How fun to have a picture of them in their Sunday clothes! I found when I tried to find a picture of J yesterday to put with the quote he shared in his testimony that I really needed updated pictures of everyone! They are so cute! I adore each!
Last night we had a great family discussion about Sunday lessons. Our tradition is that everyone has to report at Sunday dinner what their lessons were about. If they can't teach it to us, they have to call their teacher and apologize for not paying attention, ask them to please help them remember what they were supposed to learn, and then come back to dinner to report! I only remember one time when one of my young men had to call his teacher and apologize. I love learning from them about what was taught in their classes! Jr team (Primary age) each have to report also on sharing time, and help us sing one song (each a different song and not "Hello" or Birthday) they sang in Primary Singing time.
I am grateful for the curriculum correlation committees of the church that have coordinated most of the lessons so we all learn about the same lesson, and then come together with each teacher's different presentation, to learn so much! Each member has to add specific details shared in their class so we all learn something more! It is fabulous - especially when teachers are on the right schedule :).
Yesterday Sunday School lessons were on Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. Some of our classes also covered Hannah and her answer to prayer, her son Samuel which she dedicated to the Lord. We had great discussions about obedience and dedication to the Lord at dinner!
Just this last week I was alone with S someplace, and we were talking about Hannah and Samuel. We sang together the "Follow the Prophet" verse about Samuel.... "Hannah promised God her son with serve with Joy!" That is how my Samuel always serves!
I never hear him complain about helping or working! He is quick to jump up and help especially when it is something outside, and especially if tools are involved! He loves to work, and does so with Joy! I am so grateful for you Samuel! Thanks for living up to your name. I pray you will always serve the Lord with Joy! Thank you young man for coming to my family!
B has been asked to speak on Provident Living this month for his High Council talk and so we also had a great discussion on what that meant, and our own family finances. We talked about how lucky we are to have great examples which have taught us about finances, tithing, fast offerings, etc. Thanks Mom and Dad! It was a good discussion and I realize that this is not something we learn openly from others, we had a candid talk about doubling our fast offerings. B bore testimony of the faith required to trust the Lord, and of the miracles that follow when we have the faith to trust Him! We shared with the kids that just last month we doubled our fast offerings, grateful for the abundance He has given us, and the very next day - so fast - we had five new calls with solid cases, needing help. Time and time again, the blessings of trusting are multiplied by the Lord! Thank you Heavenly Father! Thank you Elder Brother, our Savior, Jesus Christ! Thank you Heavenly Mother!
In our YW class, the lesson was on conversing with the Lord, specifically the five points of prayer in the first 7 verses of Psalms 37. #3 I believe is to "Delight in the Lord." I believe delight means to dream, to celebrate! To Thank Him, but also to delight - to plan and reach for amazing goals and working hard with HIM to help those dreams come to pass! He wants to Delight in the amazing accomplishments, activities, achievements happening here on this earth by his Sons and Daughters! We are promised kingdoms, principalities, powers, dominions... He has so much to share and help us with, we have to have the courage, faith, desire, and dedication to do our part to reach the stars! To dream the impossible dreams, put our faith in His arms of power, and then do everything in our power to make those dreams, aspirations, goals come to pass! I believe that is Delight! Pure Delight! To see my children dream of serving a mission, worthy, strong, prepared and willingly - that is NOT easy - that is Delight! It is J's dream... coming true! I Delight in his success and triumph with him even through the difficult times, knowing that we will all be stronger on the other side of the challenge! On Saturday night B and I were talking about this very topic as we drove home late that night. We talked about how we never really dreamed of being where we are today, but how grateful we are that we took the leaps of faith, to propel our lives into the next level of Delight in the Lord! We never dreamed of having eight children! We could have stopped having children at 2!
We had a boy and girl first - many would say the "perfect" family... stop there! What Delight I have in EACH of my children! What if I had stopped at 2? Wow!
I would be missing so much!
What if B had never gone to law school? That was certainly a leap of faith!
That was difficult and trying over and over again! Then we determined NOT to ask help from the law firm he was working for, prompted not to, yet NOT KNOWING how we would ever make it through! We were prompted to buy, remodel (working hard every spare minute) and sell a couple of houses, saving the money carefully so we would have some reserves to draw on during law school. We choose University of Memphis... because the spirit told us to, but strongly because it was the least expensive school in the five we were accepted to! In the end, it doesn't matter if it had been Harvard, Yale, or University of Idaho! We were supposed to travel far from family so we could learn powerful lessons of self reliance, and even more reliance on, and trust in the Lord! He is so merciful! I am so grateful for the miracles he works in my life! They truly are numerous! Thank you! We testified to our children of the miracles and mercies we have been the benefactors of, with grateful hearts we bore testimony to them of the power of faith, and of our belief that life is not meant to be easy, but that through the struggles, we are being molded and even lifted to understand a new level of Delight!
I have had this quote from President Uchtdorf on my mind lately:
"You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose.”
Sisters, those words are true! They are not made up in a fairy tale! Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”
But such a blessing does not come without a price. It is not given simply because you desire it. It comes only through understanding who you are and what you must become in order to be worthy of such a gift.
...My dear young sisters, you need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength.
It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.
...How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone.
If you ever feel your burden is too great to bear, lift your heart to your Heavenly Father, and He will uphold and bless you. He says to you, as He said to Joseph Smith, “[Your] adversity and [your] afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if [you] endure it well, God shall exalt [you] on high.”3
Enduring adversity is not the only thing you must do to experience a happy life. Let me repeat: how you react to adversity and temptation is a critical factor in whether or not you arrive at your own “happily ever after.”
(Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Your Happily Ever After,” Ensign, May 2010, 124–27)
It was a powerful dinner discussion and I am so grateful for learning, growing, teaching moments!
After dinner we hurried with dishes, and then I pulled out the video on the Old Testament presentation #18 on Hannah and Samuel and then #24 about Trusting in the Lord and the Arabian Horses which was shown in the adult Sunday School class. I am not sure where time goes, before we knew it, it was 10:00 p.m.! Another late night - well spent!
We didn't get a family calendering meeting in which always throws our week into a bit of a scramble! This morning at scriptures, we tried to squeeze those details in, but B had to get to work, and so we are launched full swing back into the races today! Grateful for family time, for strong gospel discussions in my home, for the power of the priesthood, for a beautiful, safe home to share memories together!