Quail

As I was driving to the store the other night I saw ahead of me a little group of quail trying to cross the street. They started out and possibly feeling the change in air as the truck in front of me approaching the quickly darted back for cover, all in a group.

I worried about the quail getting run over. Then I thought "well they are probably a family of quail and one parent is at the front and one is at the rear." The Dad will probably make sure none of his little chicks gets ran over.

Sure enough when I came back on that same road the family was safely on the other side pecking at the ground.

This got me thinking about the leaders in our lives. Choosing good leaders and examples will help determine whether we make it through okay. Some will lead us into danger others will keep us from harm.

How glad I am that I had parents who always led me in the right direction. How grateful I am for good friends who helped me avoid danger. How blessed I am to be part of a church where we have a prophet to guide and direct us!

Now the challenge is for me to be a good leader to my little girls, my younger siblings and those around me. I found a lesson on lds.org that talked about five traits of a righteous lead.

1. Gives service.

2. Trusts and obeys the Lord.

3. Has faith in God.

4. Teaches from the scriptures.

5. Follows the prophets.

A tall order and I need to rise to the challenge!

Heartache and Loss

It seems over the summer I have heard many stories of heartache and loss. Some of the families I know personally like my former preschool Student Cami Carver who at the age of 4 was diagnosed with Luekemia. Others I have learned about through their blogs like the Sullengers of Rexburg, Idaho who lost their 1 1/2 year old daughter after she fell into a canal. And just last night I read of a couple whose first baby was stillborn.

My heart breaks for these families and my thought generally lead me to ask "what would I do if I were in their situation?" "How could I handle all that grief and pain?" Instantly I know that it is only through the atonement of Jesus Christ that one can go endure and be made whole.

A family member recently revealed that he no longer believed in this church. He had questions about church doctorine and stories from church history. In reality I think he merely wasn't willing to live the church doctorine and didn't want to feel guilty about the choices he was making.

I feel so sorry for him. His lack of involvement in the church will only stagnate his relationship with his savior. When hard times come (and they always do) where will he turn for peace and comfort? I don't know everything about the gospel, and I acknowledge that there are stories from Church History that may be confusing, but what I do know is that I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth. And if I continue to live it's teachings I can come develop a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I can come to understand more fully the atonement. And when heartache and loss come I can turn to Him.

This is my testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love the Mormon Messages and this one by our prophet exemplifies the feelings I tried to express in this post!

Significant Experiences

Sometimes my day to day life takes over everything! I've been trying to do more journaling. I sit down every Sunday and I write about our family and then each of the girls individually. I write about the fun things we've done, what's going on in our lives, cute things the girls say, etc., etc. There are other times when I find myself having spiritual thoughts and experiences that I want to record and share. Since the advent of the computer I hate writing. I am not the greatest typer (I still don't use the right fingers on the right keys) but I get my thoughts down faster and I can edit as I go.
Recently a friend of a friend started a blog entitled "tender mercies" to document the spiritual experiences in her life. Another friend of a friend had this quote from President Hinckley on her blog:

"You will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. Some may be funny. Some may be significant only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experiences." Gordon B. Hinckley, 2006

So I decided I would start a blog to record significant experiences, tender mercies, and spiritual thoughts. This blog is primarily for me to focus more on my "spiritual life." If anyone else wants to read along, great...if they don't fine.