Scripture Journals

Once upon a time, I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Florida. Every morning, I had one hour to do personal studies in the scriptures. It was then that I fell in love with my scriptures for the first time, treasuring up truths, discovering new insights, and seeing the incredible worth of scriptures in my life.

That was awhile ago, 2002 to be exact. Since then, life has gotten busier, and more distractions to slowly push me away from daily scripture study. Challenging, but not impossible to continue reading, but I've been struggling with it for awhile.

Last week, I found gold on Youtube. I seriously have no desire to have live tv/cable when there is youtube. (Except for the Olympics. That would have been cool to see.) I love youtube almost more the Pinterest.

I was searching for David A. Bednar videos on scripture studying, my topic of research for this month.  I saw this video come up, clicked on it, and discovered that it was a gold find. This is Shannon from The Red Headed Hostess site.  I remember stumbling on her site in the past for some free church printables, but that's all I knew about her. I didn't know that she was a seminary teacher for 13 years, loves to learn, and was about to share some precious knowledge with me in this video.

This is a 40 minute video, so definitely bookmark it, add it to your youtube playlist, and watch later when you can have no distractions. I had to wait for my kids to go to bed to watch it the first time. (I've watched it about three times now. I like it, a lot:)

Some of the points she shares:

• Studying the scriptures can be hard for us because we haven't 'learned how to learn' yet. 
• As she reads scriptures, church talk, etc, she writes down what she learns and any insights in a journal, with the intent of giving one each to her kids to inherit. When she is no longer on the earth, she can still help her kids with her written words of testimony, encouragement, and love for them. That's what did it for me. I just love that idea, and have started journaling more when I study with the intent to share my testimony and thoughts with my precious kids. What better thing for them to have then your words written to them? 
• Anyone can do this. We all have time, and we don't need to worry about our handwriting to start a journal. 
• Don't do it for you; do it for your kids, thus blessing you and them.
• She gives some great scripture study tips here, that you can print off. Most helpful. 

Now, all I want to do is study and learn. Insanely cool, but hard because obviously, I need to stay balanced with homeschooling, family time, hubby time, everything! One sweet friend asked me when I have time to study. When Shaun is off work, that really helps. I sneak in about 30 minutes during the 1pm hour, when my younger ones take a little rest. When it's just me home, I help Ethan find something to do, possibly watch some PBS or play a game, just so I can read. 

Find a time in your day that would work, even if it's only 10 minutes. It's possible, but don't give up. Satan doesn't want you to read your scriptures, at all. He knows they will bring you peace, and will try to discourage you. Don't give up! Just make it a priority.

I have seen what has happened from our family and my personal scripture reading. I have had less inclination to yell at the kids. Huge blessing. I find that I have more patience. I love rediscovering gospel truths, digging into the New Testament more and everywhere else, and seeing scriptures that I don't ever remember reading more. It has been so great.

That's all for today, because I want to go study. I hope this helps someone:)

Family Scripture Study; It's Working!

First off, a few pictures of our visit to the Portland Zoo. We took advantage of a sunny morning, well, mixed with clouds and a few showers on us, but a good morning. It was wonderful to nearly have the park to ourselves, going on a weekday. The walk around the zoo was so gorgeous. It's a zoo within a forest, the huge Oregon trees towering over the walkways. 

This week, my testimony of family scripture reading has been strengthened, and I have to write this down. For the past few weeks, we've had too much yelling, too much meanness between the kids, and not enough kindness and love. It was getting to all of us, and I wanted it to stop. For the hundreth time, I tried again to start up our daily reading with the kids.

 Last Sunday, we decided to set a goal. It was really easy; 'Let's just see if we can read our scriptures for 7 days, just till the next Sunday. Let's see if we can actually do it', hoping it would last longer. 

Well, here's the magic that has happened in our home since Sunday; the spirit is in our home again. How can I tell? Ethan and Kevin have played nice together for two days straight. They've been buddies, playing in the backyard digging up worms, putting them in jars, and actually being obedient and leaving them outside to play with. They still have had their sibling moments of yuck, but it has gone down a lot. 

Kevin and Brooke have been playing so sweetly together. Kevin makes her giggle like crazy. She tickles him. In the picture above, he was holding her hand, and helping her around the zoo. All of this has made my heart sing with joy.

