The Words we Speak R.S. Lesson

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What a great topic to study… how our words affect children. Do the words we speak encourage confidence, testimony, strength in our children? Are we using a gentle and loving tone even when disciplining?

“It came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul—.” Helaman 5:30

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Screen Shot 2013-09-18 at 7.06.02 AMThe trick is to live what we believe… to really use a mild voice when we are upset or not feeling well. The blessing is that we are not alone – Heavenly Father blesses our efforts when we are sincere in our efforts.

from the Hymn Come Along, Come Along:
“Let us govern by kindness and never by force,
All cheering and bright, like the sun in its course;
Obedience will spring from each heart with a bound,
And brotherhood flourish the wide world around.”

Ephraim’s Rescue

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eph_t1tc
Jimmy and I saw Ephraim’s Rescue on Saturday night. I didn’t think I’d cry… but I did. Sigh… The first part that made me cry was when Thomas, the teenager with the ‘not-so-positive’ attitude offered to help carry the little boy across the river… and then came back to help others. He was bare foot… in icy water. So sweet that he was able to choose SERVICE and sacrifice instead of caring only about himself.1234820_10151944666657533_495343778_nAnother part I loved was when Brigham Young asked the saints to go help the Handcart Companies. Many said they could go in a few days. The Lord had prepared Ephraim Hanks and he was ready ‘NOW’. What a great example of listening to the promptings he received… and a great example of preparedness. Are we ready to serve, help, go, survive, “NOW”?
Screen Shot 2013-09-08 at 11.50.32 AMAnother important miracle and lesson was when Ephraim prayed and asked Heavenly Father to send a Buffalo for him use kill for a warm skin to stay alive in the winter storm, and food for himself and the saints he was going to help. It had been prophesied that someone who save the people with Buffalo Meat and so when it showed up… what a manifestation of miracles. God watches over us.god does watch over usI also love that this story teaches us that we can ask for very specific things (if it be right with God). If Ephraim would have only asked, “Please help me!”… perhaps it might be different. Faith without works is dead. He had faith to be specific in his prayer. Perhaps the Spirit of God instilled that righteous desire in his heart – to ask for a buffalo. Great lesson!

This next story I enjoyed telling the kids at the dinner table. In the middle of a dance in SLC, Brigham Young asked Ephraim to go home straightway and shave his beard. Ephraim didn’t even ask why. He did it, felt like a moron and came back to the dance. Brother Brigham signaled him back over to him and told him to go back home and do it right (shave the mustache too!). Brother Brigham commented to his associate that he knew that if Ephraim would obey with simple things, he would quickly obey larger requests or commandments. What a great principle!
KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS

Here’s the Ephraim’s Rescue Trailer for everyone’s enjoyment:

count instead of yell … breathe instead of cry

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3x4 i will count instead of yellI’ve been thinking of the principle of nurturing … of mothering … of being a better example to my children.

  • Because of my example do my children:
  • choose FAITH over fear?
  • Count instead of yell?
  • see LIGHT over darkness?
  • find JOY in work?
  • FEAST upon the scriptures?
  • choose OPTIMISM over pessimism?
  • BREATHE instead of cry?
  • speak RESPECTfully?
  • PRAY more sincerely?
  • find JOY in the journey?
  • Smile instead of frown?
  • spend TIME wisely?
  • SERVE with a heart full of song?
  • Keep Calm instead of freaking out?

KEEP CALM BREATHE KEEP CALMWhen my children are upset, if I holler at them to shush, it rarely does anyone any good. If Truman is becoming more intense and louder, if I get down on the floor and give him a soft love and quiet words in his ear, it will (usually!!!) calm him much quicker. When Abe is bouncing around or teasing a sibling, if I gently touch Abe’s shoulder or give him a hug instead of pinching his collar bone (I know – right! sorry!), he might feel greater unconditional love.

  • Patience over frustration.
  • Composure over imbalance.
  • Kindness over grouchiness.
  • Calm over anxiety.
  • Gentle over stormy.
  • Peace over contention.

This really is a good reminder that my example helps set the tone in our family.
Practice makes Progress!

