Many Ways to Make A Friend

I used to be very shy, but now my shyness is outweighed by my desire
for friendship.I was blessed with wonderful group of friends in Fort
Worth who I am very sad to have left.
Thanks to Sharlyn Richardson, Jennifer Linford, Rachel Hair, and
Cheryl Jensen for watching my girls while I packed, and thanks Bryan
Linford and Judy Edwards for watching kids so Jennifer and Rachel
could help me clean. Thanks Bryan and missionaries for helping Joe
load the truck and thanks to Anne and Lorna for driving out to Fort
Worth to fetch me and the girls after Joe left with the truck. It
might be boring for others to read through that long list of names,
but I want those names to be remembered by me as well as Heaven. God
bless those friends as well as others not listed.

Now I'm back in San Antonio and reconnecting with old friends and
doing my best to establish new ones. Along with this effort, I'm
finally beginning to implement an idea from LDS General Conference,
October 2011; I'm memorizing a few scriptures. In his talk, The Power
of Scripture, Elder Richard G. Scott said—

"Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a
scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new
individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort,
and be a source of motivation for needed change."

So, I'm trying to make friends with scriptures. At the time I heard
this it struck me as a great idea for me as a busy mother. It's
difficult to always make time for personal sctripture study, but if I
can carve out a bit of time to memorize a few scriptures, I can call
them to memory even when my hands are full. I've been trying to
memorize one a day from the seminary scripture mastery list and I've
already been surprised at how the words have been a powerful
influence. For example, here's one we all need…

""And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not
puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things." (Moroni 7:45)

These words were jumping in my head wen Caitlin was up at her usual
3am and I was feeling uncharitable.

Of course I'm not giving up on regular reading; I'll also say that
over the past couple of years I've also found that even distracted
scripture reading is rewarded. There's power in God's word. Now I need
to get stuck in the reading habit because I've been slack.

Looking forward to the new friends I'll make.