This is what our scripture study consists of; a little before bedtime we've been sitting on our big king bed. I play a church song on the guitar, and try to get the kids to sing. It doesn't matter if they sing, as long as we're actually doing something. We then have read a scripture mastery verse, or something. At least one verse, and then we try to talk about it, within their short attention spans. Then, we say our family prayers, and get them ready for bed. That's it, and because we've done it every night since Sunday, the love and kindness has returned. I don't want it to leave, so I'm going to try very hard to be consistent into next week and beyond. 

I've also learned some incredible things about my personal scripture studying and keeping a scripture journal. That will be another post for next week. I can't wait to share what I've learned. All I can say is this; I just want to study my scriptures in my free time. I actually want to, isn't that insane? I haven't felt that way since the mission. I'll explain tons more next week:)

So, if you're struggling in your family with scripture studying, please don't give up. Try again, be consistent and have the faith that your home will be blessed with a greater measure of peace. It might not feel super enriching, but the fact that you're at least trying will be met with help from above. I'm seeing it happen right now. 

One fabulous thought to ponder:

"Sister Maynes and I learned some important principles as we began the process of establishing a Christ-centered home early in our marriage. We started by following the counsel of our Church leaders. We brought our children together and held weekly family home evenings as well as daily prayer and scripture study. It was not always easy, convenient, or successful, but over time these simple gatherings became treasured family traditions.

We learned that our children might not remember everything about the family home evening lesson later in the week, but they would remember that we held it. We learned that later in the day at school they would probably not remember the exact words of the scriptures or the prayer, but they would remember that we did read scriptures and we did have prayer. Brothers and sisters, there is great power and protection for us and our youth in establishing celestial traditions in the home."

Richard J. Maynes

"Let's Try That Again"

Found a pretty spot at a friend's house, and captured some shots of Brooke. Love this so much.

A wonderful lady at church shared her love and wisdom with me in a few, brief moments. She spoke of when her kids sometimes would speak to her in an unkind tone. The usual stuff that I've tried to help my boys do better on. She shared this with me. 

"Whenever we have a moment like that, I say this to them, "Let's try that again". 

It has saved her a lot of contention and brought the peace back. I thought to myself, "Of course", and quickly wrought it down in my church journal. 

Since then, I talked with my family, and we have started trying to say this sweet sentence when our words are unkind. It's been so neat to see the change in the boys and their concious effort to say something nicer. We role played it. When the boys practiced resolving the problem, they just hugged each other and laughed until they fell on the ground in a jumbled mess. So funny. 

I'm so thankful for the nuggets of gold I get from others. Just a simple little lesson in their examples that help me do a little better. Just had to share:)

The Lord's Side of the Line

A friend introduced me to this website. Blessing. I quickly recognized it as gold, and browsed around. I watched this short clip, and was totally humbled to the dirt.

First of all, this this is Elder David A. Bednar, a true and living apostle in our time. The term 'Elder' means teacher. Before he was called to be an apostle, he was the president of Ricks College, now BYU-Idaho. I went to Ricks when he was there. I went to many weekly devotionals, (big auditorium filled with students to hear a speaker talk of spiritual goodness) and hear him speak to the students. He and his wife would hold family home evenings for a small group of students weekly. There, they would answer any questions we had about the church related matter, and feed us ice cream afterwards.

The two words that describe him best to me are these; master teacher. He has such a powerful way of teaching, and was always very kind to all of us kids, the college students:)

I have to share this clip with you. It's only 5 minutes long. Best little media clip ever. It just rocked me. Maybe it's because I'm a mom of boys, and this young boy in the clip is just so tender to me. Maybe it's because the simple act of reading my scriptures and saying my prayers can become so casual and easily forgotten. Whatever the case, Elder Bednar puts everything into crucial perspective with his teaching analogy here. In the words that he always uses when he teaches, pay attention to the spirit as it will speak to you when you watch this, and let it change you.

Beauty of the Stars

Recently, they boys and I were learning about stars and the solar system. That night, I put them to bed and went outside to help Shaun fix some things on the car. I immediately saw the sky, went "Wow!" and went back inside to get the kids up. The sky was so clear, and the stars were very visible. Now, for Washington, that's a big deal in the winter. I'm learning that many winter nights are cloudy and not a star to be seen. 

