Samuel and the Star

Light of the World – a Cappella – Eclipse 6

Lindsey Stirling - Angels We Have Heard On High (Official Video)

Progressing to Perfection

 

#GiveThanks 2020

 

Even in 2020, the Light of Hope Still Shines Bright | #LightTheWorld

Christmas Day in the Morning | Narrated by Richard Thomas

Oct 3-4, 2020 General Conference

 

♫ Another Testament - Reflections of Christ Slideshow

Names of the Savior | Russell M. Nelson

What Seek Ye?

The essential daily question Jesus Christ asks all of us by S Michael Wilcox (2020)

https://www.ldsliving.com/The-essential-daily-question-Jesus-Christ-asks-all-of-us/s/93206?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email

First and last words have always intrigued me. Their positioning adds a dimension of importance. The first and last words of Jesus in the Gospel of John are questions—very relevant questions for us all, very simple questions, which is wonderful to me. Let’s look at Jesus’s first three words. John the Baptist was standing with John the Beloved and Andrew by the Jordan River just north of the Dead Sea when Jesus walked by, drawing from the Baptist the words, “Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye?” (John 1:36–38; emphasis added).

There is an essential daily question Jesus asks all of us! “Michael,” He says to me, “what seek ye? What do you desire of life?” At different points on my earthly climb, I might have answered that in various ways. How would you answer it? What are you seeking—really, truly, deeply seeking? Andrew, John, and John the Baptist don’t quite know how to answer that question on the deeper level, but they want to know where to find Him, so they ask Him where He dwells. This brings from Jesus what I call “the Great Invitation”—three simple words: “Come and see” (John 1:39). These words are echoed later by Philip to Nathanael, “Come and see” (John 1:46); by the woman at the well, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did” (John 4:29); and even by Pilate at the trial of Jesus: “Behold the man! . . . Behold your King!” (John 19:5, 14).

What is it that we truly seek in life? Notice also that the word seek suggests effort and commitment. I remember that when I or the children lost something in the house and could not find it, we always turned to Laurie, my wife and their mother. She would inevitably find the missing item fairly quickly, then add in a humorous but emphatic tone: “Move something!” We were hoping things would just turn up. I can hear the Lord occasionally say to me, when I am looking and hoping for some soul-blessing gift that doesn’t come right away: “Move something!”

Lucifer usually approaches us with a similar question: “What do you want?” But he can only offer what money or power can obtain. He tried this approach on Jesus during His preparation in the wilderness. I can’t help but compare the implied efforts of the word seek with the effortlessness of the word want. Do we seek truth? The Spirit? Do we seek comforts? Pleasure? Friendships? I think most of us would say to Jesus, “Lord, I just long to be happy! I just desire peace! I need love! I want to feel good about myself.” To these essential desires, Christ responds, “Well, if you want joy, peace, love, serenity, truth, or the Spirit, come and see. Follow me and you shall have all you seek.”

I have taken many long walks with Jesus’s first three words revolving through my mind. Many people I meet are in doubt about what they really hope for in life; or they want certain things but may not realize the need to seek them or how to do it; or cannot perceive that what they are currently seeking will not give them what they really desire. I remember a little book I used to read to my children called The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. It was a simple and delightful but thought-provoking book about a boy who spent his life trying to figure out what he really needed until, in old age, he was happy to just rest. Well, “rest” is also something the Savior promised to those who follow Him: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

In section 7 of the Doctrine and Covenants, Jesus asked, “John, my beloved, what desirest thou?” (Doctrine and Covenants 7:1). In the Book of Mormon, Jesus asked each of His twelve disciples “one by one” as He was preparing to return to His Father, “What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?” (3 Nephi 28:1). I am sometimes tempted to ask, “Lord, isn’t this backward? What do you want me to do for you?” But He is the Giving God and gently holds to His question: “No, Michael, what can I do for you? What is it that ye desire of me?”

