Sunday Thoughts

It turns out that 9:00am church is much more conducive to me writing Sunday Thoughts posts than either 11:30 or 2:00 church, just in case you're wondering why I'm suddenly posting on Sundays again.

My partner Jill and I went Visiting Teaching again this week and though I was giving the same lesson I'd just given 3 days earlier it ended up being different than I'd planned (I love it when that happens). I like to go with the flow of the conversation and see where things go (while still sharing from the message)  and this time was pretty cool because we ended up talking about the strength we feel just from being members of the church. I haven't ever articulated it before, but as we were discussing the message about being more Christlike and having the Atonement written on our hearts I ended up saying that I know I could call on the women of the ward (or the entire ward really) and have them mobilize to help me and my family as needed and at very short notice. Though I have never had to do this, it is hugely comforting knowing that I can; and also cool to know that I am on standby to help hundreds of other people in my ward family as needed. It's something to think about it and be grateful for.

Sunday Thoughts

Today's lesson in Relief Society was taught by one of the members of the presidency about Alma chapters 23 and 24, which though I've read these chapters many times proved to be mind blowing to me.

Alma 24:18-19

 18 And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God, and also to men, that they never would use weapons again for the shedding of man’s blood; and this they did, vouching and covenanting with God, that rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands.

 19 And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for peace.

How have I never noticed these "rather than" sentences?!! I don't know, but I am so grateful they were pointed out to me today. The teacher asked us what some of our "rather than" statements could be.

• Rather than making excuses they did their visiting teaching. (This was mine, hee.)
• Rather than being offended they gave them the benefit of the doubt.
• Rather than going shopping she went to the temple.
• They chose to be a humble people rather than a prideful people.
• Love your neighbor rather than gossiping or judging them. 

These are just a few, but doesn't it make your mind spin just a bit to think of all the "rather thans" you can choose to put in your life? I do believe this calls for the need to have a meeting with myself to see what "rather thans" I need to implement.

Sunday Thoughts

Once again the Lord has shown patience and chosen to help me even though I continue to be blatantly mortal. As I mentioned in last Sunday's post I was given the assignment to speak in church next month, thus giving my aimless scripture study a clear direction. It has been over 2 weeks since I was given that assignment, and though my topic has been in my mind daily I still haven't done any solid scripture study!

So Friday afternoon I checked my email where I was asked to substitute teach Whitney's primary class this Sunday. I said yes (of course) and printed the lesson out. But as I read the scriptures for this lesson (Alma 37-38) I felt the Lord's hand in my life again, because this lesson was just what I needed. I was particularly struck by Alma 37:39-44.

 39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

 40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

 41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

 42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.

 43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

 44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

I have been slothful, I have forgotten to exercise my faith and diligence, thus marvelous works have ceased and I have not progressed on my journey! I have hungered and thirsted after righteousness but haven't traveled in a direct course because I haven't given heed to the words of the scriptures. 

The thing that really kills me about this is that I have done it to myself. My complacency turned into a stupor and I lost any momentum or drive I had going for me.  It was a remarkable message for me and was made even more so as I taught the 6 girls in Whitney's class today (no easy feat). I felt the Spirit strongly as I testified to them of the importance of reading their scriptures and living worthily so they can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We are lost and alone without it and that is a miserable way to live.

Sunday Thoughts

So there I was in the closing session of Thursday's classes, sitting high up on the bleachers with Michelle. The speakers were a husband and wife and had rehearsed their talk as kind of a routine with jokes and cheesiness between them. We were really put off by this and were feeling bugged, but were still taking notes. They were talking about lessons we can learn from Adam and Eve. One of their points was that we should look to God and listen to His voice. They said, "don't be swayed by the voices of the world, what voices are you listening to?" They compared this to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when the Lord comes to them after they have hidden themselves from them because Satan told them they were naked. The Lord says, "Who told thee thou was naked?"

The speakers then likened that to us and said, "Who told thee thou wast unhappy, inadequate, fat, unqualified...etc.?"

This has become the voice in my head this past week every time I think a negative thought or experience self-doubt. "Who told thee thou wast not good enough?" "Who told thee thine house isn't big enough?" "Who told thee your life isn't wonderful?"

