So Worth It

At the start of the summer a new sister moved into our ward.  She is youngish and she is vocal and she has been a breath of fresh air in our classroom discussions.  She openly shares the fact that she hasn't always been a practicing member of the church and that she has made some bad decisions in her life, but her past is overshadowed by the testimony she shares at every opportunity. She has come so far. She makes me want to be less judgmental; more loving and willing to embrace and encourage those who are struggling with their testimonies.  She brings hope to my heart when it starts to feel hopeless.

A couple of weeks ago she attended our visiting teaching interviews and then asked for directions to the bishop's house.  She is getting married the start of September and had an appointment to get her temple recommend so she could go to the temple for the first time.  She was so excited!  She shared how she had almost gone to the temple a few years before, but her divorce got in the way and it didn't happen.  How hard it had been to wait, when she wanted to go so badly. When she left she told us she would be back in a while for her interview with a member of the Stake Presidency.

I was in the hall when she returned with tears running down her face. I was worried that something hadn't turned out the way she had planned.  As I walked toward her she raised her signed recommend for me to see and said, "He signed it.  I signed it.  I am going to the temple."  We embraced and joyfully cried together.  So very, very happy.  She couldn't contain her excitement as she bounced around sharing the news with everyone that would listen.

Tonight I had the opportunity of being in attendance at her temple endowment session and as we embraced again in the celestial room we shed a few more happy tears and rejoiced in her accomplishment.  She did it! and it seems that all the struggles just made the final outcome that much sweeter.  She was so happy and thankful to be there.

As I sat in the celestial room, watching her and those who had come to support her, I reflected on some of the things she has experienced in her life, the choices she has made, and  how she was finally able to worthily stand in the temple.  I pondered on why the road to the temple seems so simple for some individuals and so difficult for others. Entering the temple for the first time was pretty easy for me. Luckily my choices had helped to make it that way, but I probably looked on the event as more of a rite of passage than an accomplishment or a privilege, just one more thing I needed to do before I left on my mission.   I was happy to be there, but I think my joy at that moment was minuscule compared to hers, and to the joy I felt for her tonight.

 There were 2 other people going through the temple for the first time tonight.  A young man who looked like he was getting ready to go on a mission and another girl who was soon to be married.  I wondered if they were as amazed and appreciative of this great blessing in their lives as my friend was. Had their choices in life led to a fairly smooth path to the temple or had they too struggled to get there? What had they done and gone through to make this opportunity a reality? Did they see their temple covenants as the marvelous blessing that they are?

As most of the patrons left the celestial room the young man and his father sat talking quietly in one corner while the unknown bride-to-be sat on a couch next to her future husband, her brother and mother nestled by her side as her father stood protectively near them.  It was such a sweet experience as the spirit of the temple sunk deep into my soul.  I hope they felt that spirit too.  I hope they realize what a great blessing it is to be temple worthy.  I hope they continue to visit the temple often and come to appreciate more and more each time they come how truly blessed they are to have the temple, and all it represents, in their lives.

As I have.

Whether the climb to the temple seems fairly simple or wrought with difficulty I testify it is So Worth It!

Do what you need to do to get there and then make it a priority to go often.  It will be worth any effort it takes!

But you don't have to just take my word for it.  Here is what the living prophet, President Thomas S. Monson has to say on this topic:

"Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings."  

This quote comes from a conference talk Pres. Monson gave in April 2011 and you can read his entire message here.

Today I am thankful for

the new converts or re-converted members of my ward who help me see the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings that are mine through fresh eyes.  I learn so much from them.
temple promises.
the spirit that I feel in the temple.  Nothing in this world can compare to it.

Back Off

We had a ward talent show tonight and it was fun to get to go and enjoy some time with the other members of the ward. The hubby and I went as a two-some since all of our family members had other plans. I like to see our nursery children in settings other than nursery and see how they respond to me. I sat on the floor of the gym and played ball with one of them, and another one enjoyed sitting on my lap and melting ice cubes in his hands all over the two of us. They make me feel loved and important. It is kind of sad though that the nursery group that moved up to Sunbeams in January don't seem to want to be bothered by me any more. I started talking to one of the little boys and he held up his hand in front of him, in a stop sign, and firmly stated, "I'm in primary now." In other words, "Back Off. I've moved on and I don't need you to hold my hand or wipe my nose or dry my tears or build block towers for me to knock down or take me potty anymore. I am bigger now." It took me back for a moment and then it just made me laugh. For the rest of the night, when I would see him, I'd say "Oh, you're in Primary now." and then the two of us would both giggle about it.

