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.

Countdown to Women's Conference

Several of you have asked if Kristi, Michelle and I are getting together for Women's Conference this year and the answer to that is "definitely yes!" Kristi bought her plane tickets back in January, so we've been counting down to this week since then.


The logistics of life are more complicated this year, so we've set our expectations low (so hard for me to do but I have succeeded!) and will be happy with anything we get.


Kristi has said that Women's Conference is like her personal new year, and I think that may hold true for me as well. Sister Beck's talk from Women's Conference last year seriously changed my thinking and held me up all year long. I need the intense infusion of the Spirit from the great classes at Women's Conference and am excited to feel teary and bursting once again. I can't wait!

**Are you going to Women's Conference?
Are you counting down to anything?
What lifts you up?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I'm taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off of work so that means tomorrow is my work-related Friday, woohoo!

Sunday Thoughts

I got to hear Sister Beck speak yesterday at a multi-Stake Relief Society gathering and once again came away feeling uplifted and motivated. She spoke for awhile and then took questions from the crowd (like she did when I heard her speak in January). She is so totally in tune with the Spirit that she is able to turn directly to the scripture she needs to answer the question and she is also able to reply to the question brilliantly despite being put on the spot in front of hundreds of people. I took 7 pages of notes, and even though she mentioned several things I've heard her mention before, I came away with a greater understanding of them.


Here are a few highlights from my notes (there are too many to post).

• We're ordinary people who have been given huge responsibilities and we have to figure out a way to do things.
• Relief Society isn't a program, it's a way of life.
• We teach each other how to live the gospel.
• Relief Society is an invitation to become disciples of Christ.
• We are expected to lead and to serve in the church.
• Our goal is a life of discipleship.
• We are here to take care of each other.
• The story of Mary and Martha is often misunderstood, Martha welcomed the Savior into her home and she served Him so she was still doing what the Lord wanted her to do.

One of the questions asked was "How can we help our sisters across the world who have less than we do?" Sister Beck gave so many fantastic answers and really changed the way I am going to think about teaching in my home and at church.

• We can help by raising up missionaries in our homes, primary classes and Young Women's organization.
• Every time a missionary goes out we are increasing faith in the world.
• Every time you go to the temple or prepare others to go you are helping the world.
• We can give to the Humanitarian Fund, pay our tithes and offerings, donate to the Perpetual Education Fund.
• All the ordinary things we do are actually big things.
• Blogging is an opportunity to share the gospel and what we know to be true.
• We can lead the women of the world in all that is good.

At one point she said that we should say to ourselves, "I will pray, I will read, I will seek the Spirit and I will get through this." That totally hit home with me and all I've been struggling with lately, it seems like it could be a mantra for all of us. We know we need to align with the Lord by praying and reading the scriptures daily, and that by doing so we are able to lie by the Spirit and better handle the things that come our way. Is just wish I didn't have to learn this lesson over and over and over again.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It was so nice to feel coherent and awake at church today, and it feels great to be able to do a Sunday Thoughts post again!

Sunday Thoughts

I had a great opportunity to go with Lori to a Tri-Stake fireside to hear Sister Beck speak last Tuesday night. It was held in a huge Stake Center (the same one Michelle and I went to hear April and her sister speak last year) but we still went almost an hour early to get a good seat. The place ended up being filled all the way to the back plus overflow into classrooms.


Instead of giving a talk, Sister Beck took questions from the audience, so each answer became a mini talk on its own. She is an amazing woman to be able to do this in front of a room of 500 people! She clearly knows her scriptures and is in tune with the Spirit.

Here are my notes (I couldn't decide what to cut out, so I included all of them.)

• We have a lot of things in common, but we're all having our own mortal experience. We can turn to the Lord for help, He is the only one who knows exactly what we're going through.
• Our Relief Society responsibilities are to 1. Increase Faith 2. Strengthen Home and Family 3. Help Those in Need
• We should be careful about what we read and watch so that we don't offend the Spirit. We need to have the Spirit with us in order to be our best selves and handle the challenges that come our way, so when we read or watch things that are offensive to the Spirit, we lose the privilege of having it with us always. (This answer came from the question "What book are you reading? What's on your nightstand? She also said she's able to get about 10 minutes of nonchurch reading in each night and that she's currently reading some comical stories.)
• Keep the commandments, spend time in the scriptures and on our knees each day. Fast with sincerity. Take time to be quiet and ponder in the temple.
• Commit to spend time in the scriptures each day. Eventually it will become delicious to you and not a task. (I love how it how she always says "in the scriptures" rather than reading the scriptures.)
  