I already thought I was careful about the media I let into my head, but this is making me think about it again. Is Pinterest making me feel unsatisfied with what I have? Is Facebook a great way of connecting with people or is it yet another way of seeing how great other people's lives are? These may just be huge distractions from the adversary to stir up discontent and insecurity and to keep me from working on the things that matter most.

Sunday Thoughts

These are my notes from the second part of my favorite class at Women's Conference this year (here's the link to my notes from the first part).

• Life delivers many antidotes to pride.
• Through the Savior we know we are capable of rising above our struggles.
• We are beset by the tendencies of the natural man.
• Agency is the great gift of mortality.
• Day by day, hour by hour we show who we are. (I was a weepy mess at this point and felt relieved that it isn't just me who has to try, fail and try again hour by hour to be Christ-like.)
• The Holy Ghost testifies, teaches and guides.
• Have you yielded to the promptings about who the Lord wants you to be?
• We are free to choose how we will respond to life.
• The Holy Ghost can soften our hearts and help us to forgive.
• The Holy Ghost can change our hearts, it is the key to personal growth and happiness.
• Pride keeps us from apologizing, forgiving and from celebrating the successes of others.
• Between thinking it and saying it there is a choice.
• Promptings are enticings to a better self.
• Humility is a much neglected virtue.
• Remember who God is and what it means to be His child.
• Understand that Christ is our Redeemer. We are in His hands.

At the end of her talk, the teacher had us write a Psalm (which was definitely a first for me) using a few key word prompts. It was a very spiritual experience for me and I was surprised by how easily the words flowed from my mind to my pen to the paper.

These are the words she gave us, then we filled in the sentences from there.


Praise Ye the Lord
For He Hath
And
The Lord He is

This is my psalm...

Praise Ye the Lord

For He hath given me another day, to try again though I continually fail.
And He restored my health and answered my prayers.
The Lord He is patient, all-knowing and kind.
He sees what I can be, though my vision is so dim.

**Do you feel like you struggle

day to day and hour by hour?

Have you ever written a psalm?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Even though I'll be done with work for the school year on Thursday I'm still happy to have a day off tomorrow.

Sunday Thoughts

Here are more of my notes from the class I took at Women's Conference that had the most impact on me.

•  For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. Mosiah 3:19
• We need to be a constant being, the same in public and private.
• Magnify your callings, not yourself.
• Seek to bridle all your passions.
• Blessed are they that humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.
• Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.
• We need to pray always.
• Blessings require work and effort on our part.
• It is one day at a time that we overcome our imperfections. Look to the Lord for daily help to make it through. (This sentence hit me hard, I need to remember not to be overwhelmed by my failings, but to work on them one day at a time.)
• Doubt not, fear not.
• Pray for the Lord's will to be done.
• Circumstances, ideas and resources come unexpectedly.
• Learn to trust in the Lord and walk with Him day by day.
• Just do what you need to do today.
• All things will give thee experience and be for your good.
• The hallmark of a Saint is love.
• The gift of Charity protects us from an enormous range of temptations--hate, envy, jealousy, insecurity.
• Charity endureth forever, one day at a time.

**Thoughts**

Comment Window Tidbit: I had to go to a 2.5 hour Relief Society Activity Committee Meeting today...any good Sunday feelings are now gone.

Women's Conference--Days 2 & 3

Despite having such a busy first day and late first night, we arrived at The Marriott Center on time for the 9:00 session by Sister Beck. (It helped that Kristi had secured our sweet parking spot by reserving it the day before.)

Once again, Michelle and Susan had arrived early and saved us some seats so we were able to join them along with Denise, Charlotte and Emily. Sister Beck gave a great talk (of course) but I had heard much of it before since I've been able to hear her speak twice already this year. I was a little disappointed by this because her talk last year was life-changing for me and I expected this one to be also (no pressure right?).

After Sister Beck's talk we all split up to attend different classes. Kristi and I went over to the HFAC to try to get into a class called "Enhancing Our Temple Experience". The room capacity for that class was 509, but we didn't even make it into one of the three overflow rooms! I must say the combination of it being day 2 of my cold, standing in a long line of women, and not feeling like I had heard what I needed to hear yet was making me irrationally grumpy. I felt full of negativity (not what one should be feeling while at Women's Conference) and frustrated that I was giving in to those feelings (it's exhausting to battle my emotions all the time).

