Solving Problems with the Scriptures

Being a mom, I usually have a lot of little problems that need to be solved.  Sometimes I feel like I run from one problem to the next like the night watchman in the movie Night at the Museum.  Although I've read a lot of parenting books and had a lot of great advice from friends and family, the best advice I've gotten has come from the scriptures.

I recently read the book Change Your Questions, Change Your Life by Wendy Watson Nelson.  One part of the book really resonated with me.  Sis. Nelson encourages us to do what she calls a "30 day challenge."  This challenge involves reading the scriptures with a question in mind for 30 days in a row.

At the time I read about the 30 day challenge, I had a lot of little problems that needed solving.  Mostly these problems were little nagging issues like getting my son to do his homework, managing the budget, and getting over some of my negative thinking.  Sis. Nelson said it didn't matter how many questions you had.  Some people might want to pray about the same problem every day for 30 days.  Others might have 30 different questions.

I wrote down a list of nine questions or problems I was having to start off my challenge.  At the time, I was reading the New Testament gospels, so I just kept up with my regular reading, except that at the beginnning of my study, I would thank Heavenly Father for helping me with any previous questions and ask him to help me with whatever question I had that day.  It was a very simple process--pray about the question and read.

From the start of the experiment, I was totally amazed at how quickly and profoundly my questions were answered.  For example, one day I asked about how I could fit more service into my life.  That day, I read about the Savior feeding the 5000.  I thought about how the Savior didn't call in the caterers but simply used what he had.  The story taught me that I can serve simply because what I have is enough. 

I could go on and on about all how my questions were answered, but I'm sure it won't feel as amazing to my readers as it felt to me.  That's the thing about getting answers from the scriptures.  You have to try it for yourself.