"Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours and the enemy shall not overcome (D&C 38:9)

Next scripture from my personal scripture study: thoughts, ideas, and inspiration. (see previous note here)

"Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold, the kingdom is yours and the enemy shall not overcome (D&C 38:9)." I am grateful for this scripture today...the blackness has been heavy and it has been a battle that has been tough. So as I read this I think about preparing for war and the challenges it brings.

To me, to gird up my loins is a symbol of making myself prepared to go to work or perhaps even to war. In Ephesians 6 it is the description of putting on the whole armor of God and preparing for battle. Part of that armour is to gird up my loins with truth (see Ephesians 6:14). I love this! The battle against the darkness is often filled with lies about who I truly am or what I am capable of doing. Having my loins girt about with truth includes the truth that I am a child of God. We are all God's children. This truth is vital for us to know and understand in order to win the battle against the darkness.

Having to gird up my loins is also a symbol of being pure and chaste, thus I must keep God's commandments in order to be prepared to fight the war that is before me. I must prepare to serve God daily and overcome the enemy of all righteousness (see D&C 10:5; Moroni 9:6; Alma 34:23). Scripture study, prayer, journal writing, and exercise are just a few things that have helped me when the battle is thick with darkness.

You know what? The whole purpose of winning this battle is to beat the darkness. Moroni said to his son Mormon: "And now, my beloved son...let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God" (Moroni 9:6). On my rough days, I can remember that the "labor to perform" is to conquer the enemy. I must keep trying, keep serving, keep fighting...no matter how hard the battle. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said: "I simply say to us all, young and old, never give up. Keep trying, keep reaching, keep talking, keep praying- but never give up. Above all, never pull away from each other (Within the Clasp of Your Arms) .

The enemy shall not overcome. I will endure. And in the long run I shall "come off conqueror" (D&C 10:5). Just keep trying. Every little bit makes a difference.

This is a quilt that was made and then donated to the Humanitarian Center. I think about the time and effort that has gone into making it...and then they donate it. What love! Every little bit makes a difference!

This is a close-up:of the detail

Notice that everyone has been hand stitched. Every little bit makes a difference. Just keep trying!

"Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3)

My awesome husband had asked me for several weeks to remember to turn the cold water off in our shower so it wouldn't drip. I kept forgetting. I finally asked him to leave me a note. This is what he left me:

My husband loves me and leaves me little notes...

It is a simple way to help me remember to turn off the cold water "a little more" after showering. I have learned that even though the note is right in front of my face on the mirror, unless I take the time to read it, I don't remember to do it.

I need "notes" to help me remember to do small things that make life better, to accomplish tasks, or to help my children (just to name a few items of which I need help remembering). I am always telling my family, "Leave me a note or I won't remember".

As I was looking at the various notes I have stuck everywhere from my children and my husband to help me remember things I need to do, I realized that God leaves me little notes, too. The trick is, I must read them. These little notes from God are throughout the scriptures. I love getting notes from God. Here are just a few of the notes that have come to mean a lot to me:

" For the natural man is an enemy to God...unless he yields to the enticings of the holy Spirit..." (Mosiah 3:19)

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

"For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37)

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27)

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not" (D&C 6:36) 

"...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6)

"If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30) 

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33)

We all need help remembering, but to be reminded with a note only helps if we read the note. I think Nephi said it pretty well: "Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do" (2 Nephi 32:3). God is talking to us, we just need to read His words and then "go and do" (1 Nephi 3:7). This I testify.