So after waiting for ages to get into the temple class only to be denied, we opted to go to a class across the hall called "Putting Off the Natural [Wo]man, and Come Off Conqueror".

 

I sat down feeling all grumbly and out of sorts, but as soon as Sister Reynolds started speaking I knew I was in the right place (this was emotional and humbling for me). She said, "The natural man is an unrepentant man and that a disciple is one who is learning to be like Christ. To think, feel, and act like Christ, to change from being a natural man." I have always thought the natural man meant being worldly, so this rocked my world and made me see how much this applies to me! Not that I'm not repentant, just that I need to repent so often! (I'm going to use the rest of my notes from this class for my Sunday Thoughts post this week, so stayed tuned. )

Oh my goodness, by the end of this class I was a complete wreck! I had already been a snotty mess from my cold, so after all the crying I had done it felt like I'd lost control of my face. (Kristi took this picture with her iphone after the class.) I managed to choke out "This was the class I needed!" and then continued to sob. I'm not even sure I can articulate exactly why the things said in this class hit me so hard, but they did and I was am so grateful!

After that emotional class we went over to The Wilk to get some lunch. We met up with Michelle (and eventually Susan) and got some time with Collette since her office is in there.

We ended up not being able to get into our next class because we waited too long to get in line, so we went over to the art museum to see the Dorthea Lange exhibit.We weren't allowed to take any pictures in there, but we were both moved to tears by the photographs.

We moseyed over to The Marriott Center for the closing session and took our self-portrait on the bridge walkway.

We met up again with Michelle, Susan, Denise, Charlotte, Emily and Shannon.

My bag was full of trail mix and tissues.

Elder and Sister Bednar were the speakers for the closing session and both did an excellent job. I especially loved what Elder Bednar had to say about creating and living a spiritual pattern of small and simple things. He said, "Consistent, meaningful prayer is more effective than one long prayer said in a time of need." I need to rewatch/reread his talk because there was so much substance to it that I missed in my note taking.

We didn't get to spend much time with Michelle this year since she was in high demand with her family, but we were able to get this self-portrait of the three of us when it was all over.

 

After the conference we gathered outside to chat and say goodbye to everyone. (I love this candid shot I took.)

Our final group shot. If they weren't such nice people I would think they were too cute to hang out with.

I love this picture of Michelle and Susan.

It cracked me up to see Kristi juggling 3 cameras as she took a group shop of the Blogger Moms.

I love Wende's response to a shot of them jumping.

After parting ways with everyone, Kristi and I drove over to visit a girl who had been one of her Young Women back in Nashville when she was the YW's President.

Then we met up with the Blogger Moms at The Brick Oven for dinner. We had a very interesting waiter who did a really good job but lacked a sense of humor (I think it would be hard to work there).

We woke up Saturday morning to 3 inches of snow!

 We got to sleep in until 9:00 on Saturday, which felt luxurious after such a busy couple of days. Kristi put on the world's cutest skirt and went to the temple. I got ready and went to my niece Olivia's baptism, where I made a fool of myself as I tried to lead the music. Robyn must have wanted some comic relief at the baptism, because my music-leading debut at my grandma's funeral a few years ago went so poorly.

By the time I got back from the baptism and Kristi got back from the temple and then lunch with some friends it was time for her to pack up and go. She originally planned to stay until Sunday morning, but since Jeff was getting sustained as Bishop of their ward the next day she changed her ticket so she could get home Saturday evening.

Our final self-portrait which ended up being comical as we had to keep shuffling around so the sun wasn't in our eyes.



Farewell until next year! Though this year was good, it wasn't like the roommate weekends we've had in year's past. We rolled with it since all our challenges were out of our hands, but hopefully next year we will get to spend more time together as a threesome.

**Thoughts??**

(I'm too tired to think of any questions.)

Comment Window Tidbit: This post took so long to put together that I fear I won't recover for days and days! Plus, the frustration of getting used to the new blogger template is driving me crazy. The spacing and centering for this post is wonky and I can't fix it!

