Relief Society

I went to the General Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday with my mom. It's one of those meetings I never like to miss. There's something powerful about knowing that you're part of a worldwide organization whose primary purpose is to do good; and knowing that women the world over are gathered together at that very moment in that common cause. As we sat singing the opening song, "There is Sunshine in My Soul," a capella (there was a technical difficulty with the sound transmission for a few minutes) I was touched by the realization of how much good we can do collectively as we each try to bless lives individually. My eyes watered, I choked up, and I couldn't sing the words, "Jesus listening can hear the songs I cannot sing." I sobbed and chuckled simultaneously at the irony of the words at that moment.

I left the meeting with renewed efforts to do more; not necessarily to do grand and extravagant things, but to something little, but meaningful every day. Because I believe the little things really matter.

At every meeting like this, there always seems to be one thing said that seems to have been said just for me. Julie Beck, the General Relief Society President said this, quoting President Deiter F. Uchdorf:

“A wise man once distinguished between the noble art of getting things done and the nobler art of leaving things undone. True wisdom in life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. What are the non-essential things that clutter your days and steal your time? What are the habits you may have developed that do not serve a useful purpose? What are the unfinished or un-started things that could add vigor, meaning, and joy to your life?”

I haven't finished thinking it through yet. I'm going to go print the quote off so I can stare at in for a few days. Since school started I've been running crazy trying to get everything done; but sometimes the faster I run the more complicated family life becomes. It's a gentle reminder that in family life efficient is not always effective, and that often less is more.

It brings me back to this quote from Dallin H. Oaks, which forever changed my perspective of the purpose of life:

"The prophet Nephi describes the Final Judgment in terms of what we have become. . .From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."

The principle here is to do less of what doesn't matter, do those things that do matter with more sincerity, letting them seep through to our souls, to change our very nature.

Gaming

The good news:
Richard canceled his World of Warcraft subscription!

Yea! I celebrated. He came to bed with me by about 10:00 every night for a week. We talked, laughed, strengthened our relationship.

The bad news:
He started a new game today called Aion.

I asked if going to bed with his wife was just a beta trial which has now expired. He assured me it wasn't.

Running Crazy!

I've been running crazy for weeks & I just can't slow down. (Really, I think I'm addicted to being busy). I have a compulsion to fill every empty canning jar in my house. With the state of the economy and the nature of being self employed, it seems crazy to store dozens & dozens of empty canning jars. In the past few weeks I've canned green beans, strawberry jam, raspberry jam, blueberry jam, peaches, pears, & salsa; dried peaches & pears; and frozen corn & onions. There's still a crazy lady in my head reminding me that I still have 3 dozen empty canning jars. I'm planning to do beets, potatoes, & applesauce and freeze the carrots from my garden. My sisters are doing the same thing, which leads me to believe that this kind of craziness is normal. You know, most people just buy their food at the grocery store. Oh, you already knew that, didn't you?

The benefit? By 8:30, I'm dog tired, so I've been to bed early almost every night for a week. You may not understand, but this is truely a miracle for me. Rich has been joining me!!! (another miracle) It is so great! He canceled his World of Warcraft account last weekend. I tried not to celebrate too loudly.

The downside, because there's just not time for everything, exercise is becoming a lower priority. Ah, here's my major disappointment of the week. My gym is discontinuing child care & fitness classes as of November 1st. I'm so bummed. Exercise makes me a nice and happy person. My poor poor family.

On Prayer

I just posted this excerpt as a lengthy comment on my sister's blog. Since it's a quote I've though about often, I'm going to share it on my blog. It's from Elder Bednar's Oct 2008 conference address titled, "Pray Always."

"The patterns used by God in creating the earth are instructive in helping us understand how to make prayer meaningful. In the third chapter of the book of Moses we learn that all things were created spiritually before they were naturally upon the earth.

“And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth,

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth” (Moses 3:4–5).

We learn from these verses that the spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation. In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day. Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.

Consider this example. There may be things in our character, in our behavior, or concerning our spiritual growth about which we need to counsel with Heavenly Father in morning prayer. After expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone. For example, as we pray, we might:

• Reflect on those occasions when we have spoken harshly or inappropriately to those we love the most.
  
• Recognize that we know better than this, but we do not always act in accordance with what we know.
  
• Express remorse for our weaknesses and for not putting off the natural man more earnestly.
  Determine to pattern our life after the Savior more completely.
  
• Plead for greater strength to do and to become better.
  

Such a prayer is a key part of the spiritual preparation for our day.
During the course of the day, we keep a prayer in our heart for continued assistance and guidance—even as Alma suggested: “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord” (Alma 37:36).

We notice during this particular day that there are occasions where normally we would have a tendency to speak harshly, and we do not; or we might be inclined to anger, but we are not. We discern heavenly help and strength and humbly recognize answers to our prayer. Even in that moment of recognition, we offer a silent prayer of gratitude.

At the end of our day, we kneel again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day and express heartfelt thanks for the blessings and the help we received. We repent and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and become better tomorrow. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. And our evening prayer also is a preparation for meaningful morning prayer."

That quote tied it all together for me & I had an "ah-ha" moment. I've struggled a bit with morning prayers. I've always said my night prayers consistently, sometimes with a pluthera of mundane repetition; but often as heart to heart communication to my Father in Heaven who I know hears and answers. Because my mom taught me to say my night prayers as a child, it's part of my nature. I've had a clear realization lately that now is the time to teach my children directly and by quiet example, to say their morning prayers too, so it can become part of their life-long nature.

Truly, prayer enriches my life.

Mills Family Reunion

Hogle Zoo

Timpanogos Hike

Timpanogos Cave

We had a great weekend with Rich's family.

We only wish it could have lasted longer.

I'm grateful to my sister-in-law who did the planning.

It's great to spend time together.

Our girls can never get enough of their cousins.

Dinner Moments

I cherish these moments

we laugh

we talk

we teach

we play

we force feed

(Well, I cherish 4/5ths of them)

Kindergarten & 2nd grade

Do all moms have such mixed feelings about new school years starting? My kids wanted school to start mid-summer. I took that a little personally. Truth be told, they love learning and interacting with their friends.


After her first day of school Amber said, "Mom, I missed you." I replied in a silly but serious way, "You didn't even think about me while you were at school." She assured me, "Yes I did Mom, & I missed you." It made a little soft spot in my mommy heart and she got a big hug.

I've been quietly mourning the loss of my pre-school time with Kate for months. She's so pleasant to be around. She wants to grow up so fast. I think that make me wish for her to grow up a little slower.

I love half day kindergarten. She's home by 11:30 & we still get all kinds of together time. She is loving school and her new friends.

I love knowing that my girls ride the bus together and can watch out for each other. I get a report from Kate everyday telling me whether or not they got to play together on the school playground.

Amber and Kate do such a great job getting ready for school. Mornings are happy. Today I taught my first 7:00 am lesson, leaving them semi-on their own to get ready for school. They did great!

When Jessi sees her big sisters heading for the bus she scrambles to grab her own shoes so she can go to. They get out the door before her and she does this.