I just wanted to post some of my thoughts about Elder Zwick’s talk before I forget what they are.
| m.deseretnews.com |
Elder Zwick told an amazing story of their early married life, where they were driving an 18 wheeler over a steep path. Their drive took place before infant car seats were required and before seat belts were a regular installation in automobiles and trucks. His wife, was holding their infant son in her lap as they came over the pass. Suddenly and without warning, the cab of the truck began to fill with choking smoke. Elder Zwick was doing the best he could to stop the truck, but brakes alone would not stop a fully loaded 18 wheel truck and the engine was not working. As the truck was slowing down and he was getting it onto the side of the road, to his horror, his wife flung open the door and jumped out of the moving truck with their infant son. He panicked, but did his best to get that truck stopped. When it was stopped, he jumped out of the truck to go and find his wife and child. Thankfully they were both breathing, but her arms and elbows were scraped up pretty badly. For a short while, he just held them, thankful they were alive. When he could speak, he declared, “Why did you do that?!! Do you not know how dangerous that was?!!” To which his wife replied, “I was trying to save our son.”
He then documents how after several days of the ‘silent treatment’ (because each was thinking they were in the right), they were able to move past that place in their relationship. He recognized, as he listened to her that she thought the truck was on fire and was going to explode. Her actions, in light of her understanding, were the bravest thing any person could do. He recognized the problem with the truck was simply electrical. There was no fire and there was no danger. To him, her reaction was irrational. Then he discusses the need for each of us to put ourselves in the others’ shoes and recognize that their situation was not a matter of ‘who was more right’. Each acted to the best of their knowledge to do what was best in the given circumstance. But their knowledge and understanding of the situation was different, thus their actions were different.
He goes on to share with us how when we communicate with one another, we need to ‘turn our corrupt communication into ministering grace’.
He also uses the example between Sariah and Lehi to illustrate his point. When Nephi, and his brothers return to Jerusalem to retrieve the plates of brass and they are taking longer than expected, Sariah complains to Lehi that ‘her sons are no more’ and that ‘he is a visionary man who has taken them to perish in the wilderness’. Given her level of stress, having just traded her comfortable and wealthy home for a tent and left the land where her husband’s life was at stake, to then send her children to return to that land, it is no wonder that she was more than a little worried about the welfare of her children.
| nephicode.blogspot.com |
I noticed as Elder Zwick shared his thoughts and insights about this story, that in effect, Lehi had burst Sariah’s emotional bubble by his response. ‘I know I am a visionary man, but –‘
All of these thoughts, had a greater effect on me because it seems to be the lesson I am currently in the process of learning. I have long been able to put myself into another person’s shoes and see things from their perspective. But in my incidents with Ms. P, I have had to work at seeing things from her perspective and in many cases, I have had to pray for help. When I have done so, I have been able to turn my words to her into ‘ministering grace’ and burst the emotional bubble that seems to be corrupting our communications. When I have not, the situation simply explodes. The contrast is striking!
As my recent words have potentially had the ability to heal our interaction and minister to her relief (I will not say that they have, because since she isn’t talking to me, I cannot know if they are or not, however, since the interaction ceases, I will assume they are doing the right thing) it completely dissipates the current conflict. Poof! Gone! Just like that. Where before she was in a fighting posture, ready to defend her territory against the awful, evil enemy (me), she just suddenly walks away from the conflict. (Which in reality is not a conflict, it is simply a disagreement about how something should be handled. I am really not that unreasonable of a person.)
I LOVE General Conference! I love listening to the Brethren and Sisters and understanding how their words can be applied to my life!! It is amazing the thoughts and impressions I have while they are speaking and as I reread their words over the next six months or so. Simply amazing!
Currently, you can watch or listen to Elder Zwick’s talk over on this page but the written address is not up yet. Onto today’s teachings from the prophets!!! Amazing!
I have been pondering my childhood a lot lately. Things weren’t horrible, but things weren’t always rosy either. I always had plenty of food and clothing to wear. Our house was warm when we wanted it that way and cool when we didn’t (usually). You know, we think of these things as necessities, when in actuality, they are a luxury that many even in today’s world do not always have ready access to. Most of the issues and frustrations we have (at least in the United States) are first world problems, not third world problems (trying to care for the basics). I mean, I am frustrated that it has taken two weeks to get my lawn mower fixed because by the time I told the boys to pull the dumb thing out of the garage and mow the lawn, it was already becoming a jungle, and I actually have time in my day to read blogs, like this one!
