Reflections of Christ

Have you seen this yet?

I had the opportunity to go to {some of} Time Out for Women this weekend, and Mark Marby was one of the presenters. He. was. awesome! Very inspirational. His story was amazing, and this video speaks volumes. Hope you enjoy.

Can less be more?

The Miller family had a "Family Temple Weekend" this past weekend. We rented a huge house in Winter Garden and Bill and Cleo and each of the boys and their spouses and children stayed the weekend together. It was a blast.

It was the first time that Joe-Z and I had been back to the temple since John Morgan was born. 7 months is a long time. You don't really realize it when you're caught up in the day-to-day thing we call "life", or at least I didn't, until I was taken out of that day-to-day and had a chance to breathe while I was in the temple.

It's so peaceful there. So quiet. I love that. It's so quiet that you can't help but hear the whispers of the Spirit. I decided that I want to try to make my home more quiet. When I was thinking about how I can do that, I thought of this talk, given by Julie B. Beck in the October 2007 General Conference, entitled "Mothers Who Know." This is the part that I really love:

"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord's kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power."

Now, I realize that not all of us are mothers yet, and for the guys, never will be. But the great thing about this concept is that it can work for anyone. If you're a dad, you can still do these things, and have a better home for it. If you're single, you can do these things for yourself right now, and make your own personal kingdom better and more righteous, and in the process will be laying an even better foundation for your future family.

I have hope that this will help strengthen not only my family, but me personally as well. I, for one, am excited about having less at home!



(After reading this, it's totally not what I thought I was going to be blogging about when I started...at all actually. But, since it's what came out, I'll go with it. I'll let you in on my other blogworthy experience later.)

;o)

The Little Reminders

Today I am grateful for the little things in life that serve as reminders to us.

Yesterday I heard this song on the radio and it really hit home for me. We've just been so busy lately trying to fit back into life and this was a nice little reminder to slow down and enjoy the ride.


"You're Gonna Miss This"
by Trace Adkins

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaining, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and says "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

(If you've never heard it before, I added it to my playlist at the bottom of this page)

A little perspective...

So, we've been having an extremely hard time with John Morgan. His crying borders constant. The past few days have been dizzying. He'll cry for hours at a time, until he loses his voice, then he whimpers until he falls asleep, tears still dripping down his cheeks. He gets little bits of sleep at a time, every once and a while he'll be able to sleep for 2 or 3 hours.

It's so strange...sometimes he'll lay on his blanket and stare up at you, just smiling and cooing like crazy, and 20 minutes later he's in hysterics. It's hard to see him so happy, and then so in pain the next minute.

We took him to his pediatrician yesterday who ordered a kidney ultrasound (scheduled for this afternoon), and told us to consult with our GI specialist from Children's to have an endoscopy done. So, we'll meet with him on Thursday and go from there.

With all of this going on, last night I'm on the computer perusing blogs, and came across this great "mommy interview" on the gab blog. From there, I went to this post about her daughter Rachel, who is handicapped. This story really put me in my place. I can't imagine going through something like this. I was left feeling so grateful that I was able to catch a little perspective in the midst of my so-called "rough" day.

I'm also really grateful for both of my boys, who teach me so much about patience, selflessness, and love, and remind me that if I feel this way for them, how much greater are those feelings that our Heavenly Father has for us. I know that he loves us and that he wants us to be happy, and will never give us trials greater than we have strength to bear.

Gratitude Brings Heightened Awareness

I read this LDS Gems thought for the day and thought it was so wonderful that I'd share it with everyone!

"Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence."

(Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007, 35)