Write It Down

As the new year approaches, I would venture to say that we all become more reflective. We look back on the past year and wonder if it met our expectations; did we improve or did we plateau?

Sometimes as journal can help us see how much we've grown. I used to be ridiculously good at keeping a journal, in fact, I had a couple years where I wrote every day. Then, I fell out of that habit---and I wish I hadn't. I did take the chance to write the occasional entry, but I missed so many of the little moments; moments that I now try desperately to remember.

I look back at the past 20 months of my life (since my son's birth) and wish I wrote more down. He's growing up so fast and I want to remember as much as I can. I know that this blog, and our personal ones, have helped, but I have restricted my entries because I fear to say too much. Prophets have even counseled us to keep a history, President Spencer W. Kimball said:

Every person should keep a journal and every person can keep a journal. It should be an enlightening one and should bring great blessings and happiness to the families. If there is anyone here who isn’t doing so, will you repent today and change—change your life? (in Conference Report, Apr. 1979, p. 117; or Ensign, May 1979, p. 84).

So, with the new year, I'm taking the chance to start over again. I hope to start small. Here are my journal keeping goals:

1. Each day I blog, I'll write in my personal journal. (so that means I should at least have Wednesdays covered).
2. Catch up in the kids' baby books.
3. Print out the previous years' blog posts. I was using a software to accomplish this, but I think I'm just going to copy, paste, make a cover with my scrapbooking software, print it at kinkos' and laminate (cheaper in the long run---that way I can make one for Greg and I, and one each for the kids---to take when they're not kids).
4. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to make a family planner/journal for 2010 (check the link). I definitely think this sister was inspired to post about her planner and then link back to the sister who made the FREE template. After I make it, I must keep it up to date.
   

I hope I've inspired each of you to do a little here and a little there to always keep those special (and not so special) moments with you.

Keeping a Testimony

During FHE tonight we came across this quote from the 1st presidency message in the new Ensign:

"Testimony isn't something that you have today and you keep always. Testimony is either going to grow and grow to the brightness of certainty, or it is going to diminish to nothingness, depending upon what we do about it. I say, the testimony that we recapture day by day is the thing that saves us from the pitfalls of the adversary."

This quote stood out to me today because it reminded me that we have to do something everyday to keep our testimony strong. I think I knew of this before and that was why I wanted to start this blog. That way I could have an uplifting thing to read everyday that someone I know had written. And I would also have a chance to inspire other people.

Reading this blog has helped me to keep my testimony strong and vibrant and has allowed me to continue growing and striving towards my intended celestial destination. Everyday we make choices that can bring us closer or take us further away from it. What have you done recently to keep yours strong and vibrant?

Put God First

I feel completely behind in my life right now (probably because I have been so busy getting ready for Christmas and now I am out of town). I apologize for missing last week's post. Congratulations to Ashley and Nate on the pregnancy! My husband and I are also expecting our first baby, a boy due May 18th!

I just want to share a simple yet profound thought with everyone. I have been witnessing people around me that are having difficulties with their marriage. It is extremely hard for me to see the sadness that these people are experiencing. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful marriage. I love being married to my best friend and I am so grateful for the wonderful person he is! I often wish that I could fix the marriages around me that do not seem to be going well. I know how good it can be so I guess I want everyone to have that in their life. The most important aspect of a marriage is that you must put God first, your spouse next, and yourself last. If you do this then you will reap the benefits of a happy, healthy, and successful marriage!

I will be the first to admit that I make many mistakes in my own marriage. And being a natural "woman" I am often more selfish than I ought to be. Thankfully I have a wonderful, patient, and loving husband who overlooks many of my more selfish moments (hopefully I do the same for him). My challenge to all of you readers is to do something thoughtful and selfless for your spouse every single day this week. That would add up to 7 selfless acts! Next week I'll check up on you and see how you did, as well as report on how I did. Good luck!

Two Hearts

There's a Cheri Call song called "Gifts" that has become one of my favorites to listen to during the holiday season. The link will take you to the lyrics and a version you can listen to for yourself, but the part I especially like is the third verse:

I told Him it was broken, but it was all that I had
And He said that it was just what He wanted
And somehow I believed what He said
And it wasn’t gold or Frankincense like they gave Him from the start
It was just my heart; it was just my heart

I think it's a special thing to be reminded that all we can give is ourselves to our Savior. After all, that's what he gave us and THAT was and is the greatest gift of all time.

I've got a secret for all of you. Nate and I learned about a month ago that we are pregnant with our first baby due in July. On Christmas morning, I woke up for the first time and as I was laying in bed I swear I could feel my baby's heartbeat just slightly after mine. I don't know if that's possible, but that was the greatest Christmas gift I have ever received. And I thought of Mary holding her little baby and touching His hands, the hands that would one day be pierced with nails, and smoothing His face, the face that another Mary would see as the resurrected Lord, and I felt grateful for life and sacrifice and what that all means. I wish you all a Happy New Year with a new start in each of your lives and an opportunity for me to prepare to greet a brand new life into my own.

The Reason for the Season

I have been typing away for a while at this computer, and cannot get my thoughts to make sense in the written form, so though I would like to expound much more, I cannot. My thoughts have been regarding Mary the mother of Jesus. After each miracle she experienced or witnessed she held the experience close and pondered it in her heart. Every time I read that it floors me. And this is where I can't make any sense except in my own mind.

So, I would like to share with you instead something a dear friend of mine taught me last night. Malinda (my friend) was getting ready to teach her Gospel Principles class when she came across the question "what does repentance mean to you?" and she began thinking of that. Really, what did it mean to her.

I am not going to go into her experience much (if you would like to read it, go here) but I am going to share her scriptural thought. When the angels appeared the night the Savior was born
they declared they brought good tidings of great joy. She said that the glad tidings is the Gospel of Jesus Christ... the Good News. And the gospel is the Atonement of Christ. It's the fact that we can return to live with Him and our Father. And the Great Joy is Repentance. Because it is only through repentance that we can become clean. What a wonderful thought. A few years back I had the epiphany that the only reason we do celebrate Christmas is because of the Atonement. Without it, nothing would matter. There would be no reason for this season. How grateful I am for that.

And now, I leave you with a wonderful Christmas video Tricia emailed me. We thought that everyone would enjoy it. Merry Christmas and I hope the Spirit of Christ was with you all day, and can continue to be with you throughout your lives.

A Light Unto All

The church has a page all about Christmas; I wish I would have found it earlier in the month, but at least I can potentially use some of the ideas in the next few days and the upcoming years.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Real Gift of Christmas

I'm posting this video because I thought it went really well with my topic from last week.

Merry Christmas, everyone!