Junior High--My Week in Review

Now that I've got 6 days of junior high under my belt I'm ready to share some insights.

• There is room for improvement in junior-high hygiene. All of these kids should have gone through a Maturation class in 5th and 6th grade and should know by now that daily showers are strongly encouraged. The level of grease accumulated on some of their heads is highly disturbing and could possibly fuel a small country. Don't even get me started on their fingernails, they give me the shivers.

• There is a WIDE range of physical development happening in junior high. There are some 7th graders that are so tiny they could easily be trampled during the chaos of changing classes. Some of them more closely resemble Muppets than teenagers, and some of them resemble bodacious visitors from the planet Hoochie.
• Speaking of planet Hoochie...do these girls not have mothers or are they putting a sweatshirt over their tank tops when they leave the house each day? I have seen more than I would like to of their perky bodies and feel panicked about what they're accidentally (they seem too young to know, at least the ones I'm talking about) doing to the male students and teachers around them. Yikes! (In my opinion, this is a good argument for all-girl or all-boy schools.)

• Landon is exceptional in every way! I've always known he is a great kid, but seriously, his kindness, focus on school work, good attitude and all around good-kidness is off the charts in comparison to many of the kids I've encountered at school. I am thankful!
• That said, these kids seem to be very nice. All the kids I've worked with so far have been pretty sweet. There are some troubled souls that have given my heart pangs, but for the most part the 7th graders I work with are fun loving, good-natured kids who just want to be liked.
• My math struggles all through my education process make me an incredibly empathetic teacher assistant. I am actually able to understand why the student is confused when the teacher can't. Who knew being a math misfit would come in handy later, and it wasn't even on my resume!
  

• I am better at math than I thought I was! This is huge for me because I've always thought I was missing a math gene, but after helping in PreAlgebra today I now think that maybe I just didn't learn it correctly the first time around. Now I am HIGHLY motivated to be a quick study because I have to turn around 5 minutes later and help students with it; this has got me thinking "hey, this isn't so hard." What the?!
• I saw this quote in PreAlgebra class today and felt validated. "Thus intelligence, including math ability, is something a person can learn, not an innate talent." --Ron Richart, Harvard University
• Teachers are funny.

• Junior high kids need to carry more pencils and bigger erasers. It's quite staggering how many of them come to class unprepared. How is this possible day after day? What could be more basic than remembering to bring a pencil to class?
• I like to buy school lunch. So far I've bought salad twice and pizza once, and it's been very good and oh so easy for me to do. Plus, I have the added bonus of a cup of pebble ice to go with it and life is good.

• 75 minutes feels like a long time to have class! I can see the thinking behind it because the teachers are definitely able to cover more material, but I have to say the time does NOT fly.
• Walking to the math trailer from the main building isn't so bad, even in the rain, because it means I get to go outside multiple times a day and that is good for the soul.
• Sometimes I say say "hi" to people (both adults and children) and they don't acknowledge me. I don't see how my corpulent self could be invisible, so I've decided that their lack of response is about them, not me.

• Backpacks are handy. I ditched my purse after day 1 and now carry a backpack while at school. The purse felt ridiculous because I had to carry it from class to class, this way my stuff just blends in and doesn't appear valuable in any way.
• While in English classes I feel like I know ALL the answers no matter what they're talking about, and that's a great feeling! The ESL class I was in today started reading a simplified version of Frankenstein, and I felt slightly giddy that I know that book so well.

• I don't understand why anyone would wear false eyelashes unless they're on Broadway or something. I saw a 7th grader wearing them today and I couldn't stop staring at them. She looked like she was wearing a costume! But then again, I saw a lady at church yesterday wearing them also and thought she went from looking pretty to looking pretty weird. Of course, I'm no style guru so what do I know about it?

Edited to add:

• As I observe the kids in class, I notice that most of them are fidgety and some are beyond fidgety. There is a lot of pencil tapping, pen clicking, desk tapping, leg shaking, hair twirling, position shifting and on and on. Certainly not all of them are ADHD, but it feels like a lot of them are. And the ones that are are fighting an uphill battle for sure. It is so obvious that they can't focus and have pretty much given up on trying; that must make for a painfully long day for them.
  