Backing Off is something that I have a very difficult time with. Just ask my husband and my kids. It is hard for me to see my own children, as they grow up, raising their hands signifying stop every now and then. So many of their words and actions and gestures seem to say "I'm bigger now and I don't need you". It always takes me back for a moment and their unintentional snubs are harder to laugh off than those of the nursery kids. It is kind of funny when you think about it. This is what we work for all of our children's growing up years. To raise responsible, independent, self-assured children who are capable of taking care of themselves. Who don't need their mommy to hold their hand or wipe there nose... When they are moving forward in this endeavor I should applaud and pat myself on the back not feel sad. And yet, there is something about not being needed that is a little unnerving. I do want my children to grow up. I do want them to be independent and self-assured and responsible. I do want them to have their own lives and their own friends and their own families and their own homes and their own dreams, but every once in a while I want them to remember that they still need me, even if it is only to wipe their tears when someone knocks their tower down or to share their joy when they get it to stand up tall and steady.

Message to my children - I love you. I am learning to let go, but sometimes it is hard. Please be patient with me.

Today I am thankful for

a ward family.
good food that I didn't have to prepare.
a husband who still likes to go places with me.

Tithing Settlement

Tonight our family had the opportunity to meet with the Bishop and declare our tithing status. The youngest son looked at the tithing total at the bottom of the printout that his dad was holding and said, "Gosh, you guys could have bought me a car with that!". He has been doing a lot of wishful car pricing recently but I'm not sure where he saw a car that fit our "tithing budget". Perhaps a used car, very used, but definitely not the ones he's been looking at. As I thought about that I realized how glad I was that that 10 percent of our money went to the Lord and not for a car for our 16-year-old. I'm sure it's done a lot more good where it's at. I have had too many positive financial experiences that I attribute to paying our tithing to ever even question writing that check every 2 weeks or so. It is money well spent. I remember a tithing settlement not too many years into our marriage. We declared ourselves full tithe payers and the bishop challenged our declaration. Our tithing total that year was definitely not large enough to buy a car. I felt sad that the bishop would question our integrity, but that experience was a tithing testimony builder to me. The fact that we could live "comfortably" on that small amount of money, so comfortably that the bishop had no idea of our circumstances, was proof to me of the blessings that come from paying tithing. Now I wish I could figure out where the other 90 percent of what we spent this year went.

Message to my children - The number one best financial decision you will ever make is to pay your tithing faithfully.

Today I am thankful that

paying tithing has become a habit that I don't even question.
Heavenly Father keeps his promises.
my hubby has a job that allows us to fulfill our obligations and live comfortably.

Jekyll and Hyde

Sometimes I think my 16 year old has a split personality. At times he can be so agreeable,cooperative and down right fun to be around and other times - well, not so much. We are planning a family trip to Utah and he is not very excited about going, to put it mildly. One of his young men leaders, who has moved away, is going to be in church one of the Sundays that we are going to be gone and he is convinced that I planned this trip, at this time, just to make his life miserable. He thinks if he has to be miserable that his mom should be too and he spent most of Sunday being a pain. Now, I know I should just ignore him and not let him bug me, but that is easier said than done. He bugged me A LOT! Then today he is a totally different child. He did Health with very little prompting and no assistance from me. He happily changed the laundry for me, more than once, and without me even knowing one time. It is like a day and night difference. I wish I knew who or what to thank for this transformation because I really like it!

Message to my children - I hope when you have children and they don't want to come and visit me that you still make them come anyway, because I will want to see them even if they are miserable.

4 blessings to be thankful for today
A son - who did health happily and by himself.
A daughter - who goes shopping with me and tells me when I don't need things and lets me buy things even when I don't need them.
A daughter - who is willing to take care of some of my responsibilities so I can go on vacation.
A son - who thinks I have good date ideas and only makes fun of me a little bit when I suggest ideas that aren't so good.

Sacrament meeting

My 16 year old son blessed the sacrament for the first time today in Sacrament meeting. He was worried about doing something wrong, but he did a great job. I hope he appreciates what a priviledge it is to be allowed to participate in this very sacred ordinance. Partaking of the sacrament and renewing our baptismal covenants are the most important reasons why we attend church each Sunday. I am grateful that he is worthy to have this opportunity and pray that he will always do his best to live his life in a way that will keep him that way.

