Today was another great Sunday at church, so I'm feeling totally uplifted and super charged by the Spirit. We had two graduating seniors who talked about what they've learned by attending seminary (it's part of their high school curriculum in Utah, so it's not early morning...lucky!). They've both learned so much over their 4 years of attending and feel better prepared to move on in life and share the gospel.
Then our primary chorister (who is also the Bishop's wife and former Stake Primary President) gave a fantastic talk about teaching children. I love this woman and am always touched by what a wonderful she does teaching the primary kids music each week. She is constantly sharing her testimony with them and pointing out the doctrine they're learning in the songs. She said...
--Little children are alive in Christ.
--When teaching children to be reverent we need to be loving, patient and consistent.
--Children hunger for and respond to true doctrine.
--We have the greatest opportunity with the young.
--We are able to learn spiritual things through music that may be harder to learn otherwise.
--We sing about many things, but we mostly sing about Jesus.
One of the songs we're learning for our primary program this year is How Firm A Foundation. (I love it that the kids learn one of the hymns for the program each year.) We sang this as a rest hymn in Sacrament today and I teared up, like I always do, as we sang the third verse.
"Fear not, I am with thee.
Oh, be not afraid.
For I am thy God
And will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand.
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous
omnipotent hand."
Oh, be not afraid.
For I am thy God
And will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee,
and cause thee to stand.
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous,
Upheld, by my righteous
omnipotent hand."
These are powerfully comforting words to me, and their truthfulness hits me again every time we sing them. I know we have no need to fear the things we face in life because Christ will lift us over and over again.
**Are you working on your list of mothers?
Did you have a good day at church?
Are you touched by the goodness of little kids?
Do you love this hymn?**
Did you have a good day at church?
Are you touched by the goodness of little kids?
Do you love this hymn?**
15 comments:
Today was brett's first day up on the stand & High council Sunday- I stuffed my gum wrapper in jack's sock which set off a backlash of sticking things down other people's shirts etc. by the kids- Not very reverent- oops...
but brett was so reverent he almost fell asleep...
I love little kids & this hymn. I get along better with kids than adults pretty consistantly.
I want to work on a list of mothers & even thought about how to post one during some quiet time today- I'm interested in reading yours first :)
I absolutely LOVE the hymn the kids
are learning!Even the tiny ones sing it loudly (but nice!).We all
tear up too :)
I love it when the kids learn hymns, too. It's usually the most powerful part of the Primary program for me. And I have to agree about those hymn lyrics -- very comforting and inspiring.
I had a great day at church, but then I had to come home to tired, tantrumy Eva. Counting the minutes until bedtime.
I'm glad to hear about the seminary students--that's my calling and a lot of times I leave class wondering "was class worth anything at all today?" Hopefully something is getting through.
Those are great thoughts about little kids. You motivated me to try harder to take advantage of these valuable years to teach my children while they are most teachable!
I LOVE this hymn. I'd never really paid attention to the words until we learned it this year in primary and it makes me cry every time. I really love the words.
I really like this blog banner.
I am not working on my list of mothers.... I probably won't until I see what that is so fabulous I have to have one. You know how I am.
I love that hymn and I love the sweetness of little kids... why can't they just stay that way longer?
I really enjoy talks that focus on teaching the children and remind me to be patient and kind. Sometimes it is so hard not to get frustrated when they don't listen- I want to yell or force them to do it- but when I remember that I am trying to teach them to be loving, kind, temperate, etc. I can't really be screaming as I'm teaching, can I? She sounds like an amazing and inspiring woman.
We sang that song in Primary today since it's part of the program this year. That verse always hits me when it says "strengthen thee...cause thee to stand" and I think it's so true- some of the toughest times in my life, I have known I was not doing it on my own, the Lord was holding me up.
I'll have to comment on last Sunday's inspiration, as this Sunday we were en route on way home from Denver!
Last week the whole family attended services in Vail, Colorado. The meeting was half in English and half in Spanish! There was a High Counsel speaker who spoke about angels. Angels around us and the challange for us to be angels to others. I was really touched by the talk and one of the things that he spent time on was reassuring us that the Lord wants to influence and protect us with his angels even when we have purposely turned our back on Him. He gave a great scientific approach combined with a spiritual approach to understanding, identifying, and serving as angels! We all agreed when we reviewed the meeting that Michelle's trip was certainly attended by angels in order to spare her life and those of her children when she fell asleep at the wheel! I really want to try to recognize angels around me and try harder to be one to others.
Thanks for the notes on Primary children. I love my Primary job and my darling 11 year old girls!
Oh Dear Jill, you always come to the rescue....I was feeling very down because I couldn't go to church today, due to a very bad cold, but now that I read your blog I feel so uplifted.
Thanks for the comforting words!!!!!
I had a good day at church - but I am wondering why my littles (that aren't really little) are more reverant when Dad use to sit on the stand?!!
I love little children. I love big children too - but the primary children when they sing do me in every time! I love that they learn a few hymns! What power that is when they can sing along with us! I love that!
All things are possible when we have Christ in our life. It is when we rely and have faith in HIM that we can overcome and endure anything along our path. It is great to be reminded of that weekly.
good days at church are hard to come by lately. we did have a more successful sacrament meeting which i attribute to feeding kellen multiple times prior to leaving. but honestly, i can't remember the last time i was actually excited (or interested) in going to church...sad, isn't it?
i do love the littles. lately ours have been crazy little rascals but today they surprised us all and sat through a video for sharing time.
one of my mission comps used to make us sing this hymn all the time while tracting. and i do mean ALL of the time. ALL verses. :)
I love all the verses of this hymn. I really paid attention to them not long ago when the girls and I were doing a singing service project with an elderly, ailing man in our ward. I got choked up and hard time making it through the song. I love that the Primary children learn hymns when they're young--I think that the messages and power of the hymns stays with them throughout their lives.
'How Firm a Foundation' is a classic Mormon power-house hymn. i love it.
I love how church music teaches us- speaks the truth of it's gospel message directly to our spirits.
That is a great hymn- excellent message (though I suppose that goes for most of them, huh?) ;)
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