• Most of the math students I work with do NOT know their Times Tables very well. This is shocking to me since Whitney (who is in 4th grade) has to spend 10 minutes a night doing flashcards in order to pass them off in class (she passed off her 12's today). After seeing these kids struggle to figure out what numbers go into 24, I am more committed than ever to make sure Whitney knows these inside and out and backwards and forwards.
  

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It is Fall-o-rific today with rain, leaves blowing and falling everywhere and the smell of burning wood wafting through the air.

D-D-Definitely Wednesday

The first couple of days of work and post-work busyness have gone well; I even managed to make dinner on Tuesday afternoon before heading off to the Ward Service Project and had programmed the timed-bake feature on the oven so that it would be done when we returned. This gave us 30 minutes to eat and get ready for Landon's band concert. I was feeling rather pleased with myself and had the "Enjoli" commercial from the 70's in my head the whole time (do you remember it?).

Then came Wednesday. Work went great (only 3-10 minor panic attacks about 7th grade math no biggie) , and I even got to leave 15 minutes early which meant a less-hurried trip at Costco. I was feeling good that I could get a decent amount of groceries this time and that I didn't have to be to our Relief Society dinner until 6:00pm. I even had thoughts of reading in the cozy...foolish girl.


So remember that cream pie I mentioned the other day? Well, I didn't have time to make it Monday or Tuesday (I suppose if I had stayed up late I could have done it but I'm trying to be responsible and proactive about getting enough sleep, also we don't have a Marie Calendars near us) so I switched my plan to Pecan Pie instead. The thing is, Pecan Pie takes like an hour and 10 minutes to bake so I had to scramble to get it made and in the oven BEFORE putting my Costco goodies away. This was no small thing for me because I like things to be clean and orderly before I begin another project. I felt positively Rainmanesque about it..."must put the food away, definitely put food away now, have to do it now, d-d-definitely now".


Also causing me distress were the dishes in the sink. I know that most normal people have dishes in their sink a good portion of the time, but I do not! I can't stand them in there unless they're soaking, and even then those should only be in the left side of the sink so that the disposal side is free and clear. (I'm not crazy, that's perfectly logical and good planning right?)


But today there was a pan soaking on the left side which was leftover from last night (and which really should have been washed by Randy (aka The House Husband) this morning. And to make matters worse there was a pan in the right side of the sink (supposedly soaking) with utensils in it and a few cups as well. (You see, when people in this house see dishes in the sink they think they can put their dishes there too, when really they should be loading them into the dishwasher.) Aargh!


So all of this clutter was driving me crazy as I was hurrying to make my pecan pie. Plus Whitney was next to me making "ants on a log" for the first time and managed to get her hands and the jar covered in peanut butter. I also discovered that the left side of the sink was clogged by rice kernels that had fallen in there during my hasty measuring for the previous night's dinner. You know what happens to rice kernels when they get wet? They blow up! I tried sticking a knife down there to help them along, but that didn't work. I can't believe how stupid I was to have measured the rice over that side of the sink AND then to have thought they would rinse down easily. Add to this the chaos (which bugs me on a good day) of our very loud washing machine spinning out a load (which shakes the whole house and makes hearing anything else almost impossible) at the same time, and I was thinking "see, if I wasn't gone all day at work then this laundry would be done and these dishes would be done and the pie would be made and I would be happily helping Whitney...but noooooo!"

At this point I was ready to start screaming expletives. Really and truly that's what I wanted to do more than anything else. I wanted to give in to my frustrations, because at times like these it's like tapping into a cumulative grudge. Every frustration I've got is bubbling under the surface ready to come out ala Vesuvius. I was so close, seriously like an 1/8 of an lava emotion away from losing it.

But since I'm all about "The Power" these days and since my kids were nearby, I reigned it in and talked myself through it. I had a truly grown-up moment where I saw what I needed to do, saw what I was working with and recognized that giving into those frustrations was beneath me (Holy Epiphany Batman!) because if I'm all about being positive and Christ-like until things get ugly then what am I really about? At least I think that's what I realized while standing next to the oven with gooey pie batter all over me, and really no one will be more surprised by this than me (or except maybe Randy, or Michelle, or Amie or my family) but I really and truly didn't freak out. I baked the pie, put the groceries away, washed the dishes, poured Drano down the sink, and then remembered to breathe. Not too shabby.







