The Lords Territory

Who's on the Lords side who, now is the time to show... I speak boldly when I say I have made that decision.I declare it  each day when I wake up and every night when I close my eyes. It is a decision that once made will place you on the right team, but not always the popular team, it will be the winning team. The outcome is already made but the players on the team are players that have to choose to stay on that team regardless of how bad the game gets even if it looks like we might be loosing at times.
In our lives we will be required to make lots of decisions big and small.Some of them will make all the difference in our life and the lives of those we love. So it is important to establish a life line with our Creator, the one Person we can always count on, he knows our names and our individual talents and weaknesses.  He wants us to choose him, that means there is a choice Him or the Adversary.

President George Albert Smith, repeating counsel from his grandfather, once said: “There is a line of demarcation well defined between the Lord’s territory and the devil’s territory. If you will stay on the Lord’s side of the line you will be under his influence and will have no desire to do wrong; but if you cross to the devil’s side of that line one inch you are in the tempter’s power and if he is successful, you will not be able to think or even reason properly because you will have lost the Spirit of the Lord” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith [2011], 191).

Therefore, our daily question must be, “Do my actions place me in the Lord’s or in the enemy’s territory?”

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/abide-in-the-lords-territory?lang=eng
So as I ponder those words, and look at my own life and life of those I love I can see how important living the Gospel is and setting a good foundation. So when important life choices come we are prepared to make the hard choices, or choosing between good, better, and best.

Watching my son prepare for his mission has really been an eye opener for me, he has always attended but had not really put himself out there. He was always there but not there. He came to point where he had to make choice, a fork in road per say. Silently he came to place where he needed to stand up and choose.  He chose to serve a two mission , in order to prepare for the hard labor ahead of him, he had to become physically and spiritually prepared. The Lord works from the inside out, so I can only imagine the thoughts and prayers that went on in his mind and heart in order to come to this point. Knowing if he chose to serve he had a long journey of preparation ahead of him. In order to serve you need to be physically able to keep up with the daily schedule that a mission requires. Last October is when he told me he wanted to serve a mission and he was 375 pounds. According to his height he needs to be 280, Eight months later he is less than ten pounds away from his goal. I have watched him work so hard and change so much. Decisions really are that important, keeping himself in the Lords territory gave him the advantage to making the right choice, had he crossed the line he may have never had the courage to change, he might not have ever felt the spirit promptings to make change.
Justin has inspired me so much, that I have been on my own journey to become physically fit. It will take time but I am up for the challenge. Heavenly Father knows us so well, he knows when we are ready for change. Sometimes it takes a long time to work up the courage to want to work hard and make changes in your life. It is worth all the effort to be always and ever progressing.
Pres Uchtdorf said" It is your reaction to adversity NOT the adversity itself, that determines how your life story will develop."
Our lives are really one big story, with twist and turn, ups and downs. So our story provides lots of opportunity growth. We need to pray our way through adversity. Asking God to remove the adversity is really not the answer, asking him to help you through it and to grow from it. Sounds simple but we all know it is not. But we all have been through trials and overcome them, we have looked back and seen the personal growth that particular trial had on our life.  So making good decisions and choosing to stay in the Lords territory will help us navigate through our life.
I have been so richly blessed because of my good choices, that is not to say that I have been spared difficult, sometimes painful experiences. The Lord has defiantly blessed me with trials, and I have looked back and seen growth in myself. I trust that he knows me so well, he knows how to make the best Me I need to be. 
Staying in the Lords territory, wearing his jersey.......