• It doesn't matter if we have a set amount of scriptures (i.e., a chapter) we're reading or a certain schedule, the important thing is to study them daily and make them a part of who we are.
• All of these things are part of our spiritual training so that we are in good shape and can handle the tough times that come our way.
  
• The gospel isn't passive, there is a lot to do. We try to keep balanced and take care of our bodies, spirits and minds.
• She reviewed the importance of keeping in balance with the Essentials, Necessities and Nice-to-Do's. (I really believe that if we do these things we will be in balance in life and able to handle the things that come our way.)

• Alma 48:9--This scripture talks about the importance of fortifying our weakest areas. For some this may be family scripture study, Family Home Evening, or family prayer, but it hit me hard that our weakest area if family meal time!
• The Savior is the healer of all our losses and disappointments in this life. He makes us able to bear our mortal experience.
• We can call on the help of our Heavenly Father any time, any place.
• We can be changed through repentance and faith in the Savior.
• "If you don't have a testimony of visiting teaching, it's time to get one! Visiting teaching is your opportunity to find out how much the Lord loves you. If you give Him the chance He will let you serve those women. You're always going to have an issue with visiting teaching, so get over it! Seek the Lord's will and just do it! Report on how your sisters are doing temporally and spiritually. You are the the link to the bishop (through your VT Coordinator and RS President) regarding those sisters' well-being." (Of course I loved these thoughts! I wanted to stand up and cheer.)
• Visiting teaching is part of our defense as a ward family.
• The greatest danger facing young mothers is the desire to escape into hobbies, TV, blogs, friends and the computer. Heavenly Father is sending strong spirits to the Earth now, so it's no wonder that motherhood is so challenging. Mothers need to be on target and focused in their tasks.
• Only the Lord can tell you if you're doing well enough. Don't measure yourself against others, only against yourself.
• Listen to the Holy Ghost, other voices will lead us off the path.
• D&C 11:12--Put your trust in the Spirit that leadeth to do good.
• Align yourself first with the Lord (do the Essentials) then seek balance with the nice-to-dos.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I'm glad Youth Conference prep is only going to be crazy for a few weeks and then will be over 2 weeks from now!

So Nice-To-Do

I know I keep writing about Sister Beck's Essentials, Necessities and Nice-To-Do's but they are seriously changing the way I think about how I spend my time, so I would be leaving out an important part of my life if I left them out of this post.


Plus, I keep improving this little reminder card (which I keep on my bulletin board above the computer). I have reread Sister Beck's talk a couple times, plus heard her at Regional Conference on Sunday so I keep finding more things she said to add to the list.

The great thing is that I am balancing my time better and making sure that my Essentials and Necessities are being taken care of so that I'm justified in all my nice-to-do's.


Like today when I met up with Crystal, Amie and Michelle for a long lunch at Chili's, there was no guilt and my mind was at peace because we had had family prayer and scripture study in the morning and I had gone visiting teaching as well.


The last time Crystal and I got together for lunch we ordered chips and salsa and then barely ate them even though we were there for 3 hours, so this time I was all over her about eating them.

The table could hardly hold all the food.

Poor Crystal sat across from me, so I got the most pictures of her, but I love the blur on this one because this moment was so funny. We laughed all throughout our lunch and at one point I even laughed hard enough to feel my abs working (that's my favorite kind of laugh), so it was a good time. There were lots of hilarious quotables (we really should have written them down) and we meshed beautifully as a group (i.e., no awkward silences or uncomfortable moments).

Me and my chins took one for the team since I held the camera on this shot, but I'm dedicated to self-portraits and remembering good days like this one.

**Are you on a quest for balance?
When was the last time you laughed really hard?**

Comment Window Tidbit: I really don't mean to be obnoxious about these things, it's more a matter of me constantly trying to be my best self and continually failing. I am always so shocked when I'm doing so well or right that I feel like I should shout it from the rooftops in disbelief and euphoria. I'm always more shocked than anyone else.

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.