Why?

Why am I sooooo far behind on this blog. We have had Lizzy's birthday, Troy's birthday and Ben's birthday. There have been school achievements to document and other goings on - why am I so far behind?! Could it have anything to do with the two huge Relief Society events I have been working on, one in the middle of January and one tomorrow? Could it have to do with my desire to spend more time studying the scriptures and organizing my house and paying more attention to my children who are growing way too fast? Could it have anything to do with the lessons and talks I've been preparing? Could it have anything to do with the strong compelling promptings to get my 72-hour kits updated and make sure my family has adequate water storage?

Maybe.

And why is it so stinkin' hard for me to turn 40 today?

Experiment: Day 9

I pulled into the parking space ready to jump out of the car as quickly as possible in order to get one last errand done. The day had been busy and it was almost time to pick up my daughter from school. I was in a bit of a hurry.

As I opened the car door, I noticed a man going through the parking lot asking other passersby for money. His clothes looked as if he had slept in them on more than one occasion. His hair needed washing and combing. It was obvious this was a man in need. No one was even paying attention to him, or it they were, it was to turn him down.

He was near my car and I had a moment of fear. Sad. I know. But I had two little boys with me, my 4-year-old son and his friend. My protective mommy instincts kicked in and I wanted to be in control of the situation before I let everyone out of the car.

My other fear was about the money. My husband and I have set a super strict budget for ourselves this year. We are tired of the debt hanging over our heads we incurred when he started his own business. This budget is so strict that even giving away a few bucks was going to be a bit of a sacrifice.

Gratefully, all of those fears and hesitations only lasted a split second when my desire to follow the spiritual promptings in my heart took over. I decided a few years ago to take King Benjamin's words to heart, "...ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain and turn him out to perish...for are we not all beggars?" Mosiah 4:16-27 If there is one thing the Lord has taught me over the years, it is to know that all I have comes from Him. All of it. He has been so kind and generous to me throughout my entire life time...

I looked in my wallet. There was a $20 bill and 3 $1 bills. The $20 was already spoken for so I grabbed the $3 and put my wallet away just as the man approached my car. "Do you have any change you can spare? I haven't eaten for a while and I'd really like to get a cup of coffee." His eyes were kind and I didn't feel any fear in my heart as he spoke to me.

I handed him the $3. He looked at the money in his hand with astonishment and then looked back at me, "Wow. I must be a lucky guy! I'm going to get a sandwich too." He said those words with such sincerity that I couldn't help but smile back at him with the same joy he was obviously feeling. With a cheerful wish for me to have a wonderful day, he was off toward a nearby restaurant.

I watched him as he walked through the parking lot. He passed other people along the way but he did not ask them for more money. I could tell he was grateful for what he had and he was on a mission to get some food. He wasn't out to gather as much money as he could from that parking lot, or to use the money for drugs or alcohol. He was simply hungry. I wished I had given him more.

The two boys and I ran into the store, grabbed the one item I needed and then found our way to the check out line.  As the employee was handing my purchase to me she said, "Don't forget about the rebate for this item on your receipt." I was shocked. I hadn't known there was a rebate. She said it wasn't advertised, it just came up on the receipt. While the boys and I walked out of the store I looked at the receipt. The rebate was for $3.79.

The Lord had given the $3 back to me with a $.79 tip. He didn't need to do that. Feeling His love and gratitude was payment enough.

I don't know why this man is in the situation he is in and does that really matter? What matters is that I know he is one of God's children. He is my brother. I hope I can remember that about everyone more and more every day.

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Experiment: Day 7

This is really more of a journal entry. I have had some amazing experiences this week and I need to record them.

So, I haven't neglected this blog, I've just been busy working on this experiment. A week ago I was challenged to follow every spiritual prompting that came my way. I decided to take that challenge and boy, if I thought my days were full before! Those promptings have kept me busy!!

