As is the monthly practice in my Church, we fasted and prayed this week. We celebrate the fast with a fast and testimony meeting on Sunday. To introduce the fast, we fast from water and food for 24 hours (or two meals). The money we save from this fast is given to the Bishop as a fast offering for the poor among us. I have medicine that needs to be taken with a full glass of water and do not considering do this on Sunday to be breaking my fast. We also partake of bread and water (the sacrament), which is similar to the Lord's supper in some other churches in our sacrament (Sunday church service) meetings.
As I began my fast yesterday, I decided that it was appropriate to make this fast one of gratitude. Every prayer was filled with thanksgiving, when I found myself asking for blessings, I rephrased the thought to thank Heavenly Father. I was thrilled to be hungry, but not irritable with my sweet class of 5-year olds. I even passed out a snack of cheese and veggies without mindlessly eating some... lol I discovered so many things for which I was grateful.... What's so awe-inspiring is how God has opened the windows of heaven and poured out more blessings without my asking for a single one.....
One practice our church leaders have taught us is to hold family home evening lessons. These are wonderful, fun times for us to teach gospel and temporal lessons in our family. Monday evenings are reserved for us to hold family home evenings, though we may hold them according to our desires. An opening song, opening prayer, scripture, lesson, activity, closing prayer, closing song, and snack are common components. We've been inconsistent doing a formal family home evening and it has been one of those things I knew was important, but when it seemed to be me against my family, I just couldn't muster enough "fight" to get it done.... I confided this to a friend on Thursday when we came back from the temple.... My dear, sweet husband came home today from church and said he wants to do family home evening tomorrow (if we go bowling, then on Tuesday)! Wow, I am so thrilled! With him on my side, how can we fail!
I experienced several other blessings today, too, which I don't want to detail here. I will say that there are treasured missionary moments that I could never have engineered. God's hand is evident and I am grateful to be able to be nearby to watch and see what He orchestrates!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
How Do You Know?
How do you know what is real or what you can trust?
The information highway - the Internet - flows with increasing access through nearly every fiber of our society. How do you know which information to trust? We could become jaded and believe and trust no one, but that seems extreme. Snopes.com ( http://snopes.com/ ) was a great help until I lost faith in it, too. As I've reconsidered today, I've decided that I can use Snopes as a tool..... I can take what they say as one voice, one source. I do not know the creators, but you can learn what they have posted online. My husband says to Google anything and everything. I always try to examine the credibility of the links, depending on the subject. It isn't always easy to decide which links are worthwhile. I am not sure how one becomes adept at spotting misleading or false claims, but I hope to be able to choose wisely.
Giving is such a good thing to do, but everyone wants money. Some charities are worthwhile and use proceeds to truly benefit those they champion. However, too many are either inept at managing the money or downright dishonest. Rather than just giving to all or denying all, it seems prudent to be active in making sure that your donations will go to make a difference.
The information highway - the Internet - flows with increasing access through nearly every fiber of our society. How do you know which information to trust? We could become jaded and believe and trust no one, but that seems extreme. Snopes.com ( http://snopes.com/ ) was a great help until I lost faith in it, too. As I've reconsidered today, I've decided that I can use Snopes as a tool..... I can take what they say as one voice, one source. I do not know the creators, but you can learn what they have posted online. My husband says to Google anything and everything. I always try to examine the credibility of the links, depending on the subject. It isn't always easy to decide which links are worthwhile. I am not sure how one becomes adept at spotting misleading or false claims, but I hope to be able to choose wisely.
Giving is such a good thing to do, but everyone wants money. Some charities are worthwhile and use proceeds to truly benefit those they champion. However, too many are either inept at managing the money or downright dishonest. Rather than just giving to all or denying all, it seems prudent to be active in making sure that your donations will go to make a difference.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Things I Wished I'd Learned Sooner
As a newlywed and even as a young mother, I often felt like I was having to reinvent the wheel. There were so many things that I did not know and felt that others knew. What was missing was a way of transferring that knowledge to the younger generation. With our society being so mobile and so many women working outside the home, we may be losing some essential homemaking and nurturing skills that really make a house a home. My mom did a great job of teaching and letting me practice skills before I left home. However, you often don't learn a skill until you need to use it. I guess this is the motivation for this post. I'd love to see this page grow with added comments of things you wished you'd known sooner, too.
FOCUS.... One thing that I've learned to do that I wished I'd learned sooner is to focus on the task at hand and stick with it until it is finished. On the days that I am busy all day with nothing evident, it could be that I ran from one fire to another as "emergencies" crept up. However, it is generally because I would start one task and then putting something away in another room would draw my attention to something else that needed doing. When we lived in Tucson, I enlisted the help of my son's wagon to help with this problem. I stayed in the room I began. Anything that needed putting away else where went into the wagon. Sometimes James would help my pulling the wagon and putting away the "escaped" toy or lost shoe. Often, I'd pull him and or Matt as I'd finished the room and went to put things away. It made it a game for all of us.