Or is it? Randy came home while I was finishing this up and the first thing I said to him was, "You've got to do the dishes in the morning. If this set-up is going to work you have to do the morning shift better." And as I recounted this incident to him (which seemed comical as I wrote it) I got all teary and emotional. Maybe I am crazy or maybe I'm only 3 days into my new normal and am having growing pains...the jury is out.

**What would you have done?

At which point would you have lost it?
Do you remember the Enjoli ad?
Are you fine until you talk about something
and then end up being surprised by the emotions?**

Comment Window Tidbit: Dang it, I accidentally set this post to publish at 8:09PM instead of AM, so now instead of having a bunch of comments to read I got a whole lot a nothin.

Also, the only reason I thought to take any pictures was because Whitney showed me her peanut-butter covered hands. So I took a picture of those and then snapped the other two.

Embarrassed to Admit

Last week I listened to all 6 hours of the audio version of the book The Power, which is basically a bonus version of The Secret, and came away with a repeated epiphany; but I think this time it's going to stick.


The book is all about changing your mindset to being full of love and positive thinking so that you attract the life, love, relationships, job, friends and everything else you want. It makes perfect sense to me, and I know I'm great at it in many areas of my life...but terrible at it in many others, so I desperately need to reprogram my way of thinking.

Anyway, the epiphany I'm talking about is this: that we should be just as happy for anything good that happens to someone else as we would be if happened to us. Duh, right? But yes, I'm admitting this.

I have found that there are many people I am sincerely happy for when good things come their way (pretty much everyone I actually know), but sometimes there are blogging people out there who seem to have so many of the things I want, and I'm not always happy for them. It's more of a sarcastic, teeth gritted "I'm happy for you" feeling accompanied by a pit in my stomach and a "why not me?" feeling. Not good.

I don't want to be this way, but had kind of accepted that there are certain blogs I just can't read because of the wealth displayed or the shmoopsiness of their marriage or the amazing house they live in, or their seemingly enchanted life. It pains me to admit this, but I'm purging my guilt and moving on.

Anyway, after listening to The Power, I now feel completely liberated from those stingy, closed-off, begrudging feelings and have embraced sincere joy for other people's successes! I can't even tell you how much better this feels. I think a weight has literally been lifted off my soul.

I know there's plenty to go around in life, and that just because other people are excelling in areas I'm not, doesn't mean I have to be jealous of them. I can celebrate their victories and work harder for my own.

**Have you read The Secret or The Power?
Are you happy for other people's victories?
When do you feel jealous of others?
Would embracing this liberate you as well?**

Comment Window Tidbit: It's starting to feel like Fall!

Sunday Thoughts

Today was our Regional Conference, which was held at the Marriott Center, but we were assigned to watch it on a broadcast at our church building. Whitney and I got there 30 minutes early in order to secure a soft seat, and the chapel was already 1/3 full at that point! (Sidenote: We were 25 minutes early last Sunday and ended up sitting the 3rd row back on the hard chairs! I was NOT happy...my tail bone just can't take it.)

There were some technical difficulties with the broadcast (which is not uncommon), one of which was the sound. It was hard to hear the speakers (hearing is key) and the old man in front of me (we were only about 5 rows back) had both hands cupped to his ears to try to hear it! Poor guy. The tech guys were scrambling to make it louder, and eventually succeeded, but it was rough going for about half of it.


We heard from Steven E. Snow, Julie B. Beck, Jeffrey R. Holland and Boyd K. Packer, so it was like a session of General Conference (which is only 3 weeks away). All their talks were great, I started a new Sunday Notebook and took 6 pages of notes; the writing was fast, furious and oh so messy. These talks will provide my Sunday Thoughts for weeks to come.


Of course, I loved what Sister Beck had to say...

--You're doing better than you think you are.
--Heavenly Father loves you so much.
--We're not doing as well as we could be. (This was funny considering her first thought, but I understand how this is possible.)
--We should be calling on the Lord to help us use our faith.
--Faith requires obedience and faithfulness.
--We were promised a hard life (in the pre-existence) and we chose it.
--If we aren't struggling, we aren't growing closer to the Lord and living closer to the Spirit. (Oh, I'm growing!)
--Listen to the Spirit, we will see miracles happen.
--There is no escaping the difficulties of motherhood.
--The computer is a tool, just like our dishwasher or washer and dryer and is to be used to help us. We shouldn't give up time nurturing our children because we're spending too much time on the computer.
--It takes faith to move into the future.
--Pray always.
--Read and study the scriptures.
--We won't be aligned with the Lord if we spend too much time on the nice-to-dos in life.
--We wanted this mortal experience.
--We are spirit children of Heavenly parents.
--We can be given the grace and blessings we need to make it through.

I seriously felt like I couldn't write fast enough. I loved all the talks and got something out of each of them; I'm so glad I was there! I noticed that I am to a point where I don't feel overwhelmed with all I need to do, but rather feel super committed and motivated to do it. (How about that?!) I know there is cumulative strength in our efforts, so all those church meetings, all the hours of scripture reading, all those family home evenings, all the prayers I've said and so on are helping me to do the things I need to do and to make it through this financially tough time in my life. It doesn't mean I'm enjoying these struggles, but it does mean I'm not totally freaking out (just a little) and am hopeful rather than forlorn. That's miraculous really.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Since Conference was from 10-12 today it feels like we have a very long, luxurious Sunday ahead of us.

Sunday Thoughts

We had a totally fantastic testimony meeting today which found me writing as fast as I could to keep up with the things being said. The opening hymn was The Star-Spangled Banner and the closing hymn was America the Beautiful. Singing those songs in a church setting is just plain powerful! Today was the first time I found myself thinking that the Fourth of July could be considered a religious holiday, and I really love that it fell on a Sunday this year.


Here are some notes from the testimonies shared today...

• The Lord prepared our nation for the gospel.
• The leaders of our nation were led by the Spirit.
• The gospel of Jesus Christ is about freedom, and we all have a special part in defending that freedom.
• The war in heaven was fought over freedom. Satan's plan to save everyone was at the cost of our freedom to choose, and those who went with him gave their freedom away.
• Freedom of speech means nothing if you have nothing to say or if you say nothing.
• Heavenly Father will not take away our freedom.
• We teach correct principles then allow others to govern themselves. We do NOT force or trick people into doing what is right.
• We have an obligation to know what we believe and why we believe it.
• The Lord knows who we are and what we need.
• Find out for yourself what you believe.
• If you need to simplify your life so you can figure out what's true, please do it.
• We need to protect our country with righteousness.
• “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” --Elie Wiesel
• Recommit yourself to being a wise steward with what you have been given. (This thought was given in the context of "Where much is given, much is required" and I thought it was an interesting way of looking at things. I haven't ever thought of my blessings as something I have stewardship over.)

This meeting was so good it made me want to stand up cheer! I loved all these thoughts on freedom, and I love how they tie into the gospel. Of course the gospel of Jesus Christ is about freedom, why didn't I ever think of it that way? Being obedient doesn't mean we don't have a choice. It is through obedience to correct principles that we find true freedom.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: What a great Sunday! I love coming home feeling super-charged with the Spirit.

Epiphanies All Around

Collette recently invited the book club girls to join her for an 8 week (though we'd already missed the first week) organizing class being taught in her Stake by a professional organizer. It didn't take any convincing for me to say, "I'm in!", especially after Collette (who is already an organizing queen herself) said she was so excited after the first class that she couldn't fall asleep until 1:00am that night!


Jenn, Michelle and I joined Collette last week for a rather inspiring 2 hour class all about kitchen organizing (apparently I've been looking at my kitchen all wrong), and then last night Jenn, Michelle, Amy M. and I joined Collette for a great class all about time management.

This is a pleasing shot of some of Amy's notes.

This is the kind of class everyone who runs a house could benefit from taking. I love hearing other people's questions and solutions, and really love that the teacher has an answer for everything.

It is really making me see how limited my thinking has been regarding the way I have organized things in my house. There are so many better ways to really utilize the amount of space I have to work with.

{click to enlarge}

The teacher (you can check out her website here) gave us all a copy of her daily planning sheet, and I think this is going to revolutionize my productivity levels and time usage. I tend to go in spurts of extreme productivity-to-very little to show for myself so I think this sheet will help. My normal process is to write obligations on the calendar and then do whatever I feel like with the rest of the time, all the while reminding myself about people I need to call, appointments I need to set and thinking about how I need to get around to cleaning out a closet and so on. I also have major issues with meal planning (or lack thereof) and the teacher says dinner should be planned before lunch time (amen!) so that is going to be my new goal as well.

I'm hoping that having a sheet like this will get me to write down all the miscellaneous things I need and want to do so that I can make them happen.


Afterward (both weeks so far) we went over to Collette's house for Klondike bars and conversation. She caught us up on the information from the class we missed and answered all our questions. Going to a class like this is a fun thing to do with friends, especially when you're familiar with their houses.

Here are some tidbits from my notes:
Kitchen
--Clear off kitchen counters, it should be work space not decor.
--Is what I have on my kitchen counters a friend or a free loader (i.e., useful or just taking up space).
--Get rid of tools and pans that don't work or aren't being used.
--If the tools you need are always in the dishwasher then it's time to get another one. (I realized I need more short, fat wooden spoons, a skinny spatula and another cheese grater.)
--Don't start moving anything around until you've got a plan of what you're going to do.
--Not all mixing bowls need to be in the same place, put them closest to where you use them.
--Get stackable storage containers in just a few sizes so you don't have to constantly search for the right sized lid. (I definitely have this problem!)
--Check out industrialcontainer.com
--Re-evaluate how you use your shelves.
--Put like things behind like things so you can always find what you're looking for.
--Try to turn shelves into drawers by having trays and bins that slide out.

Time Management
--Take up the pattern of the Law of Firsts (i.e., Do the most important things first and you'll always find time to do the rest)
--Put date night, temple visits, home and visiting teaching on the calendar at the beginning of the month.
--Prepare lessons ahead of time.
--Pay tithing as soon as you get paid.
--Read the scriptures first thing in the morning.
--Make sure to have family prayer, scripture study and Family Home Evening regularly.
--Find jobs you've been avoiding and do them.
--Act on promptings immediately.
--Take care of yourself first, then your spouse, then the kids and then you can work on saving the world...not the other way around!
--Find your prime time (most productive hours) in each day and do your most important things during that time.
--"A child who is loved well becomes a mighty force for good."
--Give up what doesn't matter to do what does matter well.
--No matter what season of life you're in, savor it.
--Don't answer the phone 20 minutes before leaving to go somewhere or you'll be late.
--The time to talk about change is NOT right in the middle of a fight.
--Heavenly Father doesn't care how much we get done in a day, He cares how we do it.
--When I have to wait somewhere, what is the best use of my time?
--Have a list of things you can do if you have 20 minutes (i.e., mini projects).
--While standing in line at a store with your kids teach them something they don't know.
--Don't ever be waiting uselessly.
--Every time we say "yes" to something, we are also saying "no" to something else (and vice versa).
--Make every decision with wisdom.
--Turn activities into accomplishments (i.e., make a roast for dinner that can also be used for lunch the next day and in a dinner recipe later in the week).
--Do things less often better.
--Give yourself permission to have fun.
--The woman who does not play is no fun to be around.
--Alternate what you're doing so you have energy to go back to it. (Mix up standing activities with sitting activities so you don't burn out).
--True alone time is when no one is asking you a question and there is no media to see or hear.
--Eliminate the interruptions to your spirit, we all need time to figure things out.
--Each day has solidified obligations, write those down and then plan what you're going to do with the rest of the time.
--Don't let inspiration go unwritten down!
--May this week be different!
--Take control and live the Law of Firsts.
--There is no woman who doesn't need YOU to come visit her. (This was in the context of visiting teaching.)

**Did you make it through this post?
What ideas stood out to you?
Do you need to re-evaluate the way you use your kitchen?
Do you manage your time well?
Do you play?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I called Dyson and they said the hose isn't covered under the warranty anyway because it's normal wear and tear, so I'll probably just end up buying a replacement hose online. I even found a video tutorial about how to change it, it's easy.