October 2022, Week 3

*Today at church, a brother spoke about getting answers to prayers, and how even though we don't always get them the way we expect, we can always be grateful for the answers we receive.  He is a trucker, and when his second baby was due, he and his wife prayed that he could be home for the birth of the baby.  She had a couple rounds of false labor, but the baby stayed put.  He came home one morning, she went into labor, they went to the hospital, the baby was born, and he left two hours later for his next job.  He said it wasn't ideal that he was only there for a couple hours, and his wife had to go home from the hospital with his sister-in-law instead of with him, but their prayer WAS answered--he was there for the birth of their son.  It was a great reminder.

*Today at church we had a Primary lesson for the first time in a month!  I missed my little munchkins.  We talked about Jeremiah and how we lived in heaven before we were born and will live there again.  I showed them a picture of when I was a baby.  One of my sweet kids said, "I hate babies."  Ha.  Thankfully the others thought I was cute.  We talked about prophets and how they teach us good things.  The song "Follow the Prophet" really helps them to know a lot of stories about the Old Testament prophets!  I'm thankful for having a prophet to guide us today, and that he knows the way!

It was a delight!

October 2022, Week 2

 *Today was Stake Conference!  We had some really great talks, mostly about "Love, Share, and Invite."  One sister said she was grateful for Alma the Younger's example of his desire to preach, but she's grateful that we're not called to go in front of our city hall and cry repentance to the people-- we just need to love them, share with them, and invite them.  She asked if we are happy being members of the church.  If so, why?  Do we want to share that with others?  Another speaker was a new convert from a non-Christian background.  She told of finding a Facebook ad which was answered by a patient sister missionary in Hawaii, and how she came to know Christ and His gospel.  I always reflect on if I would be able to make the same kinds of sacrifices and changes that new converts do.  I hope so.  Another sister spoke about a friend she had in high school who came to seminary every day for years and had a testimony of the Book of Mormon, but because she was Muslim, she did not convert, and the sister said she felt like she had failed.  She shared that she knows that she did not fail, and that her friend has her own path and knows the love of the Savior.  The Stake Presidency talked about following promptings to share the gospel in normal, natural ways.  So good.

*Gracie (17) was invited to say the opening prayer, so we went to the Stake Center instead of the Wylie building to watch the broadcast, as our ward had been assigned.  I much prefer to attend in person, even though it's much further away.  Thankfully we got some soft seats, because my tailbone does not like sitting for long stretches these days.  (It is amazing how entertaining a very small bit of Silly Putty was for my children during this meeting.)

It was a delight!

October 2022, Week 1

 *Today was General Conference!  My little flock and Ben and I watched from home, and they were so good at sitting and listening, and even note taking, without much prompting from me.  (We only had half a bag of candy corn for motivation, which is an unusually small amount of candy for conference, and they still were good.)  The messages were great, and included a lot about trusting in the Lord and His covenantal plan, and finding mercy through Christ (which interestingly parallels with what we're reading in Isaiah for Come, Follow Me this week).  Also--love, share, and invite.  Can't wait to study them again later.  Actually, studying conference talks beyond Relief Society is something I can definitely improve upon, so this is what my conference goal will be.  Also ministering in person, and not just electronically.

It was a delight!

September 2022, Week 4

*Today in church we had the Primary Program!  It was so sweet, and yes, I brought (and used) more candy corn, and my little class was so brave and spoke right into the microphone on their turns and sang the songs so well.  The Spirit was there, and I am grateful to be part of Primary again.  Probably the best part of the program was the last speaker, who is one of my Primary Activity Boys who has autism.  He at first said something unintelligible, but then repeated his part with help, and then finished with a big, "Hi Mom!" and a wave.  So sweet.

It was a delight!

September 2022, Week 3

*Today at church we had some speakers who are new in the ward.  It's not hard to find those these days!  They remind me of when we pulled up our stakes and moved to Texas, away from our family and friends, only to find new "family" and lots of friends waiting to welcome us here.  We are blessed--and haven't felt the call to move away from here yet. 