THREE MINUTES... Have you ever felt that you just don't have enough time to get your house cleaned? Having enough energy has been a challenge in recent years. However, do you think you could always find three minutes??? I decided that I could always find three minutes. It only takes three minutes to empty the dishwasher. I am not sure what else she said only takes three minutes. When I've had a dishwasher, I find myself reminding myself to stick (focus!) with it for the three minutes and get it emptied. As I reflected just now, I realized that my kids will pick emptying the dishwasher over other jobs.... It's one job that needs doing often, but the end is in sight when you begin the task. The dishwasher is not like Mary Poppins carpet bag. With each dish you put away, you can see you are closer to completing the task.
SCHEDULES.... I must admit I began my married life abhorring schedules.... I am not sure why and I am still not a stickler for one. I have, however, learned to respect and value schedules to some extent. When we homeschooled, I found an absolutely wonderful scheduling tool that helped each one of us know what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. The schedule helped us accomplish so much more. Keeping up on the housecleaning chores has been easier, too, with kind of a loose schedule. Without a schedule, I'd clean when I noticed it needed cleaning. With my loose schedule, I can generally get things done before it's noticeable that they need doing. It's a tool that works for me.
EXERCISE... Though not an athlete my any means, I've always tried to stay active. When I had my second child, life just seemed too full and I decided that I'd do those post-pregnancy exercises when life slowed down. Well, life NEVER slows down. lol I lost a good habit with that choice and one I've been fighting to regain ever since. Even if you have to exercise in three minute increments, DO IT.
What am I doing today to be physically fit? I went to a TIME OUT for WOMEN http://deseretbook.com/time-out conference several years ago. One of the speakers was about my size and ran marathons. She inspired me with the desire to run.... The road to beginning this journey was been full of road blocks, but I finally feel like I can begin training to run a 5K with my family. I may never run a marathon, but I am going to take it one step at a time. For me, this feels like the answer to keeping me fit as I grow older. If not, there are so many other worthwhile activities form which to choose. :-)
FOCUS.... One thing that I've learned to do that I wished I'd learned sooner is to focus on the task at hand and stick with it until it is finished. On the days that I am busy all day with nothing evident, it could be that I ran from one fire to another as "emergencies" crept up. However, it is generally because I would start one task and then putting something away in another room would draw my attention to something else that needed doing. When we lived in Tucson, I enlisted the help of my son's wagon to help with this problem. I stayed in the room I began. Anything that needed putting away else where went into the wagon. Sometimes James would help my pulling the wagon and putting away the "escaped" toy or lost shoe. Often, I'd pull him and or Matt as I'd finished the room and went to put things away. It made it a game for all of us.
THREE MINUTES... Have you ever felt that you just don't have enough time to get your house cleaned? Having enough energy has been a challenge in recent years. However, do you think you could always find three minutes??? I decided that I could always find three minutes. It only takes three minutes to empty the dishwasher. I am not sure what else she said only takes three minutes. When I've had a dishwasher, I find myself reminding myself to stick (focus!) with it for the three minutes and get it emptied. As I reflected just now, I realized that my kids will pick emptying the dishwasher over other jobs.... It's one job that needs doing often, but the end is in sight when you begin the task. The dishwasher is not like Mary Poppins carpet bag. With each dish you put away, you can see you are closer to completing the task.
SCHEDULES.... I must admit I began my married life abhorring schedules.... I am not sure why and I am still not a stickler for one. I have, however, learned to respect and value schedules to some extent. When we homeschooled, I found an absolutely wonderful scheduling tool that helped each one of us know what we should be doing and when we should be doing it. The schedule helped us accomplish so much more. Keeping up on the housecleaning chores has been easier, too, with kind of a loose schedule. Without a schedule, I'd clean when I noticed it needed cleaning. With my loose schedule, I can generally get things done before it's noticeable that they need doing. It's a tool that works for me.
EXERCISE... Though not an athlete my any means, I've always tried to stay active. When I had my second child, life just seemed too full and I decided that I'd do those post-pregnancy exercises when life slowed down. Well, life NEVER slows down. lol I lost a good habit with that choice and one I've been fighting to regain ever since. Even if you have to exercise in three minute increments, DO IT.
What am I doing today to be physically fit? I went to a TIME OUT for WOMEN http://deseretbook.com/time-out conference several years ago. One of the speakers was about my size and ran marathons. She inspired me with the desire to run.... The road to beginning this journey was been full of road blocks, but I finally feel like I can begin training to run a 5K with my family. I may never run a marathon, but I am going to take it one step at a time. For me, this feels like the answer to keeping me fit as I grow older. If not, there are so many other worthwhile activities form which to choose. :-)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Each of Us Examine Ourselves
A friend posted a U-Tube link that I'll repost with this blog. The speaker on the video clip asks each of us to examine ourselves and see if how we treat others properly reflects Jesus' second great commandment to love one another. He emphasized that the doctrines of the Church are even given in love and our understanding of our purpose here on earth.
