Merry Christmas

May the love of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you and your loved ones, during this season, and always.

The Miracles of Technology

We truly live in an amazing day and age.  I recently traded in my old cell phone that I've had for almost three years for a smart phone.  It has been a lot of fun to tinker with it and check out the various apps that are available for it.

One of the first ones that I downloaded was Gospel Library, which was created by the church.  After installing the app, I went in to the program and downloaded the scriptures.  It took about five minutes total.

Think about that.  Five minutes.

Five minutes to get the revealed word of God onto a device the size of the palm of my hand.  A device that wasn't connected to anything, but received the information through the air!

Five minutes to get scriptures that took thousands of years to collect in their current form.

Five minutes to have access to the words of the prophets from all ages and dispensations.

It helped me to realize and remember what a great blessing it is to live in a time when great advances have been made to both technology and truth.  We are the recipients of a precious gift.  We have access to God's word in ways that weren't dreamed of, even when I was a child!

Let us be sure to use these tools wisely.  Technology is a powerful tool, but only if it is used correctly.  Let us use our increased access to the Word to become more familiar with it.

It would help all of us to spend a little less time in Angry Birds and a little more time in the scriptures.

The Christmas Season

Over the years, I've noticed a disturbing trend.  As a culture, we've started to drift away from Christmas in the month of December.  Instead of "Merry Christmas", it's "Happy Holidays", "Happy December 25th", or some other politically correct nonsense.  One of the most absurb that I can recall is a fellow who invited a group of his friends over for an "Annual Winter Solstice Celebration".

Listen, I'm all for not offending people.  But it's gone too far, and has gotten ridiculous.  Christmas begins with Christ!  If if were not for our Savior, there wouldn't be a Christmas, nor would there be any reason to celebrate.

I believe that our country is still composed of a majority of God-fearing Christians.  Let's make sure that Christ continues to come first in Christmas.

A New Approach

After some pondering and prayer this week, I've decided to set up a new approach in presenting content on this blog (at least for the time being).  I see two main parts to the healing I am working on currently.  First, I am working on healing and improving my relationship with the Lord.  Second, I am working on healing and improving my relationship with my wife.  Both of them are similar in some ways, but they are different enough that each deserve some "air time".  Also, I imagine that there are individuals who are struggling with one or both areas in their own lives.

So I am planning on posting at least twice a week: one for personal healing and one for marital healing.  I may also toss in an inspirational quote or a link to other blogs here and there, but the main focus will be on the two types of healing I am working on in my life.

Blowing off the dust

Perhaps a daily posting schedule was a tad ambitious.  Many things have happened since I last posted here.  My wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary.  Our children had birthdays.  We started attending couple therapy.  I gave up playing computer games.

Each of these could be worthy of their own posting, and perhaps I will post about them individually in the near future.  But for now, I wanted to clear off the dust, remove the mothballs, and bring this blog back to life.

I follow a number of Christian marriage blogs, and I have learned many useful things from them.  As I have reviewed them, I've noticed two things.  First, most of the bloggers are women.  I think women are wonderful, and value their perspective.  However, I would like to hear more from the male persepective.  Secondly, there are very few blogs from an LDS perspective.  Again, I have learned many things from my other Christian friends.  However, I feel that there are many others of my faith who may be in a similar position to mine, and would benefit from the viewpoint of a "fellow Saint".

Most importantly, I have felt the whisperings of the Holy Spirit encouraging me to start up my blogging again.  Whether male or female, sharer of my specific faith or fellow believer in Christ, it is my prayer to bring hope, comfort, and encouragement to those who are struggling in their marriages, and hope to improve them through the Lord.

Introduction

Greetings, and welcome to my blog.  My name is Mark.  I am a practicing Christian.  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as the Mormons).  I have been married to my wife for almost ten years.  During this time, I have made many mistakes, which have led to much unhappiness and loneliness in marriage for both of us.  I have recently realized that I have made too much of an effort to do things on my own.  I desire more of the Lord's help in healing my marriage, and allowing it to be all that He intended.

I became aware of the Christian blog community earlier this year, and have read many helpful things from the people there.  Over the past month or so, I have felt prompted to start my own blog.  This blog will chronicle my attempts at recovery, both personal and marital, through the Lord Jesus Christ.  I share it here in webspace in the hopes that others who are struggling might find some help or solace from it, just as I have from other blogs.

The title of this blog comes from something I heard at a church meeting a few months ago regarding the Provo Tabernacle.  For those who are not aware, the Provo Tabernacle was built by the LDS church more than a century ago.  On December 28, 2010, the structure was mostly destroyed by a fire.  After several months of deliberation, the church decided to rebuild the structure as a temple, wherein sacred and holy ordinances are performed.

At the church meeting I attended, the speaker indicated that the Lord can take something that's been burned to the ground and transform it into a temple.  Although the speaker was referring specifically to the Provo Tabernacle, I felt that it was very applicable to my marriage also.  Even though I sometimes feel like things have been burnt to the ground between me and my wife, I also know that the Lord can raise something sacred and holy from the ashes.  It is my hope and prayer that He will do so in my marriage.

My current plan is to post daily, starting on the 1st of January.  I pray that the Lord may bless me in this endeavor, and that what I share may be helpful to you, dear reader.