BECOMING PROVIDENT PROVIDERS.

As most of you know we are on the downhill of our four years in medical school. While Jimmy will have the letters,  "M" and "D" attached to his name, we both agree that we are on the cusp of achieving a goal that we have accomplished together.

Recently, we received the last of our student loans to get us through his graduation date. Along with that, we had the privilege (hope you can sense my sarcasm) of seeing the grand total of loan money that we have received over our four years. Now, we aren't dumb, we did make the choice for me to stay home with our girls, and we know that education is a worthy use of our funds, but it is still an overwhelming experience to see on paper, a very large sum of money, owed to someone else.

Since that time, we have a renewed spirit of getting out of our debt as quickly as possible, and are more focused than ever on living providently. Of course, it is easier said than done, but as we anticipate our move and a new job, we are practicing the art of "joyfully living within our means."

Our talks and plans reminded me of a wonderful talk given by Elder Hales in April of 2009 entitled, "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually." I put my favorite advice from the talk above (given by his wife, by the way), but the rest is filled with wonderful ways of becoming temporal and spiritual provident providers for your family.

He explained, "I have learned that the three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it.”

Elder Hales also said, becoming a provident provider is, "joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies."

Regardless of whether we can afford things or not, one thing I know, is that it is our responsibility as parents to not only teach our children, but to show by example how to be provident providers. Soon enough they might be saying, "we can't afford it."

How about you mamas, how are you learning to joyfully live within your means? I'd love to hear any insights.

P.S. We've got a weekend wide open, and I couldn't be happier. Yard work and a possible camp fire are on the tentative schedule, along with sunny skies. I'm also making my way through this new book, and can't wait to tell you all about it come Monday.

ON COMPARING.

Here is my favorite excerpt from one of my all time favorite talks, One Thing Needful: Becoming Women of Greater Faith in Christ, by Patricia Holland. If you've got the time, read the whole thing here.

"I am very appreciative of the added awareness that the women’s movement has given to a gospel principle we have had since Mother Eve and before—that of agency, the right to choose.

But one of the most unfortunate side effects we have faced in this matter of agency is that, because of the increasing diversity of life-styles for women of today, we seem even more uncertain and less secure with each other. We are not getting closer, but further away from that sense of community and sisterhood that has sustained us and given us strength for generations. There seems to be an increase in our competitiveness and a decrease in our generosity with one another.

Those who have the time and energy to can their fruit and vegetables develop a skill that will serve them well in time of need—and in our uncertain economy, that could be almost any time. But they shouldn’t look down their noses at those who buy their peaches or who don’t like zucchini in any of the thirty-five ways there are to disguise it, or who have simply made a conscious choice to use their time and energy in some other purposeful way.

And where am I in all of this? For three-fourths of my life I felt threatened to the core because I hated to sew. Now, I can sew; if it is absolutely necessary, I will sew—but I hate it. Can you imagine my burden over the last twenty-five or thirty years, “faking it” in Relief Society sessions and trying to smile when six little girls walk into church all pinafored and laced and ribboned and petticoated—in identical, hand-sewn dresses, all trooping ahead of their mother, who has a similar outfit? I don’t necessarily consider my attitude virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy, but I’m honest in my antipathy toward sewing.

I have grown up a little since those days in at least two ways: I now genuinely admire a mother who can do that for her children, and I have ceased feeling guilty that sewing is not particularly rewarding to me. The point is, we simply cannot call ourselves Christian and continue to judge one another—or ourselves—so harshly. No mason jar of bing cherries is worth a confrontation that robs us of our compassion and our sisterhood.

Obviously the Lord has created us with different personalities, as well as differing degrees of energy, interest, health, talent, and opportunity. So long as we are committed to righteousness and living a life of faithful devotion, we should celebrate these divine differences, knowing they are a gift from God. We must not feel so frightened, so threatened and insecure; we must not need to find exact replicas of ourselves in order to feel validated as women of worth. There are many things over which we can be divided, but one thing is needful for our unity—the empathy and compassion of the living Son of God."

WEEKEND THOUGHT.

I stumbled across this amazing talk from Elder Ballard printed in the Ensign in 1978 (the year my parent's were married). Because there are so many relevant talks recently, I almost never peruse the archives, but I am so glad that I found this talk. There were so many great quotes to pull from it. Make it your Sunday afternoon reading, I am sure you will love it.

