Sunday, May 20, 2012

Reverence is more then just quietly sitting.....

I had hoped to get this blog post up Saturday night, but I have been hit by a migraine, so I didn't even get to work on this with my own family! But here it is.... what I have been thinking about lately!
I have been studying and pondering on reverence. I feel that personally I need it more in my life and my attitude and I wish for my children to have a firm understanding of what it means to be reverent. When I think of being reverent, my first thought is being awe-inspired. I love that term. It is powerful. When I am being reverent, I have fear in the Lord, I am awe-inspired by Him, I feel deep respect and the need to worship. Reverence truly is more then just quietly sitting. I feel respect, love and honor. Being reverent means showing restraint and quiet dignity. When we are reverent we are showing our devotion to God.
Let's face it- our world is loud. We have the tv blaring, the stereo on full blast, the computer is dinging at us because someone wants to chat, our kids video games are noisy in the background. I need to change this!!! My family needs to change! We need to become more reverent and one of the most important reasons to me personally, is because inspiration comes easier in peaceful settings. It is so true. I love in the evenings when the sun is beginning to go down, the kids are getting ready for bed, and I am sitting quietly in the yard watching the sun set. I feel peaceful. I feel content. I feel reverent. At this point, I can begin to pray etc, and slowly I begin to get that peaceful, reverent feeling. I love the fact that being reverent is one of the highest qualities a person can achieve. We learn so much more while being reverent, even if it is for a set amount of time each day, and then of course on the Sabbath ( which will be a whole new post!). D&C 76 states that in the celestial kingdom , before His throne all people will bow in reverence. What a beautiful thought and a good example of reverence. Another good example that comes to my mind.... the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane... can you imagine the reverence that must have been felt there. Once again, the Savior is such an amazing example. We need to be more reverent in our homes too. This is something I am really wanting to work on in my family. I am guilty of having the tv on, music going and my computer on... all at the same time! President Marion G. Romney stated that parents who love the Lord and have respect for each other, usually have reverence in their home. Once again, it comes back to blocking out needless distractions which is something I spoke about in another post, being overwhelmed, and I think that blocking out these distractions is so vital. We will be able to feel the awe-inspired feelings of reverence, devotion, love and so much more. The Spirit will be able to whisper to us--- and we will HEAR it!! Now I want to make sure that everyone understands, I'm not saying that you have to throw your tv, stereo and computer out the window. We do much good with these instruments... we can listen to uplifting music, watch uplifting shows, and connect with others around the world thru the internet and help to be missionaries and good friends to them! I'm talking more about teaching our children ( and ourselves) to take time through out our day to be reverent. Meditate, pray, etc. Give yourself the gift each day of being reverent. I can't wait to put this into practice in my life and in my childrens lives. I hope to even make a little area of the house, maybe a reverent corner near our bookshelves etc, where we can ponder and pray, and be quiet! Where we can hear the Spirit whispering to us. Maybe a candle, and scriptures on a table in the reverent corner. Maybe some aromatherapy, becuase boy howdy I love aromatherapy. What ways do you teach your children the deeper meaning of reverence? Happy Parenting! Love, JL~

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Parable of the Ten Virgins

rane/five/wise, 1/5/04, 3:14 PM,  8C, 6768x11253 (1128+435), 150%, paintings,  1/15 s, R75.0, G64.3, B79.3

A couple of weeks ago I was praying to know what specific things to teach my children. I was amazed when the thoughts and ideas started flowing! I grabbed my journal and started jotting things down. One of the things was to teach my children the parable of the ten virgins. It is found in Matthew in the 25th chapter. Right after I had this little “planning session” with my Father in Heaven, my general conference Ensign came in the mail. I had watched general conference, but I am always happy to go over every little word in print. I was so excited to see this particular parable mentioned in one of the talks.

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/general-young-women-meeting/2012/03/seek-learning-you-have-a-work-to-do?lang=eng

I was even more surprised when I remembered that we had a kerosene lamp we use for emergencies and I could have an object lesson… super fun!

