OPENING DAY & CLEAN SLATES

I LOVE opening day. I always say, "New Year's day, my birthday, and the start of a new baseball season  are my favorite three days of the year." And that is because they each mark a fresh start. All these days, a new beginning is celebrated, and a sense of renewal and potential for greatness is just THICK in the air. You can feel it somehow!

Baseball fans across the world today are greeting the start of the season with the same sense of optimism and excitement, celebrating the possibility of the unknown. "This is our year!" Ugh, feels so good to say it and to actually believe it!

I don't have to think about the horrible record my team had last year... cause that was SO last year! That is the old way we played ball... this year is going to be different for SURE. We can look forward, with a clean slate, and just WIN ballgames. Such a powerful mindset.

When I think about the source of this awesome feeling, I have to go back to Christ. I really believe in the power of Jesus Christ, who is ever-present and can help us achieve greatness. Just like Opening Day, Christ’s grace brings us the opportunity for renewal and potential for greatness. He offers us a blank slate and the potential for a new beginning no matter where we’ve been. We just need to lean into it. And the cool thing about His grace is that we can use it EVERY day... we don't have to wait through a whole 162-game season before we try to reset the record. 

As we celebrate the new baseball season, let us remember to seek Christ and the potential for greatness that He offers. 

PS - I am pretty sure Jesus is a Cubs fan, so that even further increases our chances this year! #gocubsgo

A Widget and a Withered Hand

 

First of all, this is wild - there is a human out there with the name Barrie Devo. WHAT? 🤯

Second, I just saw that the last post was over a year ago... so let's hope this isn't the "annual devo post". haha

I think I’ve shared with a few of yall personally. But the “scripture of the day” widget has changed my scripture study habits the last few months since I added it. It’s all synced up with Come Follow Me and the weekly lessons, and I’ve honestly been able to get into the scriptures pretty much every day since I’ve added it. Which was not the case for a long time. My scripture study has a loootttt of room for improvement still, but at least I am engaging with ancient text regularly now. 

ANYWAY, I wanted to share today’s set of scripture - 

Matthew 12

10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Not sure if everyone on here knows, but 1.) Madison and I just had our 3rd son - River Jonas Hofman and 2.) he was born with a "cleft hand" - he has a fused thumb and pointer finger, missing the middle and ring finger, and a LONNNNG pinky haha (actually it is probably normal length, but looks long when you don't have the middle fingers haha

Here is a picture of his fist - that is the pinky closed over his other digits:

Here is a look at the other fingers:

Of course, I know this bible story, but it for sure hit different this time around now that I have a child with a “withered hand” and have a much clearer understanding of what this miracle would mean for this man, his family, and all of those who knew him. What a life boost. 

And it just reconfirmed to me how much I love Jesus. This guy spent his time hanging out with people that felt different, that hurt, and that were bullied. And that is, I think, my favorite Christlike attribute. He hung out with those that needed His extra boost. 

And this time around I felt the rebuke he gave to the Sadducees less of a “sabbath day letter of the law” thing, and more of a “the worth of souls is great” lesson. We are worth way more than sheep!! Haha 

We ALL have infinite worth, and we need to look past the weird things people do, the “sinful” behavior of others, the “uncleanliness” or stinky clothes, and just see HUMANS. Everyone is out here struggling and we need to do what we can to help them… and trust they’ll do what they can to help us. 

It was just a beautiful set of scripture. And I’m glad I had the widget to get me there. I highly recommend installing it. 

The End.

Postscript:

If you are interested in HOW to get the widget - here is a screen recording (it may not work haha, text me if you're curious. lol):

Rejection Therapy

 Hey all! 

So, Zach and I were chatting late into the night… we started talking about how our missions were such a powerful experiment in dealing with rejection for us. For two years, all day every day, nobody really liked us. 99.99% of the people we engaged wanted nothing to do with us. We were complete outcasts. Just weirdos with name tags walking around trying to talk to people in a language we couldn’t actually speak. It’s hilarious thinking about how much of a joke it really was. But honestly, it taught me SO much when it comes to dealing with rejection… and just implanted a cool resilience inside of me. 

Of course, I still am afraid of failure. Of course, I still want to be loved and accepted. Of course, I still fear rejection. But not as much. 

Zach sent me this Ted Talk of a dude that sought out rejection for 100 days straight (his own little mission, if you will). He would go up to strangers and ask to borrow $100 or ask for a “burger refill” after finishing his food. Just like WEIRD STUFF. But he learned a TON along the way about how to manage his fears (and he tried so many things, also learned a ton about how to turn the rejection around and actually get what he wanted haha). I thought it was a fun conversation with Zach, and a cool TEDTalk, so I figured I would share. If you have a few minutes, give it a listen and maybe try out some rejection therapy… you know, just to feel something haha

JUST WATCH IT

Okay, I know I have talked to a few Bearries about this... but it should be required Bearries homework wot watch this whole series!  You guys, it's so good. I know, you're probably rolling your eyes... cool Cees... a show about Jesus. Whatever. BUT I AM SERIOUS... Just watch it. Please.

SEASON 1 TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-AJdKty74M

SEASON 2 TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tZ7cg4D_z8

Going Hard In The Desert

 

This church video sucked me in with its desert content… and I really liked it. Life is about what we set out to do… not really about if we succeed or fail at that thing. Choose hard things and try your best… don’t chose NOT to do something because you are pretty sure you wont be able to do it… Life is better when you really go for it.

