6 x 6 Saturday

6 sentences of 6 words on these past 6 days.

1. Priesthood blessing before Scout Camp . . . priceless.

2. Prayers for a lost turtle . . . answered.

3. Refreshment table at wedding receptions . . .dinner.

4. Prednisone for large tonsils . . . not helping.

5. This week's heroine . . . our Bishop's wife!

6. Laundry! Laundry! Laundry! . . . Scout Camp’s OVER!!!!!

Do Ya Think???

Do ya think if I laughed hard enough for long enough I could count that as my abs workout . . . which I even don’t do anyway?

Do ya think I can make it to three wedding receptions this week and count the refreshments as dinner for my family?

Do ya think I could ever stop putting my foot in my mouth? (Okay, don’t answer that one).

Do ya think that after 13 years I would realize that taking eight children to the store is T-O-R-T-U-R-E? (Be it known that my children actually believe it’s torture for them – for THEM!!!!)

Do ya think I could actually hide a package of Oreos without being caught?

Do ya think I could just make one batch of cookies and NOT burn a panful? (I tell you, it is inevitable. I burn one dozen every single time!!!) (Maybe I should just stick to the Oreos) (But that's why I'm making the cookies - to distract my children from knowing about the Oreos).

Inner-Beauty

There’s a new billboard in town.

It’s paid for by a laser plastic surgery company.

It’s advertising slogan - complete with beautiful woman in bare shoulders - unabashedly promulgates, “Make Your Inner Beauty Jealous.”

MAKE YOUR INNER BEAUTY JEALOUS?!?

ARE YOU SERIOUS???

I wanted to SCREAM the first time I saw that stupid billboard.

And I am DISGUSTED every time I see it.

Because it is FALSE!

False! False! False!

As false as white chocolate is chocolate!

But it's even MORE false than that!!

Because this has EVERYTHING to do with petitioning your inner beauty to embrace the natural man.

The NATURAL man.

For because embracing the natural man means I become an enemy to God!

“For the natural man is an enemy to God and has been , and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he (or she) yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).

Last I checked, (and believe me, I. just. checked.) - THIS is TRUE doctrine.

But I don't see TRUE doctrine advertised, in neon or in any other color, on any billboard that promotes self-indulgence!!

BTW - Doing what I can to make my inner-beauty jealous only takes me farther and farther away from God.
 
It brings out wonderful traits like: aggressiveness, crudeness, pride, impatience, lust, and obstinence.
 
Problem is, the scriptures and the words of the prophets denounce these eternally fatal characteristics.
 
I believe our inner beauty consists of our hearts.
 
A hardened heart is always accompanied with sin and iniquity.
 
A broken heart is always yoked with a contrite spirit.
 
Vaughn J. Featherstone made these powerful statements:
 
"Lord Byron Buckingham said, “Make my heart transparent as pure crystal, that the world jealous of me, may see the foulest thought my heart does hold.” This philosophy is a great one. Every member of the Church should so live that this state of mind would be a reality. You can determine to make your hearts as transparent crystal. When you do this, certain things are beyond consideration. It is impossible to think a foul or dirty thought. Doing so causes a certain physical and spiritual reaction within us. These thoughts tend to obscure God; they cloud, so slightly at first, our transparent inner self. As we repeat these thoughts, the clouding intensifies, and soon we are not able to view things in their pure form. We lose our judgment, we lose the ability to see things from their true perspective, and we become entangled in Satan’s web.
 
"To be pure in heart is a most desirable quality. There comes a strength to those who are pure. It is a measurable, physical strength. It was said of Sir Galahad that he had the strength of ten, because his heart was pure. Purity of heart also brings about a mental strength and integrity. In this day of mental conflict and compromise, the person with integrity and purity stands out like a giant in a world of Pygmies.
 
"There is another dimension of purity that seems to be lost in our day. It is modesty. Few souls on the earth understand what true modesty is. In a recent conversation I asked a great leader in the kingdom what had impressed him most about President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. You would have been surprised with his answer. It wasn’t the unmatched wisdom or brilliant mind. It wasn’t his great spiritual stature. It wasn’t the high esteem in which he was held by the great leaders of nations. It was his total modesty. President J. Reuben Clark, along with all of his other great character traits, had a quality of modesty that is extremely rare in man. He was as modest in his thinking as he was in dress. The slightest deviation from the pure standard was an affront to him. Modesty is necessary to one who is pure in heart. In one of President Clark’s great discourses he was discussing the crucifixion of the Savior. But we catch a glimpse of the man’s modesty as he describes the crucifixion:
 
"'Having in mind the modesty which I am sure attached to him, recalling the experience of Peter on the lakeshore, how offensive it must have been when they stripped him naked and then laying the cross on the ground, they laid him upon the cross, the crosspiece under his shoulders, a peg protruding from the upright beam, which he straddled to support his body. They first nailed his hands and then his feet, then as the next step in this, the cruelest death of which the ancients knew, they raised the cross and let it drop with a jolt into the pit which was dug to contain it, causing one crucified to suffer excruciating agony.'

