1 Nephi 7

Sorry this post is a wee bit late....I spent a little too much time Skyping my family last night, so blogging got pushed to today. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend like I did and are all rested up to dive into 1 Nephi chapter 7. So this is the part where Nephi and his brothers bring Ishmael and his family into the wilderness with them. Nephi, his brothers and Zoram then marry the daughters of Ishmael. Where would this story be without a little romance, right? So, Laman and Lemuel and two of the sons of Ishmael had to ruin things and start complaining and conspiring against Nephi. Now look at verse 11 where Nephi says, "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?" Replace the phrase "out of the hands of Laban" and "that we should obtain the record" and put in one of your own trials. For example, "delivering me from my cold so that I could sleep and be ready for my exam." Or, "delivering me from a late house payment so that I could pay my tithing." This verse is a good reminder that we need to remember the blessings we have received and the challenges the Lord has gotten us through. In verse 12 Nephi goes on to say, "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him." It isn't just the Nephi's and Moroni's of the world that receive miracles from the Lord. Its the you's and me's of the world. So, I challenge you to count your blessings this week (don't worry, I'll be doing it too). If you do it, comment and let me know if it changed your day, or maybe even your week! One last thought from chapter 7. In verse 21 we read, "And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive all that they had done..." Nephi's brothers were terrible to him! But he forgave them in the blink of an eye. That was a lesson I needed this week, so I thought I'd share that little tidbit, too.
To go along with the thoughts above ^^ here is an adorable handout (courtesy of the ever adorable Lil' Luna blog) http://lilluna.com/count-your-blessings-printable/