Sunday, July 15, 2012

Kids and Kimball

For those of you who don't know, Jason got accepted to BYU for the winter/spring semester. He is just finishing up a class for the spring semester online. It's a marriage and family class with so many great readings. Tonight we read a talk by President Ezra Taft Benson called "To the Mothers in Zion." I love reading older talks because the prophets were so bold. In this specific talk he reminded us that the most noble and important work we can do is in our own home, raising our children to love God and teaching them to have faith in Jesus Christ. Sometimes I start wondering what my real purpose as a mom is and I go looking for these kinds of talks. I highly encourage you to read this one.
It can be found here: http://emp.byui.edu/WILLIAMSG/Talks/etb_tothemothers.htm

I put Kimball in the title because President Kimball is often quoted in the talk. Of the many wonderful things he shared, one (or should I say ten) has really helped me catch the vision for what God sees as the work of a mother. President Benson told us ten things that are our duty as mothers to our children. I will name just a few of them.

1. Be at the Crossroads. This means be at home when your children are coming and going. They need to know that you are there and that you are concerned with what is going on in their lives. They need your supervision when they come home from school and they need your support when they leave the house to face to world.

2. Read to your children. It's so important to fill your children's minds with the truth of the scriptures and the principles of the classics.

3. Be together at mealtimes. This is the time when you get to know what is going on in their lives. They need to know that they can be completely honest with you and that they can ask you for advice.

4. Pray with them. Study the word of God with them.
5. Teach them.
6. Truly love them.

There are so many things a woman can do in the world today, but the most important thing she can do is be a mother who leads her children to God. No success can compensate for failure in the home. Seriously- go read it!


Saturday, July 14, 2012

Jason and Jammin

My J today is about my incredible husband Jason. He deserves a shout out because he makes my world go 'round. I would not be as incredibly happy as I am today with a husband who does so much for me and loves me without conditions. Jason is really a rare catch. When we were dating he was so sweet to me. The first birthday I celebrated with him, he sent me flowers and a poem he had written. Even though he's a manly man, he sure has a tender side and knows how to get to my heart. One thing about my sweet husband is that he is very thoughtful. He pays attention to what I like and always remembers to do something special for every occasion. I love my husband!
My other J- jammin'. Dancing happens to be something that both my husband and I love, but are not talented at. AT ALL. Seriously- unless you want a really good laugh, you do not want to see either of us dance. Levi gets a kick out of it though. :)


Sunday, July 8, 2012

Inspired

Every Sunday I feel so grateful to have the gospel as my anchor. I start to think about all the ways I am blessed and I just lose track. Today, there are two things I am particularly grateful for and they all could be summed up in one word. Inspiration. Two incidents happened within 24 hours of each other that really strengthened my faith in the gospel. 
First, about a week ago I was sleeping in bed with my sweet baby boy who is 6 months old. He is getting somewhat mobile so we have to be careful where we lay him down. If we lay him on his back, he will be rolled over in a matter of 2 seconds and start scooting backwards. This particular morning, Jason had gone to work and Levi and I were taking a morning nap in my bed. I was completely and totally asleep. Even dreaming. Out of nowhere, without opening my eyes, I quickly rolled over and grabbed my baby. When I opened my eyes, I was holding Levi by his legs and he was dangling over the side of the bed about 3 inches from the ground. I realized that there was no way I could have seen that coming (considering I was completely asleep at the moment) and I immediately said a prayer to thank God for protecting my baby. I know God answers prayers.
Second, I just got my wisdom teeth out last Wednesday. It sucked. Really, trying to rest and taking care of a 6-month-old do not coincide with each other. Not to mention, I wasn't taking pain killers because I'm still nursing the baby. So as I was healing from my surgery, one night I started feeling so sick. So terribly sick that I was crying and just wanted the pain to go away. I woke up Jason and asked him for a blessing. He got his vial of consecrated oil (after first using the eye drops that he reached for in the dark and accidentally dripped on my head) and laid his hands on my head to give me a blessing. I know blessings are granted according to our faith and the will of the Lord so it doesn't happen perfectly every time, but this time I was instantly healed and felt 100% better. The hand of the Lord is so present in my life. Mark 6:13 says, "And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them." Some people think that healing by the laying on of hands doesn't exist anymore or that only the apostles could heal people. But I know that because there must be a "restoration of all things" and that includes the priesthood authority to act in God's name for the blessing and healing of the sick and the afflicted. I'm grateful to have a priesthood holder in my home who honors his priesthood and presides over our family in love and righteousness. 
There is someone who reads my blog who needs to hear something. If you think it's you, then it is. There are many good churches in the world. Many that teach about Jesus and that help men to be better people. But when Jesus Christ came to the earth, He established His church the way it had always been and the way it was always supposed to be- with one faith and one baptism. If you've never asked God if he has a church on the earth, I urge you to do so. If you already know Jesus and believe that he will answer your prayers, wouldn't you want to know if there was one church that had the authority that he gave to His apostles and that He approved of? I don't want to be pushy or anything (I guess it's my blog, anyway) I just ask that you will in sincerity ask God if he has something more for you and where you can find it. I testify to you that God lives. His Son, Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins so that we could live with God again. There is a prophet on the earth today and he speaks the words of God. 


Thanks for reading!