In high school, for reasons I could not have explained then, I was profoundly moved by the experience and words of Henry David Thoreau, who built a small cabin by Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. He, too, was seeking, and concluded: “I wished to live life deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear. . . . For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it.” The first three words Jesus spoke in the Gospel of John are designed to move us to thought, so we will not have a “strange uncertainty” about life and what we hope to gain from it. To be totally honest, at this point and situation in my life, since my wife, Laurie, passed nine years ago, I tell my Savior: “I seek Laurie. Can you give her back to me, Lord? As lovely as my mind remembers her?” And even in this, He replies, “Come and see.”

I hesitate to suggest a particular answer to any of Jesus’s questions, but He does give us more than a hint about at least one way we may answer those initial three simple words. We do know what He sought—how He would have answered His own question. “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). That was the essence of His life: “For I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). This would carry through to the last bitter cup He was asked to drink when, in Gethsemane, He prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

“What seek ye?” Just recently, my five-year-old granddaughter Abigail taught me a beautifully simple and poignant lesson about answering this question. It was Christmas Eve. Abigail and her sister had prepared a nativity for the family. She assigned us all our parts: shepherds, wise men, the holy family. Which part do you think she wanted to play? Isn’t it usually Mary? Not this time. She wanted to be Jesus! There would be no doll in this nativity, but an actual child, innocent as was the infant she wanted to emulate. She wrapped herself up in a blanket for “swaddling clothes,” curled up as small as she could on a cushion, and was as contented as a child could be. She lay there very still, because, of course, the baby Jesus would not cry—but I did, and I have often wept again when the memory returns. “What seek ye?” I believe that somewhere in the many ways we answer that question throughout our lives is a constant ardent desire to “be Jesus,” not to just be like Him, to soak ourselves so fully in His life, thoughts, teachings, and attributes that we—as He invited us to do during His ministry—become one with Him as He is with the Father.

For me, life is not a test, but a journey toward a certain destination—so I’ll conclude these thoughts on this first, so-needful question of our Savior with an experience by Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer of War and Peace. He spent most of his life trying to answer Jesus’s question and created memorable characters in his books who also try to answer it. At one point in his life, he was in such despair about the purpose of living that suicide seemed a desirable option. He wrote A Confession, a story of his search for meaning, which included the following experience:

“What happened to me was something like this: I was put into a boat (I do not remember when) and pushed off from an unknown shore, shown the direction of the opposite shore, had oars put into my unpracticed hands, and was left alone. I rowed as best I could and moved forward; but the further I advanced toward the middle of the stream the more rapid grew the current bearing me away from my goal and the more frequently did I encounter others, like myself, borne away by the stream. There were a few rowers who continued to row, there were others who had abandoned their oars; there were large boats and immense vessels full of people. Some struggled against the current, others yielded to it. And the further I went the more, seeing the progress down the current of all those who were adrift, I forgot the direction given me. In the very center of the stream, mid the crowd of boats and vessels which were being borne downstream, I quite lost my direction and abandoned my oars. Around me on all sides, with mirth and rejoicing, people with sails and oars were borne down the stream, assuring me and each other that no other direction was possible. And I believed them and floated with them. And I was carried far; so far that I heard the roar of the rapids in which I must be shattered, and I saw boats shattered in them. And I recollected myself. I was long unable to understand what had happened to me. I saw before me nothing but destruction, toward which I was rushing and which I feared. I saw no safety anywhere and did not know what to do; but looking back, I perceived innumerable boats which unceasingly and strenuously pushed across the stream, and I remembered the shore, the oars, and the direction, and began to pull back upwards against the stream and toward the shore.

That shore was God; that direction was tradition; the oars were the freedom given me to pull for the shore and unite with God. And so the force of life was renewed in me and I again began to live. . . . I returned to the belief in that Will which produced me and desires something of me. I returned to the belief that the chief and only aim of my life is to be better, i.e. to live in accord with that Will.”

So let us “come and see.” Let us “behold the man!” For in the life of this beautiful man we worship, and in those things He asks us, we will eventually find all we seek.