"Most of us are concerned about the physical suffering through which Jesus went. President Clark not only suffered with the Savior physically because of great compassion, but he also felt, vicariously, the agonizing experience of one so modest being exposed. To have these feelings of empathy as President Clark had them requires a purity of heart.

"My wonderful young friends, the course is straight and narrow, and few there are that find it; but to you the way is open and before you. As you follow the Master you will find the fruit of your labors to be delicious unto your soul. You will find that all the world has to offer is sham compared to the gospel truths. Strive with all your heart and soul to be pure in heart that you may be worthy to see God and to live with him and with your family eternally."

Tidbit Tuesday - Expectations

"The right dose of expectations can be as powerful as one of the strongest painkillers!"

-David Rock
from his book entitled How Your Brain Works

Family Home Evening - Faith and Miracles

Tonight for Family Home Evening we wanted to give a little more attention to celebration of July 24th. Of course, the challenge is then to incorporate a General Conference talk within our lesson.

No talks in April’s 2010 General Conference were spoken specifically about the Mormon Trek westward. But, after careful searching - we did find!!!

Topic: Faith and Miracles

Objective: Apply a pioneer experience with an experience we can relate to today!

Lesson: I "found" a book at the library entitled Eliza’s Field of Faith by Rachelle Pace Castor and illustrated by Dixon Leavitt.  Actually, I think the book "found" me because I wasn't looking for it.  Because the moment I saw the cover, I was immediately drawn to it and felt so strongly that I needed to incorporate it into Family Home Evening.

So I did what the Spirit told me and checked it out!

Because of this feeling in my heart about this book, I decided NOT to read it beforehand. This allowed the whole family - even me - to discover the principle of this book together.

Before reading the book we took a little picture journey. The illustrations in this book are AMAZING. We took as much time talking about the illustrations as we did reading the book. It allowed all of us to try to figure out the plot and the story line before reading the actual words. Our younger children became immediately captivated and were interested in what the story was really about.

After reading the story we talked about what happened. The whole faith and miracle formula. Then we read an excerpt from Elder Wilford W. Anderson’s talk entitled “The Rock of Our Redeemer.”

There are a few paragraphs in his talk that mention the broken hearts and strong spirits of the pioneers of 1846 as compared to the faithful Saints of Haiti who suffered deeply the earthquake in January of this year.  After reading this excerpt from a conference talk, we began the connection of pioneer experience to a today experience.

As usual, I was amazed at the connections and discoveries my children were able to make. I believe we ended Family Home Evening with a greater appreciation for the sacrifice and faith of the early Saints and a greater determination to follow the prophet.

And WOW!  Using General Conference talks in Family Home Evening is SO possible!!!

Don't Leave a Box Turtle Unattended!

This afternoon it began to rain.

Summer rain.

Cool and soothing.

Wet and delicious.

So because we had to change the underground of our turtles’ abode, we let them out to explore.

Explore in the rain.

And they LOVED it!

One of our turtles finally found refuge under a cardboard box that doubled as a grasshopper hotel.

The other turtle made his way to the middle of the yard and stayed.

Stretching his head as far as he could form outside of his shell, soaking in the cool drops from heaven.

So I stood and watched that reptile for several minutes.

He just stood his ground – surveying the scene.

The moment I went to check on the twins - who were racing sticks down a full gutter at the end of the street - was the moment he decided to make a run for it.

Because when I came back to put that turtle back in his home, HE WAS GONE!

So I called the Search and Rescue.

Seven children scampered out – accepting wholeheartedly the possibility of getting extremely wet – and we searched.

And searched.

And searched.

But with no luck.

So we decided to gather as a family to pray to find our missing turtle – who couldn’t have gone far.

After all, he is a turtle.

And what started out as one voice for eight - became eight voices for one.

And as some of my sweet boys became emotional in their plea to Father in Heaven, I was grateful for our mini-trial today. It gave me hope that maybe, a day in the future, when my children are looking for something much more important than a lost box turtle, they will know Whom to turn - and why.

The miracle or this story is that not too long after breaking from our prayer huddle, we found that resting reptile under an overgrown rosebush.

But the greater miracle – the greater truth of it all is this: GOD LISTENS TO OUR PRAYERS!

Today He just happened to answer it the way we hoped it would be!

What Defines Me

A few posts ago I wrote about some of the things in life that don't define me, and one that does.

I have been thinking a lot about that since.

A LOT.

For because in some situations, under some definitions, I feel very comfortable.  Very myself.

Under other conditions, other circumstances, I feel out of place.  Not me.  Ill defined.

And as I have pondered - deeply - about WHAT defines me, I have decided that aside being a daughter of God, the most important factor in the definition of WHO I am is my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Yes, I'm a Mormon!