Spiritual Thought Sunday--It's a Wonderful Life

Ah. Mother's Day.

And it was good.  Very good.  I got breakfast in bed and started the Sunday crossword puzzle in peace.

Last week's puzzle that I've been waiting to do until I had some time to just sit down and do it uninterrupted.

Started it, because it wasn't truly uninterrupted.

But it was a nice few minutes lounging in bed.  Pretending that I was childless.  Which would then negate the whole Mother's Day premise.

Church was good.  By which I mean, we survived another week and only have 2 weeks until Aunika goes into nursery.  Which may save (a) our sanity and (b) our eternal souls. However, I got fed up with Aunika's devil screeches and left to put her down for a nap roughly about 5 minutes before the primary stood up to sing their little tribute to their moms, leaving my little bug up there singing to everyone else's mom.

Yes!  Mother of the Year right here folks!

(Sidenote: Is it bad to go on a family vacation solely for the purpose of not having to battle Aunika in church for 3 hours for one less week?  I didn't think so.)

We went and spent the evening with Wade's parents.  Wade turned on the sprinklers for the season and I was reminded that we've slowly become our parents.  I remember going with my parents to my grandparents house and doing weird things like turning on sprinklers.  We did get free dinner out of it this go round and I don't remember getting dinner when I was a kid at my grandparents.  But, naturally, that's probably not something I would've remembered anyway.

I tracked my parents down to a hotel in Washington D.C., where they're on a bus tour of all the historic sites. I'm mildly (read: incredibly) jealous, except for the part where they said they were the third or fourth YOUNGEST people on the bus.  But, looking over the agenda, they're hitting some really cool parts.  I HAVE to go there someday.  Maybe when I write my bestseller and Wade retires so he can play house while I'm touring the country for book signings, I can go see the sites.

So, all in all, It's a Wonderful Life.

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Easter Snow

I'm totally stealing this from a friend (thanks Juliana!) and I hope she doesn't mind.

Sometimes there are blue skies and flowers on Easter and sometimes we need faith that a period of rejuvenation and renewal WILL come... eventually. 

Oh, I have flowers.  Under all that snow.  

But, in a more general sense, sometimes life is like this--snow on Easter.  And the good news is that it rarely snows on the 4th of July.  So, keep swimming, and eventually you'll end up back on top.

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Simply Put

My parents have almost been married for 40 years.  Just this last week, my older brother asked my mom what the best part of the last 40 years have been.  She thought about it long and hard and said "the best part of the last 40 years is having babies."

She was quick to point out that it wasn't raising kids, but merely opening your heart to receive little ones into your life;  The miracle of life.

My brother then asked what the worse thing has been in the last 40 years.  She answered "watching my parents age and die."

The gist--40 years down the line, it's not going to matter how money you made, what kind of house you had, the vacations you took, or the car you drove.  Simply put, your best and worst moments will be tied together; welcoming life and saying goodbye. 

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Overwhelmed

For the last year or so--almost 15 months if you're counting--I've been wavering between completely overwhelmed and almost-completely overwhelmed.

Like I'm trying to do it all.  By myself.  Uphill.  Barefoot.  In the snow.

And I always see ways that I could improve.  Like how the kitchen at this exact moment looks as though a tornado has run through it and yet I'm sitting here ignoring it because I've cleaned the stupid thing every. single. day. (sometimes twice) for the last 7 days.

Or how the laundry is piling up again even though I had it all cleaned, folded, ironed, and put away just three days ago.

Or how I can't go to the bathroom in peace because somebody wants me to do something.  Right then and there.

And I get a little overwhelmed by how this is my life for the next how many years and some days I can't fathom another day of this existence let alone years.  


My life is feeling a little stretched.  My marriage is feeling a little stretched.  I'm feeling a little stretched.  And I keep wondering how much more I can stretch my life, my marriage, me before something breaks and snaps and stings me in the face.

So, if you're feeling like me...

Sit down.  Take a minute.  Breathe.  Let the dishes go.  Let the laundry go.  Count your blessings.  Talk.  Laugh.  Listen.

Yeah, I know. All easier said then done.

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Shutting Your Trap

Nature has given us two ears, two eyes,
and but one tongue-to the end that we
should hear and see more than we speak.
Socrates (BC 469-399)

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Motive and Faith

A few years ago, I was asked to retain my position as secretary of the primary organization through another presidency--a position that I had been detesting for awhile.  At the time, I was a little put off.  I was cornered in the hall on my way to the chapel by the 2nd counselor in the bishopric who took my aside and basically said "We didn't realize we needed a new secretary when we changed the president.  Please say yes.  Then we can sustain you all today."  Which really left little choice and left me wondering about "callings from God".

Which is a completely different blog post.

However, I made some great friends in that presidency and now realize that I was meant to be there.  Even if the message got a little mixed in the translation.

Which leads me to today's spiritual thought.

Sometimes, our motives are questioned.  I'm using the Mormon church as an example, but it can be widened to include a lot more.  Sometimes we agree to do things because we feel that it's our duty, but we aren't exactly excited to be doing them.  Like with some callings in the church.