As I have pondered about things, I have realized some things that I have always believed to be true, aren’t really true. My perceptions of my parents, for both good and bad, aren’t necessarily accurate. As I have made these new discoveries and been sad in some cases and happy in others, I have also recognized that I am the kind of mother I am because of the kind of parents I had. I have made significant and positive changes in the way I treat others, because of the ways I perceive I was treated. I have turned the negative things that have happened to me, into positive, life changing behaviors that have blessed the lives of others.
There is a woman who lives here in my area. She is an amazing person. I truly stand in awe of the difficulties she has overcome and her service to her fellow men and women because of her experiences. She was born in one of the Asian countries. Her father was in some sort of political trouble. I believe her parents were executed and at the tender age of 5, she and her sister (7, I think) were left as orphans. Because of her parents involvements, no one would take the two girls in. They were homeless at 5 and 7!!! They lived at the dump and scavenged what they could from their city’s refuse to feed themselves, and to take care of their basic necessities. Because of her deprivations as a child, she is the greatest advocate of our homeless population I have ever seen! She drives around town everyday feeding the people. She gathers clothing for them and helps to figure out shelter for them. She has built a shower house in our community so they can bathe. She is tireless and loving and compassionate. Her poverty and difficulties as a child have made her the advocate she has become. She did not allow her negative experiences to give her permission to wallow in self pity. Instead, she has turned her experience into knowledge and used it to bless the lives of others.
Her example is the embodiment of what a transitional character is.
But what I wanted us to think about today is: How can I use my negative experiences to positively change the lives of others?
When we understand the doctrine, that each of us is a beloved son or daughter of God, who cares about and loves each of them, regardless of their life’s station, nationality, race, life choices, or morality, and that we are commanded to love God, and love others as ourselves, when we put those two things together, we have a better grasp and understanding as to what our behavior should be toward others, even when they do not behave that way toward us, or those we love. It takes a ton of self-control, I will give you that. The natural man or woman is plenty prepared to defend and protect ourselves and those we love against injustice. But usually we do it without regard for the rights or feelings of the perpetrator of the injustice. Lucifer would love us to justify our anger, outrage, and wrong behavior toward them because then we misbehave in the name of defense. Now this is not to say that we allow others to abuse us or others. Turning the other cheek does not mean lie down and let them walk on you. But it does require us to look inside of ourselves, to really evaluate our thoughts, motives, and behaviors and to repent when we are out of line in our treatment of others, even when they have mistreated us.
That is hard work!
Thankfully, as we listen to the prophets, pray, and read our scriptures, the Holy Ghost will help us to know when our behavior is out of line. With my last Ms. P incident, I sat down to type a nasty email back and the Spirit said, “Maybe you should write that later.” Ya’, in my anger, maybe I should cool off before I respond. It took more than 12 hours and a good night’s sleep with scripture study and prayer for me to put together the proper response. My Ms. P incidents are training for future use. I know it. I have been told that is the case. So instead of perceiving them as serious annoyance and irritation, they need to be viewed in light of emotional training and calisthenic, my spiritual and psychological work out. (If only I would put that much effort into my physical training. But I digress.)
Anyway, that is my emotional challenge to you today. Think about something that is a negative experience for you. Evaluate what you learned from the experience. Determine if you have used that information and learning to benefit the lives of those around you. Have you made positive changes in your life because of that experience? How can you change it to be a positive thing? We do not want to invalidate the emotional feelings from the experience, but how can you take it and learn from it and then use it to give you power in your life?
PS If after thinking about it for a while, you are still drawing a blank, use those thoughts as some of your questions for General Conference. The Lord will help you to see some of the things He is hoping you have learned from the negative ways you have been treated by others.