A lot of what I'm working on right now has to do with an all day women's conference for the Young Single Adult (YSA) women in our stake. These are women ages 18 (graduated from high school) to 30. In my current calling as part of the Stake Relief Society presidency, I have been assigned to be part of the stake YSA committee. Back in October, I attended a training by Sister Julie B. Beck, the General Relief Society president. She said that when she was the newly called General RS Pres, she would attend the many, many committee meetings within her stewardship and wonder why she was there because she didn't understand her purpose for some of those committees.

One day, a member of the 12 Apostles pulled her aside and lovingly asked her when she was going to start being an agent for the women of the world on these committees. That got her started. She studied and educated herself about all of the different groups, their needs and what she could do to help.

When she shared that story, I had an overwhelming impression that I needed to take my assignment as part of the YSA committee more seriously.

Long story short, we are hosting the first stake YSA Women's Conference next Sat. Jan. 21st. The theme my committee has chosen is, "PEARL - Personal Enrichment and Righteous Living - Come Discover the Pearl of Great Price Within You."

We want to help each woman in attendance that day gain a perspective of the pearl of great price within herself and be willing to discard the tarnishing agents of the world in order that the polishing, refining, beautifying things of God can have a greater place in her life. Pearls are formed when an irritant of some sort lodges itself within the oyster. The oyster begins to secrete a smooth, hard crystalline substance around the irritant in order to protect itself. Eventually, a beautiful pearl is formed from that little irritant.

I could write a book on this experience. Seriously. The number of spiritual experiences which have happened to me since the first whisperings of this conference came to my heart, is incredible. A vast majority of the spiritual promptings I have been trying to follow lately have been in regards to this conference. The Lord has pretty much kept this at the forefront of my mind for the past two months.

Many of the women in this age group can feel so forgotten and unimportant. But there is no way they are forgotten because the Savior has not let me forget them at all. So, that just shows that He has not forgotten them either.

A few times this week, I have had a strong impression to look for one specific woman through the list of 150 women who have been invited. Sometimes this woman is not even someone I know personally but I know her name. I have discovered she is not on the list. So I have had to search for her address. The whole time I'm searching, I feel these words from our Savior, "I want her invited. Find her."  It has been a fascinating experience.

We, individually, really do matter to our Savior. He really does know where we are and what we need. I have not planned this conference, He has. We have given the Relief Society presidents in our stake the challenge of personally inviting every single YSA woman in her ward to the conference, regardless of if the woman is active or not. The reports back for the presidents have been a little disheartening as they find some of the lost women and see the lives they are living. The following is an excerpt from a note I felt very impressed to send to the presidents:

Dear sisters,
It is with great emotion that I write this...we want as many YSA women at this conference as possible. Who cares if they have served jail time or have children or live with their boyfriend or is someone whom you think would just not go to this type of an event. They are daughters of God. He loves them and is doing all He can to help them make it home to Him. This conference has been organized by Him for them. He knows each sister's individual situation and knows what they need. An invitation to this conference is an invitation to help these women come unto Jesus Christ. The invitation in the mail may be from us and your contact with them may be your invitation for them, but the real invitation, the original invitation, comes directly from our Savior. Please don't give up. Even if you are still trying to find these girls on Friday night before the conference, don't give up. EVEN IF YOU ARE STILL TRYING TO FIND THESE WOMEN AFTER THE CONFERENCE IS OVER, do not give up! Your contact with them is more valuable than anything. I promise your efforts are being recorded in Heaven and will not go unnoticed!

Oh there is still so much to write but I'm exhausted.
Until tomorrow...

Experiment: Day 2

Today was pretty normal. No earth shattering spiritual promptings. No miraculous stories. But something great did happen today...

I dropped my son off at preschool at 8:45am. I had decided to go to adult institute this morning but it didn't start until 10am. So I had a little more than 60 minutes to myself!!! Yipee!!

I wanted to make the right choice about what to do with that time.

