Some Good Quotes

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. No real excuses- just life.

So, I have kept a journal since 2004 specifically devoted to church meetings. Whether it's auxillary training meetings, stake conference, or General conference, I find that it helps me get more out of the meeting. Now, I usually don't do it for sacrament meetings, mostly because I'm sitting with you 3 kids by myself, and it would just be impossible. I usually write down impressions I get or what the main points of the talk are or random quotes. Well, I wanted to share some of these quotes.

So, here they are:

*"Always remember that you can go much further on respect than popularity" -President N. Eldon Tanner

*It's better to be admired for who you are, than desired for what you wear."

*Immodest girls may turn heads, but modest girls turn hearts."

*"What you are shouts so loudly in my ears, I cannot hear what you say." -Emerson

*"Violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness" -Camelot, the musical

"I'm Embarrassed"

(Operaman at Temple Square Visitors Center)

Last night I was helping Operaman with his homework. He is suppose to be writing poems for art and poetry night at his school. Here's a conversation that we had about using similes in his poem.

Operaman: Mom, I want to write that giving gifts at Christmas is like when the wisemen gave Jesus presents when he was born.

Me: I think that's a really good idea for a poem.

He started writing it down and then stopped abruptly.

OM: I don't think I want to write about this.

Me: Why?

OM: I'm embarrassed to write it.

Me: Why does it make you embarrassed?

OM: Well, what if they laugh at it?

Me: Why are you worried about them laughing about it?

OM: (With tears in his eyes) Well, because it's about Jesus and he's the Savior. I don't want them to laugh at Him and think that He's not real.

We had a talk about how people might laugh. But then they might feel in their hearts how much we do love Jesus and it might show them that He is indeed real and we talked about how it was a great way to be a missionary.

We had a great discussion and in the end, Operaman still decided not to write about it and I was proud of him for making that decision. Because for him, it wasn't necessarily about him being embarrassed or ashamed of what he believes, it was about treating special things as sacred things.

I hope that he will always have those special feelings for things that are sacred.

A Great Army

I have been trying to read the latest General Conference addresses and came across one that was given in the Priesthood Session that I wanted to share.

It was given by Elder Yoon Hwan Choi of the Seventy and it's titled "I Love Loud Boys".

That totally caught my attention, because I definitely have a couple of those in my house.

I just wanted to quote part of it here. This part is basically a letter to young men and boys:

"Dear young men, let us obey the leaders of the Church and be like Adam, who didn't always have to know the reason why but was just happy to be obedient. And please faithfully attend your Church meetings. If you do this, you will learn how to prepare for your future, and you will be successful...

You are the army of the Lord. You will become wonderful missionaries and righteous fathers to your families. Heavenly Father will bless you to have a happy family. You have a bright future in the gospel, and like the sons of Helaman, you will bring eternal joy to all of us."

For my children, especially my boys, I hope that I will be able to teach you that you are like the "modern sons of Helaman" and that Heavenly Father is counting on you to stand up and fight for the things that are right.

I hope that you all know how much I love you and want what is best for you. I want you to live happy, successful lives and the only way to achieve full happiness is in living the commandments of God.

The Skew of the View

So as I was surfing through channels the other day I noticed a movie playing that was originally Rated R, but since it was on T.V., it meant it was the edited version. Sweet! I'd heard that this particular movie was a really funny one and so I tivo'd it to watch later.

Well, last night I couldn't sleep, so I went out into the living room and saw it and so I decided to watch it... I am embarrassed to say that I watched more of this movie than I should have. I justified watching this stupid movie because it was "the edited" version. It was still pretty filthy. I DID turn it off, but I should have turned it off earlier. When I finally did turn it off, I just felt icky inside. There is no other word to describe it.

I watched my first Rated R movie when I was like 13 or 14. I was at a friends house for a sleepover and her older sister (who obviously wasn't a very good example) brought in two movies for us that she had just rented. Both of which were Rated R. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't dare say no. And honestly, part of me was kind of excited because I thought it would show how mature I was that I watched a R movie. (Shows how immature I really was). So we watched both of them that night. One of the movies was so stupid and I felt even stupider for watching it. I had lowered my standards for something that was seriously such a waste of time anyway. I vowed then, to never watch another Rated R movie. And I haven't.