Testimony of Elder Jeffrey R Holland

 

Now, with the advantage that nearly 60 years give me since I was a newly believing 14-year-old, I declare some things I now know. I know that God is at all times and in all ways and in all circumstances our loving, forgiving Father in Heaven. I know Jesus was His only perfect child, whose life was given lovingly by the will of both the Father and the Son for the redemption of all the rest of us who are not perfect. I know He rose from that death to live again, and because He did, you and I will also. I know that Joseph Smith, who acknowledged that he wasn’t perfect,  was nevertheless the chosen instrument in God’s hand to restore the everlasting gospel to the earth. I also know that in doing so—particularly through translating the Book of Mormon—he has taught me more of God’s love, of Christ’s divinity, and of priesthood power than any other prophet of whom I have ever read, known, or heard in a lifetime of seeking. I know that President Thomas S. Monson, who moves devotedly and buoyantly toward the 50th anniversary of his ordination as an Apostle, is the rightful successor to that prophetic mantle today. We have seen that mantle upon him again in this conference. I know that 14 other men whom you sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators sustain him with their hands, their hearts, and their own apostolic keys.

Spiritual Survival Past 4 Months

4 things I’ve learned about spiritual survival in the last 4 months

https://www.ldsliving.com/4-things-I-ve-learned-about-spiritual-survival-in-the-last-4-months/s/93080?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email

If you’re like me, you have probably had someone tell you recently—or perhaps you have said it yourself—that 2020 has been a total wash. Just look at some of the major events of this year: devastating wildfires in Australia, the eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines, the third impeachment trial in US history, the killing of George Floyd, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico, and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said in April 2020 conference, COVID-19 is “a solemn reminder that a virus 1,000 times smaller than a grain of sand can bring entire populations and global economies to their knees.”

But the effects of the pandemic are not only seen in the number of cases or the tragic loss of lives. The mental, social, and spiritual effects cannot be underestimated.

The Washington Post released some staggering statistics in May regarding mental health:

• A Kaiser Family Foundation poll showed nearly half of Americans reporting the coronavirus crisis has harmed their mental health.

• A 1,000 percent increase was seen by a federal emergency hotline for people in emotional distress.

• Talkspace, an online therapy company, reported a 65 percent increase in client usage since February, with coronavirus-related anxiety being a top patient concern.

Personally, I also feel the pandemic has caused a surge of social opinions, and as technology has become the default method of communication, my social media feeds have been inundated with more polarizing posts than I know how to handle.

This “war of words” is something the Prophet Joseph Smith also knew well, as evidenced by what he wrote in his personal history, “Great multitudes united themselves to different . . . parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, ‘Lo here!’ and others, ‘Lo there!’ . . . A scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued . . . so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions” (Joseph Smith—History 1:5-6).

Despite all of the voices and through all the noise, there was one voice that mattered most to Joseph, and it’s that voice that should matter the most to us in our time of strife—the voice of the Lord.

President Russell M. Nelson has invited each of us to “think deeply and often about this key question: ‘How do you hear Him?’”

The year 2020 likely won’t be one that pops up in my Facebook memories with glorious travel pictures or awesome hangouts, but I think 2020 will be memorable for a different reason—how I’ve focused more on hearing the voice of the Savior during “a scene of great confusion and bad feeling.”

Here are four lessons I’ve learned in the last few months about spiritual survival in tumultuous 2020. 

1. Nothing is more important than love.

I sometimes think about the people who heard the Savior’s voice firsthand. In 3 Nephi 11:29–30, the Savior instructs the people in America and says:

“For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

“Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

In a joint statement with the NAACP, President Nelson wrote, “Jesus Christ taught an inspired model that leads to peace and harmony—to love God first, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves. We don’t pretend that either of these pursuits is easy, but we do declare that they yield the fruits the Lord promised.”

Perhaps when Christ called these the two great commandments, they were great not only because of their importance but because of the effort required to achieve them. In this time of division, perhaps we can all find ways to show greater love, both love of God and love of our neighbor.