Undaunted

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IMG_20130830_101131This morning we took a field trip to the peach orchard. They were few in peaches (their pickers didn’t show up for work this morning). We walked up to the orchard and watched Clark pick a few boxes. Tru loved walking on fresh gravel piles. We picked up some Diamond Princess Peaches while we were there. On our way home we drove by the temple. We stopped to walk around and enjoy the beautiful building & grounds. Isn’t morning light the best.

A sweet friend of mine shared some neat inspiration she had in the celestial room at the Mt. Timpanogas temple early in the morning. The celestial room is on the east side so the sunrise was shining through the stain glass windows. She remembered the hymn, “Oh, how lovely was the morning.” and the words “Undaunted still he trusted” struck her as an important message. I was so grateful she shared this with me.

undaunted she trustedSee the imagery from these lines:

Oh, how lovely was the morning!
Radiant beamed the sun above…
When the pow’rs of sin assailing
Filled his soul with deep despair;
But undaunted still he trusted
In his Heav’nly Father’s care. …

(Hymns, 1985, no. 26)

I love that.
We have light… hope… faith…
then Satan tries to bombard us with all sorts of discouragement and fear…
but we trust…
un·daunt·ed  :  adjective
1. not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment.

Despite Satan’s temptations, we can undauntedly trust in our Heavenly Father.
He watches over us and has a plan for us.
So blessed to have this knowledge.

I love morning light. Since we’ve been getting up earlier, I’ve seen some glorious sunrises over the mountains. I love light rays shining down on us. Reminds me of the tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father.

Yesterday we took a field trip to BYU to get something laminated. The Sun! The mountains! The fun memories of BYU. Tru enjoyed the icecream & donuts.IMG_20130829_105414

Love these two little ones who accompany me on our morning adventures.
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a bit of this and that & a rat-a-tat-tat

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08 august 20139Interesting week. First week of school for Hannah & Abe. Hannah had a cold (luckily it wasn’t strep throat like Tru had a few weeks ago).

Abe ran into a wall on the 2nd day of school and bent his thumb all the way back. We thought it was broken but it turned out to just be a sprain. He wore a brace for a few days.

Tru has a really hard time with transitions. I’m not sure why school starting would affect him so much but we’ve had a lot of conniption fits (one step above tantrum)… and an emotional seizure or two (scream it out for 30-60 minutes… and then mellow). I hope we can help him adjust to our new schedule.

Max is counting down the days until Kindergarten. 2 more days people!!! We took a load of peaches from Burgess Orchard to the school to hand out to teachers. We bundled them in little clear bags and distributed them in our wagon. “You’re a PEACH!” Tru and Max took turns running them into the teachers saying, “Happy Friday”. It was fun to share fresh fruit and cheer with others. My hope was to help Max and Truman know the joy in service. Max’s teacher was so cheerful and appreciative of him stopping by.

Jimmy is gone all day today. He left for a meeting at 6 a.m. and has 5 stake meetings & home teaching and we’ll see him at 5:30 or so. Sigh… Long Sunday. I gear myself up by trying to get a good night’s sleep. And then pray for patience, love, and wisdom all day. It helps to take everyone on a slow, long walk to enjoy God’s creations by the ponds and river. May sacrament meeting go well… May sacrament meeting go well… may sacrament meeting go well. Miracles are possible to him that believeth!

I’m teaching TFOT today. I hope Zuzu goes to Nursery without too much of a fuss. Usually Jimmy drops her off and she does okay. When mother drops her off, she cries. Sigh…

Hopefully my lesson will go well and my brain will be functional and clear. It’s a great topic – “Lord, I Believe” Conference talk by Elder Holland. I love this encouraging lesson – to “be not Faithless… but believing.” To focus on the things we do believe and don’t let our fears or doubts overcome. As our thoughts and words focus on our FAITH, our beliefs can turn into knowledge. Life experience is good. Hard… But good. Anyhoo…

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God’s plan

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I went to visit a sweet sister around the corner who is soon to pass into the next phase of her life. She has cancer throughout her entire body. She is the sweet sister who when in the midst of breast cancer, went with her sweet 80-year-old arthritic friend to clean the church on Monday mornings with our R.S. Always thinking of others. Bless her heart! I’ve been thinking so much of her and her husband lately. “Sustained by Covenants” comes to mind as they were recently sealed in the temple. Another principle that has been in the forefront of my mind is life after mortality. I believe she is in for quite a new marvelous adventure when free from the pain of her physical body.spirit paradiseOn Sunday a brother in our ward talked about prayer and miracles. One miracle he shared was similar to the miracle in this situation with Patricia… the miracle is though she will die soon, we are able to have this sweet angel near us for a little bit longer.