The boys were still awake as I opened their door and said 'Come outside. I have a surprise.' Well, nothing makes little kids move faster than hearing the word 'surprise'. They raced to get on jackets and shoes. It was so funny. I brought them out to the driveway and told them to look up. They both looked up and were amazed. Not that we haven't seen stars before in Vegas, but there is a pink hazy light coming from the strip that sometimes blocks out the clearness of a starry night. This night was particulary perfect for our day of learning. It was at that moment that I thought, "Man, a telescope would be really cool right now." 

The boys loved it, but then Kevin said to me "Mom, I'm cold. I want to go back to bed." I laughed and helped them both back, thinking of nights when they will be up later than 8. 

Sometimes, I get so busy in my little world that I forget to stop and look at the stars, and remember this world that God created for us. Looking at the stars, I am amazed at His creations, how tiny I am, but always rememberd as His daughter. I love starry nights. 

My Greatest Fear

Hear I go again being completely open and honest with whoever is reading...

I see many good parenting articles about living in the moment, enjoying what stage you are in, and the constant reminder that kids grow up in a blink and to enjoy them. They are all written with the best of intentions by dear mothers. I read a few of them here and there, and try to find the positive in them to help me.

I am a mom of three young kiddos. Some days are good, and a lot of days are really, really hard. Days that make me think "Remember life before kids, when things were easier?", which makes me really guilty for ever thinking that.

I see glimpses of other families with older kids doing fun things together. Sometimes I think 'Wow, that must be fun. Maybe their kids actually listen. Maybe they have less nights going to bed not completely stressed and worn out.' Then, I try to stop thinking those thoughts, because I have heard that parenting teeanagers is an emotional, whole other ball park that I don't understand yet, and I just try to think of my family.

My greatest fear is that these fleeting years of the kids being young will fly past me too quickly, and I won't remember and enjoy it as much as I want, because I'm trying to learn how to discipline all the time, breaking up fights, teaching them good habits and gospel principles before they get older, and the sheer physical exhaustion of raising young kids. I'm so scared that I'll be the mom who looks back at pictures, and can't remember what we were doing at that time, because raising young kids is tough.

I remember when Kevin was born. I had an 18 month old and a newborn. That first year of Kevin's birth, all I can remember is being physically exhausted each and every day. I remember nursing all the time, being on my feet taking care of the boys, having a quick rest during their naptimes, and collapsing on the couch at 5pm when Shaun came home from work and could take over. Yet, I remember learning photography online at that time, and taking a beautiful picture of Kevin in his sweet, baby stage, but that's about it. It makes me sad that I can't remember too much more.

So, what do I do? How do I enjoy the stage I'm in right now with my sweet children who drive me crazy somedays, and melt my heart the next day? How can I not let this time, the only time that they will be this young, slip from me due to the fact that I'm just trying to learn how to be a parent for the first time, and to love them?

Well.. this is what I've done so far..

I try to read my scriptures better. I really have been doing a lame job at that lately. My dear husband inspires me every day when he reads on his own. Such a help. I'm not perfect, but I'm trying to do it daily again. It helps.

I search for parenting counsel in the treasure vault, otherwise known as the LDS Gospel Library App
I search through General Conference talks, scriptures, and more. I find gold every time, and I try to Instagram it, hoping it can help someone else out there.

I bravely and timidly ask for help on Facebook, because there are other moms out there that have been through the young kid stages, and that have wonderful wisdom to share with me and others who read through the comments. It has always been such a help.

I try not to read too many parenting blogs, and get overwhelmed, but the one I keep coming back to is The Power of Moms.  Over and over again. The articles on here and the podcasts are so great. I try to learn some good tips, skills, whatever! Anything to help little kids grow up to be good little men and women, and to bring more peace into our home.

I try really, really hard to remember to pick my battles wisely. Let a lot of things go. Keep the bigger picture in mind. Is it really worth arguing over this and hurting a family relationship, or can I let it go and breathe? Nurture. I need to do more of that.

There's more to write, but mainly, I try hard to not listen to Satan. He's a big jerk that just wants me to be miserable like himself.  I think he works hard on moms, especially new moms, when they are in the trenches of motherhood with young kids that wear them out. He works on moms of all age kids, because he never takes a day off.

