This Ring Around My Finger

The other day I was asked what CTR meant. I don't think I've ever been asked that question, I almost fumbled at knowing what to say. Choose the right. I guess I just figured that everyone, especially along the Wasatch Front, knew what it meant. It is good to be reminded that is definitely not the case. I realized that not only was I guilty of making this assumption, but I was also guilty of wearing this silly ring everyday without taking any thought about what CTR stood for myself. I like to think that I'm pretty good at not purposefully making 'wrong' decisions, but every now and again the reminder is helpful. What would it be like if by investing in and donning the CTR ring correct decision making was guaranteed? If that is what is supposed to happen, I deserve a refund. I manage to make the wrong choices more than I'd like to admit. More than just being a reminder to make wise or 'correct' decisions, I find CTR helps me remember how grateful I should be to have the decision to make in the first place. This is why we're here in this life right? I find my children respond well to choices. Example: "Would you like to go to bed now with a bedtime story or play for five more minutes and go to bed without a story?" Either way they get to bed on time which is what I want along with choosing how they'd like to manage the last few minutes of their day. It is good practice for them in decision making. Bedtime stories and playtime are one thing, I'm sure we'll get into right and wrong very soon. In the meantime I'll work on improving my own decision making abilities with the help of my trusty ring.

Tools and Talents

It is important to remember that our Heavenly Father isn't going to do something for us that we can do for ourselves. Much of our personal revelation is simply remembering what we can do for ourselves. We remember the tools and the talents that we've been given on this earth to solve life's problems. Tools can be things like the scriptures, and prayer. Our talents are those special abilities that we use fulfill our different roles. Effective communication is a talent for example that can be used in all aspects of life not to mention church callings. We've been given these things to serve one another and in so doing we grow and find true happiness. We find ourselves by loosing ourselves. On an individual level, there is no limit as to what we can accomplish as we apply our talents and effectively use the tools the Lord has provided. If this is the case for individuals, think about what can happen when this is applied within families and neighborhoods, wards and stakes. The result is synergetic, and praise be to our loving Heavenly Father who has orchestrated for his children a stage where this is all played out. We can benchmark our personal growth as we remember his love for us in reaching new heights. In addition to those talents that we've been given, we've been promised that if we use them in service that we'll be able to discover additional abilities. These are certain to enrich our lives as well as the lives of those around us with thoughtful application; bringing to us a greater understanding of joy and peace.