All that Matters

My family is all that matters.  I have learned a great deal about families and what helps a family stay strong together.  A marriage that a woman and man strive hard at, to love and to cherish one another is a great start.  No marriage is perfect, but when Mike and I work together to help one another, support, and love unconditionally that is a solid base to have a family work.  In "The Divine Institution of Marriage" in January 2014, it is stated, "Marriage is far more than a contract between individuals to ratify their affections and provide for mutual obligations.  Rather, marriage is a vital institution for rearing children and teaching them to become responsible adults."

President Hinckley quotes from The Family: A Proclamation to the World, "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.  "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalm 127:3).  Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve on another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.  Husband and wives-mothers and father-will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."

Our kids teach me so much and are amazing examples to us often.  They are hard working, patient, and loving.  We are all learning together to make it back to heaven to see our Heavenly Father again.  I look forward to the day when I can say, "I did my best and tried my hardest to live the way my Savior wanted me to live my life."  President Hinckley, a prophet of the Lord, stated this from the Ensign, July 1997, "Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones.  Now love them, take care of them.  Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come.  Mothers, control your voices; keep them down.  Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  Take care of your little ones.  Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts.  They may do, in the years to come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient.  You have not failed as long as you have tried.  Never forget that."  What a beautiful reminder for all of us that are trying our best to raise these little people that we have been blessed to have in our homes.

What a great experience this has been to put together this blog.  I have learned so much in this class and really appreciate the words of our prophets and apostles.  Our Heavenly Father and His Son love us with an indescribable love, and we need to ALWAYS remember that.  I know this gospel is true.  I know that Joseph Smith went to a grove of trees, at the age of 14, and spoke to Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for his bravery and the courage it took to teach so many of the gospel and I cannot imagine the persecution he and his family endured.  I am thankful for a living prophet on the earth today, President Monson, to lead and guide us in this stressful and scary time on the earth.  I know I am loved by my Savior.  I know He loves each and every one of us!  The gospel is my life, and I try hard to do what is right each day.  I am thankful I can repent and start new and for the blessing it is to know of the Resurrection of our Lord.   I love my family with all my heart and so grateful for their patience and love for me.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Embrace it!

These are our 3 beautiful kids.  Our oldest is leaving for college this year, the one on the left.  The boy on the right is almost 15 and starting high school this coming fall.  The guy in the middle is our youngest but tallest now.  He will be in 7th grade.  They have made me who I am today.  We wouldn't be parents without these guys.  I am eternally grateful for them and what a blessing they are to me and my husband.  I truly love them and their personalities.  They make me laugh, cry, and they are hard work, but worth every second!

Things are changing in our home and change can be hard.  Our oldest is leaving our home to pursue schooling in college out west.  We live in the east so it will be a distance but she will come home for Christmas.  I will be the only girl in the house, but these 2 guys will keep me busy and will be doing more growing and becoming the kind of men Heavenly Father would like them to become.  I am so happy for our daughter and excited about the experiences she will have and how much her testimony will grow.

I looked up the word "change" in the dictionary and this is what it states, "to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left a lone: to change one's name; to change one's opinion; to change the course of history."  There are bigger people in our home now.  Our youngest doesn't need me to help him with hardly anything.  They all 3 can do so much on their own.  They need us for different things now, like sharing opinions, learning, guidance in choices they are making, shelter, transportation, and love.  I am learning to embrace this change.  I either can be sad that they are all growing up and miss out on opportunities that come our way to learn from one another, or I can EMBRACE the changes and experiences they are going through.

Lehi embraced his boys doing what the Lord asked them to do.  Lehi was told by the Lord to have his sons go and get the Golden Plates from Laban and bring them back.  I learned a lot from Sariah and her sadness and worry when they were gone.  I would have been very worried also, but she taught me to have faith in what path the Lord has set for each of us.  She was mad and upset that Lehi would send them on such a dangerous journey, but she even learned that she should "embrace" the Lord and the choices that are put in front of us.

I am so thankful for this time in my life right now.  We have 3 very healthy and smart kids who strive to do their best.  I love that they are older and we can do so much with them now.  I adore these kids and they are definitely my most favorite!  So, if you are sad about a change or challenge that you are going through, EMBRACE IT MY FRIEND!  It will be so much more enjoyable and you will be able to do your very best with our Savior's help, I promise you.

Repentance

I am so thankful that I can repent each Sunday during the sacrament.  What a joyous blessing that truly is.  I want to share, today, about what a true blessing it is to have the Savior's great love for each of us and how amazed I am that we can repent daily all because Heavenly Father's son died for every one of us.

In 1 Nephi 10:18 in the Book of Mormon it says, "For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him."  What a clear and beautiful reminder.  He is exactly the same, He is constant and will always be there for us and love us no matter what.  We are given the Holy Ghost when we are baptized and I am so thankful for the constant reminder from the spirit of that love He has for me.  I make so many mistakes daily, but if I continually go to the Lord and repent each day of the mistakes I have made, He WILL help me and guide me to the right path.

                                                      Always remember this........

I want to share how important family really is.  In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it share this....

"The family is ordained of God.  Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.  Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.  Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

What a beautiful paragraph.  We have a purpose, each and everyone of us.  I am so thankful when our family gets a long and there is peace in our home.  I need to remember, though, that there is NO perfect family.  Everyone has their challenges within their home.  I am so grateful for a loving Savior who really wants to help us and do better and be better within our family.

Journaling

President Kimball gave a beautiful talk called, "The Angels May Quote from It".  He explains how truly important journal keeping is to ourselves and for our posterity.    He states this, "Your own private journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you.  Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity.  Experiences of work, relations with people, and an awareness of the rightness and wrongness of actions will always be relevant."

I keep a journal of the tender mercies I have happen in my life.  I refer to them when I am down, need encouragement, or just need to be reminded of the incredible love the Savior has for me.  He loves us all and truly wants us to remember Him and how blessed we truly are.  President Kimball also shared, "Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully.  You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way that those recorded in any other life."  What a thought that angels could truly quote us some day.

The gospel is so beautiful and such a blessing in my life.  I couldn't be more grateful for how my life and family are blessed with the richness and fullness of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I will end by quoting this wonderful Prophet, "Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity.  Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies."  The Savior wants us to do this.

Love

Elder Oaks gave a great talk called, "Love and Law".  He states, "God's love is so perfect that He lovingly requires us to obey His commandments because He know that only through obedience to His laws can we become perfect, as He is.  For this reason, God's anger and His wrath are not a contradiction of His love but an evidence of His love.  Every parent knows that you can love a child totally and completely while still being creatively angry and disappointed at the child's self-defeating behavior."

The whole talk is a beautiful reminder of God's love and His commandments and how they are both truly there for us all.  He wants us to return to him and receive the promises and blessings He has for each of us.

Here is the link to the whole talk.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/love-and-law?lang=eng