And I’m going to post this without photos or links—-because I have that kind of a day. If I get back to it, I’ll fix it and if not, well, that’s how it goes 🙂
I have been having a difficult time lately. I think that is part of why I have not been blogging as much. Blocking my feelings has been a definite part of the last three weeks. And revelation has seemed far, far away. As I have pondered my sorry state, I have recognized a couple of things.
| health.am |
One: I have been comparing myself to others. Major no-no in the happiness game. It is funny because I do not compare myself to the people who live around me. They are somehow in a different category. I compare myself to those women I went to college with. Where are they today? What are they doing? How are they changing the world? How many children do they have? What???!!! Their children are all almost gone and grown and out of the house???!!!! Oh………………….wait………………………..they have three, right? I have a few more than that. Just a few. Anyway, comparison of ourselves with others and then ‘seeing’ how their lives are so much better than ours, that is one sure formula for depression. So I have to cut that out.
Two: Lack of gratitude. Along with that whole comparing thingy……..I have not been very grateful for the blessings I do have and the places I do make a difference. A complete lack of acknowledgement on my part. Ya’——-I had better get over that one too.
Three: Eating. I have not been controlling my eating. On the bright side, at least I have not been eating the things I’m not suppose to eat. Well………….except for that bite-sized Heath candy bar……….but we aren’t talking about that. Oh, yes we are! Whatever. For the most part, I am not eating things I am not suppose to.
Do you have that issue? Are there things you are not suppose to eat, not that they are against the Word of Wisdom or anything, but just things that you know for your body you are not suppose to eat? For me, milk, and all milk products, even butter. I have eliminated almost all of the milk, except butter, and the occasional bite of chocolate. But I need to get rid of all of it, because I am allergic to it. Stinky. Milk is my favorite food! Interestingly enough, I read somewhere (cannot tell you where because I read so much that I do not always remember the source I read it from) but, I read somewhere that foods you are actually allergic to, your body can become addicted to them. Weird, huh? But definitely true in my case. Milk and I have a long history, with them being all of my very favorite foods, like real mac and cheese, pizza smothered in cheese, lasagna, chocolate, etc… When I am having a hard time with my emotions, I want to self-soothe with a fatty bowl of real ice-cream, whipping cream, and caramel sauce, with a banana for good measure. But I am digressing from the topic at hand. The point: do you self-soothe with your favorite foods? This might be a trigger for you to watch. When you just cannot get enough of that food, maybe you are hiding your true emotions or struggling more emotionally than you care to admit.
| wallpapermine.com |
It has helped me to remember, in my depression overview, that even Nephi and Alma, on occasion, wished they could be somewhere else, doing something else. [2nd Nephi 4; Alma 29] Unfortunately, sometimes wishing for those things also contributes to depression and a lack of gratitude. I need to remember that ‘these are my days’. I was saved from the foundations of the world for this time and this place. Out of billions of our Father in Heaven’s children, I was saved to come forth in these latter days, to declare my undying love for the Savior and to stand tall and strong in the face of the wickedness of the world. In Sister Dew’s book “No one can take your place,” she quotes Elder Maxwell as saying:
By divine appointment, these are [our] days (Helaman 7:9), since ‘all things must come to pass in their time’ (D&C 64:32). Moreover, though we live in a failing world, we have not been sent here to fail. Recall the new star that announced the birth at Bethlehem? It was in its precise orbit long before it so shone. We are likewise placed in human orbits to illuminate. God is in the details!” (Encircled in the Arms of His Love, 17-18)
A couple of articles from this month’s Ensign have been helpful in changing my focus:
Lasting Happiness (p. 16)
and
Beyond the Bubblegum Machine (p.49)
(remember that in the search bar after ‘lan=’ you can change it from eng to the first three letters of your language spa for Spanish, etc and read it in your language)
| fineartamerica.com (I want bubble gum!) |
I LOVED Beyond the Bubblegum Machine because I believe a lot of us get stuck into thinking that if we do what is right, life should be easy. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it is not. Life is just plain hard. It is hard for me and it is hard for you. But with the gospel and the Spirit and the right perspective, it is still possible to be happy even though it is hard. Happiness doesn’t come from a lack of trials, but from the ability to weather your trials well, to know that when all is said and done, we have faced and slain the dragon. We have become master over self, that is where the true happiness lies.
Side note: Please do not interpret this post to mean that you can overcome all depression with positive thinking. Sometimes that is true, you can. But sometimes you need professional help because of imbalances within your body. That is valid too. I do believe that positive thinking will help both situations and perspective changes and understanding too. But sometimes more is needed than just thinking.
