting, podcasting, videos, booksignings, and public speaking have probably been my most active marketing strategies. But, like I said, I think marketing is where I struggle the most.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I write whenever I can. I wish I had a one-hour a day, or a so-many-words-per-week plan, but  don't. I get up early some days, stay up late others, write on breaks, at lunch time, and while waiting for stuff. I never write on Sunday or during family time.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I'm writing a book on making family history work awesome. If it goes well, it will be a “sequel” to my book that just came out called, “Scripture Study Made Awesome.”

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

My many fiction projects are on the back burner right now. I'm usually working on 2-5 projects at a given time, but I'm getting better at keeping that number low. My fiction is mostly middle-grade fantasy, about some kids that find out they're fictional characters in a middle-grade fantasy book. That's been fun to write, I can tell you.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Write, write, write, write, write. Any person who can put words on paper is, or can become, talented in some type of writing. Keep writing, and your talent and your sparkle will come out. On rough days, think like Dory, and “Just keep writing, just keep writing, just keep writing!”

Thank you, Chas! Learn more about Chas below, and see some great book trailers!

http://chashathaway.com/books/

Silence in Receiving

DECEMBER 12

Silence in Receiving

“Silence is golden,” someone has said, but why is it golden? What is it about silence that glitters like gold? Can silence make you spiritually rich?

Are you temporally rich?

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).
Pondering is a bit like listening I think. Listening to the thoughts inside you, and then letting them go in favor of the thoughts your Father in Heaven wishes to share with you.

“Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof…there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early” (Psalms 46:3-5).

What do you think about this scripture? What do you think it means? What is Heavenly Father telling you it means? Record your thoughts.

Understanding symbolism takes pondering. It cannot be understood by a quick read, or a hurried pace. The savior taught in symbolism; in parables. Only those who pondered his words could find them out. Only those who were open to learning could see the truth.


Are you spiritually rich?

The Savior has said, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed…but blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:15-16).

Today, spend some time pondering a particularly difficult scripture. Write down what you receive.

Hidden Meanings

Lehi's Dream can teach you about your own life

DECEMBER 9

Hidden Meanings

What do you know of the “Olive trees” mentioned in Zechariah 4: 11-14? Of Kolob? (See Abraham 3:3). What about Lehi’s Dream? How does the dream of Lehi specifically apply to your life? What of the mysteries of the kingdom? Do you have a desire to know?

As I read, I am constantly being made aware of the things I don’t know. And the things I do? There’s always something more; something deeper, something too removed from my first reading of the scripture for me to see the hidden meaning.

On the 18th of December 2001, I had some new thoughts on the redemption. This is what I wrote:

“The plan of redemption was decided upon at the beginning of the world. Jesus Christ was chosen by the Father to sacrifice his life in accordance with the plan. (See Moses 4:2). So even before the plan was finalized, (before we’d had an opportunity to agree or disagree) the Savior was chosen to atone for us. Satan was literally attempting to change God’s will and the eternal law, to satisfy himself."
Check out the perceptions or feelings you have received after recording your thoughts by praying to your Heavenly Father. Usually I feel the words of confirmation as I am recording my thoughts, but not always. Through prayer and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you can always be sure that the words you are receiving are from Him.

DECEMBER 7
The Bible Dictionary

The Bible dictionary (in the LDS King James version of the Bible) is full of truth for your study. Turn to the subject heading, “Prayer.” Skim down to the bottom paragraph on page 752 that begins, “As soon as we learn the true relationship…” end your reading at “the highest of blessings.”

Reflect on what you’ve just read about prayer. What are your thoughts? What have you learned? What do you think about prayer being “a form of work?” What do you think the “highest of blessings” means? Review the scriptures located in this section on prayer.

Some other ideas:

Anoint/Anointed one
Ark of the Covenant
Atonement
Blood
Charity
Covenant

There are many wonderful words to study in the Bible dictionary. Look up the word, Communion if you haven’t done so already in your previous studies. When I studied this word I learned that communion in my life “is a two-way conversation with God. To commune, means to talk with someone else.”

"And there I will meet thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat…” (Exodus 25:22) “Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still” (Psalms 4:4). “And it came to pass that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them” (Luke 24:15).

DECEMBER 4

The Scriptures for Healing

      
Keeping a journal of scriptures is beneficial in many ways. Often, I find myself going back to a similar time in history. A time when I was hurting or confused, or simply needed an answer to a question I had. In one such entry I wrote, “I have been thinking about the “darkest hour” mentioned on November 3. The darkest hour of time, when is it for me?”

The darkest hour for me is when I’ve known I needed to repent. When I see clearly the pain I have caused my Savior.  

Prayer is a powerful tool for healing

I have many scriptures of healing in my journal accompanied by thoughts of recovery and moving forward. Thoughts of loneliness have been replaced by the power of testimony. Thoughts of bitterness have been changed simply by reading and understanding the words of the Lord such as this, “And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their God” (D&C 101:50). 

Thoughts of pain, through patience, have been changed to joy. December 11, 2001: “If my life becomes nothing more than work, with no hope of spiritual communion, it causes me great frustration of spirit.” 

During this particular time, I was feeling overwhelmed with the pressures of work. The Lord had this to say to me through the scriptures.

“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him” (Eccl. 6:14). What would you call this? How about opposition?

Are you worried today? Angry? Feeling overwhelmed? Take this feeling to the Lord, and through scripture study focus on a solution. If you’re feeling peaceful today, study peace.

The Scriptures for Change

The scriptures are a powerful tool to strengthen your life

DECEMBER 3
The Scriptures for Change

The scriptures can be a powerful catalyst for change in our lives. Using a scripture or scriptures from December 2, record in your journal your thoughts on what the scripture(s) mean to you.
Here is a thought based on a reference from my journal: 

December 1: “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalms 34:14).

Peace seems an easy task when I am at home (and the children are gone). When they’re home, my life feels stretched to the limits like a rubber band. Time has shifted. I must sacrifice to receive. Perhaps this is what this time in my life is all about; a time of sacrifice and cleansing—doing the will of the Father despite my personal beliefs in the matter.”

And some scriptures that relate to the thought:

“Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?…I know not, save the Lord commanded me” (Moses 5:6).

 “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8).

 “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord. (Psalms 4:5).

It is easier to do the will of the Lord when we like it, or even when we agree with Him. But when His will challenges us to become better, and we may be afraid, worried or troubled about our own abilities, reading and applying a scripture or scriptures to our situation can help us to move forward in faith.