Conviction

conviction

kənˈvɪkʃ(ə)n/

noun

noun: conviction; plural noun: convictions

1. 1.   a firmly held belief or opinion.
2. "she takes pride in stating her political convictions"

   synonyms:

   belief, opinion, view, thought, persuasion, idea, position, stance; More

   • the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says.

     "she had been speaking for some five minutes with force and conviction"

     synonyms:

     certainty, certitude, assurance, confidence, sureness, positiveness; More

     antonyms:

     uncertainty, doubt

I've been thinking about this a lot of the past week or so. 

We have been preparing for our Ward Primary Presentation. Most commonly know in most pacific island communities as White Sunday, each year each LDS (Mormon) Ward or Branch has a sacrament programme where the Primary children do a presentation. As Primary is the area which I serve, it's been quite a journey for us all.  The Sharing Time Theme this year is 'I am a child of God'. It's a simple, but powerful theme that speaks to us about our divine nature, who we are and essentially our potential. 

"As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be."      Lorenzo Snow 

What does this have to do with conviction? I think if we were all truly convinced about that statement then the priorities in a lot of our homes would change. Our focus would change and though there would still be battles, we would have an increased, hope, faith, belief that there are lessons in every trial or triumph. We are a family - the kids fight, sometimes we miss do Family Home Evening or scripture study but the world doesn't fall apart. We just get up the next day and try again. Sometimes people are called to serve in areas of church because there's a lot they need to learn or be convinced of and I am most certainly one of those people.





Now the other reason I've been thinking about this word 'conviction' is that we've really started focusing on healthier living at home, work and play. It's may seem like it's been quite the eye-opener but really it's something I've known about for a while. There's a selection of statements you can pick in your self assessment that go something like a) I know i'm not eating right, but I don't want to change b) I'm happy with my eating habits c) I'm not happy and I need help to change. I selected c) because I do need to change, but if I was being totally honest I would've selected a).  When I think about it, there has always been this inner battle with myself about the whole food thing. I'm fine with the exercise. I will do an hour each morning every work day and that will be fine... and then I kill it with the food. 

Am I truly convinced I can do this? 

Again, if I was then my priorities would change and I would stop stop sabotaging my efforts with excuses etc. Truly believing in yourself is really 90% of the battle.

Our family scripture study tonight included this little gem: 

Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  

This one's easy - my family is my treasure. It's simple: I want to be with them forever. I want to be with them on this earth for as long as possible. This I know for sure! It's time to just get out of my own way and get on with it and walk the talk. And that's a lot of walking! 

Amen!