After a snow day yesterday, we may be out of the frigid weather. Thank goodness. The sun is shining today and everyone is happier for it. I hope your weekend is wonderful. We have Stake Conference via satellite from Salt Lake City. I wonder who else will be listening to the same conference. Let me know, I'd love to hear.

Finally, don't miss out on our giveaway of one Persimmon and Pink print. Seriously, the more I check out their etsy store, the more I fall in love. Random.org will determine one lucky winner after the giveaway closes on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (Central / Texas time).

Happy Weekend!

ICED IN.

We are iced in here in Dallas for the third day in a row. Never have we needed the sun more! We did escape yesterday to Costco once Jimmy got home at the rip-roaring speed of 15 mph. The place was dead, but it did feel nice to get out. It's not looking good for the thousands of visitors headed to Dallas for the Superbowl this weekend.

In the meantime, I've been harnessing all of my creative juices with my little girls. Bubbles, painting, play-doh, playing in cardboard boxes--I feel as if we've done it all.

I've posted about this favorite talk of Elder Uchtdorf's before, "Continue in Patience", but I just discovered this Mormon Message. I love how they've portrayed this talk and it is a good reminder to me today to, Continue in Patience. Whatever our circumstances, we can all use a little more patience.

What about you? Are you feeling the effects of this arctic storm?

TELL THEM THE STORIES OF JESUS.

After all of my complaining, the sun came out just enough to brighten our spirits yesterday and to provide Hannah with the outside time she needed. We all loved it.

Later in the afternoon, the missionaries called asking if they could bring an investigator family over for Family Home Evening that night. We agreed and decided to keep with our plan of discussing the First Article of Faith with Hannah.

During the lesson with our investigator friends, Hannah corrected Jimmy's teaching assuring us that the Holy Ghost looked like a camel. Later, she combined the stories of Joseph Smith and Daniel and the Lion's Den that she had learned in Primary, insisting that when Joseph prayed the lion's were nice.

I think our friends were impressed.

Regardless, I felt happy knowing that slowly, she is learning the stories from the scriptures. I am constantly impressed with her memory and just how much her little brain can retain.
I love what Elder Anderson said of teaching your children the stories of Jesus. He shared,

"The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of testimony. Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?

Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in the minds and souls of our children? Do they think about the Savior’s life when they wonder what to do in their own lives? This will be more and more important in the years ahead.

Have our children visualized the premortal council, where Jesus—the greatest of all—declared, “Here am I, send me”?  Do they see their own willingness to serve as following His example?

Do they think about His humble birth,  the Savior of the world lying in a manger?  Do His circumstances help them better understand the proper place of material possessions?

Do they know that Jesus often taught, “Ask, and ye shall receive”?  Do His prayers of thankfulness and His pleadings to His Father  flow through our children’s minds as they kneel in prayer with their own concerns?

Have we told them of the love Jesus has for children, how He held them in His arms, prayed for them, and wept? Do our children know that Jesus stands ready “with open arms to receive [them]”? 

Do they take strength in the stories of Jesus fasting —as we teach them the law of the fast?
In their own loneliness, do our children know the loneliness the Savior felt as His friends deserted Him and as He asked His Apostles, “Will ye also go away?”

Have our children felt the power of the Savior’s miracles? Jesus healed the leper,  gave sight to the blind.  He fed the 5,000, calmed the sea,  and raised Lazarus from the dead.  Do our children believe that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought,” and do they pray for miracles in their own lives?
Have our children taken courage from the Savior’s words to the ruler of the synagogue: “Be not afraid, only believe”? 

Do our children know about His perfect life, His selfless ministry, His betrayal and cruel Crucifixion?  Have we testified to them of the certainty of His Resurrection, of His visit to the Nephites in the Americas, of His appearance to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove?

Do they anticipate His majestic return, when all will be made right and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ? 

Do our children say, “Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear”?"

My goal, to keep talking about Jesus. 

"MORE THAN CASSEROLES AND SOUP".

I am a young mama. With small children we are far from the life of cell phones, parties and dating. Our worries these days have to do with sleeping through the night, potty training and transitioning to the big kid bed. Big stuff, I tell ya.

One of our biggest challenges is meal times, dinner in specifically. Between begging Hannah to eat more than just rice, and not allowing Kate to intentionally drop her entire meal on the floor, things can get a little chaotic when the dinner bell rings.

That's why this article, "Powerful Nurturing", really struck home to me. I am sure you've gathered by now how inspiring Julie Beck is to me, so this article choice is really no surprise. The article printed in the December 2005 Ensign shares wonderful insight into the importance of family mealtimes.