On Sunday, my sweet primary president gave a sharing time about reverence. She had each of the children write on a piece of paper something that is reverent or something that is not reverent. She collected all of the papers, then called the children up one by one to choose a piece of paper and read what was on it. Then the children decided if the behavior was reverent or not reverent, and they placed them on the chalkboard with a magnet under the correct word.
It was obvious that the children knew what reverent behavior looked like. Yet they were still struggling with doing what they know. I was conducting. As I stood there, I asked them a simple question: What if you know what to do, but you do not do it? What is that word?
Easy, and the children knew the word: Sin.
Right. When we know what we should do and we do not do it, that is called sin. I pointed to the board. “You obviously know what behavior is reverent and what behavior is not reverent. So when you choose not to show reverent behavior in church, instead you are choosing to ……?
“Yep, sin. Even as adults, we struggle sometimes, (in my case, a lot of times) with knowing what we need to be doing, but choosing not to do it. We sin too. And that is why we need the atonement of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus has said, no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God. When we sin, we are unclean. Christ says, if we will repent of doing the wrong things and change who we are and what we are doing, He will not remember our sins anymore and He will forgive us of the wrongs we have done.”
The concept really is that simple, simple enough that children can understand how it works.
This example is something Smiley and I have been working on. Also, on Sunday, I happen to be fixing the bulletin board right outside of Smiley’s classroom. The door was open. I heard the teacher say these words, “Smiley, I really need you to sit in your seat.” Then he told another student the same thing. A few minutes later, he again said, “Smiley, get into your seat.”
At that point, I poked my head through the door. “Smiley, can I talk to you a minute.” He had that deer in the headlights look.
“Are you doing what you are suppose to be doing in class?”
“No.”
“Do you know what you are suppose to be doing in class?”
“Yes, sitting in my seat.”
“Are you doing that?”
“No.”
“OK. Here is the deal. Starting right now, if I hear or see that you are not behaving in class or sharing time the way you are suppose to, you will lose Friday’s stay up night. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Starting now?”
“Starting now.”
Today on the way to school, I reminded him of our conversation and just asked him to repeat it to make sure he had retained the information.
He had.
Then, this afternoon, I had to have the same talk with our daughter, regarding homework and food choices.
Almost the exact same conversation!! Then I took a look at my own struggles and realized, yep, I need to practice some application of the same principle as well.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing that the Lord loves us enough to teach us of this simple doctrine and then to be patient with us as we learn to apply it in many different areas of our lives. It isn’t, “Do this! Oh, you didn’t do it? Then here is your punishment.”
In my experience, it goes more like this: “Do this…….”
“Uh, did you remember that I told you to ‘do this…..’ “
A few weeks later in scripture study, “Remember…………………do this……………”
Months later, “Heavenly Father, I am really, really struggling. Please help me.”
“Did you do this???? Maybe that is why I asked you to do that. Maybe you should consider doing it now?”
I am so grateful for the counsel to act on what we know we should do immediately. (Sorry, can’t find a quote right now.) But I am grateful for the knowledge that when I act immediately on inspiration, I am blessed. “Be swift my soul to answer him and jubilant my feet.” When that is my response, I am so much happier and have greater peace.
As we teach our children to be obedient to what they know, I hope we are all leading by example, and continually examining our lives to see where we can be in greater harmony with those teachings.
By the way, I cannot wait for tomorrow as we get to view the very first General Women’s Conference! I am looking forward not only to new insights and inspiration, but to hear the vision our leaders have for us today!
I had wanted my 300th post to be something totally spectacular and special….instead it has just proved to be a big factor in writer’s block!
