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Leave Nothing Undone

Joshua 10:10 – Joshua 15:7

I have a raspberry garden.

It produces raspberries for most of the summer, and I love to eat them with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips.

For breakfast.

But the garden requires caretaking.  If I am not careful it can be overtaken by soft, willowy, green weeds.  Without constant watch care the weeds will eventually choke out the raspberries completely.

Every spring it is the same.

The task at hand overwhelms us.

We have to pay particular attention to every single weed.  None can be left behind…not even the very small ones…or the ones with a pretty, pink flower on the top.  The job requires that nothing be left undone.

It takes a long time.

We pull out every weed… one, by one, by one…clear to its roots, until none are left, so there is no chance of overtaking the raspberries.

When we are finished we rest…and observe our work, and wait for the fruit to grow.

The process reminds me of chapter 11 and 12 in the book of Joshua, when the people of Israel go to war against all of the cities in the Promised Land.

“As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.”  (Joshua 11:15)

He took all the land, and “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.”  (Joshua 11:18)

Joshua left nothing undone…even though it took a long time.

Did you notice the list in chapter twelve?

The king of Jericho, one;

The king of Jerusalem, one;

The king of Makkedah, one;

Joshua checked them off…one, by one, by one…as they were conquered completely ––none left, so there would be no chance of Israel being overtaken.

I have to be honest.  I worried a little as I read these war chapters.  Were the women and the little children that dangerous?  Did they have to destroy every one?

In my worrying, I decided to ask Brother Butler about that.  He led me to 1 Nephi 17:32-35…

“And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them mighty unto the driving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction.  And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay…this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fullness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them unto their destruction.”

I remember the raspberry garden and realize that sometimes a very small seed can quickly overtake a very large garden…and the Lord knows this…and He knows how to protect us against small things that could eventually destroy us.

My friend and I talked about this lesson.  She compared the people in the land to the sins of our lives.  We can’t just focus on the big ones, the dangerous ones.  We have to remember to work on the little ones, even the ones that seem innocent.  We must keep trying to conquer them until the day they are gone.

One day we will rest from this constant battle…but now we fight.

It might take a long time, but we must leave nothing undone.

The conquering will make us stronger…

I love the verse in Joshua 14: 11-12 when Caleb says, “As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.  Now therefore, give me this mountain…the Lord will be with me.”

 

 

Louise - February 22, 2012 - 9:15 AM

What a great reminder of what we should be doing everyday….weeding out the unnecessary things in life we tend to get caught up in, leading us in the wrong directon and crowding out what really is important. A great reminder of Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk cautioning us to our focusing on doing what’s “Good, Better, Best.” As we conquer this constant battle we will be strong, as well as our families. Thanks Emily for the great analogies.

A Scarlet Thread

Joshua 6:5 – Joshua 10:9

Very few women are mentioned within the accounts of the scriptures, and rarely are they mentioned by name.

For that reason I tried to give special attention to the story of Rahab that we read about yesterday and today.  I find myself wondering how, in a city so filled with wickedness, she came to hear the story of the Red Sea.  I am even more intrigued with the fact that her pondering upon that subject must have caused her to act.  For, somewhere between the parting of the Red Sea and the moment when two spies showed up on her doorstep, Rahab had come to know the Lord.  This becomes clear in her conversation with the two spies, “For the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.”  (Joshua 2:11)

Through the kindness of her actions in hiding them and sparing their lives, Rahab was promised a kindness from the spies… a promise that she would live through the destruction of Jericho.  But that wasn’t good enough for Rahab who wanted that promise extended to “my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters…” (Joshua 2:13)

In order to make sure she and her family would be saved in the moment of destruction, the two spies instructed her, “Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee…”  (Joshua 2:18)

“…and she bound the scarlet line in the window.”  (Joshua 2:21)

In Chapter six we read of the moment when Jericho was destroyed, “And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”  (Joshua 6:25)

Joshua saved Rahab.

My heart can’t help but be drawn to the symbolism in this story.

A young women whose heart had been prepared.  Two messengers who knocked on her door.

In that moment, prepared, she opened her heart and her home to the story they shared.  Through their conversation she came to know the Lord of Israel.  Once they had left, she shared that belief with her father, her mother, her brothers and her sisters.  Because she had allowed those two men entrance into her home, and through her faith, her entire family was saved.

My favorite image from this story is the scarlet thread hung in the window of her home.  It reminds me of the lamb’s blood carefully placed on each door in Egypt.  The scarlet thread  Rahab hung carefully in her window would serve as a reminder that her home was to be spared from the destruction.  Passed over.  Protected.