Go back home and fold laundry?
Go back home and do dishes?
Shopping? My daughter's birthday is coming up and oh how fun it would be to shop BY MYSELF. Target was calling my name!
Go get the oil changed in the car?

The list goes on.

But then the simple, quiet thought came and I knew it was the best choice...

"Go to the church where institute is held. Find a room where you can be by yourself and study the scriptures until class starts."

All of the other choices were good and are things I'm going to need to do at some point, but this was the right decision and I knew it.

I'm so glad I followed that prompting.

Nephi is so cool. 

I have read the story of him going to get the brass plates my whole life. But today, he and the Holy Ghost taught me a lesson from that story that is an answer to something I fasted about yesterday and is something I hope will influence me for the rest of my life. It is a lesson I've learned before, but today was somehow different.

Interestingly enough, it was a lesson about following promptings. Nephi followed a prompting he didn't want to follow nor had he ever even considered.  Because of his deep faith and trust in God and his ability to hear the Holy Ghost and then act on inspiration his whole posterity was blessed for hundreds of years, as well as you and I.

Can we have that same influence when we follow promptings? The answer is most definitely "yes!" What if the prompting is to do something hard? What if the prompting takes us out of our comfort zone? What if the prompting is something we had never considered before and doesn't necessarily make sense? The answer is still "yes!"

He said this when he was a boy:
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." 1 Nephi 3:7

He wrote this after a lifetime of learning that obedience works:
"...for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen." 2 Nephi 33:15

He is not saying this to mean that he is being forced to obey. He had reached a point in his understanding, faith and trust that he obeyed, period.

Oh the lessons went deeper than that but I'll let you find more on your own. They will mean more and stay with you longer if you do.



We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Wanna try an experiment with me?

This morning I was in a church meeting in which the speaker said, "If we would just follow every single prompting we have, our lives would be so much happier and we would be able to bless so many lives."

So I have been trying to follow every single prompting. I talk myself out of so many opportunities for service! Why do I do that? But today has been really good and I want to do this again tomorrow.

I thought you all might like to try a little experiment with me...

So, every generous thought - act on it.

Every thought about calling someone - call them.

Every person who walks past you and you think, "I should say hi?" - say it.

Any thoughts about sending someone a thank you note - write it AND send it.

Any thoughts about sending someone a note, period. - write it AND send it.

Any thoughts about forgiving someone - forgive them.

When your children just need some love but you have dishes to do - love the kids.

When the Holy Ghost whispers "You should read the scriptures today." - read them.

When the Holy Ghost whispers "Don't forget to pray." - remember

When the Holy Ghost whispers "Plan an FHE for tonight" - plan it (even if it has been a long time since your last FHE - especially if it has been a long time since your last FHE.)

When the Holy Ghost whispers "You should not be watching this tv show." - turn it off.

When the Holy Ghost whispers "Invite that person to church." - invite them

I think you get the picture.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store of all of us.  I would love to hear your stories.

"Imagine what would happen in this Church if every morning 4.5 million of us got on our knees and asked our Father who He needed us to reach out to that day. And then imagine if we did it!"  Sheri Dew

READ THIS!

 Click on this link:

Ask Sister Julie B. Beck anything

Sister Beck is so awesome! 

She truly understands her stewardship to be an advocate for the women of the world.

I need to follow her example more in my callings.
 

A New Christmas Tradition

I saw a picture of this great Christmas bread shaped like a Santa. I showed it to Troy and the rest is history - a new Christmas tradition was born. I stink at baking bread, but Troy is great with dough. We decided to make this out of an orange crescent roll recipe which we then just shaped to look like a Santa face.

The finished product!

It smelled so great! Everyone loved it. 

(I didn't eat any - can't eat the gluten. But I was happy to take the pictures and know that I wouldn't be gaining any weight from that thing! Which is good because we already had  plenty of junk to help me gain weight! Which, by the way, I did quite successfully.)