Purpose of Temples

"highest place of honor"

This one is for the women:

"I wonder if you sisters fully understand the greatness of your gifts and talents and how all of you can achieve the "highest place of honor" in the Church and in the world. One of your unique, precious, and sublime gifts is your femininity, with its natural grace, goodness, and divinity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It is the divine adornment of humanity. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it."
--James E. Faust

Horse Sense

A little while ago I read a book called Horse Sense For People, by Monty Roberts. I was immediately drawn to the book because of the parallels he draws between a non-violent method of breaking-in horses and parenting. I thought the book was interesting, chalk-full of insight, and also amazingly sad. One of my favorite quotes from the book is about goals. Until I read this book, I had never thought about goal-achievement in this way.

"In order to achieve your goals in life, it is critically important to detach yourself from them. It is counterproductive to dwell on the outcome while in the act of pursuing it. If you believe that your direction is right, then working toward it will provide you with a successful outcome, within the appropriate time limits."
--Monty Roberts

Isn't it counterproductive to expect ourselves to be perfect even though that is what we are ultimately striving for? In some ways this seems like a paradox, but it also makes perfect sense.

Christmas message from The Friend

My son and I were reading The Friend together yesterday. One of the articles we read was the Christmas message from the first presidency. It's beautiful because it is clear, true, simple, and powerful.

"Now when Jesus was bor in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 'Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come ot worship him'" (Matthew 2:1-2). The Wise Men followed the light of a star to find and worship the Savior. We worship Him by following the light of His example. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is perfectly obedient, merciful, and kind. He spent His time on earth in service, and He gave His life so we could repent and live eternally. Because He came to earth, we know who we are: beloved children of Heavenly Father. This Christmas, may we sing with joy, pray in gratitude, and carry out kind deeds. As we strive to become more like the Savior, we will have joy and happiness during this wonderful season and peace each day of the year."
President Thomas S. Monson
President Henry B. Eyring
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

During the month of December last year, I tried to be more Christlike in one specific way. I wanted to go the entire month without yelling at my kids. Unfortunately, because of a few different illnesses, we had two trips to the hospital December 2007. It was a stressful and exhausting time for me and I did my fair share of yelling. I was disappointed at how easily I lost control of my personal goal. By overwhelming myself with day to day details, it is so easy for me to lose focus on what is most important. I didn't set myself up for failure this year by making a lofty goal like last year--unfortunately it seems almost impossible to go that long without yelling. However, I would love to feel like I'm trying a little harder to be closer to my Savior this month, and I would love to be able to let go on some of my selfishness.

Putting God First

"When God comes first in our lives whatever comes second will always be right. . . Hugh Nibley observed that if you're not sure what you should be doing, read particularly the Book of Mormon. It is eithe the best thing you could be doing at the time or it will quickly put you on to what you should be doing." --Camille Fronk Olson

Should I go the Extra Mile?

Several years ago, after the birth of my first child, I learned that motherhood is easier when I keep things simple. Sometimes, though, it's fun to "go all out" for a birthday party or other special occasion. I've realized that it is hard to discern when to keep things simple and when to exert a lot of energy on a specific task. For example, I remember a time when we were having guests over on a Sunday night, and I spent the entire aftenoon cooking, because I thought all the food should be homemade. I ignored my entire family on our one family day of the week, so that I could do something that I thought was important. At the end of the day, nobody really cared if all the food was from scratch. So I found some guidelines to help me, as I'm still really guilty of doing this.

Emily Watts, Being the Mom
1. Will it feed me in some way--creatively or emotionally or physically or socially?
2. Is it important to another person's well-being?
3. Can I honestly say that I have the time and money to pursue it?

Our Bodies are Temples

"When appetites control us, when we neglect to keep our bodies and minds in the best possible condition, we may not be literally breaking the Word of Wisdom, but we are neglecting a sacred trust that the Lord has given to us when he gave us our marvelous bodies." --Lindsay R. Curtis

I was raised with the knowledge of the Word of Wisdom. As a young adult, I was never met with a real temptation to break the Word of Wisdom. I consider this a huge blessing for my spiritual and physical health. I have, however, been tempted to disrespect and mistreat my body in other ways (and this does not include tattoos and piercings). Yes, many women struggle with body image, and I am not exempt, but this issue goes beyond body image. Ultimately, how we eat can take a huge toll on our behavior. When I don't eat right, when I am not getting enough exercise, and if I am not getting enough sleep, I am REALLY cranky. My poor kids have to put up with my bad moods. I don't think this is fair. Sometimes though, with little kids, the only thing that I have control over is how I eat. Eating poorly can be a huge temptation. When I am stressed, lazy, or tired, it is really easy to ignore what my body really needs. And I've learned that motherhood can induce feelings of stress, laziness and fatigue like nothing else! So for me, a huge part of the Word of Wisdom is just eating right. I realize, though, that my definition of not eating right may be a little different than another person's definition. My friend gets migraines from eating chocolate. So if she eats chocolate, she feels like she is breaking the Word of Wisdom, as she cannot physically function with a migraine. I have learned that when I drink caffeine (Dr. Pepper), I just CANNOT fall asleep at night. That is NOT a problem I can live with right now. When I don't sleep, I can't really function either, so I guess I could hold myself to a standard of not drinking any Dr. Pepper, and if I did, I would be breaking my own personal Word of Wisdom.

I really appreciated Elder Ballard's comment at General Conference April 2008. He told young mothers to "avoid substance abuse of any kind." I've had to ask myself what substance I could be abusing physically to make myself feel better when I am tired or upset. I guess "junk food" that is used to help lift my mood, or that is used as something to eat when I am bored could be considered a substance that I am abusing.

This is not something I expect myself to become perfect at overnight or even over the next year. I like junk food just as much as the next person. I think the real issue, though, is understanding the sacredness of our bodies, and after we understand how miraculous are bodies are, we begin to understand we may not be able to do all that the Lord needs us to do if we aren't taking care of our bodies the way we know we should.