As Elder Holland said in general conference, “These two divine directives are still—and forever will be—the only real hope we have for giving our children a better world than the one they now know.”

So how do we show love? Through our actions. To combat the evil of racism, President Nelson said, “We need to foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed, or cause. And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation.”

To show love during a pandemic, Utah faith leaders recently encouraged people to wear masks. Perhaps love can be shown in the simple way of wearing a mask in public, and perhaps service can happen in those simple ways too, which brings me to my next lesson.

2. Ministering can happen in really simple ways.

I love to travel, especially around my birthday in May. This year I had a wonderful trip planned. My birthday was going to be spent in Nauvoo, exploring Church history sites and attending the Nauvoo Illinois Temple (one of the ones on my bucket list). The week was to conclude with my brother’s wedding in Iowa.

Of course, those plans were canceled, and I ended up watching my brother get married through a Zoom call. I started to think of backup birthday plans and ended up crafting a “treat yourself” birthday, which was going to include a stop at my favorite spa. But of course, it’s 2020 and the spa wasn’t going to open in time for my birthday. One day I was bemoaning this situation to my ministering sister. A few days later I got a text from her. She had just gotten an email about a spa that had opened and wanted to forward it to me so I could fulfill my backup birthday plans. It was such a simple thing, but it meant the world to me.

Her simple act of service reminded me of a teaching from President Jean B. Bingham:

“Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to ‘count’ as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others—as well as on ourselves. What did the Savior do? Through His supernal gifts of the Atonement and Resurrection—which we celebrate on this beautiful Easter Sunday—'none other has had so profound an influence [on] all who have lived and who will yet live upon the earth’ (The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles). But He also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave. He served family and friends, neighbors and strangers alike, and He invited acquaintances and loved ones to enjoy the rich blessings of His gospel. Those ‘simple’ acts of service and love provide a template for our ministering today.”

Service definitely looks different during coronavirus. There is always great power in face-to-face interactions. As Elder David A. Bednar recently said during a landmark address on religious freedom, “Gathering for worship, ritual, and fellowship is essential; it is not merely an enjoyable social activity.”

Truly, we need each other. And now as pandemic restrictions ease, perhaps we can look for more physically-distant ways to serve each other. As congregations begin to return to worship services, we can take note of people who aren’t attending, especially our ministering brothers and sisters. I hope that we do our part to account for the Lord’s sheep, because as Elder Bednar said, “Indeed, if the faithful are not gathering, sooner or later they will begin to scatter.”

And if your ministering brothers and sisters aren’t attending because of health concerns for themselves or the high-risk individuals they live with, imagine the isolation they must feel right now as they’ve been strict social distancers for months. Perhaps now, more than ever, these people need to hear our voices.

My next takeaway ties into this one.

3. Sometimes you have to be the one to reach out and ask for help. 

In the Book of Mormon, we learn that “the church did meet together oft . . . to speak with one another concerning the welfare of their souls” (Moroni 6:5).

As I mentioned before, there are serious mental health concerns emerging due to coronavirus. And if you are struggling with something, whether it’s emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, sometimes you have to be the one to speak up about it.

This is a lesson I feel like I have to learn over and over again in life. I love my independence and it’s really important to me, but I think part of “comforting those that stand in need of comfort” is realizing sometimes it takes a bit of vulnerability to say that you are the one that stands in need (Mosiah 18:9).

Most recently I learned this lesson when my grandpa passed away a few weeks ago. Though he was 90 years old, his death caught me off-guard. I had a physically-distant lunch with him on the Saturday prior and we ate lunch together and joked about whether we’d ever make it back to Disneyland, his favorite place. Just three days later, I got the call saying that his health had taken a sudden turn for the worse. After spending one last day with him, he passed away that night of natural causes.

I spent almost every Saturday of my adult life with my grandpa, and suddenly not having him around has increased my own feelings of loneliness during a time of isolation.

