Are You In There?

Are you in there? Or are you in your own world? Are you focused on the things that you want to do or feel like you should do or do you put YOUR things aside and take interest in YOUR CHILDREN'S wants and needs on a consistent basis? I know I too often am thinking of the next thing I need or want to do while in the midst of "giving my children attention." I need to work on giving them my full and undivided attention and simply forget about my agenda or my list and think about what is important on theirs. I needed this wake up call.

Elder Perry said, "Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world."
-"Mothers Teaching Children in the Home," Ensign, May 2010, 30

How do you make sure you spend the time and are "in there" for your children? How do you balance your agenda with the things that are REALLY important?

MM: I Am a Child of God

"What a wonderful song that is. And what a great truth it teaches. You have an earthly father. He is your mother’s dear companion. I hope you love him and that you are obedient to him. But you have another father. That is your Father in Heaven. He is the Father of your spirit, just as your earthly father is the father of your body. And it is just as important to love and to obey your Father in Heaven as it is to love and obey your earthly father.

We speak with our earthly father. He is our dear friend, our protector, the one who usually supplies our food and clothing and home. But we also speak to our Father in Heaven. We do this with prayer. I hope that every night and every morning you get on your knees and speak with your Father in Heaven...It is not asking too much, is it, to take a few minutes of each day to speak with your Father in Heaven when you know that you are a child of God?"
(Gordon B. Hinckley, “You Are a Child of God,” Ensign, May 2003, 117)

Self-Medicating...

I ran, I dove, I smacked into the accordian wall on several occasions, I slide on the floor and gave my back a bump on the stage, and then it might seem that I scooted home quickly to head straight to the cupboard for a "dose of relief" but it wasn't that kind of self-medicating. Oh, it was a dose just right, so right that I realized that I need to "self-medicate" much more often. It was just what I needed.

It was a stake women's basketball game. A cure really. Now you might be thinking, what? A stake basketball game, self-medicating? Hmmm, that's interesting.

So let me explain - I played and I played hard, not the kind of hard I played in high school but the kind of hard that a Mommy who needs to just get the "Mommy Wiggles" out does. And it felt good. I came home tired but rejuvenated. And then the late night wakings of a Mommy with a new little one began and as I sat there nursing at two a.m., half asleep, the thought popped into my mind that that night's game was self-medicating. Weird, I know, but that was my thought.

So the following day I looked up this definition:

Self-medicating is the use of a drug with therapeutic intent but without professional advice or prescription.

And now I have realized that I really can't call what happened that night self-medicating although it did act as a drug in that some Mommy symptoms felt relieved and non-existent for a time and it did feel quite therapeutic however it had been prescribed by a professional indeed, only I had forgotten to refill my prescription. So you see, after this self-medicating event and a week or so later THIS event, I've been reminded that unlike many prescriptions this type requires refill after refill to keep symptoms in check.

And the prescription is written by this wonderful professional:

Elder Ballard

First we must accept the prescription:
"Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse (so ladies no real self-medicating :), mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

And then here is where the role of your "pharmasist husband" comes in:

"Give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending!"

So when you are feeling a funk coming on or well before then you may just want to call-in a prescription to your husband at work or hand him a copy of this quote when he gets home and head out the door or lock yourself in your bedroom or whatever your choice of "medicating" might be. For me, this time, it was stake basketball but maybe next time I'll lock myself in my room with a good book.

It is high time I follow the prescription (counsel) of a professional and fill up my well on occasion. So maybe today (Valentine's Day) I'll be asking my honey for a day-away or maybe just an hour. I have a feeling that sometime soon I may be in need of a "dose".

The Good Men in Our Lives

President Hinckley said, “How much more beautiful would be the world and the society in which we live if every father looked upon his children as the most precious of his assets, if he led them by the power of his example in kindness and love, and if in times of stress he blessed them by the authority of the holy priesthood...”

I have been blessed to be surrounded by these types of men, by these types of Fathers. My Dad and my husband are both incredible men. They are great examples. They honor their priesthood. They love their children.

I was reminded today that we all to often pull men down or don't see them as the wonderful people they are. This happened as I read a post that stated, "Just like Satan wants men to see all women in the wrong way, he also wants us women to see men as something less than they were meant to be.”

But isn't that statement so true? I think that Satan does get us in that way. He makes us forget who these men are. Don't we forget all to often the sacrifices they make and the many roles they fulfill so well? The men in our lives do so much. They work so hard. They balance countless duties. They lead and guide our families along. They are amazing.

Let us remember how great the men in our lives truly are. Let us express to them tomorrow and everyday how much we love and appreciate them.

I loved both of these videos put out on Mormon Messages. They are both great reminders of the good men that surround us:

A Father Indeed


Let Us Be Men


Happy Father's Day!!!