Sunday Thoughts

Yesterday was our annual Stake Relief Society Women's Conference and our special guest speaker was Brad Wilcox. This was my first time hearing him speak and it was a treat. Our book club read his book The Continuous Atonement so I was familiar with his writing style and knowledge of the subject, but hearing him speak added even more dimension and clarity. Here are my notes...

• Remember that the Atonement isn't just a miracle because it means we will be resurrected and can receive comfort during our trials; it is a miracle because it means we can be transformed!
• Why do we have to face trials in the first place if it's only about being comforted? We can be transformed through our trials and be better than we were before because of having gone through them.
• Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him means to come unto Christ and be like Him.
• Our goal is to become more like Christ, not just to get to Him.
• We don't have to make our burdens presentable to the Lord, He is with us all along the way.
• Christ's light surrounds us and moves us forward as we strive to be like Him.
• Come unto me, come as you are, right here, right now...not when you're finally worthy but while you're still struggling.
• There is purpose in bearing your burdens in the first place.
• You're not a hypocrite, you're a disciple. You're not perfect but are struggling and trying to be better every day.
• 2 Nephi 25:23, "after" is a preposition of separation rather than time.
• We do all we do because we love God, but we need to remember He loves us. He doesn't care about the offering, He cares about the offerer!
• One of Satan's strategies is to whisper in our ears that if we're not perfect we're failing.
• Our consistent offerings (of service and sacrifice) to the Lord help us to transform ourselves.
• We forget who is making all we do possible (like a jockey thinking he won the race).
• Nothing doesn't mean worthless, it means powerless. (We are nothing without God.)
• We focus so much on our to-do lists we forget why God gave them to us in the first place. Everything we do is to help us become more like Him.
• No unclean thing can dwell with God but no unchanged thing will want to because they won't feel comfortable being with Him.
• It's not about height it's about growth.
• A covenant is not a cold contract but a warm relationship between two hearts.

Sunday Thoughts

Today's lesson in Relief Society was all kinds of great and had me writing frantically. The lesson was about applying the Atonement in our lives, and was taught in such a thoughtful, personal-experience filled kind of way by our Relief Society President that I came away feeling fired up.

She started out by showing us a trophy and an old baseball mitt. She said, "Is the Atonement more like a trophy in your life or a well-oiled, well-used baseball mitt?" Or in other words, is the Atonement something you place up on a shelf and look at with reverence every now and again or is it something you can't play the game of life without? Because we need use the power of the Atonement in our lives every day.

She talked about the story of Moses and the fiery serpents and how all the people had to do was to look up to be healed, and how this is a type for all of us that all we have to do is look to the Savior to be healed. The really interesting part of this to example was that we all have our own versions of "fiery serpents" in our lives but that no matter what they are we just need to look to the Savior to be healed. Of course I know this and have learned this lesson many times, but it hit me right between the eyes today (where I needed to be hit) because of how much I've been wrestling with myself lately and seriously battling some inner negativity. I have prayed for help with my issues, but haven't been crying out to the Lord many times a day for help the way I could be. After sharing her own example (which was actually similar to mine) she said that she finally realized that she hadn't prayed to ask to be repeatedly reminded of what she wanted to change. But after she realized this and began actively prayed for help she is now able to change her thoughts when they come to her and she is breaking herself of a habit she has had forever! This is exactly what I need to do! I wanted to stand up and cheer.

• Grace is divine means of help or strength; it is the Lord's enabling power.
• Because of the Atonement we are entitled to divine help or strength to do and be more than what we can be by ourselves. We need to look to the Lord to be healed.
• We need to be humble, turn to Him and have the faith to ask for help, pray, read scriptures, give service and be obedient. 
• We need to do what we can do then He will do what we can't do.
• Life is full of "fiery serpents" we need to look to the Lord to be healed.
• Cry out to the Lord 100 times a day (as needed) for help, He will help you every time!
• Pray for help to have the reminder of what you're trying to do come to your mind, and you will change.
• We are often so focused on self-discipline, self-mastery, and self-improvement that we don't ask the Lord for help.
• The Lord works from the inside out, the world works from the outside in.
• If you want to eliminate the darkness in your life you need to increase the light.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I came home from church and found Claudia and a friend sitting in the Adirondack chairs in our front yard!

Sunday Thoughts

I finished reading The Book of Mormon last week and have moved onto the conference issue of The Ensign. Each day I open up the conference issue of The Ensign, look over the table of contents, then choose one of the talks to read. Eventually I'll read all of them, but I enjoy skipping around and choosing whatever stands out to me that day.


The first talk I read upon starting this issue was President Uchtdorf's talk "Your Happily Ever After" from the General Young Women Meeting. I haven't watched all of the broadcast yet (hello it has only been 4 months!) so this talk was completely new to me.

I absolutely loved it and was highlighting it like crazy. There is so much goodness to be found in that talk, so I highly recommend clicking the link and printing it out so you can read it for yourself, but this one quote jumped out at me the most.

"How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."

As I read this, I thought of various people I know who are struggling with big things right now. They are all handling things in their own ways, but this is the way that will bring them the greatest peace and healing.

"In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy."

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: It's August again, whoa.

Whosiwhatsit

Today around 2:00 I got a call from one of the school secretaries (seriously the nicest lady on the planet) asking if I could come pick up Landon because he'd fallen and hurt his arm (the 6th graders were running laps and he tripped). I drove over to the school thinking, "I hope this isn't serious" and "I wonder if he just wants to come home and lie on the couch and watch So You Think You Can Dance" (he had to miss it last night).