Lately, I just have been trying to hug the kids more. Hold them. Read to them. Ask them what they want to learn about today. Throw them all in our big king bed, and tickle them. Let them run around and go crazy for a little bit, because that's what little boys do. Praise them when they do some little thing I ask them to do, because when they do listen and be obedient, it's the equivalent to the fireworks going off in Idaho Falls at the 4th of July. (Best firework show ever! Never forgot that from my college days:)

Thank you for reading, and please comment with any thoughts or advice. Helps me lots.

The Moral Force of Woman

Last night, I took the chance to fill my cup and went to a church meeting for women entitled "The Moral Force of Woman". So glad I brought my church journal, because there was so much counsel and wisdom to learn and write down. Four speakers total; each delivering a powerful message. It's so great when you're trying hard to pay attention and learn, (eating up the moment of actually being able to hear the speaker without wrangling young kiddos:) you're looking at the speaker talking, but you don't really hear their voice, you hear the spirit speaking to you? That's what it was like last night.

Here's one of my most favorite quotes that was printed on our program:

"The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.
There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. 
There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.
We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. 
We have enough greed; we need more goodness. 
We have enough vanity; we need more virture.
We have enough popularity; we need more purity."

Margaret D. Nadauld

Doesn't that quote just say it all? We see through media enough examples of tough, mean hearted women trying to take on the world, but what the world really needs is a women with a tender heart, and loving arms to hug others. Someone who is a little more kind with their children when they are challenging, and someone who is slow to spread gossip and unkind words, but who is quick to build and lift others with encouragement and kindness. That's what the world needs; just my thoughts.

Some other great snippets I scrambled to write from the talks:

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Beware of comparisons. You'll always come out on the short end. Laugh alot, sing, whistle, pray, be gentle on yourself.

Have a 'caring factor'. 

Before you arm your child with technology, arm them with the Holy Ghost. Make sure they know what the spirit feels like. 

Talk about things openly with your children concerning sex, drugs, addictions, pornography, etc. 

Use a story in a church magazine to launch a conversation with your child about a topic. It's not directed at them, and a great way to talk openly about a tough subject. 

Think of hearing the worst news ever from someone in your family. When they tell you this news, stay calm. Keep a calm face, and say something to the effect of 'Wow, that's tough. Let me think about this, let's pray, and we'll get through this together.' Practice being calm, and prepared for a moment like that. (Wow!)

Be more vigilant about what's in your home, media, etc. You want to teach sexual intimacy to your kids first, not the world teaching them. Make sure kids know what pornography is. 

You can't change someone else, but you can give kindness to everyone and yourself, give service, create something beautiful. 

There isn't anything the atonement can't heal.

Teach godliness in your home.  

Each one of you has a part. Your gifts are unique. Know what your gifts are so you can take your rightful part in the symphony. 

Oh, so good! There was a strong message of the importance to teach your children the gospel, the things that will bring them lasting peace because Satan is waging war right now against these things. To teach it to them first, not for them to learn from the world. To arm them with the spirit. To make our homes a place of safety and love. 

Then, this song was played for us that I instantly fell in love with. It was just so beautiful. I scrambled to write the chorus down so I could google it. Thankfully, the speaker told us what it was, and I found it on youtube. 

Listen to it, and listen to the spirit speaking to you through the beautiful, simple words and flowing piano. 

Life is a such a gift. I find that going to these meetings are so  vital to keeping my testimony alive, and to keep my relationship strong with the Savior. To hear what I need to know to be a better wife and mother, and to keep that peace in my heart when it's needed the most. I hope this post helps someone today. 

"Deliberate Motherhood" Thoughts: Seasons

This books is such a wonderful mothering book to read. I have been working through it slowly, trying to savor each chapter, and grasp what it's trying to teach me. I'm almost to the end of the book, and have been looking through the earlier chapters to remember the gems I marked. I have so many little snippets I want to share with you. It's such a peaceful and empowering book, a celebration of motherhood, and a tool to help us see the glory of being a Mom even on the hardest days.

Today's thoughts are about enjoying the season you are in right now, from chapter 7:

"Crying babies and sleepless nights will only last a short season in our lives, and then it is us who will be longing for midnight snuggles. Battles with teenagers soon end, and we will long for those late night discussions. The home we onced wished would just stay clean will soon feel all too empty.