Each of us needs a scarlet thread in our window.  A reminder that just as Joshua saved Rahab, the Savior can save each of us.

I am led to ponder the atonement and the realization that to fully participate in the blessing of the atonement we cannot be a casual observer.  It is through our faith, our works, and our longing to know more of the Lord that we fully experience the blessings.  The protection.

For a moment I wonder if we could try to consider the scarlet thread moments of our own lives…the moments that lead us to participate in the atonement.

I am led to think about the Sacrament.

A reminder to always remember Him.

To take upon us His name so that we might be saved.

His name.

A scarlet thread.

The thought of it motivates me to begin preparing today for the Sabbath.

In that moment of Sunday worship I do not want to be just a casual observer.

I want to prepare my heart, just as Rahab did, to know more of the Lord, and to come to more fully understand His atonement.

Through my faith, and through my actions.

Waiting For the Promise by Elspeth Young

Ensign, September 2006

(Click on image to be directed to URL)

Liza - February 21, 2012 - 7:33 AM

The part where it says that Rahab’s heart had been prepared when two messengers knocked on her door, it makes me smile with a greatful heart to the reality fifty years ago,when two messengers with the fullness of the Gospel knocked on my Grandfathers family door in Copenhagen, Denmark.I know they had been prepared for that visit. How greatful I am to have the Gospel in my life because they answered the door and listened.

Tauna - February 21, 2012 - 11:10 AM

Wow! As I read your posting today, the spirit hit me so strongly as I read “A young women whose heart had been prepared. Two messengers who knocked on her door. In that moment, prepared, she opened her heart and her home to the story they shared. Through their conversation she came to know the Lord of Israel.”

Tears immediately sprang to my eyes! I have a son serving a full time mission in England and he is having similar experiences where he is being led to people who have been “prepared” and open their doors and their hearts to 2 young men!

Thank you for your insights!

What Mean Ye By These Stones?

Deuteronomy 34:1 – Joshua 6:4

I am particularly fascinated with the journey of Joshua.

I love the lessons we learn from the moment Joshua gathered the people together next to the river Jordan.  It was clear that they couldn’t go back where they had come from, and yet there was a huge obstacle right in front of them.

What were they to do?

In that period of waiting, Joshua gave clear instruction of how they would prepare for the miracle that would allow them to journey forward.  He said, “Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5)

The people knew where they had come from, but they did not have any idea where they were about to be led.  They didn’t know what the end would be.  They couldn’t possibly understand that promise that awaited them.  They had to trust Joshua and believe in a God that would do wonders in their behalf.

Just before the miracle happened Joshua asked the priests to take up the Ark of the Covenant and walk before the people.  Then Joshua told the priests to walk into the water carrying the Ark.  I try to imagine what kind of faith this must have required.  In my mind’s eye I can picture those Priests stepping into the river that was overflowing its banks because it was so full.  Joshua told the people that if they watched what was about to happen they would know that a living God was aware of them, and that he would deliver them “without fail.”  (Joshua 3:10)

I often wonder what thoughts filled their mind in that moment.  Were they apprehensive about the journey they were about to undertake?  Did they contemplate how they would cross that great expanse of water?

The lesson here is so clear ––they had to begin the journey, their faith had to be made manifest with effort, before the miracle would come.  And so they stepped into the brim of water, and then the waters “stood and rose up upon an heap” and the priests “stood firm on dry ground.”  (Joshua 3:16-17 emphasis added.)

My very favorite lesson from this story is found in chapter four.   Once they had crossed the riverbed, the Lord told Joshua to have 12 men find 12 stones from the very middle of the river to use for a monument on the other side. I imagine that the journey across the river was quite a trek.  These men probably had families, young children, and personal belongings they were required to move across this great riverbed.  Now, as if they had not shouldered enough, they were asked to go back and carry an added burden.   I am sure as they walked to the very middle of that riverbed they questioned the Lord.  Could they not set up a monument with stones from the far side of the river and still remember the journey?

But the Lord wanted stones from the midst of Jordan.

Once they had brought the stones out of the riverbed, Joshua had the 12 stones placed together as a memorial.  “And He spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?  Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.  That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty.” (Joshua 4:21-24)

These 12 men left a legacy to their families for generations to come of their testimony of the Lord and the great miracle of His hand in their life.  Years from that moment, when their children asked “what mean ye by these stones,” (Joshua 4:6) these fathers would point to the river, full to overflowing its banks, and speak of a time when they had walked to the very middle of the river, on dry ground, and carried those stones to the shore.

