*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!
Friday, August 21, 2015
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!
Monday, July 13, 2015
July 2015, Week 2
*Today at church I appreciated the Sacrament. I am trying to be more "aware" during this time of the meeting, and it takes effort, but it is worth it.
*Today our Stake President visited our ward, and after Sacrament Meeting, he asked to meet with me for a minute. He told me his experience in calling a new counselor for me, since one of mine is moving. He said he had a really good feeling when I recommended her, as I had, as well. There was some back story to her calling that he wanted me to know, and it is summed up as we called the right person at the right time. I appreciated him telling me this. It helps me to trust that the Spirit can work through me--and him--and my new counselor.
*Today I subbed for the Valiant 9 class. I prepared a lesson on the Widow's Mite before church, which ended up being an interesting topic of discussion for me and my husband, but when class started, they told me they already had that lesson. They told me where they were, and I taught that lesson off the cuff. It was on the raising of Lazarus. I had them read along in their Bibles while I played the recording of the chapter from the LDS scripture app, and it was very dramatic when the narrator read, "Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43). They liked it. We talked about resurrection and Jesus's power over death, which led to all the questions they had about the size of the universe, how we'll all fit on the earth after the resurrection, how heaven can be on earth if the earth is going to explode, who Heavenly Father's Father is, and so on... (Most questions were answered with, "Have faith in God's plan and timing...because I don't know.")
It was awesome!
*Today our Stake President visited our ward, and after Sacrament Meeting, he asked to meet with me for a minute. He told me his experience in calling a new counselor for me, since one of mine is moving. He said he had a really good feeling when I recommended her, as I had, as well. There was some back story to her calling that he wanted me to know, and it is summed up as we called the right person at the right time. I appreciated him telling me this. It helps me to trust that the Spirit can work through me--and him--and my new counselor.
*Today I subbed for the Valiant 9 class. I prepared a lesson on the Widow's Mite before church, which ended up being an interesting topic of discussion for me and my husband, but when class started, they told me they already had that lesson. They told me where they were, and I taught that lesson off the cuff. It was on the raising of Lazarus. I had them read along in their Bibles while I played the recording of the chapter from the LDS scripture app, and it was very dramatic when the narrator read, "Lazarus, come forth!" (John 11:43). They liked it. We talked about resurrection and Jesus's power over death, which led to all the questions they had about the size of the universe, how we'll all fit on the earth after the resurrection, how heaven can be on earth if the earth is going to explode, who Heavenly Father's Father is, and so on... (Most questions were answered with, "Have faith in God's plan and timing...because I don't know.")
It was awesome!
July 2015, Week 1
*Today at church we had Fast and Testimony Meeting. We had arrived home from our vacation late the night before, and we were tired, but as I listened to the testimonies of my ward members, I thought of our vacation, and I realized that we had experienced a miracle. I couldn't quite get all my thoughts together to share at the meeting, but I wanted to here. I'm calling it The Miracle of the Perfect Timing. (Please bear with me--this will probably be long.) We had gone to the beach on Padre Island at Corpus Christi for the Fourth of July weekend. It was Friday the 3rd, so it wasn't as crowded as Saturday, but there were still plenty of people there. This was my children's first experience with an ocean, and they loved it. The older four especially enjoyed boogie boarding in the waves. At one point, my 12-year old daughter went out to boogie board, and the current started pulling her further from us, so my husband and 14-year old son joined her. They got farther away, and my 8-year old daughter wanted to join them, so she walked along the beach until she could be with them. Then they just drifted further and further until I could barely see them. All of a sudden, I got really anxious about them. I really wanted them to come back, but I couldn't leave my other three children, and they had drifted so far that they couldn't see or hear us. I knew that the only way to get them to come back was to pray for them to come, so I asked Heavenly Father to bring them back to me. About ten minutes later, I was relieved (but not surprised!) to see them walking up to us at our spot on the beach. The kids ran to the water and my husband stayed back with me to talk about the boogie boarding. I told him that I had prayed him back, and we kind of chuckled about it. I asked how our 12-year old did, and he said he didn't know--he had sent her back to me when our 8-year old got to him, because she was tired. I said that she had never arrived. We looked around, and sure enough, she was nowhere around us. I immediately headed up the beach with my 6-year old to look for her. We walked quite a way, but saw no sign of her. I kept thinking about what she must be thinking, wondering if she was scared, or hurt, or would think to walk back the right way, or if she was still in the ocean, drifting, or caught in a rip tide, or, or, or... I stopped, ready to turn back to at least get my cell phone so I could keep in touch with my husband, but there he was, just a bit behind me (with our 3-year old), walking fast, ready to press on. I said I'd go back to the others, but when we looked up the beach--there she was, a tiny spot through the crowds, walking along the shore toward us. We hurried up to her, and she said that she had headed back to us originally, but started boogie boarding again, and just got pulled further and further away without her realizing how far she really was. We were all so relieved to be reunited! So, as I reflected on this during church, I already knew that my prayer had been answered, but all the other pieces of the event--the timing of my feeling anxious and praying for their return, the timing of my husband listing to the prompting to head back, the timing of realizing our daughter was gone, the timing of walking up the beach and pressing on until we saw her, the timing of her realizing she had gone too far and turning back to find us...I could see that it was all perfect, and it was a miracle. My 10-year old daughter did go up and bear her testimony, and she said that the Holy Ghost had been with us on our vacation--and she was so right.