But I have been really blessed that when I’ve reached out to others in my moments of mourning, they have been there to mourn with me. On a work call the day after my grandpa’s passing, I was embarrassed when I choked up after someone asked me how I was doing, but instantly I got so many messages of love and support. I asked some friends if I could just sit with them for a while, and their company made a world of difference. But in order to receive those blessings of comfort, I first had to “speak with [them] concerning the welfare of [my] soul” (Moroni 6:5).

Elder Robert D. Hales has taught, “When you attempt to live life’s experiences alone, you are not being true to yourself, nor to your basic mission in life. Individuals in difficulty often say: ‘I’ll do it alone,’ ‘Leave me alone,’ ‘I don’t need you,’ ‘I can take care of myself.’ It has been said that no one is so rich that he does not need another’s help, no one so poor as not to be useful in some way to his fellowman. The disposition to ask assistance from others with confidence, and to grant it with kindness, should be part of our very nature.”

Sometimes you have to be the one to reach out and ask for help—and it’s terrifying. But there is a power in the covenant community of Christ and inviting that community into your life.

4. We need the Spirit to survive. 

We often talk about our physical health. And thankfully, conversations of mental health are beginning to happen more regularly. Yet we rarely talk about our spiritual health—which might be one of the most important health aspects to talk about.

Two years ago, President Nelson said, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.”

Has your spiritual health survived coronavirus? Or do you maybe feel that the constant influence of the Holy Ghost has eluded you during this time? Perhaps without the strengthening influence of temple worship, the weekly renewal of covenants through the sacrament, or simply being able to gather together, you have taken a detour off the strait and narrow path.

Gospel translates to “good news,” and the good news we know as Latter-day Saints is that a detour is just that—a detour. The Savior not only provides a way back to the strait and narrow path, He is the way. He will lift us and carry us back. He has walked that treacherous road so He knows how to bring us safely home.

In a recent Church News video, President Nelson said, “The road ahead will always be bumpy, but the destination will be serene and secure. So, fasten your seat belt, hang on through the bumps, and do what’s right, and your rewards will be eternal.”

The Savior wants us to survive spiritually and will be with us on that bumpy road. He is our Redeemer. As we hear Him and hearken to His counsel, we will be led to eternal rewards.

Looking forward

In an interview with Church News about COVID-19, Elder Quentin L. Cook said, “We will look back on this as a foundational time of preparation and not just something we had to endure.”

Our living prophet has encouraged us to “hear Him”—our Savior. And just like Joseph Smith, we might have to sift through “a contest about opinions” to find His voice. Perhaps circumstances are allowing us to find our own Sacred Groves to commune with Him, and a bedroom closet might be a substitution for a forested wood.

I believe that as we consider how we “hear Him,” even amidst the turmoil of 2020, we truly will find this to be “a foundational time of preparation.”

These are the latter days, so none of us should be surprised when prophecy fulfilled

Change Starts at Home

Our Mothers' Sacrifices

Quarantine Questions to Inspire Your Day

Joy D Jones, General Primary President

Sisters, it is our turn. We have a divine errand from the Lord, and our faithful, unique contributions are vital. - Joy D Jones

April 2020: Apostolic Blessing

Recipe for Prayer

Need Some Help with Enos-Words of Mormon? Here are 4 aids by Lindsey Williams

https://www.ldsliving.com/Need-Some-Help-with-Enos-Words-of-Mormon-Here-Are-4-Aids/s/92610?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email

Tammy Uzelac Hall breaks down the steps of Enos’ prayer found in Enos 1:4:

1.     He kneeled.

2.     He engaged in mighty prayer. (In Hebrew, "to cry" is to utter a loud sound for help.)

3.     He asked for supplication, which is a prayerful petition, earnest request, for his own soul.

4.     He cried all day long.

5.     He cried into the night.

She then explains how we can use Enos’ example and other verses of scripture as a recipe for our own prayers:

·         Pray without ceasing, giving thanks in all things (Mosiah 26:39)

·         Doubt nothing (Mormon 9:21)

