Education Week rocked! I am so glad I registered to attend. I was only able to do the morning session
hours because of Josh's medical needs, but it allowed me to attend 3 classes a day. It was enough to fill my spiritual bucket. I thirsted so much for spiritual enlightenment that I was gulping at the fountain of living waters.
One such speaker Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt, through the spirit, opened my eyes to many truths about Satan's lies. When we believe Satan's lies we see ourselves the way he wants us to - useless, forgotten, fearful, isolated. When we believe God's truths and follow his truths we see ourselves as we really are - wonderful, good, precious, full of faith, useful- the way he sees us.
"Satan is the spoiler, the demon, the adversary, the enemy of righteousness, and he loves to stir people up to misery". "Satan's plan of attack focuses on : 1. Our relationship with divinity.
2. Our relationship with others. 3. Our relationship with ourselves." We can conquer this enemy by staying on the Lord's side, by obedience, and holding tight to the Word of God. We need to counteract Satan's lies with God's truths. For instance, one of Satan's lies I have been believing is that I need to isolate myself from the dating scene to protect myself from hurt. S. Platt said, "Satan hates us. He wants to isolate us." In the recent past I have received two priesthood blessings from two different brethren who both spoke God's truths to me. In these blessings they were prompted to tell me to get out and date- to stop hiding out. That the Lord does have someone in mind for me, but I have to do my part. I am finally doing something about that. It's taken me two years to shake off the lies Satan's been feeding me about isolating myself. Sure I could still get my heart broken, but the Lord wants me to have Faith in Him and faith in myself that I will be able to discern who I should be with.
Mary Ellen Edmunds offered some comic relief as well as spiritual insights. Terry Olsen's class was marvelous- it was about being realistic about marriage and parenting without giving up our ideals.
I could write tons about what I've learned, but it might bore you because what I needed to hear isn't necessarily what you need to hear. We all have our unique challenges and the Spirit speaks to our condition.
How wonderful it is to be ever learning. Education week...experience it for yourself next year. It was cool that I got to visit with and see a few familiar faces. Gwen Dodge, Christine Packer (my beehive advisor from cali) - love her, Shauna Castagna and Pam Castagna (wonderful relatives), and a few people from my ward. I hope to see you there next year. Bye for now!