Are there movies that look really good, but are Rated R, that I would like to see? Of course. Am I missing out on something vital to my life by missing them. Of course not.

I am really glad that I have stuck to my guns on the no-rated-R-movies-for-me thing, but what about movies like the one I watched part of last night? I'll be honest- just by the title, I knew it probably wasn't going to be the most clean movie, but I justified it because it was the "edited" version. I'm still working on it, but I know that "Whatever you look at has an effect on you" (From the FTSOY pamphlet). I just know that I like the way I feel more when I'm watching something that is clean and uplifting. And the opposite is true as well.

I'll just end with a quote by President Henry B. Eyring (he said this in August of 2001) that the LDS people can't just "go with the flow" anymore and expect to remain righteous. He then prophesied of what is to come in the future: "The flow has become a flood and soon will be a torrent. It will become a torrent of sounds and sights and sensations that invite temptation and offend the Spirit of God."

Really, no movie or t.v. show is worth that!

This is for your own good...

So, we just got back from the doctors office. CCB (CrazyCuriousBoy) has been having some issues with his health. We're hoping it's nothing serious, but hoping that they find something to help him too. It's funny, but nobody really knows that he is having some issues because when he's around other people, he is the most happy, fun, smiling kiddo you've ever seen. But when he's alone with us, most of the time he seems miserable.

Poor CCB had to get some blood drawn for some labs. It was torture for him AND me. (I think more for me.) I was holding him, he was getting poked and poked and poked- they were unsuccessful in getting any blood. I was getting frustrated. He was crying. I was on the verge of crying.

So here's my thought for today- As much as I HATED seeing him get poked and being in pain; as much as he really wanted me to make them stop, I didn't. Why? Well, because I knew that if they did get the blood, that this would help us figure out what is going on with him. Hopefully we'll get some answers so that we can help him feel better. So for this short time, I let him suffer, all because in the long run, it will help him.

I think this is, in a very small way, the way Heavenly Father feels about us. He lets us suffer with trials and pain, even when we are begging Him to make it stop. He sees the eternities and knows that if we can just make it through this tough part, that we will be better because of it. He loves us enough to say no sometimes.

I just want my children to know that I KNOW Heavenly Father loves us all that much! He wants us to be "better". And also, sometimes as parents, we have to say no because we know that it is for YOUR own good. We love you that much too.

Be yourself!

I am sitting here watching all 3 of you dance around in the living room while listening to your favorite music - Disney songs; specifically Ducktales, Hakuna Matata, and Peter Pan. Watching you dance and laugh because you are so happy has really made me think about how I hope you will always be so happy and carefree. I hope you will always dance to your own tune - not worrying about what anyone else thinks or what they are doing. It reminds me of a great quote from a movie:

Don't try so hard to fit in, you were born to STAND OUT!

Going to church

I am writing this while Operaman and Chuckles are doing Sunday Stations and CCB is taking a much needed nap, so I only have a minute.



So, here is what I've learned about going to church. When I was little, my parents weren't super active. I remember not going to sacrament meeting most of the time. We WOULD go to primary. Then later, when I was probably around 10 or 11, we started attending sacrament meeting too. I don't know how my parents managed to get us there when we were so use to not going, it must have been quite a feat!



But after we got "more active" I remember always liking to go to church. What a blessing that has been for me! That 3 hours is like a renewal for me. It makes me feel lighter and happier. It puts everything in perspective. Even in middle school and high school, I remember feeling so good about going. Even if the teacher is super boring or I feel like I am not getting anything out of it, the just going and being obedient gives us so many blessings.

So, let's get our real on. Church is not always exciting. Church is sometimes, dare I say, boring. (Gasp!) But Heavenly Father blesses us for going and having a good attitude and TRYING to get something from the lessons.

There have been many times when I have thought the lesson was boring, or not for me and yet, someone else thought it was SO great and felt the Spirit. Hmmmm.... maybe it was just the difference in OUR attitudes that made the difference.

I know that going to church and participating in the lessons is important. I know that we are blessed when we go. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ expect us to go and learn more about them. They also expect us to go and help others learn.

When my family started attending ALL of our meetings, there was a definite difference in the way our home felt and the way our family was. I remember feeling the difference, even at a younger age.

So, please, always go to church and try to have the right attitude. It will make all the difference.