But upon seeing his red eyes and slumped body in the office I knew he was really hurt. Jean (the secretary) had given him a baggie with ice in it and was very concerned about him (seriously, I love this woman).


I ended up taking him to the Insta Care place and was very relieved that they have a $49 a month for 6 months plan to cover this. It also covers him for other office visits during that time, so I told him if he's going to get any ear infections, strep throat or anything else to do it now. Hee.

He was in decent spirits when I pulled out my camera in front of the place, he said, "Gotta document". (It was very bright, hence the eye closure and the fact that I couldn't see it when I took the picture, ugh.)



It took quite awhile to fill out all the forms (I kept thinking, "Apparently I'm the mom, when did this happen?") and get all the paperwork in the computer before they could see him. Poor guy, he was really hurting.



They gave him a less leaky ice pack and left us in a seriously overheated (I was even wearing short sleeves!) room to play I-Spy for a few minutes. He was reluctant to play at first, but ended up having fun with it and totally bamboozled me by choosing really tricky items under my chair!

The nurse who helped us was nice enough, but had very poor, small-town Utah grammar (i.e., "Where was ya when ya did this?") and she man-handled him a bit. We also heard her on the phone saying, "Landon Strout"...what the? Stuart is not a hard name.

The doctor was very nice, but scared us both with his overdiagnosis involving words like "orthopedic surgeon," "bone fragments," "growth plate," and "expensive." Landon teared up after hearing him talk and I almost did too! It was a total "keep it together man" moment for both of us.


The doctor ended up sending the x-rays online (isn't technology fabulous?!) to a radiologist (for an extra $20 cash today or $37 later...good hell) and we ended up being told it was only a class 2 radial fracture whosiwhatsit type thing, so it can be handled at the Insta Care place and NOT at the orthopedic surgeon's! (God bless us, everyone!)


The nurse with the poor grammar hurt him again when she set him up to wrap the wrist (and started wrapping the wrong wrist first) causing he and I to both get teary, but after that all was well. He needs to go back in this weekend to get a cast put on. Can you believe he's 11 and this is his first bone break?


Since Dipidee was right next door we had to go in and reward ourselves for making it through this tough time. Landon got a brownie (bottom right of the picture) and I got a little cookie called "Pieces of Heaven" (it definitely was).

I gotta say, this was totally one of those acute parenting moments for me where I was the one in charge, I was the source of comfort, and I felt incredibly upset that he was hurting so much. I wanted to take the pain from him. We actually talked about the Atonement and how Jesus felt everything Landon is feeling. This was Landon's first time really suffering, so it humbled him and made him feel vulnerable. It was a growing experience for us both.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I got 4 hours of sleep last night in 2 two-hour stints $#@!, I don't know what's going on, I've been doing well with my sleep issues for awhile now. At least I got some reading done, but still, sleep is preferable.

Sunday Thoughts

During one of the testimonies at church today one of the speakers was talking about the importance of standing up for the truth even when it isn't a popular thing to do. (Which is an interesting and upsetting thought really, because how often do we not share our beliefs with someone because we know they won't be well received?)


This man also spoke about Jesus Christ and His Atonement, he said, "Christ died for our sins and bore our griefs." I KNOW this and yet the word griefs really got to me. I recently wrote our Primary Program (which is coming up in 3 short weeks) and have the 3 year olds talking about the Atonement and saying how Christ suffered for our fears, our disappointments, our pain, our loneliness, our frustrations and our sadness, but the word grief just stuck out for me today.

I know we can't comprehend how it was physically possible for Him to suffer for everyone who will ever live (consider your own life alone), but I know He did and I am so thankful for that. That means I can hand it all over to Him, so if I find myself being consumed by sadness and and frustration it is because I am choosing to hold onto it and haven't fully given it over to Him and taken advantage of His atonement.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I'm just wondering if I will ever NOT feel totally overheated at church? I know many women are freezing while there, but I have never been one of them. Oh the shame...

Gratitude Week Day 1--The Gospel

Rebecca S. has proposed the idea of making this week Gratitude Week (thanks to Lara for pointing this out) and I have decided to participate. It's perfectly fitting to me to be starting today because I can write about the Number 1 think I'm thankful for.

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ


My belief in the The Plan of Salvation is the foundation for everything in my life. I don't fear death, I don't question the death's of others and I view life as a mission on Earth for each one of us. This is hugely comforting to me and makes perfect sense. We're not here by accident, what we do matters, and when our life is over it is our turn to go whether it seems fair to those left behind or not.


My belief in Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement is something that I understand more the older I get and the more life I experience. There is nothing His suffering did not cover, so He knows how everyone feels and can take that pain away if we give it to Him.

I shared this message from this year's October General Conference when I went visiting teaching this week,

"Our foremost gratitude should be for the Savior and His Atonement. The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all of the trials and hardships that any of us will encounter in this life...we can be assured that He is there and we are safe in His loving arms." --Quentin L. Cook


I could go on and on, but every night when I say my prayer before going to bed I thank Heavenly Father for this knowledge and the peace it brings. I'm thankful to be teaching it to my children so that they don't have to wander through life feeling lost and alone. We never have to feel alone.

**Will you participate in Gratitude Week?
What are you most thankful for?
What gives you peace?**