*Today during Sunday School, we talked about the suffering of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. My feelings were already tender, and this lesson was so beautiful. At one point, we discussed the "bitter cup," and if we had ever had experiences where we were scared, and would rather not go through something, but did anyway, knowing the end result would be worth it. It reminded me of another personal experience, and again, I didn't share it there, but want to here. I thought of childbirth, and how it may be a bit of a bitter cup, but my perspective of this changed with the birth of my last baby. With this sixth little one, I was in labor very, very early in the morning, and all of us in the room were pretty tired. My labor hadn't lasted terribly long, but as I was pushing, and knew that his birth would be very soon, I felt a wave of fear--and it wasn't my own. I felt like I could feel the fear of my son, as he was being pressed out of the safe home he'd known, feeling pain and uncertainty. I wasn't surprised when right then the nurse said that his heart rate was increasing. It was a quick flash of insight, and very soon after, when he was born and they handed him to me, I knew that I could comfort the fear away from him, and he did stop crying. I don't know why I got that insight to his feelings right before he was born, but it was so unique and tender. I hadn't really thought of it often since then, but I did today, thinking about how my son had to pass through this challenge of being born, and he was afraid, and I couldn't physically comfort him until he had finished, but it had to be done and it was incredibly worth it for both of us.
It was awesome.
*Today during Sunday School, we talked about the suffering of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. My feelings were already tender, and this lesson was so beautiful. At one point, we discussed the "bitter cup," and if we had ever had experiences where we were scared, and would rather not go through something, but did anyway, knowing the end result would be worth it. It reminded me of another personal experience, and again, I didn't share it there, but want to here. I thought of childbirth, and how it may be a bit of a bitter cup, but my perspective of this changed with the birth of my last baby. With this sixth little one, I was in labor very, very early in the morning, and all of us in the room were pretty tired. My labor hadn't lasted terribly long, but as I was pushing, and knew that his birth would be very soon, I felt a wave of fear--and it wasn't my own. I felt like I could feel the fear of my son, as he was being pressed out of the safe home he'd known, feeling pain and uncertainty. I wasn't surprised when right then the nurse said that his heart rate was increasing. It was a quick flash of insight, and very soon after, when he was born and they handed him to me, I knew that I could comfort the fear away from him, and he did stop crying. I don't know why I got that insight to his feelings right before he was born, but it was so unique and tender. I hadn't really thought of it often since then, but I did today, thinking about how my son had to pass through this challenge of being born, and he was afraid, and I couldn't physically comfort him until he had finished, but it had to be done and it was incredibly worth it for both of us.
It was awesome.
June 2015, Week 4
*Today was a visiting day in church. I went to two wards in two buildings. The Primaries are running well, though they all have the challenges of filling callings and finding substitutes to make things run each Sunday. No one has a great solution to that problem, but it is really nice when the presidencies believe that their bishoprics are really trying to help. When they feel supported, they are much more willing to hang in there and make things work. When they feel they are alone, or are constantly told no, then they can't make it for very long. I hope I can help them feel supported. I think that is one of my big jobs.
*Today I happened to know both Sacrament Meeting speakers, even though I'm not from that particular ward. I loved both of their talks. They weren't necessarily profound, but they were so sincere, and they touched me.
It was awesome!
*Today I happened to know both Sacrament Meeting speakers, even though I'm not from that particular ward. I loved both of their talks. They weren't necessarily profound, but they were so sincere, and they touched me.
It was awesome!
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