Sunday thoughts

Today was our fast & testimony meeting, and it was a really good one.

One thing that made it great was that the youth went to the temple yesterday morning. Both of my boys went. They had to get up around 4:00 a.m. on the last sleeping-in day of Spring break, and they did it without complaint.

Several of the youth bore their testimonies about the temple today, and Max was one of them. Hearing my child bear his testimony was a parenting payday for me. He spoke about the peace that prevails in the temple, and how nice it was to be bathed in peace for an extended period of time.

He related something that he learned in seminary once, that peace is the only emotion that the devil doesn't have a counterfeit for. I love that.

Max was also set apart as the first assistant in the priest's quorum today and was told that the Lord is pleased with his devotion and that he has been blessed with a strong testimony (music to my ears!). He was promised that as he serves in this calling, his testimony will be strengthened further.

After church, Lucas went to collect fast offerings and Max went to administer the sacrament to 4 homebound members of our ward.

Seeing my boys perform their priesthood duties gives me such joy. Peace is definitely what I am feeling today.

Sunday thoughts

I've been reviewing my notes from Time Out For Women, and there is so much good stuff in there, I am overwhelmed by it all. So I just picked something that Hilary Weeks shared:


She decided to ask Heavenly Father in her morning prayer each day which one thing was most important for her to do during that day. Most often, her answers were small things, such as emailing a friend or writing a note to her daughter. And frequently, she would discover, after the fact, that following through on that one small act was an answer to someone else's prayer, and a great blessing to herself.

There is a special kind of peace at the end of the day when you know you have done the most important thing you could have for that day. (I would like to experience that!)

Heavenly Father will be as much a part of our lives as we will let him be.

Sunday thoughts

{photo from ldschurchtemples.com}

I planned to go to the temple on Tuesday, but my day was really busy and I decided to put it off until Wednesday (maybe even next week). No big deal, I thought.

But at the end of the day Tuesday, I felt terrible. I just knew that I should have arranged my schedule so that I could go to the temple. I determined that I would go on Wednesday morning, despite the fact that Wednesday was a very busy day as well.

After all of the kids had left for school, I finished getting ready and drove to the Provo temple. As I entered the parking lot, I was filled with a great sense of well-being. I could literally feel my stresses and cares dissipating, and I hadn't even entered the building yet!

I knew I was where I was supposed to be. I hope I can remember this feeling.

Sunday thoughts

Some thoughts from church today that resonated with me:

• Go home and offer this prayer: ask the Lord what you have done today (or not done) that displeased him. Then you will better know why you need to repent. Repeat. (paraphrased from President Eyring)

• "I struggle with finding the right balance between studying it out in my mind and asking the Lord for guidance and help. So guys, what's the trick?" (fellow class member in Gospel Doctrine -- this totally cracked me up)
  

• "If we are focused on trying to please the Lord, we don't really have to worry about trying to thwart Satan." (another fellow class member in Gospel Doctrine)

• "Few, if any, blessings from God are more valuable to our spiritual health than the reward of peace within. Despite dismal conditions in the world and the personal challenges that come into every life, peace within can be a reality. We can be calm and serene regardless of the swirling turmoil all about us. Attaining harmony within ourselves depends upon our relationship with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and our willingness to emulate him by living the principles he has given us." -- Joseph B. Wirthlin

spt -- holiday peace

Nothing like the peaceful feeling of being ready -- finally -- for Christmas!

I went to bed on Christmas Eve before 11:00. Unprecedented!

peace

During my fast last week, I felt impressed several times that I needed to go to the temple. It's been far too long since I've been, and here was this undeniable prompting.

Today was the day. I determined I would go after I dropped Eva off at preschool. It's always surprising to me to see a completely full parking lot there in the middle of a weekday. Evidently a lot of people had the same idea.

It was tight (in fact I was a few minutes late picking her up), but I'm so glad I did it. So much peace and reassurance to be found. My problems were minimized, always such a blessing.