Jet Mariano

Tag: sanctification

  • Soul-Stretching Days: Learning to Let God Shape Me

    Night setup: Nikon 14–24mm f/2.8G on tripod • Manual/Bulb • 30-second exposure • f/2.8 • ISO 2400

    Excerpt
    It struck on a day I never expected—like the day I lost my father, on my birthday. The same jolt ⚡️ twice. Bitter and sweet at once.

    Intro
    Some experiences arrive unannounced and unforgettable. The day held joy—time with loved ones, a wonderful dinner, thoughtful gifts 🎁 (I treasure shirts and cologne and keep them for years). Yet the soul-stretching overshadowed the sweetness, and the ache still lingers.

    Notes from Elder Neal A. Maxwell
    • “It takes time to prepare for eternity.”
    • God customizes our curriculum—He gives what we need, not always what we like.
    • Discipleship is daily; steady choosing matters more than dramatic moments.
    • Meekness is strength under control.
    • Cheerfully submit: trust His timing and tutoring.
    • Be grounded and settled in Christ to endure well, not just long.

    Perspective
    The lingering pain doesn’t mean I failed; it means the lesson matters. Like completed IT projects etched in memory, some days don’t fade—they shape.

    Practice (today, not someday)
    • Pause to breathe and pray before I speak.
    • Trade rumination for one small act of service.
    • Write three lines of gratitude (including a gift I’ll lovingly keep).
    • Use meek words with firm boundaries.

    Final Reflection
    Bitter because it hurt. Sweet because love showed up. Both can be true while God stretches my capacity for trust and kindness.

    Pocket I’m keeping
    “Customized by a loving Father.” Not random storms—tailored tutoring.

    What I hear now
    Be still. Do the next right thing. Let Me do the shaping.

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  • Marked in Time — “Preparing to Stand on Holy Ground”

    Reflections before reverence — a quiet stream “washes the edge” as the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple rises in the pool, a reminder to lay down our “shoes” and step onto holy ground.

    Excerpt
    Moses removed his shoes; I can remove my impurities. How I’m preparing my heart to meet God—at the temple and at home.

    Intro
    “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).
    Elder Ulisses Soares: “Taking off our worldly shoes is the beginning of stepping onto holy ground and being transformed in higher and holier ways.” — “Reverence for Sacred Things,” Apr 2025

    Straight line (what he’s saying)
    • Holy spaces (temples, homes, dedicated places) call for removing impurity before we approach.
    • The Lord’s pattern repeats: printing office “holy, undefiled”; temple “mine holy house”; Missouri temple where the pure in heart shall see God—holiness is both place and people.
    • Small, intentional acts (like forgiving in the parking lot) are today’s “shoe removal.”
    • We don’t make ourselves holy; we offer our will. Christ’s Atonement does the sanctifying.
    • Holiness is practical: reverence, clean hands/heart, focus, and meekness that lets the Spirit teach.

    Final reflection
    I arrive at holy ground with dust on my soul—hurry, annoyance, stray pride. God isn’t asking for theatrics; He’s asking for shoes—the little impurities I can actually take off.

    Pocket I’m keeping
    • Pause before entry (temple or prayer): breathe, confess, forgive, then go in.
    • Language fast: no sarcasm or sharp words on holy days.
    • Clean gatekeeping: music, media, and thoughts that fit the space I’m entering.
    • Offer the will: “Lord, here are my shoes today—take hurry, take resentment.”
    • Home altar: make my living room reverent before I ask for revelation.

    What I hear now
    Saratoga Springs Temple at sunset, the waxing gibbous rising—before the doors or the camera, I’ll take off the day’s dust. Then let Him make the moment holy.

    Link to the talk
    Exodus 3:5 • Elder Ulisses Soares, “Reverence for Sacred Things” (Apr 2025) • Doctrine and Covenants 94:12; 95:16; 96:2; 97:15–16 • Moroni 10:32–33 (“Yea, come unto Christ… be perfected in him… sanctified in Christ… become holy, without spot.”)

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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