Sunday thoughts

We had a truly wonderful stake conference today.

It started with a talk by an amazing, very young girl, and she was followed by six other great talks. I was wiping away tears through the entire meeting. (Note to self: put a package of tissues in your church bag!)

I can't include all of my notes in one post, so I'm just going to focus on one thing today.

The youth were all invited to stand, wherever they were in the three buildings in our stake, and sing the original song that was written for their handcart trek last summer.

Max was sitting by me, there were two young men immediately behind me, a young woman next to Marc. I loved their voices united in song, and at one point I looked around the room to see who else was singing (we were sitting on the front row).

When I saw all the youth that were standing and singing together, I was so touched. They looked and sounded so strong, and I just knew they were singing their testimonies.

Here is an excerpt from the song:

The storms will come
And sin will rage and enemies deride
Hold on thy way,
Be not afraid,
For God is on thy side.

We are the youth of the great and final days
Armed with truth and a legacy of faith.
And we will rise up and shine the light He gives,
And with the Saints we will testify: He lives, He lives!

The fire of the covenants we make
Burns in our hearts like a flame.
Unwavering, unquenchable, undimmed by the night,
The fire of the covenant burns bright.
We'll keep the fire burning bright.

It was a day not to be missed! How I love that feeling of being spiritually uplifted, and utterly filled.

I am thankful for...

thoughtful notes.

I received this card from Jill on our first missed Creative Friday and it brought tears to my eyes. The good kind.

Today I was putting clean sheets on Max's bed and noticed (not for the first time) the cards he has displayed around his bed with magnets.

He has cards from both sets of grandparents, Aunt Jessie, and his first cello teacher. I read through a few of them and I could see why he would want to put them where he can see them frequently!

Thoughtful notes are kindnesses of the best kind – they're not that difficult to write (with a little practice, anyway), hardly cost anything, and they have such a positive impact on the recipient. As a mother, I am grateful that my child has such an uplifting collection!