"Today is a gift; that is why it is called the present." - Unknown

Chantelle Adams

"Allowing life's opportunities to blossom in their proper season helps us appreciate the present. It allows us to focus on who we are, and whom we are with, right now. To be constantly wishing away the current season, because the next season seems more appealing, is to miss the fragrance of lilacs after a spring rain because you can't wait for barbecues by the pool. " 

Jennifer Cummings

Aren't these beautiful thoughts? I need these little reminders constantly when some days are crazy and I am learning to understand who these little, sweet spirits are that have joined our family. Each one of my kids have such a unique personality, and have so much to give to the world, and to give to us in our home. Shaun and I are the lucky ones to learn from these little guys each day, the two young men and a little lady. Being a mom is not an easy job at all, but it sure is a special one. 

Good day

We had a good day this week, actually, two good days going on three in a row. After many storms of struggling in parenting, the storm went away for a bit. We prayed, searched general conference talks, and worked hard and lovingly with Ethan this week. The past three days have been wonderful. Here, we were having a good homeschool day working on writing. I used a pinterest idea of 'rainbow writing', having them trace their names with many colors over and over again. It was fun, it helped them write better than ever, and the kids didn't fight. Glorious! Brooke was enjoying some board games, which gave me a chance to work with the boys. 

Huge fan of the twisty crayons! No breaking. 

I took Ethan on a date. We rode bikes down to the store close by. He's gone a few times before with Shaun. As we were riding, he told me the specific directions to get there. I told him that I was glad I was with him so I would't get lost. He sounded so grown up it amazed me. He wanted to practice counting the soup cans as high as he could go. More learning. Easy math. I love it! 

Then, the best story ever. Things have been stressful and nerve wracking as we have been searching for employment for Shaun. You all know how that is. Job hunting, oi. Well, we paid what little tithing we had, sent in tons of resumes, and were blessed with two job interviews this week. We did our dardnest to exercise faith. We prayed specifically "Please help us get a job this week.", thinking not at the end of the month and not next month. We need a job this week, and we believed that it would happen. 

The day after an interview, Shaun got a call that made us all cry with joy. Ethan was with us while the kids were napping. I jumped off the bed, and said 'Everyone get on your knees now! We're praying.' We said a prayer of thanks. The sun literally came out of the fog while we prayed, and disappeared a little bit afterwards. I cracked up over that. 

We took that leap of faith, tried to be brave, and our prayers were answered. Good day. 

Parenting thoughts

Today was Kevin's birthday. We tried to make it a special day for him. Got the birthday banner out, the plastic goblet cup to drink from, and I made a chocolate cake for him. It was also a very challenging day for Ethan. After I put the kids to bed, I sat on the couch, head in my hands, exhausted and heartbroken, but grasping onto the strength to not cry but to seek guidance from above. 

Perhaps Ethan was sad that it was not his birthday, and the attention was not on him. Maybe he needed to know that he was equally loved and I did not do a good job communicating that to him today. It could be a multitude of reasons. 

After teaching the young women today at church about making their personal prayers more effective by offering a kneeling, vocal prayer (thank you, missionary training center teachers!), I knelt down and prayed out loud myself, asking for help with Ethan. Again, I was reminded at how effective that method of praying is, and wrote down impressions that came to mind. 

Some of them were: 

Hang more pictures of Ethan around the house to remind me how much I love him. 

Pick a random day to just celebrate having him in our family. 

I also searched through my gospel library app for any conference talks on parenting. Like searching through a gold vault. Seriously. The quotes are from M Russell Ballard's talk 'Women of God'. He gives some great thoughts on mothering. It gave me peace. 

Here's on more thought from his talk. I hope it helps some reader out there:)

Daily devotional

Last Sunday, the third hour of church was incredible. It was a combined gospel study of class for the youth 12 years and up and all grown ups. One of the main things that hit me the hardest was feeding your soul with continued daily devotionals of reading scriptures, meditation, prayer, and coming closer to the Savior. When one stops doing this, the well of spiritual water dries up, and one cannot survive happily. It's a lesson I keep learning over and over again. Thank goodness Heavenly Father is so patient and forgiving of His children, and is always there for me when I keep trying again to be consistent in my spiritual nurturing.

My goal is to wake up at 6am, and have some quiet moments to read and ponder before the kids wake up. The darn bed is too soft and comfy. Oh, it's hard! I got up at 7 today. Getting there.

This video was shown in the class, and I loved it. Just a simple, visual reminder. I'm so visual. I love good media.