This is my 52nd post, which means that this marks a full year of posting about my Sundays at church. I am contemplating if I will continue... Tune in next week to find out, I suppose!
*To commemorate our 15th anniversary, my husband and I went on a vacation to Florida, and ended up traveling on Sunday--so this is the first Sunday in a long while that I did not go to church! When we got to our hotel, though, we pulled out our handy LDS Tools app, and listened to a talk from the last General Conference. Ben chose a good one--Elder (now President) Russel M. Nelson's talk about the Sabbath Day. He reminded us that it's not about the list of things we can't do on the Sabbath, but rather what we do that helps make it holy. It was good. Go listen to it! We spent the last hour of sunlight that Sabbath day walking along the beach. We are definitely privileged to live in such a beautiful world.
It was awesome!
Friday, August 21, 2015
August 2015, Week 2
*Today at church I was not asked to substitute for anything. I had gone to an early morning Stake Council meeting, and had a presidency meeting in the evening, but for the block of church, I got to sit back a bit and listen. It was a nice little break.
*In Relief Society, we discussed eternal marriage. I thought it was fitting, since my own eternal marriage started fifteen years ago this week. We talked about how when you serve someone, you love them, and when you love someone, you serve them. I remember reading an article by Kristen Oakes, who is Elder Dallin H. Oakes' second wife. She said when she was in a singles ward, they always had big service project activities, but now that she was married, she didn't need to look for service opportunities, because she had small service projects all around her, like making dinner for the person she loved. I think of that article a lot when I'm doing something around the house that I don't like to do. They are my service projects for the ones I love. I am amazed that by thinking of household work in this way, I have learned to be much more positive, and in a few cases, I even enjoy doing some things that I really didn't like doing.
It was awesome!
*In Relief Society, we discussed eternal marriage. I thought it was fitting, since my own eternal marriage started fifteen years ago this week. We talked about how when you serve someone, you love them, and when you love someone, you serve them. I remember reading an article by Kristen Oakes, who is Elder Dallin H. Oakes' second wife. She said when she was in a singles ward, they always had big service project activities, but now that she was married, she didn't need to look for service opportunities, because she had small service projects all around her, like making dinner for the person she loved. I think of that article a lot when I'm doing something around the house that I don't like to do. They are my service projects for the ones I love. I am amazed that by thinking of household work in this way, I have learned to be much more positive, and in a few cases, I even enjoy doing some things that I really didn't like doing.
It was awesome!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
August 2015, Week 1
*Today at church I went to Sacrament Meeting in another ward before visiting their Primary. It was kind of lonely going to church alone, and I was sitting in the foyer at first, but I decided to go in during the Sacrament hymn, and I'm glad I did. I do know a lot of people in this ward, since it is one in my building, but I was surprised at how welcome I felt, even though I didn't speak to anyone, and I don't think anyone really made eye contact with me, as I was on the back row. It was just the Spirit there in the meeting that made me feel comfortable and at home.
*During the testimonies, one man told of his family's experience performing in the Hill Cumorah Pageant this summer, and another told of going to Nauvoo for the first time with his family, and a woman shared her experience in the Sacred Grove. The first man said that it takes work to get your children to the places where they can build their testimonies. I thought that was interesting. I don't think a cross-country trip is always necessary, but I think that we should, as a family, consciously work to be in places where the Spirit can testify of truth. (I would really, really like to take the trips, too. I do believe there is great value in them.)
*Today as I was in the Primary, the President talked to me about a concern she was having. I didn't know how to solve it. As I sat pondering, an idea of something we could do came to my mind. I believe it was given to me through the Spirit for her benefit. I have been praying to know how to do my calling. As a ward president, there are specific things that you know you have to do each week, but the outline for the stake calling is much more open. I want to support the leaders, but I can't do it if I don't know their concerns. I was glad to be there today to help a bit.
It was awesome!
*During the testimonies, one man told of his family's experience performing in the Hill Cumorah Pageant this summer, and another told of going to Nauvoo for the first time with his family, and a woman shared her experience in the Sacred Grove. The first man said that it takes work to get your children to the places where they can build their testimonies. I thought that was interesting. I don't think a cross-country trip is always necessary, but I think that we should, as a family, consciously work to be in places where the Spirit can testify of truth. (I would really, really like to take the trips, too. I do believe there is great value in them.)
*Today as I was in the Primary, the President talked to me about a concern she was having. I didn't know how to solve it. As I sat pondering, an idea of something we could do came to my mind. I believe it was given to me through the Spirit for her benefit. I have been praying to know how to do my calling. As a ward president, there are specific things that you know you have to do each week, but the outline for the stake calling is much more open. I want to support the leaders, but I can't do it if I don't know their concerns. I was glad to be there today to help a bit.
It was awesome!
July 2015, Week 4
*Today at church my ten-year old daughter and I were able to play a piano duet. We actually forgot that we were scheduled to do it until the day before, when they asked how to spell her name for the program, but we had been practicing off and on for a couple of weeks, so we were mostly prepared. We played "Love at Home," and it turned out really nice. (I didn't mess her up too badly!)
*Our bishop talked briefly about the Sabbath Day, and how we can make the Sacrament more of a focus. I think I've already written this, but it still strikes me that of all the topics (and there are a couple particularly hot issues right now) that the Brethren could have focused on, the one they felt most impressed to stress is a recommitment to the Sabbath Day. I think this is one of those things that if we can get it right, then so many other issues will be in the right place. I hope we as a church can really embrace this and take it seriously.
*I was a last minute sub for the organ and then for nursery. I'm glad that I have the chance to substitute so often. Asking people to be a substitute was one of the hardest things for me to do as a Primary President, and it had to be done almost weekly. I'm glad to be someone that they can come to (when I'm there) and not have to worry about getting an adverse reaction to the request. Plus, I got to be in nursery with my 3-year old son, and he liked having me there.
It was awesome!
*Our bishop talked briefly about the Sabbath Day, and how we can make the Sacrament more of a focus. I think I've already written this, but it still strikes me that of all the topics (and there are a couple particularly hot issues right now) that the Brethren could have focused on, the one they felt most impressed to stress is a recommitment to the Sabbath Day. I think this is one of those things that if we can get it right, then so many other issues will be in the right place. I hope we as a church can really embrace this and take it seriously.
*I was a last minute sub for the organ and then for nursery. I'm glad that I have the chance to substitute so often. Asking people to be a substitute was one of the hardest things for me to do as a Primary President, and it had to be done almost weekly. I'm glad to be someone that they can come to (when I'm there) and not have to worry about getting an adverse reaction to the request. Plus, I got to be in nursery with my 3-year old son, and he liked having me there.
It was awesome!
July 2015, Week 3
*Today at church we had a couple talks about the temple. One of the speakers asked 1) How can we feel more at home in the temple? and 2) What can we do to feel more of the temple in our homes? It is interesting to ponder. He said he gets to go to the same session every week, and now it feels like he's at home there, and people miss him if he can't make it. I hope I can have a time to attend the temple that regularly. The other speaker talked about how his nine year old daughter helps with family history work, and she found a family member of theirs from a nearby city, and they actually got to visit his grave. What an amazing thing! I get caught up in thinking my family history work is mostly done, and if not, there are plenty of other people working on it, but I do have a personal responsibility to get involved, and I'm sure a couple of my kids would be very willing to figure it out with me.
It was awesome!
It was awesome!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)