Opposition In Us

I've been pondering lately on what brilliant beings we are...how our spirits are drawn toward light and truth and how if we could see each other in all our glory, we would be tempted to worship even the least of the people on the earth.  All of this, and at the same time, the scriptures often refer to our nothingness, and we often have to learn the same seemingly simple lessons over and over again.

Our Spirit
"Our spirits want only to be with God." (audio recording Goshen fireside - John Pontius)  I have felt that pull from my spirit over and over in my life as I have tried desperately at times to not be a spiritual being, while something inside of me could not live there forever and had to have something more.  This is why "wickedness never was happiness." (Alma 41:10)  Because even though the veil is drawn, and we don't recall our divine nature, it is nevertheless there, and our spirits are unhappy when we are not choosing God. Our spirits will continue to tug on us, and that is a gift in this fallen world.

Fallen Man
"The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam..."
Here are some scriptural phrases associated with the natural man:  enemy to God, bonds of iniquity, contrary to nature of God, devil has all power over, evil continually,nothingness, less than dust of the earth.  (Mos 3:19, Alma 41:11, Mos 16:5, Alma 42:10, Ether 3:2, Mosiah 4:5,11  , Hel 12:7)  Satan does in fact have a lot of power on this earth and when we follow the desires of the flesh, or the carnal man, we are under that power.  Sounds harsh, but it is true.

Opposition
We come with our divine nature into this fallen world.  We come pure, innocent and beautiful.  We come with our conscience, the light of Christ, and we recognize good and evil.  And as we are divine beings in this carnal flesh, in this fallen world we FEEL and recognize this opposition daily.  This opposition is part of our very flesh.

We have the opportunity, the blessing (that 1/3 the hosts of heaven do NOT have) to overcome the flesh, to strengthen our spirits and purify the flesh little by little as we choose God over and over every day of our lives.  The more we choose God, the more light, knowledge, and healing we receive, the more we live after the "nature of happiness" (Alma 41:11), and the more we prepare our flesh, through the atonement, to one day live in the presence of God.

               
  "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them
   which are expedient unto man.  And they are free to choose liberty and eternal
   life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death,
   according to the captivity and power of the devil, for he seeketh that all men
   might be miserable like unto himself

   And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken
   unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal
    life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit."
                                                                                              2 Ne 2:27-28

Prayer and Consecration

Alma 32:9

“‘But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint;

that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first

place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he

will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance

may be for the welfare of thy soul.”   -Alma 32:9

D&C 109

17 That all the incomings of thy people, into this house, may be

in the name of the Lord;

18 That all their outgoings from this house may be in the name of

the Lord;

19 And that all their salutations may be in the name of the Lord,

with holy hands, uplifted to the Most High;

I have loved these scriptures for a long time because it is the desire of my heart to be living always remembering Christ and dedicating my life to him.  I also love the verse in the bible where the Lord tells Moses something like, take off thy shoes from on thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.  I want to walk in holiness to the Lord with nothing standing in between us to lessen the clarity of connection.  My spirit knows the joy that comes from being with Christ and Heavenly Father, and my spirit desires this joy.

Several weeks ago a dear friend talked to me about consecration and some things the Lord has been teaching her about moment to moment consecration. Moment to moment consecration comes from remembering Christ all day long, from remembering in each moment to seek the Lord’s will and guidance and to dedicate what you are doing to Him and asking him to make it holy.  It turns your mundane moments into holy moments that are blessed by our Father in Heaven.  Although I have had some special experiences with the help of this idea, I have a long way to go in fully and consistently applying these principles.

Prayer is such a blessing.  It is our door to heaven.  Here are some key words and phrases associated with prayer in the scriptures: waxed bold in mighty prayer, oft, wrestles, without ceasing, offer your whole souls as an offering, diligence, with all the energy of heart.  No where does it say, short, sweet and without conviction. ;)  

There are many scriptures that say to pray always.  I feel that this moment to moment consecration is a way to do that.  If you are consciously living each moment for God, with the intention of being his instrument, and promptly giving away any feelings from the adversary to Christ, you will have more power over the adversary.  Christ said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always

lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive

by him.”  -3 Ne 18:15

Here’s another fitting scripture:

“Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be

full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and

also for the welfare of those who are around you.” -Alma 34:27

With diligence unto prayer, and with Christ going before our face, we can experience our burdens being lightened by Christ and receiving the joy of those who are able to be his hands on the earth.  This is also a wonderful way to keep an eternal perspective and not become complacent in our spiritual seeking.  Before my friend came and talked with me, I was so desiring a way that I could better maintain eternal perspective in my day to day life.  For me, this is the tool I needed.

