Prayer and Miracles

     I was too slow to make a blog post to announce this, but tons of people around the country were praying for Sister McKee, my mission president's wife, today at 12:00 PM (CST). Now you may be wondering why all these prayers for just one person. This is why! Sister McKee is a very loved woman by her family, friends, mission children and many, many others. She is loved by so many due to all of the love and support she shows to EVERYONE she meets. She truly is a great woman! Ok so now to the reason we were praying. This is from my mission president: 

Dear friends and family,

     We thank you all again for faith, fasting, and prayer. Sister McKee continues to be in a self induced coma. We are all gathering on Thursday at 11AM Mountain Standard Time to kneel in prayer on her behalf. We know the Lord can produce miracles, and pray daily that His miracle will be for her to return to our family. At the same time, we have faith in Him, and trust Him, and will pray for (Thy will to be done) as we know that He knows what is best for all of us, eternally. We have strong faith in Him and testify of Jesus Christ and His atonement. The atonement blesses our lives daily as we use it to heal pain, suffering, and sorrow, and all kinds of affliction. We invite any who are willing to gather in prayer with us on Thursday, and thank you again for your loving support for the McKee family.


With love,
The William McKee Family

     She has had heart related problems for a while now and they have been really bad for over a week now. She has had quite a few tests done and a great deal of surgeries performed on her last week, which have all been successful to my understanding, and we are now in a sit and wait period because she has been in a self induced coma for a few days now. This is why we want your prayers!

     This woman truly is wonderful and just because it is after the set time to kneel in prayer for her, it does not mean it is to late to start praying for her. I love her a lot and it would mean quite a bit if you joined with us in prayer for her. God is still a God of Miracles. "And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles." (Mormon 9:15.)

     Expect a miracle! Have faith! "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." (Ether 12:12.)

"Where Is the Pavilion?"

     I really enjoy this talk and it has helped me significantly with how I have viewed my relationship with God. It is titled, "Where Is the Pavilion?"
     He begins by saying, "The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of 'Thy will be done,' create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time." It is interesting to think about how much pride it takes to think that it is not our fault we don't hear from God. I am guilty of it myself sometimes. I then have to ask myself, why would God hide from us? He loves us. It only makes sense that we are the ones too proud to take down our "pavilion."
     He tells us that, "We remove the pavilion when we feel and pray, 'Thy will be done' and 'in Thine own time.' His time should be soon enough for us since we know that He wants only what is best." It is as simple as being patient. God knows what we NEED. Just as any good parent he will give us what we need when we need it, and the things that we may WANT may not be things that we will get quite yet or maybe not ever.
     He gives a couple of examples where the desires of men were not fulfilled in their time table, but as God promised they were fulfilled in His time.  I conclude with this, "For any of you who now feel that He is hard to reach, I testify that the day will come that we all will see Him face to face. Just as there is nothing now to obscure His view of us, there will be nothing to obscure our view of Him."

"Heavenly Homes, Forever Families"

     So I have decided that I am going try having a new theme again. I am going to share some of the my favorite conference talks given by some of the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including the Prophet and his Apostles. I was reading a talk by our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson, called "Heavenly Homes, Forever Families" and I felt like I needed to share it.
     It talks about how we can build an "eternal home." What exactly does that mean? He starts off by saying "A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage." He talks about how a family can be together forever. I think it is interesting that something as simple as a family is so important and sacred to God that he blesses it with the ability to be forever. God’s blueprint to make a house a home and a home a heaven is so simple.
     First, he says, we need prayer. "A prominent American judge was asked what we, as citizens of the countries of the world, could do to reduce crime and disobedience to law and to bring peace and contentment into our lives and into our nations. He thoughtfully replied, 'I would suggest a return to the old-fashioned practice of family prayer.'... There is real meaning behind the oft-quoted adage, 'The family that prays together stays together.'" The first step is so simple. Something as easy as saying a prayer can mean so much and help to build this "eternal home."
     Second, is service. He shares the example of Christ and his perfect selfless service. With the good Samaritan, He taught, “Love thy neighbor” (Luke 10:30–35).
     Lastly, is rescue. We all need to make sure we keep track of our family and make sure that we are to the rescue when our family needs it. We need to make sure we are showing love to our family, and for those that need to be rescued, showing our love for them is the most important thing we can do.
     I have been lucky and blessed enough that I have a great family that is always there for me. I know that they are always there for me and love me. I know that we have been able to build a fairly decent "eternal home" because my parents have tried their best to use God's blueprint to make our house a home and our home a heaven.