We had a wonderful meeting today. We had a young couple speak who have not always lived the kind of lives they knew they should. The wife shared her conversion story and her husband shared how he became active again. They both bore such sweet testimonies. They, along with their year old son, were recently sealed in the temple and it is so amazing to see the changes that have taken place in their lives. His mother is one of the ladies that I went to the beach with and I know that his conversion and new lifestyle have been an answer to her many prayers. I was so touched by the spirit today. A member of the Stake Presidency also bore his testimony about the atonement and the power that it has to turn lives around. I am so grateful for the atonement and for the opportunity I have to repent and to start again every time I make a mistake. I would be lost without this great gift from my Savior.

Message to my children - Never forget that your elder brother, Jesus Christ, loves you and suffered for your sins so that you can be forgiven and begin again as many times as you need to. His love and his power are real and can change your life for good.

National Doughnut Day!

So, how many of you knew that today was National Doughnut Day? In honor of the event my youngest son and I took a field trip to the new Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop in East Mesa (right before gas took a 10 cent jump from $4.05 to $4.15 at the QT by my house). We are happy that Arizona once again has a Krispy Kreme and I am happy that it is far enough away that I am not tempted to visit very often.

I have a thought for you to help commemorate the day. I was listening to a talk on tape by Brenton Yorgason about marriage relationships. He had been counseling a couple who were contemplating divorce. He painted them a picture of the Mesa Temple with a cactus in the foreground and on the only spike on that cactus was a glazed doughnut. When he presented the picture, the wife asked him what in the world that was on the cactus. He asked what she thought it was and she said it looked like a doughnut. He told her she was right and when she questioned why the picture included a doughnut he told her this: "The only things you ever tell me about your husband are what he isn't, what he is missing. I want you to focus on what he is. I don't want you to look at his hole. I want you to look at his doughnut. He is a good provider. He has never cheated on you... When you eat a doughnut, you don't worry about the hole, you enjoy the rest of it. I want you to try to do the same thing with your marriage." Apparently that picture changed the couple's marriage and their lives.

Message to my Children - In relationships, try to always focus on the doughnut and not on the hole.

Life is so not fair!

So my eldest son and I had dentist appointments today. He probably wouldn't recognize a package of dental floss if you showed it to him. Not really, but you get what I mean. I, on the other hand, have religiously brushed and flossed my teeth EVERY DAY for at least the last 6 years. Guess who has a cavity? Not only a cavity but a tooth that will require a $1000 crown! Now, I will admit that I have not always flossed my teeth and there were those "lean" years where I couldn't even afford a dentist appointment let alone a crown when my teeth got very neglected, but still I say "Life is not fair"! I mean, not only did I have the cavity, but he also got the last parking spot and the blue toothbrush. Something is just wrong here. I'm just grateful we have good insurance that will pay for most of my bill. Hopefully my son will always be able to say "Look mom, no cavities".

Message to my Children - It's a lot better to take the 5 minutes required to brush and floss now than to have to live with the consequences of not doing it later on.

Procrastination

My children all have a bad habit of procrastinating. I have never been able to figure out where they get it from. Certainly not me. Today the youngest was suppose to sign into his summer online health class. If he didn't sign on he would be dropped from the class. At 9:00 my cell phone alarm rang and I reminded him that it needed to be done. Of course he was planning on doing it and had it all under control but right then was not the time. I dropped a few hints and issued a few reminders throughout the day, but there was always something else he HAD TO DO at that moment. About 5:00 I said, "Let's go do it now!" and went to the computer to log onto the internet. Lo and behold there was no internet service. I picked up the phone and there was no dial tone. I announced that we were going to the library to sign in since it had to be done. There was door slamming and loud, annoying remarks. From the son, not me, although I felt like voicing my opinion in a very loud manner. We grabbed the instruction sheet that told us how to sign on, drove to the library and made our first attempt... no such user name. Then our second attempt... no such user name. This continued for about 20 attempts and more than a few whispered, annoying remarks. We were in the library after all. Finally, he sent an e-mail to the instructor explaining the problem and asking what he should do and we went back home.

The hubby was home when we got there and he called the phone company on his cell phone and they assured us that the phone would be fixed by 7:00 PM - tomorrow. As a side note here I will mention that this phone not working had been a common (once a month) occurance until recently when the phone company finally reburied the phone line in our alley that has been laying above the ground for about 2 years and got sliced everytime the city cleaned up the alley. We were hoping our phone troubles were over, but this wasn't looking promising. Usually it takes 2 to 3 days to get service again so at least 1 day sounded better. To make a long story a little bit shorter, about 8:00 we got a call that our phone was fixed and we were able to use the internet, get the correct user name from the e-mail the teacher had responded to and sign into the class. Hooray!! All those loud annoying words for nothing!

Message to my Children - Don't put off until 5:00 what you can do at 9:00.