On a Personal Note ~ Repentance and Listening to the Spirit

     A few days ago I sat down with the kids to have our Gospel lesson for the day. We were discussing the steps of repentance, which is one of the things that the Prophets have asked us to teach our children. So I'm talking to the kids and all of the sudden, I felt the Spirit whisper to me, tell the kids about a big mistake you made... well of course I wanted to say, NO! But I followed the prompting and I told the kids about a time where I had made a big mistake and I had to go through a big repentance process. I wanted them to know that it wasn't a scary thing to repent. It is a gift!

I was always a little afraid of repentance when I was younger. I know that's so silly, but I was truly worried! When I went through this big repentance process with the help of an amazing branch president who loved me and was patient with me and taught me so much about repentance, I was so excited to learn that repentance is not scary in any way! It's such a gift. I wanted my children to know, that we are so incredibly blessed by this gift. As I was talking about the mistake, the repentance process and how I felt after I had completed the process, I was really excited to see how much this story was touching my children. I think they actually loved me even more, to see that I totally messed up!

I still wasn't sure why Heavenly Father wanted me to share this with my kids. It's definitely not one of my better moments in my life! Well, I found out later that day, why Heavenly Father asked me to share this. I was shocked when about ten minutes after our lesson, one of my kids came in to my room and asked to speak with me. They were able to ask a question about something that they weren't sure was good or bad. They wanted me to help them to go over the steps for asking Heavenly Father whether something is right or wrong. I was happy to show them the Scripture D&C 9 : 8-9 and we were able to quietly discuss the steps and they were able to study it out and ask Heavenly Father whether it was right or wrong. They were also able to talk to me about whether or not I felt it was a mistake and that they needed to repent for it. I was so thankful that they felt safe to come to me and discuss this with such a calm manner. I'm really blessed that way with my kiddos. They aren't shy in any way about what they discuss with me! Sometimes I laugh because it's a bit TMI! The child was able to tell me that they were happy that I shared the story with them today because it made them feel really good about coming to me and talking to me about this issue.

We have to make sure that each day we, as parents, are asking our Father in Heaven what we need to teach our children that day. I try hard to remember each night to specifically ask Him what I need to teach our children the next day. We homeschool and so I'm blessed with that extra time to do a Gospel lesson each day but I know that not every family is able to do that. So one thing I truly recommend, is praying especially for inspiration on what to teach your children for Family Home Evening each week. He will give you the answers of exactly what your children need to hear ! I'm so thankful that I have a Father in Heaven who truly cares about my kids and helps me to know what to do while raising them. Of course I still screw up big time ! But He is patient with me and thank goodness, so far, my kids have been pretty patient with me too ! :)

Happy Parenting ! Love, JL~

Here are some resources for FHE on Repentance ~

THE RED HEADED HOSTESS has a really neat teaching packet for only $4.50 that you can print and use as a FHE with your family. Here's a link to get you there ! HOW CAN REPENTANCE HELP ME EVERY DAY KIT


Here is a sweet story from The Friend that talks about Repentance : BEELINE TO THE TRUTH

Here is a FHE from The Friend all about Repentance : FHE ON REPENTANCE FROM LDS.ORG

THE RED HEADED HOSTESS also has this great teaching kit on AS I REPENT, I CAN BE FORGIVEN Here's a video on what is included :