Does anyone want to be bishop?

But we do them because we realize that our strengths are needed.  So we put aside things in our lives, make sacrifices and go at it with faith because that's what we've been taught.  And deep down inside we know it's the right thing to do.

Does anyone have the right to question this as long as we're doing it to the best of our abilities?

(Apparently, they think they have the right, but the answer is no.)

We are all going to be asked to do things in our lives that we don't want to do, whether it be to fight a disease, endure some tragedy, get a job below our worth to feed our family, or fulfill a church calling.  And if we have the faith that it will work out in the end--whatever that end might be--than sometimes that's all we can hope for.  Happiness is something that will come later.

Spiritual Thought Sunday--The Holocaust

When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always.


Mahatma Gandhi

On our drive from St. George yesterday we were discussing the Holocaust a little bit.  Like, how one man could be so evil and convince so many people to go along with them.
 
But the most impressing part was that a lot--not all, I'm sure--of the Jewish people stuck in concentration camps never gave up on their God or their religion.  A lot of them realized that this wasn't God's doing and they didn't hate Him for not stopping it.  I'm sure there were many who felt that they'd been abandoned, but the accounts I've read say that a lot of the concentration camp residents were still very religious DESPITE their current conditions.  And I wonder if I could've been that strong.
 
So this quote really stood out to me, because in the end, Hitler failed.  Stalin failed.  The evil forces that reign in our world (literally and figuratively) will eventually fail.  We just have to endure through to the truth.
 
Whatever that truth may be.

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Quick and Easy

A few years ago, I read a book by the Dalai Lama.  It was really interesting and full of all sorts of wisdom.  Like, how he's a vegetarian 50% of the time.  He doesn't eat meat every other day.  Interesting.  But, it was chock full of other things too. 

However, I really liked this quote:

In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher.
--Dalai Lama

Think about it.  Mull it over. 

Interesting, isn't it? 

Spiritual Thought Sunday--Teaching Primary Outside the Box

I subbed in Primary today for some friends who are currently in Hawaii.

(I know!)

It's a new year, so new primary classes--which is good because their last class was a terror.  And when I arrived there were 7 eager five year olds looking at me like I was Medusa.

But I calmed them down enough to at least get some lesson about doing what Jesus would want us to do into them before setting them free on a container of crayons and paper.

(Funny story--when I asked Josh what he learned at church today, he said "Jesus wants us to color."  Wade piped in to say that's what he learned in Junior Primary and I said "well, that's what I'm teaching."  However, this isn't our spiritual thought for the day, so continuing right along...)

There's a little boy in the class, Cameron, who has Down Syndrome.  His family moved into the ward in Augustish.  He's adorable, but he can be  a little...challenging...at times.  His mom stayed with him through class.  But she left for a minute to go see what time class was over and he bolted after her.  Luckily, I've put in all these training miles, so I was able to catch him pretty fast and drag him back.

And I thought I was going to have a screaming kid on my hands, but he was actually pretty good and sat on my lap.  Which is a miracle in itself because most kids can sense that I'm not much of a kid person and they steer clear.  But not Cameron.

So off to sharing time we went.  And I felt comfortable enough to tell  his mom to go ahead and go to Sunday school and she was so visibly relieved that she finally got a free hour or so at church that I was instantly happy even though deep down I was a little scared.

But we did really well.  He slapped me a few times for not going to find his mom and dad, and that was a little strange, but overall he did good for only having been in primary for 2 weeks (he's been in the nursery, playing, for the last 3 years).

And in Sacrament meeting, he waved at me from across the chapel.  Ahhh...heart melt.

The moral of the story is this:  We are given opportunities to leave our comfort level and for good reason.  Take advantage because you may actually learn more from outside your box than inside.

Have a great Sunday everyone and tune in tomorrow for what horrible faux pas I made at Toastmaster's this last week.  You'll be sure to enjoy that story.

Spirtual Thought Sunday: The Book of Lego

We had originally hedged our bets that a change to the 11:00 church schedule from the 9:00 church schedule would help Josh out with his...reluctance...to go to church.

We were sorely disappointed.

However, once we got to church and he realized he was the ONLY person in his underwear, he was more than willing to put on clothes.

2010:  Parents--1, Josh--0.

And so begins my Spritual Sunday Thoughts.  Which, in hindsight, might not always be that spiritual.  But I'll see what I can do.

Sometimes you wonder if you're teaching your kids right.  I know there's a lot of things that we need to buckle down and do regarding religion and church and spirituality, and I would like to start working on those things this year.  Like family scripture study and prayers and Family Home Evening. 

Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming though.

So I'm always happy when Josh picks things up at church and shares them with us.  Like his little song after church:

Jesus died.  Went to Hell.
Jesus died.  Went to Hell.

Clearly, we have some work to do.

But I LOVED this little thing he made during sacrament meeting:

John 3:6  "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit"

Josh(ua) 1:4  "From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast."

Lego 10:100  "No, I will not take his hands off. Put your Lego man back together. Where's his head?"

All things considered, I don't think we're doing so bad.

Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.
—Proverbs 22:6