By Judy Rix... Note: Before you read this chapter, please read "Post 9 -- Seven Ways to Make Your Home a Heaven on Earth." Where Is Your Happy Place? For me, the holy temple is the perfect model for creating a place where God's spirit can reside. I want my home to be just as full of beauty, joy, peace, and light as I feel when I'm in the temple. By light, I refer not only to the radiant glow of sunshine, but also to the radiant light of God (D&C 50:24). San Diego Temple, The

By Judy Rix... “Deep inside each of us is a need to have a home of refuge where peace and serenity prevail, a place where we can reset, regroup, and reenergize to prepare for future pressures. The ideal place is within the walls of our own homes, where we have done all we can to make the Lord Jesus Christ the centerpiece.” ... Elder Richard G. Scott ____ My husband and I used to watch a favorite TV show brimming with suspense, murder, and intrigue. Following that, we'd tune i

By Judy Rix... One of the Savior's many exemplary attributes was the wise use of His agency. He chose to forgive even when the transgressor didn't request it. He chose to do good even when it wasn't appreciated. When you're offering help and it's either misunderstood or not appreciated, do you ever feel like no good deed goes unpunished? A friend was about to make what appeared to me to be a bad choice. Out of love and concern, I was wondering what I might do to help. While

By Judy Rix... While Christ was on the earth, His one and only focus was to do His Father's will. Another way of saying this is that His eye was single to God . By emulating Christ's example, we also can draw nearer to our Heavenly Father by having our eye single (focused) to His glory. D&C 88:67 is one of my favorite "If/Then" scriptures: "IF your eye be single to God, [THEN] your whole bodies [physical and spiritual] shall be filled with light and there shall be no dark

By Judy Rix... Humorists say, "Mistakes make you wiser, which basically makes me a genius!" In our fallen human condition, we "geniuses" all make mistakes daily. "We all drift from time to time," says Deiter Uch tdorf , "but we can get back on course. We can navigate our way through the darkness and trials of this life and find our way back to our loving Heavenly Father if we seek, accept, and follow the spiritual landmarks He has provided. Learn to embrace personal revel

By Judy Rix... If you had to rank Jesus' attributes in terms of importance, obedience would be high on the list because so much hinges on it. Our eternal progression occurs step by step through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Is obedience always easy? Hardly! Even Christ himself asked, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will." Matthew 26:39 . And again, "Though He were a Son, yet learned He

By Judy Rix... Do you remember that old song, "This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine"? You can strengthen your positive Christlike qualities by letting your little light shine! As we Emulate Jesus Christ in our lives, three things become very clear: • Positive character traits are of Christ -- LIGHT. • Negative character traits are of Satan -- DARK. • Positive and negative are polar opposites! We've All Been Given the Light of Christ. David A. Bednar explains, "

By Judy Rix... Do you ever have a bad day? I do. Some days bring out the worst in me. One time, I got upset at my daughter for taking a pair of my socks. I know what you're thinking: "Just for taking a pair of socks? Seriously?" The absurdity of that made me stop and consider what Christ would have done if it were His socks? He certainly wouldn't have reacted with anger. He would have shown charity, the pure love of Christ. My first impulse was to shout, but His would be t

By Judy Rix... Before you read this chapter, please read my post " Who Are You Really? " where I discussed the importance of setting long and short - term goals. Today's post goes into more detail about how to do that. What Is Your Life's Long-Term Goal, Your Thesis Statement? As I mentioned in a previous post, take time to thoughtfully and prayerfully decide how you can become more like the Savior. Make this your long - term life goal. Condense your goal into a thesis statem

By Judy Rix... Who are you really? Are you actually capable of being better than you already are? It's a serious thing to strive to be your very best self. We can waste our lives wandering in paths of mediocrity, or we can direct our actions toward becoming all that we were meant to be. President Russell M. Nelson teaches: "As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen