Sunday Thoughts

As part of today's Relief Society lesson, the teacher invited her return-missionary daughter to share some of her thoughts/experiences regarding prayer. The first thing she said was, "I encountered all kinds of people on my mission, there were some who had never even heard of the concept of prayer." These words stung me and tears instantly came to my eyes. Prayer is such a huge part of my life that it never occurred to me that it wasn't an option for everyone. I know lots of people don't take advantage of the opportunity to pray, but it was devastating to me to think of people not knowing about the possibility. I would be so lost. I start and end every single day with a personal prayer, we say family prayer morning and night, plus prayers over the food and miscellaneous prayers in our minds throughout the day. Heavenly Father is never far from my thoughts. I can't even imagine what would be there in His place!

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: We have our first Court of Honor with me as Advancement Chair Person this coming Tuesday. I've decided this time is like being thrown into the deep end of the pool from the high dive!! I'm going kicking, screaming and plugging my nose!

Sunday Thoughts

Our new bishop shared a cool experience he had this summer while in Wyoming with the Young Men. They were doing mission preparedness stuff and were teaching the boys to "Armor Up" each morning by praying and reading their scriptures before facing the day. He talked about how all his life he has read his scriptures before going to bed, but how that's illogical if you think about reading the scriptures as putting on the whole armor of God...because who needs to put on armor before going to bed? (Of course it's good to read the scriptures any time, but even better to start the day with them!)

I absolutely love the visual of  putting on the armor of God as a family each morning before we head out into the world to face the day. I know we are better prepared to face the challenges of the day because we start the day together reading the words of God and kneeling in prayer together. It's a simple thing that provides great strength!

Ephesians 6:11-18

 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Today on the back of our ward bulletin was a new thing, it said...

Bishopric Admonition

"Armor up!" Put on the full Armor of God each day with Prayer and Scripture study every morning. Read seven or more chapters a week in the scriptures.

I loved it and thought it was interesting that this new bishopric felt the need to put an admonishment on the program. It was at the very bottom on the back, but I think it caught all of our attention. 

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I think it would be cool to have "Armor Up!" in vinyl lettering above our front door.

Sunday Thoughts

"The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list or a series of requests but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is eager to bestow, according to His will and timing. Every sincere prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father, but the answers we receive may not be what we expect or come to us when we want or in the way we anticipate."
--David A. Bednar "Ask in Faith," Ensign, May 2008, 97

Comment Window Tidbit: I had a good birthday and the goodness will continue with a couple of friend outings this week, so it will take me a few days to get around to posting about it.

Sunday Thoughts

Virginia H. Pearce was the opening speaker at Women's Conference this year; she spoke about this year's theme "By Small and Simple Things, Are Great Things Brought to Pass".

• Prayers are heard and answered.
• Prayer is the earliest ritual we teach our children.
• Prayer rests on the principle of faith.
• Prayer becomes natural and instinctive when we recognize the relationship of Father and child.
• Prayer is an act of agency or choice.
• Prayer grows from humility.
• We are all dependent on God.
• We can take joy in adversity because we know it brings us closer to Christ. (I loved this thought.)
• Act on promptings.
• Increased temple attendance and prayers change our hearts. We can get rid of guilt, dread, worry and fear.
• Repeated acts of prayer and obedience are small and simple things that make big changes over time.
• Our prayers can bring about miracles for others. The Lord often answers our prayers through someone else, thus we are often the answer to other people's prayers.
• Through prayer our will can change to that of the Lord.
• Our pleading becomes part of the experience.
• We inform ourselves as we reverently speak to the Lord (He already knows what we're going to say).
• Often the changes in us are so gradual they are almost imperceptible. 
• The miracle of prayer is the relationship we develop with the Lord.
• Prayer works!

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Sister Beck visited our ward today for her nephew's mission farewell. I went up to speak to her after the meeting and totally embarrassed myself. I sounded like a star-struck groupie, but I managed to choke out my thanks for her wonderful talk at Women's Conference last year.

Sunday Thoughts

I love this video, and even though I've seen it multiple times it still gets to me. I often need repeated reminders, even when I'm clipping along in a happy state of mind (as I currently am). There's much to love about the lessons she learned through this experience, and I'm thankful that I've learned to rely on prayer no matter where I am. I also like how helpful and important the spectators were to her race experience, and know that we can make a big difference in the lives of others by the way we use (or don't use) our words.

**Thoughts**

Comment Window Tidbit: I fell asleep sitting up on the couch while watching Nacho Libre with the family this afternoon, I really hope my body doesn't think I took a long nap. I don't want to have any sleeping issues tonight.

Sunday Thoughts

This quote is the reason I'm glad we went to the adult session of Stake Conference last night...


"God expects you to have enough faith and determination and enough trust in Him to keep moving, keep living, keep rejoicing. In fact, He expects you not simply to face the future (that sounds pretty grim and stoic); He expects you to embrace and shape the future—to love it and rejoice in it and delight in your opportunities.

God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe."
--Jeffrey R. Holland

**Thoughts??**

Sunday Thoughts

The overwhelming message I came away with from church today was that prayers are answered. I know this, but it's still spirit-building to listen to other people share their testimonies on the subject.


One man, whose wife just had a kidney transplant from their grown son, said that "It's through faith and prayers that miracles happen, we've had miracles." He also said, "Prayers are answered through other people."

I feel like this past week of back pain has brought about my own miracles and reminded me that the Lord always answers our prayers, but that most of the time it's not in a way we could have anticipated.

I had been praying for Him to heal my ankle so I'd be able to walk in Paris, and He did so by giving me back pain. I'm not saying He specifically gave me back pain, I'm sure the pain was a result of me limping for 7 weeks and then stressing about the limping, but I feel like the resulting pain and relief from it has humbled me and changed my perspective in such a way that I'm now grateful just to be able to bend down to pick something up. I have been led to a doctor I wouldn't have known otherwise, and am getting affordable help for both my back and my ankle. These are miracles and answers to my prayers!

I know that none of us wish for trials or challenges to come our way, but it sure is nice to feel the change in heart, mind and spirit when one is over.

**Thoughts**

Comment Window Tidbit: My stomach is full, my back isn't hurting, church was great today and I took a Sunday nap...life is good!

Sunday Thoughts

Prayer Is a Privilege

"Prayer is a privilege and the soul's sincere desire. We can move beyond routine and 'checklist' prayers and engage in meaningful prayer as we appropriately ask in faith and act, as we patiently persevere through the trial of our faith, and as we humbly acknowledge and accept 'not my will, but Thine, be done.'

"I witness the reality and divinity of our Eternal Father, of His Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost. I testify that our Father hears and answers our prayers. May each of us strive with greater resolve to ask in faith and thereby make our prayers truly meaningful." --David A. Bednar

My prayers have been longer and more meaningful lately as I find myself praying for so many friends and family (and myself) who are struggling with big issues. It seems like there is so much hard stuff going on with everyone and the remedy is often beyond us. I know our prayers are answered, and I really wish we could all feel the weight of the prayers being said on our behalf because I'm sure it would give us the courage to try harder.

**Thoughts??**

Sunday Thoughts

We had a great talk on family prayer today and I felt so happy that this is a consistent habit for our family. We always have areas we can improve in, and we can still improve in this area, but the actual habit of having family prayer morning and night is something we never miss. Woohoo!


Here are my notes...

--Family prayer is the medication for the moral decay we are faced with each day.

--The praying family is the hope of a better society.

--Praying together as couples eliminates tension.

--There is power in having family prayer.

--Satan doesn't care how he stops us, just that he does. Who is winning in your home? (Randy leaned over to me and said, "We are.")

--We must do everything we can to assist the Lord in answering our prayers.

--Take the time to listen for answers. (I need to be better about this, especially after my personal prayer at night.)

--Give your kids the inheritance of experience with family prayer. (I love this!)

It was particularly touching that the woman who gave this talk grew up in a Mormon family that didn't go to church (so did her husband). She and her husband are now raising 3 little girls and are trying to make family prayer a habit and raise their girls with the gospel.

**Thoughts??**

Sunday Thoughts

Today I went through my Sunday Notebook (I just started this one on November 30th so it's not very full) and found various notes I'd written about prayer. These have all come from different people, but are all great...my thoughts are in parenthesis.


--Sometimes it feels like our prayers are not being answered, but remember the Lord answers EVERY prayer. Sometimes the answer is "Not Now". (This is a hard thing to remember.)

--We need to follow promptings to pray. (I don't know that I've ever been prompted to pray, but I'll be on the lookout for that from now on.)

--The Lord listens to us and answers our prayers, He knows us personally. (I never get tired of hearing that Lord knows me personally, what could be more comforting than that?)

--A husband spoke and said his wife prays daily to be a good mother, wife and teacher in their home. (I often pray to be a good wife and mother, but have never prayed to be a good teacher in my home. This was an ah-ha moment for me.)

--A 12 year old boy said he was grateful his parents taught him to pray. (We do a lot of praying in our house, but I don't know if our kids have personal testimonies of prayer yet. This boy made me want to talk about prayer more with the kids.)

--If we pray for help the Lord will open doors for us. (This was said in the context of missionary work, but I think it's true of employment, friendships and any areas we want to improve in.)

--We pray for things we believe the Lord will give us. (I love this thought. It made me realize how often I pray for the same things, and how I should be more thoughtful with my prayers and really think about what I'm asking for.)

--When we pray for something, we need to do everything we can to help it come to pass.
(This is my favorite thought of all! I think we often feel entitled to things so we pray and then expect them to show up in our lives, but really what are we doing to make things happen? We can't pray for a better understanding of the scriptures but then not do any work to increase our understanding. We can't pray to have peace in our home but continue to allow worldly influences to dominate our thoughts. We can't pray for help financially but then not pursue opportunities to increase our income.)

**What do you think?
Which thought is your favorite?
Do you have something to add?**

SPT--Holiday Peace

I didn't do this SPT yesterday because I was feeling so inexplicably grumpy and that just didn't jive with the topic of peace. Well today I'm not feeling much better and I'm pretty bugged about it. I have no reason for feeling irritable, yet I seem to be snippy with the kids (particularly Whitney and her many messes) and am not feeling excited and joyful about our Christmas festivities (which start today at my parents' house).


So I had to turn where I always turn when I need real peace and not something masquerading as peace. I closed my bedroom door, knelt down beside my bed and prayed. I'm sure just the act of praying is restorative, but something about turning over my irrational feelings and asking to be filled with love is instantly beneficial and makes me want to try harder. I feel more at peace and ready to enjoy the blessing of Christmas.

**Do you ever pray for peace?
Are you full of holiday cheer or
are you inexplicably irritable?**

Sunday Thoughts

Today at church a darling, young newlywed (18 months) couple spoke and did such an wonderful job that I found myself thinking that they're going to do amazing things in their life together and be great leaders in the church. They are in their early 20's but have the knowledge, confidence and spiritual strength of people twice their age...basically I want to be like them when I grow up.

Notes from talk #1


--She told a story of when she was 5 years old and was being silly during a family prayer one night. She was making faces at her brother and not being reverent, so after the prayer her father gave her a fatherly talking to and let her know that her behavior was unacceptable. She said she knew then as a little 5 year old that she hated having her father be disappointed in her and that she made a choice to try hard not to disappoint him again. She likened this to us not wanting to disappoint Heavenly Father, so we go to him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit promising to do better next time. (I don't know about you, but I wasn't having epiphanies when I was 5!)

--Developing Christ-like attributes is a painful process because we are surrendering our will to God and allowing Him to shape us, but the more we do this the more humble we become and the more we desire to change. (I know this and want to be Christ-like, but I don't like pain.)

--We should pour out our hearts to the Lord in prayer and watch and listen for His guidance in our lives. (I tend to pour when I'm emotionally overloaded, scared or really grateful but the in-between times are perhaps more casual than they should be.)

--We have everything to learn about ourselves and the Lord. (Do you ever wonder who you are without all your Earthly accomplishments and attributes? Who are you at your core?)

--We need to partake of the Atonement. (Why do we forget this gift so often?)

Notes from talk #2


--We should learn from all the prophets and people from the scriptures, they wrote their personal histories and learned from what they wrote. (We've been told to write our histories forever, there's a reason for that.)

--We should make conclusions based on our personal histories. What are our important observations? Where do we see God holding our hand? (How great would it be to have a meeting with yourself to document some of the wisdom you've gained thus far in your life?)

These two thoughts from his talk rocked my world a bit. I feel like the daily blogging I've done these past 3 years is my personal history and that I have a good record of my daily life, my spiritual life, my ups and my downs but I'm not sure that I'm very good at taking these posts to the next level and recognizing the life lessons I've learned and how I've changed because of them. It's definitely something to think about.


The crazy thing about this day at church is that these notes were just a smidgen of the oozing goodness I felt today. Primary made me cry (in a good way) when a 5 year old boy gave the sweetest talk (all by himself) about his grandfather's best Christmas and why. I was a blubbering mess and was conducting so everyone had to see my face leak.

**Happy 40th Birthday Carlo!!!**

**Were you wise in your early 20s?
Do you admire people who are spiritually strong?
Have you written a personal history?
Have you documented your life lessons?
Do you carry tiny packs of tissues at church?**

Gratitude Week Day 3--Home

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant,
who finds peace in his home."
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I LOVE home and am thankful to have a place of our own. It is not our dream home and is definitely cramped, but we love it here and feel blessed. We have cozy couches, pictures in abundance, books, pillows, light and love.

I love being in the cozy!

Our small, but homey kitchen.

A fridge filled with food!

Laundry at home, I never take this for granted.


My gloriously messy room of creativity,
I spend most of my time in here.

Every night when we say our family prayer, no matter which one of us is saying it, we always express our thanks for our home, for warm beds and food. I think it's sweet that even the kids appreciate these things. It's a luxury to take them for granted, but it's a blessing not to.

**Happy Birthday Lelly!!!**

**Do you love being home?
Are you thankful for it daily?**

Sunday Thoughts

We heard a really good talk about prayer today in Sacrament Meeting, and it proved to be most helpful to me since I've been thinking about the way I pray, and because I had a good conversation with a friend about prayer recently so it's been on my mind.

Prayer is so personal, comforting, healing and intimate, yet can feel a bit one sided if we just go through the motions of it rather than really pouring our hearts out to our Heavenly Father. He knows what we're struggling with and already knows what we need, but it is important for us to articulate our thoughts and to have faith that He will answer our prayers.


Here are some of my notes from today...

1. Be conscious of who you are praying to.
2. Pray even if you don't feel like praying.
3. It's a sign of humility to kneel when you pray, but don't pass up on the opportunities to pray elsewhere when needed. (I do this ALL the time!)
4. Pray for the Lord's will to be done, but don't be discouraged if the Lord's will in your life is different than in others' lives. The Lord knows who we are becoming and is guiding our way. (I'm finally grasping this!)

--Understand that He is your best friend.
-- Ask for help to understand the scriptures.
--Express your love to the Lord, don't rush your thoughts.

**Do you feel like your prayers are heard?
Where is the strangest place you've ever prayed?
Do you have a hard time accepting the Lord's will?**

Happy Birthday Barb!!!

In other Sunday news, our primary just started a weekly Articles of Faith Challenge. We're focusing on #13 through November and each week have a challenge between a primary child (they can have their class help them if necessary) and a teacher or leader, so we've been practicing at home. Landon and I have it memorized and I recorded him saying it today after church just for fun.

Sunday Thoughts

Today was such a fantastic day at church, I am so thankful that I was there! Our testimony meeting was a 10-tissue affair for me as so many wonderful things were said. One of the speakers mentioned how it used to bother him as a kid when adults would bear their testimony and say how much they loved everyone. He didn't understand how this was possible since they didn't know him personally. I totally understand that feeling of love and have it for my ward and especially for the primary kids.

All the Young Men (ages 12-18) were gone on a Scout 50 mile hike this past week. So many of the leaders got up in testimony meeting to share their experiences and testimony of the gospel. It was tremendous. A couple of the boys talked about how unified they became and how they served each other. Particularly on the last morning when one of the boys became very ill. All the other boys distributed things from his pack so that he wouldn't have to carry anything. The 13 year old boy who related this story sincerely said, "I got to carry some of his things." Their packs already weighed over 30 pounds each, so this could have been a burden for them, but instead was an opportunity to serve.

Another boy said "All of our prayers were answered this week." (How wonderful is it that this 12 year old boy gained such a testimony of prayer this past week?)

One mother I talked to after church said, "We prayed them through this week." She had her husband and 3 of her sons on that hike and felt a tremendous responsibility and concern for all the boys who went. It takes faith to send your kids out on something like that, but it sounds like there were absolutely no regrets. Multiple leaders said, "They came back different, they're more like men now." Another leader said, "If you think this was about a hike, you're wrong."

**What do you think?
Do you have a testimony of prayer?
Have you ever prayed yourself
through a rough week?**

Sunday Thoughts

These are from my church notebook from a great talk we had last month.

Holy Habits/Righteous Routines

• Prayer--Personal and Family Prayer morning and night.
• Scriptures--Study them personally and as a family, let your children see you reading them. Start reading them with children even when they're very young. Help them memorize scriptures.
• Family Home Evening--It transforms our homes into a house of learning. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. The youth will gain the power to choose the right.
• Serving Others--Doing home and visiting teaching, participating in humanitarian efforts, and performing acts of service for neighbors.

These things aren't surprising since we've been taught to do them our whole lives, but there's a reason for the constant repetition...we're not all doing it! We all have strengths and weaknesses, but we need the whole package.

• For example: I ALWAYS say my personal prayers at night, but am not good about doing them in the morning. We ALWAYS have family prayer at night, but NEVER do in the morning. This seems ridiculous to me as I write this because prayer is such an important way to start the day.
• This year is the first year we've been consistent about having Family Home Evening. We do it on Sunday evenings after we eat dinner and it has become some such a fun part of Sunday. We love that time together, always laugh (especially because Whitney always welcomes us all and reminds us to keep our hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times), and come away feeling more unified and in love with our family. (Who doesn't want that??)
• This year I have read the scriptures every single day so far, but I have done that by myself. We've never been good about studying the scriptures as a family. Oh dear.
• Serving others could also increase and become something we actively do as a family. So far I'd say we are pretty good about serving each other at home, but I definitely want our kids to grow up feeling like service is a part of them, not just something they do a few times a year.

Writing this post is eye-opening for me because 2 of the 4 items need serious improvement. Ouch! Since this is the first year both of the kids will be at school all day (Landon isn't home schooling this year) I want to make sure we have some good routines that include morning scriptures and morning prayers. It's interesting that though my time during the day will be much more my own (do a little jig), I feel like my responsibilities are increasing. Yikes!

**What do you think???**