In that moment it would be their great privilege to testify of the miracles of the Lord.

What are your stones?

Do you keep reminders of the moments where you have seen the hand of the Lord in your life?

Perhaps today you could consider the miracles in your life and then find a way to remember them, so that in a time to come you might share those experiences with those you love.

Loni - February 20, 2012 - 8:47 PM

I absolutely LOVE waking up to scripture study now! Thank you! I have read the entire Bible before and never grasped it like this… I’m anxious for the Book of Mormon!

Become a Possibilitarian

Deuteronomy 22:1 – Deuteronomy 34:1

This weekend we will finish Deuteronomy, we will say a final farewell to Moses, and we will be introduced to Joshua.

If you get a chance make sure you read Deuteronomy 24:5, Deuteronomy 26:11, and Deuteronomy 28:2-14 (and when you read this last one, take just a minute to wonder what it means for blessings to come on thee and to overtake thee.  I am fascinated by that promise…)

But today, if you don’t mind, I would like to introduce you to a possibilitarian.

What is a possibilitarian, you ask?

I love the definition by Norman Vincent Peale…

“Become a possibilitarian.  No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities ––always see them, for they’re always there.”

On Monday we are going to meet one of the greatest possibilitarians of all time.

His name is Joshua.

Remember when he went as a spy into the promised land?

Remember how he saw the possibilities?

Remember how he brought back a good report?

I have come to realize that being a possibilitarian requires courage and strength.  Two characteristics Joshua was blessed to have.

“…and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.  And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou MUST go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn…to give them; and THOU shalt cause them to inherit it.  And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee:  fear not, neither be dismayed.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6-8)

Did you know that the Lord counseled Joshua to be strong and of good courage six different times between Deuteronomy 31 and the first chapter of Joshua?

On Monday we are going to begin to understand why Joshua needed that counsel.

It is because what he was about to do would require great strength.

And it would require courage.

But most importantly, it would require him to know that the Lord would be with him, withersoever he went.

Joshua teaches us that when you combine courage and strength with the companionship of the Lord you can expect miracles.

Possibilities beyond your expectations.

For it was Joshua himself who said, “tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”  (Joshua 3:5)

But I will save that story for Monday.

This weekend, in preparation for your introduction to Joshua, perhaps you could practice being a possibilitarian.

Find courage.

Gather Strength.

Allow the Lord to be with thee withersoever thou goest.

And then prepare to experience wonders.

Greet each day with an enthusiastic welcome no matter how it looks.

The covenant with God to which you are true

enables you to become enlightened by him,

and nothing is impossible for you.

(Elder F. Enzio Busche)

Be Not Afraid

Deuteronomy 16:14 – Deuteronomy 21:23

When thou goest out…be not afraid

For the Lord thy God is with thee.

Let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified.

For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you.

(Deuteronomy 20:1-4)

 

Steph - February 16, 2012 - 6:38 AM

Dear Emily, you are a brave and courageous mom. Josh is an awesome missionary already because he has a mother who knows. These pictures don’t show the courageous mom behind the camera who is trusting and walking and going forward with this missionary into the field. Fear not indeed! What an awesome adventure has begun. Love ya!

Amy Clawson - February 16, 2012 - 8:30 AM

What a wonderful day for your family, Emily! We can do amazing things with the strength of the Lord. :)

Leslie - February 16, 2012 - 9:54 AM

My heart … both my mother heart and my grandmother heart … is full to overflowing. How great is my joy!!!

McKinley - February 16, 2012 - 1:52 PM

What a great example Josh is to all of us…to his little cousins…and more. I love today’s post–my favorite post to date. Brings a tear to my eye. I am so proud of Josh and know that he is going to do amazing things…for the Lord God is he that goeth with him…

wendy - February 16, 2012 - 4:07 PM

Brought back memories of when my 3 sons served missions. It seems, automatically, when I see a missionary, It brings a happy tear to my eye.
beautiful scriptures

Karen Johnson - February 16, 2012 - 7:30 PM

A picture IS worth a thousand words. Today’s blog spoke loud and strong. Truly touched my ‘mother heart’. I can’t wait til my next son goes to serve. Not for another 5 years. I loved being a missionary mom. Today’s is my favourite post yet :)

Jenny McArthur - February 16, 2012 - 10:17 PM

What an amazing mom moment for you. So excited for your family to be able to be blessed with these amazing missionaries. May your mom heart be comforted with the knowledge that the Lord WILL be with them. Thank you for sharing part of your family, and your beautiful testimony with us. I am loving every moment…

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