I have so much running around in my head and heart right now, that I just decided that I had better give up my ‘big dreams’ of what the 300th post should look like and start writing so I can move on!
 |
| copyright Karen Larsen photography |
Starting from today and moving backward:
I have had a few more Ms. P interactions (for background, see this post [The Saga] and this post [Lessons learned from the Saga]). The interesting thing is that since I know and understand why I have issues with her, when we have another Ms. P incident, I can recognize that my initial reactions are not kind and should be curtailed until I have more time to think and process a proper response. This week, I was again infuriated at another incident. Instead of reacting immediately, I simply left the situation, and prayed for help in responding like the Savior. My anger was still an issue in the evening (incident began about 2:30). But as I wound down for the evening and got ready for bed, one of my children made a comment that led to a thought that gave me new insight into some of her struggles. My heart softened and as I drifted off to sleep, I had a clear idea of what my behavior should be. Then in the morning I prayed for more strength and acted. However she chooses to react to my action, is not my responsibility. It is hers. I was kind. I was gentle. I was open and managed my response with an open heart and with the Spirit.
This week we have been catching up on Sun’s homework. I think it is all in a good place. We are actually on track and I don’t think it will cause us too much stress to keep on top of it.
My laundry is backed up from two weeks of not doing it because of March madness and illness. The games are back on tomorrow and I only have one person who is still kind of sick. The rest of us are functioning. And I have been plowing through the laundry.
Sport has been getting everything ready for graduation and his attendance at BYU in the summer and fall. You know, even though the kids grow and leave the house and they aren’t here everyday to eat each meal and wash their laundry, they still need my time and attention. Sometimes I need to drop whatever my agenda is for the day because one of the college boys calls and wants or needs to talk or needs help with something. Because their schedules are crazy, with school and work and activities, I usually need to drop my agenda to talk with them when they are available. I guess it still amazes me how much time it takes and trying to make the sacrifice to drop whatever I think I need to be doing at that moment. Crazy.
I watched a girl friend’s little people for about an hour the other day (they were about 2 years and 3 years old). All I could think of when they left was, wow, I am so very glad we are older than that. They were adorable and not any trouble. Really. It just reminded me how very difficult those days were when we were all so very little! Exhausting. There is a special place reserved in heaven for mothers whose children are so little and so close together.
 |
| lds.org |
Elder Holland said so:
In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife—or both—may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs—Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island. …..
I know it seems like I have dropped off of the face of the blogging community, but I have actually been attending to my job as mother. I have one blog post in draft mode that I started about a week ago and never finished. I had plans for a second one, but didn’t even approach my computer.
| en.wikipedia.org |
What have I been doing exactly that has kept me so busy? Well, to be very honest with you, attending to my teenagers. Teens are a very volatile group. They are wonderful and they are amazing, but if you really want to be a part of their lives, you have to ‘strike when the iron is hot,’ meaning you have to speak to them in real time, when they are in the moment and when they need the information. If you are waiting for the right time to talk to them, you will miss the moment.
Here is a ‘for instance’ (not this week’s issues):
One of my children was struggling with doing what I asked, when I asked. I was getting very frustrated with him. I needed his help and his unwillingness to do what asked when I needed it was hindering my abilities to function in the household and take care of the other children. I tried for a long time to figure out what I could do or say to help him understand how significantly I needed his help. After a little while of pondering, I had this thought, “Doesn’t he count on you to do things for him? What if you didn’t do those things right away.”
Hmmmm…..what if I didn’t? What would that look like?
This particular child at this time in his life needed me to take him to all of his activities. He is a very social child. The next mutual activity was at the park. When the time came to drive him where he needed to go, I told him to go and get in the car. I would be right there. While he was waiting for me, I changed the baby’s diaper and started the dishes.
| cityofwinterpark.org |
He came back in the house. “Mom! What are you doing??!”
“The dishes.”
“But I have to leave!!”
“Oh sorry. Go and get the baby in the car and I’ll be right out.” He took the baby. Then I found something else to do inside. He came in again.
“Mom! We have to leave!”
“OK.” I went to the car. Turned it on. Then decided I needed a bottle for the baby and went back into the house.
“You’ve got to be kidding!” he said.
As we drove away, I decided the car was low on gas and made a quick trip to the gas station. The activity time is just ticking away…..tick, tick, tick……..
After gas, I remembered that I wanted to run another errand. I left him in the car with the baby while I went into the store for a little shopping. By the time I returned to the car he was furious!
“Mom! The activity started 30 minutes ago!”
“Oh! Really?? I’m sorry. Would you like me to take you there now?”
“YES!!”
| vak1969.com |
By this time, the ride in the car was silent. I think the baby had fallen asleep. As we drove to the park, I started the conversation.
