During the Spring I've noticed that my lips become incredibly chapped. Seriously, they look like two scaly little lizards just chilling on my face! (bad visual, I know) I have been going through TONS of lip balm just trying to keep my little puckers moisturized. So lets talk about the word "balm". We have heard of lip balm, hand balm, there's even balm for your feet. The intended use of balm is to heal or soothe skin. The feeling when you apply a much needed coat of chapstick to your dry lips is comparable to a cool glass of water on a blazing summer day.
Aside from my lips being chapped, I have noticed that the season or stage of the world we live in has been chapping my soul. I can't go anywhere without something depleting my soul's health in some way. Our souls start out being so sensitive, but over time, we stop trying to protect them and they become more calloused. We make excuses for not applying the correct protection each day.
I don't want a calloused soul.
What are the benefits of keeping our soul soft and healthy? Well first, we are more able to feel Heaven. On my mission I met some people who had never felt God. It was impossible trying to explain to them what He feels like, and the only way they could understand was if they had a personal experience. We invited them to do certain things that would give them the ability to feel Him. As people truly desired what we were describing, they did all that they could to feel it. When they felt it, their lives changed. The felt an immense peace, or balm, wash over their souls. They had greater hope for what was ahead, they had greater resolve to stand strong. They sensed a light directing them to what was good and right.
Another benefit of a healthy soul is that we have a heightened ability to deal with life's demands. Who doesn't want that? I know the difference when I have heaven help me. It doesn't mean that bad things don't happen to me, but I can support them and deal with them so much easier. I am a perfectionist and often times I feel so down hearted about not reaching my goals. When I become hard, I can't deal with these failures. When I am soft, I have hope that as I do what is necessary, I can try again and be successful.
What balm can I use to help my soul stay soft? In all honesty, the greatest relief I have ever felt comes from when I apply Jesus Christ to my soul. This weekend the whole world has the opportunity to use some of His balm in the LDS Church's General Conference. This conference is a time when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share with the world messages of faith, hope, peace and guidance. I promise that if you do your best to listen to even one talk, you will feel the relief I am talking about.
If you don't believe me, ask my parents how they have gotten through the past year and a half. This is real and it is powerful. Trust me!
Before I go, let me update you on the happenings with Papa Baer. Dad has been approved by our insurance company to have a fancy little breathing device in our home! This device sends warm, moist air through his oxygen hose so his lungs can get the moisture they need to behave better. When his lungs get too dry he coughs like crazy, even to the point where he coughs up blood. It's crummy. Aside from that, he has shown great progress over the past two weeks because his blood has been the desired "thinness". We had a couple of rough weeks where his blood was uber thin and he was bruising like crazy, but we finally got it under control! Still working on that swallow, building model cars, and he's even tried his hand at art! We are loving the progress he is making.
Have a wonderful week and a Happy Easter!
Aubs
Aside from my lips being chapped, I have noticed that the season or stage of the world we live in has been chapping my soul. I can't go anywhere without something depleting my soul's health in some way. Our souls start out being so sensitive, but over time, we stop trying to protect them and they become more calloused. We make excuses for not applying the correct protection each day.
I don't want a calloused soul.
What are the benefits of keeping our soul soft and healthy? Well first, we are more able to feel Heaven. On my mission I met some people who had never felt God. It was impossible trying to explain to them what He feels like, and the only way they could understand was if they had a personal experience. We invited them to do certain things that would give them the ability to feel Him. As people truly desired what we were describing, they did all that they could to feel it. When they felt it, their lives changed. The felt an immense peace, or balm, wash over their souls. They had greater hope for what was ahead, they had greater resolve to stand strong. They sensed a light directing them to what was good and right.
Another benefit of a healthy soul is that we have a heightened ability to deal with life's demands. Who doesn't want that? I know the difference when I have heaven help me. It doesn't mean that bad things don't happen to me, but I can support them and deal with them so much easier. I am a perfectionist and often times I feel so down hearted about not reaching my goals. When I become hard, I can't deal with these failures. When I am soft, I have hope that as I do what is necessary, I can try again and be successful.
What balm can I use to help my soul stay soft? In all honesty, the greatest relief I have ever felt comes from when I apply Jesus Christ to my soul. This weekend the whole world has the opportunity to use some of His balm in the LDS Church's General Conference. This conference is a time when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share with the world messages of faith, hope, peace and guidance. I promise that if you do your best to listen to even one talk, you will feel the relief I am talking about.
If you don't believe me, ask my parents how they have gotten through the past year and a half. This is real and it is powerful. Trust me!
Before I go, let me update you on the happenings with Papa Baer. Dad has been approved by our insurance company to have a fancy little breathing device in our home! This device sends warm, moist air through his oxygen hose so his lungs can get the moisture they need to behave better. When his lungs get too dry he coughs like crazy, even to the point where he coughs up blood. It's crummy. Aside from that, he has shown great progress over the past two weeks because his blood has been the desired "thinness". We had a couple of rough weeks where his blood was uber thin and he was bruising like crazy, but we finally got it under control! Still working on that swallow, building model cars, and he's even tried his hand at art! We are loving the progress he is making.
Have a wonderful week and a Happy Easter!
Aubs
Love this comment Aubrey! Great update on your Dad too!!
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