Free Sheet Music- "We Will Do His Work"

Guys!  I'm so excited to have something else to share with you!

 I made up this little song to teach the kids for a primary sharing time this month.  Then I wasn't able to go to because I got SICK and I couldn't hear the group of children singing it.  So sad, BUT at least I have this to share with you now.

 I thought I'd write a song to help them memorize part of Mosiah 2:17, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."  Music makes it so easy to memorize, AND it helps you ponder on heavenly things through out the day because it gets stuck in your head.

This is my first experience writing a primary song, and I'm grateful for being called into primary so that I would gain the inspiration and desire to do this.

So here you have it!   In an effort to not hide the talents the Lord has given me and in hopes of it touching or inspiring or allowing for a different teaching tool for someone, I'm sharing.  If you don't have a google account, you will need to sign up for one.  Let me know if you use it for your primary or your children!



We Will Do His Work

Free "Come Thou Fount" duet sheet music

I arranged a duet of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" about a year ago for my sister and I to sing on "The Gurrs" album that is still in progress.  The way I wrote the harmonies and the way we sang them ended up a little different.  We ended up singing a few more unison notes than I had originally written, but I think it turned out quite nicely, so that is the way I put it into the sheet music.  This could of course be done with a tenor singing the soprano line.  I hope you all enjoy it!  Let me know if you have trouble opening and printing the file!  Feel free to sing and play this in church or wherever you feel, just no recording of this version as it is ours.  Thanks!

We look forward to finishing the album (hopefully this summer) so that you can hear my sister and singing it!

Blessings,
Amber

"Come Thou Fount" sheet music

Let me know what you think!
To print it you have to download it to your computer.

P.S. There is one typo off note in the accompaniment MEASURE 29, treble clef accompaniment, last 16th note is an A not a G

"Dear Dad"- The Story Behind the Song

Well, I had the opportunity again to work with Wendy and Rod Santiano on a touching set of Father's Day videos.  The whole experience was wonderful.  I love the song behind the videos and all of the brainstorming and love and performing that went into the creation of this song.

Justin and I sat together one Sunday night brainstorming lyrics.  I wanted the song to be about things that a boy would say to his Dad in a letter at all different phases of his life.  Justin sat and just talked while I took notes.  He talked about how he felt toward his Dad when he was little and how he feels now.  I then took a few days going through the things he had said, and pondering on my own and put it all into lyrical form.   It was a cool thing to ponder, and interesting to think of a chorus that would be fitting for each one of these letters.  What is something that a boy, a dad, and a grandpa would ALL want to day in a letter to their fathers?  Jayden (my 11 year old step-son) helped me decide between two options of lyrics that the child would sing.  That was great because then when he recorded it, it made him feel more connected to the song and the lyrics.

The verse from the Grandpa, at the end (included in the video, Dear Dad-Thank YOU) was written last, after I already had the melody to the whole rest of the song in place.  Wendy came over to hear what I had so far, to help her get a feel for the video, and after hearing it she brought up having the song come full circle, and bringing up memories in the Grandpa's verse that were also mentioned in the child's verse.  PERFECT!  That was it!  Lyrics in place.

One of the other things I LOVED about this experience was having my kids, husband, and father included in the videos and having Jayden, my step-son, Justin, AND my Dad all singing on it.  Talk about moving for me!  It was such a special thing and I feel so grateful to have the opportunities that I have.

To HEAR the song behind the vidoes:

Dear Dad

Dear Dad-Thank You

Dear Dad- One Word

         What Makes You Beautiful: A Message For Mothers

Here is the final product.  Music and lyrics by me, Amber Gurr.  The film was directed by Wendy Santiano (bedheadmom.com) and edited by Rod Santiano.  The vocalists are Erin and MiKayla Baxter.  The song was produced by Aaron Edson.

Happy Mother's Day!

You Are Beautiful

A couple weeks ago my friend asked me to write a song for a Mother's Day video she was making for her blog.  It's a song that is about mother's and daughters and seeing yourself in the same light in which you see those you love.  My neighbor Erin and her daughter, Mikayla are the featured vocalists.  It was so fun to work with all of these lovely people and recording with someone new was also wonderful.  I am excited that we have found a fabulously talented arranger/producer to work with us and our music!  Thank you Wendy, Rod, Aaron,Erin and Mikayla!  I'm so excited for things to come!

Go to this site and hear part of my newest song, "You are Beautiful" on Mother's Day.
bedheadmom.com
Happy Mother's Day!