“So you must be really, really frustrated at me if your activity started 30 minutes ago. We’ve been in the car for almost 45 minutes now.” Silence.
“Well, I have been doing some thinking. I realized the other day that there are so many things recently that I have asked you to help with. You say you will do what I ask, but then you don’t. Son, those things are causing problems in our family. I rely on you a lot to help. Part of being in a family is all learning to work together and do our part to help everyone out, especially your mother. Then I realized that there are things you count on me to do for you as well. I have been doing them. Today I decided maybe I should help you as much as you have been helping me.” Silence.
As we arrived, I said, “I hope you are not too upset. But I also hope that you will make a greater effort to do the things I ask, when I need them done.”
He slammed the car door as he left. But I didn’t have any more issues with him not assisting when I asked.
This week, I have been seizing the moment with one of my teens. He has needed me, even though he didn’t think that is what he wanted or needed. It has been a rough couple of days, but I think we are again headed in the right direction. Having two days off of school and spending time as a family probably won’t hurt anything either.
| funstoc.com |
There is nothing more important in the entire world happening right now than the decisions this particular teen was making in his life. They were decisions that will affect eternity, so they needed my undivided attention. You need to do that with teens. If you wait too long, the moment will pass, decisions that cannot be undone will be made. If you are not paying attention, you may even miss that those kinds of decisions are being made. Part of my personal prayers are to know that those kinds of things are happening in the lives of my children. I don’t want to miss being able to weigh in on those decisions. (My heart and prayers also go out to all of those families who are still waiting for word of their loved ones on MH370! We are praying for you all!)
Have a great March Madness weekend! My bracket is already looking sad….. 🙂
Today is an amazing day at our house!! We have many children who are amazing at math. They are not necessarily brilliant, but amazing is accurate. Today is the 14th day of the third month. If you put those numbers together, you get:
3.14=
 |
| I just thought this was hilarious! |
PS….check this out: Strengthening Marriage and Family through traditions. I found it this morning!! See?? Traditions really do strengthen families!
OK I was just too excited so I had to post!!! I love working in Photoshop. I only have the elements program so I cannot do any really cool things and I really don’t have the time to play with the program I have. I am very sure it can do way more than I can do with it. But I just figured out how to change the color of some of the backgrounds I have!!! That is so huge!!! It increases the numbers of papers I have exponentially!! Check out some of the papers I played with!
Original
| beinglds.blogspot.com (thanks Jocelyn!) |
Yesterday I finished reading the Book of Mormon for the umpteenth time. I have no idea how many times I have actually read it. Every time I do, I am still amazed at the number of insights I have. Even though I know the majority of the stories inside, outside, up and down, I find new pieces, golden nuggets of information that help me with my life today. Perhaps it is because I am a different person every time I read, so different passages of scripture just hit me differently each time.
If you have not yet read this book, I suggest you start today. If you do not have access to a hard copy, you can find one online (right here). If it is not in your language, you can change that. In the search bar of your internet browser, where it says ‘lan=….’, mine says ‘eng’ (English) if I change it to ‘spa’ then it is in Spanish. I do not know all of the language codes, but I’m sure you can figure yours out, just try a couple of them.
I have a testimony of this wonderful book!! It is a record and a history of a family who became two great nations. Over the generations of people (the book spans 1000 years of history, 600 BC to 400 AD, and includes an abridged version of the record of another people, the Jaredites, in the book of Ether) hearts are hardened, societies changed, wickedness ensues, and then hard times come and the people soften their hearts, repent, and begin to be righteous and prosper, until greed and envy overtake them again and the cycle repeats itself. But some of their stories of lasting change are amazing!!
I can see how principles in the Book of Mormon apply to me today. They help me to make better choices in my life and help me have the courage and determination to make the changes necessary and bring my life into harmony with the laws of God. My heart is changed and I am turned more to the Savior through the words of the incredible men in this book. I cannot wait to meet them one day and thank them for their diligence in keeping their records so I could have them and my children and grandchildren can know where to turn to for peace and happiness in their lives.
 |
| mormonwiki.com |
I want to leave a similar legacy. I want my children and grandchildren to know that I am a woman of faith. That I have been willing to stand tall and true and to be obedient even when it was hard and I wasn’t sure I could do it. I want them to know that my strength and determination comes from my personal relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ, just as those men and women in the Book of Mormon. Like Nephi, I want to say, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” 2nd Nephi 25:26
I am so grateful for the continued influence of the Book of Mormon in my life. I never tire of it.
| lds.org |
Last year I finally read the Bible from cover to cover. I hope to make that a regular reading also. Yea for the scriptures!
