Aug. 20, 2018 ~ Fight the Good Fight of Faith (Week 58)

Hey everyone! 

Here are some cool things that happened this week:

1. We visited a family who is incredible. They don't seem to have much interest in the church, but they invited us over for dinner and the mom and I have such a great relationship. She calls me her Sweet Savanna (lol... problem with having your investigators on facebook knowing my first name 😊) and always gives me mom hugs. When we walked into their home, I saw a piano in their front room, which hadn't been there before!! The mom turned to me and said, "God gave us a piano! Please tell me you play!" 

Luckily, I keep a binder of sheet music in our car. I played a few songs for them and the mom said, "Wow, I feel so much love in our home now!!" I sheepishly thanked them for being the greatest fans and then said, "Okay, now I am going to play a song called, "I Believe in Christ" from our church. I hope you can feel my testimony as I play and know that I truly do believe in and love Jesus Christ." They all nodded and smiled 😊 and then I played. And the spirit filled the room so strong! I had to stop because I had tears in my eyes and when I turned around, everyone else did too. The mom came up and gave me the biggest hug and said "I felt it, my Sweet Savanna. You have a way of opening the heavens." And while I am kind of embarrassed to write that part, I feel so grateful for the power of music. 

"The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us... and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord... Sacred music has a unique capacity to communicate our feelings of love for the Lord... Music is an effective way to worship our Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, GC 10/94 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/worship-through-music)

We couldn't even really get the family to listen to a message... 
But they still received one through music and the spirit… 
And that's as good as any :).

2. Lunch with Hermano Clemente. His wife recently passed away and I had the special privilege of speaking at her funeral. I really love them both.

3. A member referred us this guy named Federico. He's a sweet old man and he believes everything we teach him! He came to our ward mission leader house to watch the restoration and was mesmerized and very touched. Then he came to church the next day and stayed all 3 hours. Please pray for him! He's a good guy.

4. "What do you usually teach people at dinner lessons?"

Me: "Usually just how to balance a water bottle on your head."

(Shout Out to Grandpa Marlin!)

5. We also found this kid named Wilson while running at the school track in the morning. He came to church all 3 hours and loved it, as well. Good things are happening!

6. My wonderful Latino family.

7. Whole lotta watermelons.

I remember when I was younger, we always looked forward to family vacations in St. George, Utah. My dad would go for business trips, and my mom and the kids would tag along to swim and enjoy the sunshine. It was always an enjoyable time. But the hard part was getting there. A 6 hour drive for a family of 6 never seems to go well... Especially with young children!

One specific trip I remember clearly. 

I was probably 12, Sawyer 16, Alexa 8, and Camilla 4. Camilla and Alexa were sitting in the middle section of the car, and they began to fight. Camilla has always been a bit feisty (to say the least). She is competitive and sassy and HAS to do things her way. Alexa has always been a bit shy, sweet and dislikes confrontation. 
                                                                   (Alexa, Age 8)

Well, as my 2 younger sisters began to fight, Camilla (the 4-year old) picked up the middle seat belt and began to hit Alexa (the 8-year old) with the metal buckle. Alexa began to scream and cry and say "DAD!!! Camilla is hitting me with the seat belt!" 



(Camilla, Age 4)

And my wise and incredible father looked in the rearview mirror and calmly responded, "Well, Alexa, hit her back!" 


                          (Yup, that's Camilla 😉)

How many times in life do we feel like we are getting beat up by Satan? How often do we let him fill our mind with negative thoughts? How often do we let him tell us that we aren't good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or spiritual enough? How often do we scream, "DAD! HEAVENLY FATHER! Help me!" as we remain still and let Satan continue to hit us? 

Why are we so set on remaining on the defense?

“For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev 6:17)

If I have learned anything from my mission, it's that we won't get rid of Satan's annoyance unless we fight back. It's not enough to just sit there and ask for help as we fail to do something about his hits. We CAN and SHOULD play offense against Satan. We can fight him by doing the things that make him weaker, like reading our scriptures daily and saying prayers of gratitude. He HATES it when we have family home evening and serve those around us, so why don't we do that more? Why do we let him in the ring by skipping church and participating in entertainment that hurts our spirits? 

We must “fight the good fight of faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12)

I believe that this life isn't just supposed to be a boxing match where Satan throws the punches and we stand with our gloves on, trying our very best to defend ourselves. Maybe it's time that we hit him back. He's afraid of strong, God-loving people... so be that! Satan won't stop trying to knock us down- he wants us to be as miserable as he is. But we sure can make him weaker and fight back. These days, we have to. We can't afford to NOT stand against the forces of evil.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6:13-16)

May we do the things necessary to make Satan weaker.

He knows our weaknesses, but we also know his.

Let’s pray, 
read the scriptures, 
go to church, 
serve others, and 
obey the commandments.

This is a fight we already know the score to, and those on the team of God will win. 

Thank goodness that we have Him as such a great coach.

I love you all.

Thank you for your love and support.

I think about and pray 
for you all often. ❤❤❤

Xoxo

Hermana Brooks