June 5, 2017 was a memorable day for our family. We welcomed our son, Graham Thomas Shawver, into this world after nearly 42 weeks in my belly. If there’s one thing I am certain of after giving birth, it’s that God certainly is still in the miracle business.

Since becoming a new mom, I’ve learned several lessons that seem quite familiar to things I’ve heard in church and that serve as great reminders as I go about my days with a newborn.

As I write this, my family and I are on our first vacation to Disney World. For those who have been here, you know that the staff members will go out of their way to ensure that you have the best experience possible. The nickname for the park is The Happiest Place on Earth.

But, is it really?

This article is Part 5 of Sister Michelle Watson's series "Dealing With Divine Delays," chronicling the lessons she learned during a time of infertility.

"Should I wait on God to tell me what to do, or should I step out on faith and take action?"

Have you ever asked yourself this question? You're seeking God's direction about a big decision or which fork in the road to take. It's not really a choice between something sinful vs. not sinful — that would be easier. These decisions aren't clear-cut.

This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend another GMBA campout. Camp is the one week I look forward to every year, and it is the one week I assume I will be getting no sleep! The theme this year was "in." We spent the week discussing what it meant to build in Him, to be all in, to be in the fold, and to be confident in Him.

On the first day of seminars, the leaders posed a question to my group, the 20 to 25 year olds. They asked us, "If you were to die tomorrow, do you think you'd be in?" Since it was the first day of class, we hadn't really dove into the topic of being in, but we all gathered they meant if you died, would you go to Heaven. I squirmed a little bit in my seat, the question making me uncomfortable as we sat and waited to see how people would answer.

Our present-day world is filled with division and strife, malice and hatred, lying and dishonesty, immorality and shamelessness — a lost world of uncertainty such as we have never experienced.

The perplexity of this present day filters down into our individual lives, bringing storms of problems, fear, anxiety, doubt, confusion ... We are tossed to and fro in an ever-changing world with little or no relief on the horizon of time.

Today, we'd like to call attention to a recent article published by the Student Support Program (SSP). It's titled "Unapologetic Belief" and written by the Gospel Blog's very own Brother Jordan Champine.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

As a follow-up to my article titled “The Sunday School Answer,” I decided to seek some Sunday school answers myself. I decided to ask a handful of seasoned saints from my branch a simple question: How do I keep my faith strong? I set the scene by asking them if somebody of any age approached them with this question, how would they respond? I even dared to ask them a follow-up: Why?

Today's article is another installment in Brother P.'s column, "Lessons From the Nursing Home."

My job mainly consists of getting the residents in a nursing home up and walking. A part of my job that I find particularly challenging is the situation in which someone has the ability to easily get up and walk, but he just doesn’t want to. (In contrast to the guy who has two broken legs and two broken arms and is recovering from a heart attack and a stroke, and all he wants to do is work hard so that he can walk.)

Have you ever driven behind a garbage truck and caught a whiff of what’s inside? How about on a hot, summer day while your windows are open?! Pretty gross, huh? I have been blessed with a heightened sense of smell. Sometimes, that’s a good thing. And other times, not so much.

If sin had a scent, don’t you think it would be pretty awful? It would be the most horrible, rotting smell imaginable ... like death. A smell that would leave such a lasting impression that we wouldn’t ever want to revisit it.

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life,” Proverbs 4:23. As the treasure box of our soul, we find within our heart all the precious sentiments and beliefs we value and hold dear. Just as with the physical heart, the spiritual heart is vital to our growth and well-being. We must do all we can to keep it “with all diligence,” as spoken by Solomon through his God-given wisdom (1 Kings 3:12, 4:29-31). Yet, this diligence is only preserving if we fully understand God’s intent for how our heart is meant to function.

Jesus says, "For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil...” (Luke 6:44-45).

This article is Part 4 of Sister Michelle Watson's series "Dealing With Divine Delays," chronicling the lessons she learned during a time of infertility.

"You owe me an explanation!" Have you ever said this to someone else? I think we use the word "owe" because we feel like the information is somehow payment in exchange for whatever we lost in the scenario, whether we lost time because the other person was late or we lost confidence because the person lied.

I admit that, in the past, I felt like saying, "God, you owe me an explanation."

My husband and I play a little game sometimes where we ask each other to “tell me something good” after a long day. It’s usually just something simple and we don’t tend to give each other grand answers — maybe just a, “I love going on walks with you,” or “You make the best pancakes!” But regardless of the response, it’s a mood lifter and cause for smiles.

King David must have played a similar game when he wrote, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name...Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.” (Psalm 103:1, 5).

Today is a special day for several people throughout the country. Ten men and women went into the waters of regeneration and gave their lives to Christ on this day in 1993 — two in Monongahela, PA, one in Lorain, OH, and seven in Palm Harbor, FL. Nine were young people, and one was young at heart. Some were born and raised in the church while others were not; regardless, each answered the same call.

This article is Part 3 of Sister Michelle Watson's series "Dealing With Divine Delays."

Everyone knows that there are certain spiritual gifts you can't earn. For example, you can't merit more of God's love by being an A+ Christian. You also can't get into heaven by impressing God with all of the good deeds you performed in life. As a young woman in my late 20s and early 30s, I knew this.

But ... I still kind of wanted to believe that if I was a really, really good girl and did everything I was supposed to, then God would reward me for my faithfulness and give me everything I asked for.

Realizing the error of this mindset took me a long time, and it was a hard thump when I hit the ground.

Before you read this blog, you’ll have to read Isaiah 58:5-12. (I promise, that’s your only pre-requisite). I’ll give you a few minutes to do that ...

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OK?

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All right! Now that we’re all on the same page, let me lend you some aid if you’re struggling like I usually do with the words of Isaiah.

I want to first preface that in The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 23:1, Christ gives us a commandment that we should “search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.” The Hebrew translation of the word search means to ascertain, examine, investigate, and ponder. So, let us search the words of Isaiah.