As I listened to this, I pondered several things. God is love and He loves us. Everything that we do as a Church and individually should be done in love. I've considered how the commandments and doctrines are given as safety measures to help us navigate through life and return to Heavenly Father. Today, however, it struck me anew that every principle and doctrine is given in love. This simple truth lit up my soul this morning as I listened to this video clip.
I also thought how differently we would be treated by others if they were trying to extend God's love to us. If we always acted in love toward others, what changes would we need to make? How would our parenting change to manifest love in all that we do? How would the manner in which we work and even play change? I see a greater vision of what we need to be working toward as I come to understand this principle of love being the motivating force behind every doctrine.
In gathering precious truths this morning, I drew another conclusion. To give the entire story, though, I need to start with our family bowling night. We love Quarter Mania Bowling on Scott AFB. We pay an entry fee, and then a quarter to rent shoes and for each game we bowl. We also eat way to many french fries because they are also only a quarter.... We bowl for several hours, which has ended the evening with my arm hurting. At the very end of the last night of bowling before this week, Ed pointed out that I should be releasing the ball with my thumb pointed up...
I had been bowling incorrectly for weeks.... I remembered what a bowling coach had taught me many years before when I bowled on a youth league at the Cannon AFB, NM, bowling alley. She said to reach out and shake hands with the guy in the middle. She must have also added the exception that my thumb should be up. I had forgotten an important part of her lesson. I had been turning the ball and throwing the bowling ball awkwardly down the lane for weeks without realizing my error.
In pondering the several lessons this video clip brought to my mind, I realized that the gospel is very simple and basic - much like my bowling coach's instructions. We have opportunities to teach and learn the very same simple gospel truths over and over again. However, I only had my memory to fall back on and it was faulty. We don't have to rely on our memory. We can continually keep the truths before our minds by attending our Sunday meetings, studying the scriptures, praying always, and all the very basic steps of our faith. We can keep adjusting our vision, too, to align more closely with heaven, too.
Did my change in how I was bowling make a difference when we bowled last night? Decidedly so! Not only did my arm feel great through all the games of bowling, but I bowled some of my best games of my life. In recent years, I've come to see repentance as a gift given by a Heavenly Father. With my improved vision of the love aspect of this and all principles, I am grateful that we have the opportunity to continue checking our behavior, our vision, our understanding of gospel truths. When we find a seemingly small error (much like my turning my hand as I bowled), we can quickly repent and align ourselves on that straight and narrow path that will lead us back to Heavenly Father.
As I listened to this, I pondered several things. God is love and He loves us. Everything that we do as a Church and individually should be done in love. I've considered how the commandments and doctrines are given as safety measures to help us navigate through life and return to Heavenly Father. Today, however, it struck me anew that every principle and doctrine is given in love. This simple truth lit up my soul this morning as I listened to this video clip.
I also thought how differently we would be treated by others if they were trying to extend God's love to us. If we always acted in love toward others, what changes would we need to make? How would our parenting change to manifest love in all that we do? How would the manner in which we work and even play change? I see a greater vision of what we need to be working toward as I come to understand this principle of love being the motivating force behind every doctrine.
In gathering precious truths this morning, I drew another conclusion. To give the entire story, though, I need to start with our family bowling night. We love Quarter Mania Bowling on Scott AFB. We pay an entry fee, and then a quarter to rent shoes and for each game we bowl. We also eat way to many french fries because they are also only a quarter.... We bowl for several hours, which has ended the evening with my arm hurting. At the very end of the last night of bowling before this week, Ed pointed out that I should be releasing the ball with my thumb pointed up...
I had been bowling incorrectly for weeks.... I remembered what a bowling coach had taught me many years before when I bowled on a youth league at the Cannon AFB, NM, bowling alley. She said to reach out and shake hands with the guy in the middle. She must have also added the exception that my thumb should be up. I had forgotten an important part of her lesson. I had been turning the ball and throwing the bowling ball awkwardly down the lane for weeks without realizing my error.
In pondering the several lessons this video clip brought to my mind, I realized that the gospel is very simple and basic - much like my bowling coach's instructions. We have opportunities to teach and learn the very same simple gospel truths over and over again. However, I only had my memory to fall back on and it was faulty. We don't have to rely on our memory. We can continually keep the truths before our minds by attending our Sunday meetings, studying the scriptures, praying always, and all the very basic steps of our faith. We can keep adjusting our vision, too, to align more closely with heaven, too.
Did my change in how I was bowling make a difference when we bowled last night? Decidedly so! Not only did my arm feel great through all the games of bowling, but I bowled some of my best games of my life. In recent years, I've come to see repentance as a gift given by a Heavenly Father. With my improved vision of the love aspect of this and all principles, I am grateful that we have the opportunity to continue checking our behavior, our vision, our understanding of gospel truths. When we find a seemingly small error (much like my turning my hand as I bowled), we can quickly repent and align ourselves on that straight and narrow path that will lead us back to Heavenly Father.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)