PS. If you would like a hard copy, shoot me an email carin.buildingeternity@gmail.com and include what language you speak/read.
Here is my secret: I am really, really bad at asking for things, especially from my Father in Heaven and from my family. When I was younger, I learned that it didn’t matter what I asked for, I was probably going to have to figure it out by myself. So for the most part, I also learned that I could not rely on others. It was a lot easier in my life to just assume I had to do whatever it was on my own, than to ask for help and be disappointed because someone didn’t come through for me. The good part about that is that I am extremely self-reliant. The bad part about that is that when I really need help, I don’t ask for it.
So for the latest phases in my adult life, the Lord has been trying to show me that He is not as unreliable as the rest of the human race and that if I really need something, I can ask for it. They are painful lessons, I might add. Change is really hard, especially if it means that by asking you have to put yourself out there and be vulnerable and I would rather just handle it on my own. (PS I am sure that is why the Lord has sent me so many children. I cannot possibly keep up with them all on my own. I need His help and the help of my spouse and periodically the help of my ward. If I had fewer children and they were spaced farther apart, I would just handle it all on my own. Nice, huh?)
Last weekend, we had a stake relief society function to celebrate the Relief Society’s birthday. Their guest speaker was a dear friend of mine who at one time had served as one of my counselors when I was the ward young women president. Her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. This past year has been a whirlwind ride for them as they have moved, sold their home, started cancer treatments and just tried to embrace what the Lord has had in store for them. She is truly an amazing woman and I dearly, dearly love her and her attitude! It was a sweet activity.
For the luncheon, they had little party favors on the table. They were colored glass rectangles (mine is purple, but they had yellow, green, blue, brown, etc…), held up by a little wood block and on them was written one word, either ‘ask,’ ‘kneel,’ or ‘listen.’ You know which one I got right?? Yep. Mine says ‘ask’.
And this week, I have a story that matches my theme.
For the last three years, I have wanted a new blender. I had one that worked. In fact, I had three, the $20-$30 ones, with a glass mixing thingy. Over the last few years, I had broken all of them. One was usable but was chipped on the top and you had to be careful or you would cut yourself. I use my blender almost every day to make smoothies, or blender pancakes, or to blend up vegetables for soup, or to make strawberry jam.
Thursday I had invited our missionaries over for dinner and they wanted broccoli cheese soup for dinner. No problem. I have mad soup making skills! Earlier that morning, I moved the blender forward to make smoothies at lunch. The blender was not securely placed into the motor. As I moved it forward, the glass thingy wobbled and fell right onto my beautiful green tile counter tops and shattered into a million pieces. Ugh!
Thinking quickly on my feet, I remembered it was grocery shopping day. No problem. I will just buy another $40.00 blender at Costco and use my household budget money. Sweet!
I got to Costco late…..like at 3:30, with dinner guests coming at 5. Went to the blender aisle. No $40.00 blender. What??!!! It was here last week! Frustration. They had the $500.00 blender I have wanted, but didn’t feel like I could justify that. And they had a $150.00 blender that was on sale for $120.00. I still didn’t feel like I could justify that. I went on with my shopping.
Somewhere in the middle of shopping I had the thought, I should just call Drew and tell him my dilemma and ask him what he thinks I should do. A few minutes later, I did just that. (I also needed diapers that week that usually don’t come out of the household budget.) After a few minutes of negotiation, Drew suggests that I pay for the diapers out of the household budget and he will take the blender money out of another budget category and I can have the $150.00 blender!!! Sweet!! I am all over that! And I got my Ninja blender from Costco! I really wanted a heavy duty blender because I want to make hummus. I love hummus and it is so expensive!
So the point is: Ask your Father in Heaven for the things you need. There are some principles regarding asking that we should discuss later. But we’ll save that for later. Have a great day!
buildingeternity.org 