It is so amazing to think of our Spirit… that it lives… that we keep learning… and we continue to bless the lives of others by teaching of Jesus Christ. My testimony has been reaffirmed of this, especially from conversations I’ve had with Jimmy recently. Isn’t TRUTH marvelous!4462217147_9312140b40_z

TEMPLE LIGHT

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mount-timpanogos-utah-808x480-CWD_436f96b6Jimmy and I went to the temple today. It was so great. The Mt. Timp temple was so busy. This is good, I know… but it’s the only temple open in Utah County so it was super busy. I’ve never had to wait in a line in the hall just to get into the chapel. Anyhoo… it all worked out and we were able to attend an endowment session. I went for my final family name from Tricia: Vera Pearl Snider. Now – onto the sealings!

Today was the first time we’ve seen the new temple film. (Just so ya know – I liked it. Eve is cheerful and sincere.) The change gave me an opportunity to ponder more on what this ordinance is about.

“The primary purpose of the temple is to provide the ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Temple ordinances guide us to our Savior and give us the blessings that come to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The meaning of the word endowment is “gift.” The ordinance consists of a series of instructions on how we should live and covenants we make to live righteously by following our Savior.” Elder Robert D. Hales (November 2005 – BYU)

It was good to learn new things… and ponder. And hearing Jimmy’s thoughts in the celestial room enlightened my mind as well. The TEMPLE is GREAT! Really great!

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated — And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20–21).

My friend Steph mentioned the principle of the pioneers being sustained on their journey by covenants made in the Nauvoo temple. This is a fabulous reminder of how temple attendance strengthens us.sustained by covenants

Stand in Holy Places by Obeying God’s Law

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Yesterday I taught the TFOT Lesson in R.S. I combined last month’s “Stand Strong in Holy Places” by Robert D. Hales & “Obedience to law is liberty” by L. Tom Perry. It contained great lessons for me personally. Saturday night I came across an additional resource … a 2008 Women’s Conference talk by Julie Beck. It was the perfect inspiration to get me excited about working on our weaknesses as a family & personally. Her comparison in Alma 48 was worded so well describing how to fortify our families.
Screen Shot 2013-07-29 at 1.16.30 PMScreen Shot 2013-07-29 at 1.16.43 PMI also loved the resources I found from our AFG Retreat a few years ago about Gathering.

So grateful for my Academy friends who inspire me to be better:
{Every day
Gather our Children…
help them feel the LOVE OF GOD, love… comfort… safety… healing
ask them for forgiveness…
love them…
teach gospel principles…
invite the Spirit…
conversations…
don’t let a day go by that you don’t bear your testimony in some way to your kids…
power in testimony!!…}

more on comfort… security…and freedom

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remembering Ben Franklin’s insightful statement here.

Jimmy came across this nougat emphasizing the truth of this principle in July 2013 Ensign:
monson liberty securityReminds me to learn from the past so we don’t recreate it… to work hard … to recognize and obey God … and know that having comforts is not as essential as having freedom.

This is JOY

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06 June 20137-webI had an ephiphany at this moment yesterday morning during breakfast.

Abe was helping make pancakes.
Max was sitting nearby waiting to help put the chocolate chips on.
Hannah was playing primary songs on the piano with Liza by her side.
Tru was fiddling and playing with his wand, a marker, and some flip flops just goofing off.

I felt that this was JOY… being together, working together as a family
(well – almost all our family… Jimmy was serving the Lord by attending early morning stake presidency meetings).
It was a perfect moment.

And a moment was all it was.
Then we went back to resolving conflicts with the tots.

But I was grateful for the TENDER MERCY to recognize & remember this moment of JOY.