*Ben and I were asked to play a musical number, so we did one that we do every couple of years (since our audience changes frequently!)--I accompanied him on "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," arranged by Sally deFord.  It's nice and slow and easy, and it turned out well. (I didn't even forget how to read music, or where middle C is, which is often my fear right before I play!)  I know I'm a pretty mediocre pianist, and will almost assuredly make a mistake (or many), so I always pray that I will be able to add to the spirit of the meeting instead of take away from it.  I think we were able to achieve that.

*It was the practice for the Primary Program, and yikes--being in charge of half of the Sunbeams is almost as hard as being in charge of the whole thing!  Our Primary President had a baby a few weeks ago, and this was her first Sunday back, and our music leader was on a cruise for three weeks and wasn't back yet (but had found a very capable sub for those three weeks), so it was maybe understandably a little hectic. My concern was a cute Sunbeam who did NOT want to sit with us, until I remembered the candy corn I tucked in my bag that morning, and suddenly we had a fairly compliant friend.  I have learned from watching and being intimately involved in MANY Primary Programs (or Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentations, if you want to be technical) that no matter how hectic things seem while practicing, or how much more song/speaking/seat finding practice you think they may still need, the kids always manage to bring the Spirit.  That lessens the stress load for everyone.  And sometimes candy corn bribes are perfectly acceptable.

It was a delight!

September 2022, Week 2

*Today at church I really appreciated the time we have been studying Isaiah this week as it made my Sacrament Meeting more profound.  Not only have we read chapters 1-12 for Come, Follow Me, but Ben and I read in Mosiah 14 when Abinadi quotes Isaiah 53, and his words and the music that Handel used in the Messiah have really stayed with me this week--particularly the phrase "and with His stripes we are healed." It went over and over in my mind as we were taking the Sacrament, and I was feeling healed and grateful for His willingness.  Then, the youth speaker gave his talk about the duties of a Teacher, and he said the most important duty was preparing the sacrament.  He quoted a story of a lady who was visiting a ward with typically few members, but there were a lot of extra people that day, so they had to bless the bread again, and after that, her husband was the only one who had not had the opportunity to have any, and so they blessed one more piece of bread for him.  She was reminded of the sacrifice that Jesus made, and how willing He would be to do it for one person.  Then she said she watched the Priests cover up the table with the white cloth, and it looked like Jesus's broken body, and it hit me again how He willingly gave us his body and his blood, bit by bit to each of us, so that we could be healed and whole.  One more thought that I was gifted was from Isaiah 6, when Isaiah is writing about his call to be a prophet.  He felt unworthy to be the one called, and the saraphim came to him with a piece of coal (fire/light) and put it on his lips to cleanse him.  The podcast I was listening to reminded me that I can have that cleansing power in my own life each Sabbath as I touch the bread and water to my lips as I take them into my body.  He is my Bread of Life, my Living Water, my Light, my Healer, and I am eternally grateful.

*Today after church we had choir practice after another hiatus.  We have a new director and she asked me, as well as a few other pianists in the ward, to help with some songs until someone is officially called.  I got the music on Friday and didn't realize I'd be the lone pianist for the practice, and I was not prepared.  I did not like feeling unprepared, so I have some work this week to remedy that.

It was a delight! (Minus choir practice.) 

September 2022, Week 1

*Today at church I was starting to feel a bit sick, but I was scheduled to teach the lesson, so I stuck it out and taught my little hooligans about Proverbs.  They were a little on the wild side today, but honestly, since we have our class at 3:00 in the afternoon after the kids have been sitting still for Sacrament Meeting and for Singing Time, I don't care that much about them sitting on the floor instead of chairs and giving a twirl now and then as long as we have eye contact for the lesson--plus I didn't have much energy to make a big deal about it.  My co-teacher seems on board with having movement during our lessons, too, so everyone is happy.

*Today after church we loaded up the car and headed to Oklahoma City.  The drive was so pretty with lots of cows and farmland.  Tomorrow we're going to check out the Six Flags Frontier City, since there's no school for Labor Day.  I'm hoping my developing cold won't develop too severely and we can have a fun day together!

It was a delight!