Our Hearts Knit as One

I listened to a GREAT talk from Elder Eyring this morning. As I listened, I found myself just hanging on every word. Isn’t it incredible how the Lord knows exactly what you need? I immediately re-played the talk and tried to glean more from his words.

Principles that lead to greater unity:

• Revelation - What would He have us do?
  • Keep Him in your decisions - in all of our interactions with others, by keeping this idea in the back of our minds, “what would He have me do?”, we can tap into the decision making power of the Lord… it makes potentially difficult conversations run smoothly and peaceably
• Humility - pride is the great enemy of unity
  • Don’t let a discussion of what is true, become a contest of who is right.
  • Stay open - we are all seeking truth and should be open to discover progress that others have made down that path to truth… and if you’re lucky, it is a path you haven’t gone down yet.
• Learn to be a peacemaker - search for ANYTHING on which you agree.  Have the faith that as children of God, there will be truth that you share… and that is ALWAYS greater than any differences
  • Children of God have more in common than they have differences, and even the differences can be seen as an opportunity - The Lord can help you see a difference NOT as a source of irritation, but as a contribution - He can help you see value in what another person brings which you lack.
  • An experience I had two nights ago really highlighted this for me - Tanner Bowen and I could not have more different political beliefs. He believes Donald Trump is one of the best presidents that we have ever had... while I campaigned for and supported Bernie Sanders and fight for socialist policies. We discussed a myriad of topics and we disagreed on about every single one of them. And then we came to a beautiful realization - “we both love our country and we are both trying to solve problems to make people’s lives better”.  Of course the two parties want us to hate each other and think that the “other side” is stupid, or evil, or malicious. And while it can be easy to fall into that thought process, it's NOT true.
  • When we were able to see the common ground, and realize that it is more powerful than our differences, as stark as they may be, the whole spirit of the conversations changed. 
• Speak well of each other
  • Look for what is BEST in each other, not their worst
  • Search for the good intent and trust that people are GOOD, that their intent is NOT malicious
  • no need to speak ill of others behind their back - it only further divides you. Speak kindly and respectfully of all, especially those who think differently than you.
• The atonement brings the same changes in all of us
  • We all should seek to repent and grow closer to God

Here is the link to the talk:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2008/10/our-hearts-knit-as-one?lang=eng

See Their Keys

Last night as I was scrolling through all of the educational posts on my Instagram feed… so many people are teaching about how to dismantle my white fragility and helping me learn how to be a better citizen of the country and fight for anti racist policies.

I came across a post from a friend – a well constructed post, at that – that cited racism in the church as the reason she decided to leave the church.  She listed a few examples of prophets, policies, and quotes that, in the context of the post, seemed really powerful, and looked REALLY BAD.  

Luckily, my testimony of the restoration runs deep, and I believe that the Lord has indeed called prophets in our day.  However, I would be lying if I didn’t say it made me think.  While I am trying SO HARD to dismantle these long-held, deep-rooted pieces of racism, is on of my most treasured possessions (my testimony) rooted in a racist organization?!

Then, this morning as I was riding my bike to work, I listened to the next talk on The Eyring Project.  

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/faith-and-keys?lang=eng

Elder Eyring mentioned a few things:

• “Satan will always work on the Saints of God to undermine their faith in priesthood keys. One way he does it is to point out the humanity of those who hold them. He can in that way weaken our testimony and so cut us loose from the line of keys by which the Lord ties us to Him and can take us and our families home to Him and to our Heavenly Father.”
  • This post, and my thoughts after reading it, were focussed on the humanity of those called to their office. They were men living in a different era, and God was working with them as best he could.
• “The warning for us is plain. If we look for human frailty in humans, we will always find it. When we focus on finding the frailties of those who hold priesthood keys, we run risks for ourselves. When we speak or write to others of such frailties, we put them at risk. We live in a world where finding fault in others seems to be the favorite blood sport. It has long been the basis of political campaign strategy. It is the theme of much television programming across the world. It sells newspapers. Whenever we meet anyone, our first, almost unconscious reaction may be to look for imperfections.”
  • We can always find fault in those that God calls.  We need to strive to recognize their effort to align their will with the Lord as they lead.
• “To keep ourselves grounded in the Lord’s Church, we can and must train our eyes to recognize the power of the Lord in the service of those He has called. We must be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. And we need to pray for the Holy Ghost to help us know that men who lead us hold this power. For me, such prayers are most often answered when I am fully engaged in the Lord’s service myself.”
  • What is the remedy – 1.) seek the Holy Ghost and 2.) serve others and do YOUR best to serve as the Lord would have YOU serve.  

I was enlightened by the words of an apostle. I believe that God calls men and women to lead us.  I know that God loves us all regardless of our skin color. I know that Christ is our Savior and, through Him, all of this crap that is so broken and unfair in our current, failing system will be fixed. It sucks we are having such a hard time figuring it out on our own, but I believe if we keep fighting, we can get closer and closer to that ideal. I am willing to struggle and earn that for my fellow brothers and sisters.

WITH THAT – here is a message from our current prophet on the entire situation

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