I was even more surprised when the sunday night before our FHE, we needed the kerosene lamp because we ended up with no electricity for almost 4 hours.

Heavenly Father was making things easy for me! I had the lamp out, the general conference Ensign, the scriptures marked and ready. Then my son asked if he could invite his friend who lives across the street from us. Missionary moment! So that monday night we all sat in the living room for a simple FHE that hopefully would be a good missionary tool also.

I was blessed to be able to share the highlighted portions from Sister Cook’s talk, and I was so impressed with the way the kids latched right on to the idea that we need to constantly be filling our spiritual lamps. Every good deed you do, every kind word you say, every prayer, every Scripture read, adds a drop of oil to your lamps. Drop by drop we add spiritual knowledge to our lamps. I was excited when my ten year old son started explaining to his friend….. “we need to be prepared for when Christ comes again.” I was blessed to listen to my son as he shared his testimony of Christ’s second coming and how he was ready to start adding more drops to his lamp! Then the boys got a big kick out of my husband putting the kerosene oil in the lamp and lighting it! In fact the neighbor boy said, “hey, you used that lamp last night- I saw it in your window!” We were able to tell him that we had been physically prepared in case of a power outage, just like we need to be spiritually prepared for when Christ comes. It was a wonderful, spiritual FHE and it only took about twenty minutes! Sometimes the most powerful lessons are the simplest.

While doing my own research into the parable of the ten virgins, I found so many things that I personally need to work on. But that will be a post for another day! Today , I share with you what we did for FHE…. maybe soon I will share my personal thoughts on how I can become a better person thru this parable. How thankful I am for Christ’s teachings and examples!

May Family Challenge : Show and Tell with your Family !

Sarah from www.playwithyourfamily.com is hosting our May challenge!!!!! Her site is awesome!!!!! Go check it out! :) Here is the post for the month from Sarah!! :) Can't wait to hear everyone's ideas and what they did! Love, JL~ ********************************************* As the school year comes to an end I am wondering what new things I have learned this year. Have I gained a new skill, educated myself, become a better person? Being a mom and staying home to take care of kids it sure feels like I am falling behind in the rate I am progressing. My daughter basically learned a new language this year as all 1-2 year olds do. She also is learning to go potty by herself, get herself dressed, climb up very high objects, hold a pencil, count, get out of doing things with her cuteness, and trying to learn her colors. I am often jealous at how fun and easy it is for her to learn and progress. I wish I was still learning like that and having my eyes opened to the exciting world we live in That said, I think there are things we have accomplished this year (even if we have to dig deep) we can share with our family. So my challenge to all of you is to have a family show and tell night. I think I might make the absolutely wonderful and almost healthy chocolate chip cookies that I have perfected this year (I think I have perfected them because I can't go more than a few days without having a stash of them in my freezer for those moments when you just need a cookie). family show and tell
Your kids could share their favorite school project, play the piano piece they learned for recital, or show you how to dribble a soccer ball. Whatever their thing is this year, let them have a moment to be proud of their accomplishments.Suggestions for Family Show and Tell Night:
  • Make an invitation/ reminder for your kids with the day and time so they can be preparing what they will share with the family.
  • Invite grandma and grandpa or a neighbor family to your presentation.
  • Film your show and tell night. This is going to be memorable. ( I am hoping my husband will give us a dance party at the end which we always love to catch on video)
  • Have refreshments afterwards, or during if it is your talent.
  • Write an introduction for each member of your family that can be read before they show and tell. Mention some good choices they have made this year or reasons you are proud of them. Make them feel special.
Oh I am so excited to see all the ways this event can pull your family closer together. Make it a priority and I know you will not be disappointed. Please let us know how your show and tell night goes. I can't wait to see pictures about it and to see all the wonderful things your family has done this year.
May Family Challenge: Show and Tell Night With Your Family
Let us know how it goes by:
1: Commenting right here on our blog! 2: Jump on over to our Facebook Page and leaving a comment or a link for everyone to see! 3: Email us with a picture, if possible, and a description and we will share it! 4: Or share your experience and a picture with us by linking it up here

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