·         Struggle and labor diligently (Enos 1:11-12)

·         Have faith (Enos 1:8,12 and "help thou my unbelief" Mark 9:17-24)

·         Pray for others like Enos and Lehi (Enos 1:9,11 and 1 Nephi 1:5, 15)

·         Ask for that which is right (3 Nephi 18:20)

178th anniversary of Relief Society

#HearHim: Listen to the Voice of Jesus Christ

Samuel and the Star

Things to Be Grateful for When You're Having a Bad Day

10 Things to Be Grateful for When Everything Seems to be Going Wrong LDSLiving Nov 2016

https://www.ldsliving.com/10-Things-to-Be-Grateful-For-When-Everything-Seems-to-Be-Going-Wrong/s/76950?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=email

We've all heard the phrase that when life gives us lemons, we should make lemonade. We've also all heard the story of Job in the Bible, who, despite losing all his possessions, family, health, and support from friends, trusted in the Lord and found something to be grateful for—his testimony.

Often life does not go the way we planned and "fate" seems to be against us. But even when jobs, friends, or health fail us, there is always something in our lives that the Lord has blessed us with and that we can be grateful for. If like Job we can keep our sights on the Lord and step back to see the bigger picture, the rough time will pass and we will find it easier to see the abundance that the Lord has blessed us. Though many of the ideas below are probably familiar, it never hurts to think about them more deeply and be reminded of our blessings.

1. Nature

Even if you live in the middle of a city with concrete pavements and high-rises, all you have to do is look up to see the sunshine, sky, clouds, or rainbows and remember God's powerful, creative hand. Buy a plant or visit a park to help you better appreciate these beautiful forms of green life God has put on the earth. 

2. Modern Conveniences

You know—all the little things you usually take for granted like running water, dishwashers, hot water, cell phones, and technology. All of these things allow you to live in relative comfort and ease and are probably making your rough day or week a little better, whether you're notice them or not.

3. Talents

Before you say you don't have any, think again. Whether you write, sing, serve, or play a sport, there's something you do that makes you a better person or helps you understand yourself. When you feel lost, disappointed, depressed, or alone, you always have a way to express it! 

4. Memories

Many of us keep photos, blogs, and journals to record the parts of our lives that mean the most to us. Look back on those pieces of your past and reflect on the good things you have done or been a part of. You’ll be surprised how much you have to be grateful for in your life. 

5. Laughter

Not only is laughter a gift, but it's a contagious one that is also easy to give. It’s hard to feel discouraged or disappointed when you are laughing. See if you can find something about your situation, no matter how small, to laugh about. 

6. Your Testimony

Your testimony is something of infinite, precious value that can't be taken from you. Part of your testimony may include precious knowledge about the plan of happiness, eternal families, and the Atonement of our Savior that some do not have. What a blessing that you have this knowledge and can share it!

7. Tender Mercies

What little things in your day or week could have gone worse? Are there any mini-miracles you missed seeing when you were caught up in your misery? It could be as simple as something uplifting you saw on a friend’s social media feed, one of your favorite songs that came on the radio, or someone opening the door for you. 

8. Your Divine Identity

Because of your knowledge that you're a child of God, you have the ability to become like Him. You have been blessed with opportunities to repent and to overcome the struggles you are facing and to learn from them. This is something that we often say, but don't really stop to think about. Be grateful for your divine heritage and ability to continually improve as you listen to the Spirit.

This usually consists of people like family and close friends who are there to try and cheer you up when life has road bumps. Even if you feel like you don't have anyone supporting you, you can always depend on the Savior. He is the one person you can completely believe knows how you feel. We are eternally grateful that He has atoned for our sins and that He has promised that He will not leave us comfortless. 

10. New Days 

If nothing else, you can be grateful for a new day. You don’t have to be permanently stuck in a rut, and the sunshine will always come out—literally and figuratively. A good night's sleep often brings fresh perspective and renewed energy to conquer your trials. Even if you have to tackle them one at a time.