She shared that everyone's presence at dinner time was "nonnegotiable". It was their family's time to be together and learn together. And, as she explained, it is the the mother's job to make that happen. She said, "mothers, who are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children, can be a powerful force for strengthening families when they use mealtimes to gather loved ones."

She later quoted her daughter about their family mealtimes. She said, "dinner in our home was not just an eating ritual, but a special time for the family to communicate and to share our thoughts and stories of the day. … We often sat together for over an hour as we savored the conversation as much as the food.”

As I've reflected on this article over the past few weeks and our family's mealtime rituals I have come up with a few things that have been helpful to us in experiencing a successful dinner time.

Prepare ahead of time: From the crock pot to freezer meals you never can be too far ahead of yourself as a mom. If I am really on my game, a weekly meal plan is made ahead of time and dinner is started in the afternoon. I have learned from the mother-in-law that you can cook many things ahead of time that still taste yummy. Every time I prepare a batch of spaghetti sauce or taco meat, I do enough for another meal and stick it in the freezer.

Ask for help: Enlist your children in helping. For my age kids, that means setting the table. Whatever age your children are at, you don't need to go at it alone. Figure out a way to incorporate them in the getting the meal on the table.

Sit down: When my husband isn't home at the dinner hour I can usually be found running around frantically, feeding my kids all while I am standing at the counter eating here and there. When we sit down together, everything goes better, and much calmer.

Start with prayer: This is probably a no-brainer to most LDS families, but in the chaos of getting hungry kids fed, it sometimes happens well after the kids have started eating.

Sister Beck adds from her article, "Because I prepared a meal to share with my family, something special happened. It was a simple process, and our style changed with the ages of our children. When they were young we could discuss a picture from the Gospel Art Picture Kit or memorize a scripture. When they were older we asked more questions and shared experiences. Over the years our children grew and matured, and we loved each other."

I thought those were great ideas. I would love to start incorporating conversation from the gospel art kit to our dinner time. What about you mamas? Have you learned anything to help make your family's mealtime a great experience? Please share with us.

image via

COURAGEOUS PARENTING.

I can't get over this talk from conference. I loved it, and I think it will be even more applicable as my children grow. I love the word "courageous" when paired with "parenting". This role is not just a sit back and observe job, rather we must be engaged, deliberate and courageous with what and how we decide to raise our children.

Were you impressed with Elder Lawrence's talk? How has it helped you in your parenting over the last month?

EVIDENCES.

Our stake had stake conference this past weekend. I actually don't mind stake conference and our girls did quite well, considering the circumstances.

For the past few years our stake presidency has given our stake specific goals and and tasks to accomplish. They are very standard items, but a handy list to keep you focused and geared towards the Savior. I appreciate a good list. It helps me track my progress.

As I looked over the list for 2011 earlier this week something jumped out at me, one bullet states, "reflect at the close of each day on evidence of the Lord's hand in your life, regularly record your thoughts."

This concept is nothing new. In fact, many keep gratitude journals or even record how the Lord has blessed them on their personal blog. I however, am not always examining my days to recognize just how the Lord has shown His hand in my life, that day.

I want to do better with this.

I recalled a talk by President Eyring, "O Remember, Remember", where he shared his experience of learning the importance of recording just how the Lord had blessed him in his life.

From his talk:
"I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when . . . ” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

Considering the season we are quickly approaching, I want to be better in recognizing and recording the evidences of the Lord in my life. How about you? How do you remember this? Do you keep a journal or record of these things? I'd love to hear your ideas or thoughts.

A LONG TIME FAVORITE.

Feels like I have a list a mile long. I've been to the grocery store twice and Costco three times since we arrived back here in Dallas barely over a week ago. What is my problem? Apparently, list-making is not my forte. It's that, or the fact that I cleaned out the fridge and cupboards of just about everything we use on a regular basis before we left and now it's time to re-stock.

Also, we've got family on their way. We have yet to have my brother and his wife and son visit us here so we are looking forward to showing them our little pad. My parents will be here as well, and my sister and brother-in-law are coming too. Everyone but the little brother, who will be missed.

And it's all in the name of BYU football. That is our good excuse, and I'll take it.

So, I thought I would leave you with one of my all-time favorite talks. Happens to be by Patricia Holland, wife of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. It appeared in the Ensign way back in 1987, but to me, it is still very applicable.

So, if you get a chance one afternoon, when your kids are asleep or at school, take a peek. I think about it often, mostly because she says that it's alright not to like to sew and that's right up my alley!