Pearls & Perfection Pending

My sweet mother-in-law bought a book for herself and gave me the eBook copy of it.  It has been fun to read so far. It is called For Times of Trouble  by Jeffrey R. Holland.  It is basically a compilation of essays on his favorite Psalms along with his thoughts about each of them. This week I've read the preface and the first chapter. While I like to think I know what's going on in the scriptures, I still can't say that I've ever read the Bible cover to cover.  I started it on the mission, but got too weirded out with the OT and gave up half way through Genesis.  Too many crazy people doing weirdo things.    I decided to read the book of psalms to go along with this book by Elder Holland.   His preface talks about how we all face trials and times of trouble, and there are various things that can bring us comfort in hard moments.  We all experience trouble and should expect it.  He quoted Harold S. Kushner saying that, "...expecting a trouble-free life because

Yesterday was the annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  When General Conference comes around, I usually set a hundred goals for what I need to do better and how I can apply every little thing they speak about.  This time however, I tried to just get a general picture of what I need in my life.  What will affect me the most right now and have the biggest impact on my family if I apply it?  I noticed that a lot of the talks were geared toward the family and recent political debates about it.  Nothing specific was addressed regarding any particular group, or the supreme court finding the need to step into matters they probably shouldn't, but there seemed to be a few overarching ideas that I found helpful when I don't know how to respond to things going on in the world. I took away these main ideas:  -The family is sacred, eternal, and created by God with His specific purposes in mind.  It is something that must be nurtured, defended,

If you had asked me 5 or 10 years ago what my life's ambition was, I would have answered, "To be Supermom!"  I imagined vacuuming in pearls and preparing beautiful, balanced meals. My children would always be neat, matching, and of course...perfect. Every day would start with snuggling in my feather-down bed and proceed with a tickle fight resulting in blissful giggling. We would take nature walks and my children would hang on my every knowledgeable word.  I would of course, be stylish, well accessorized, fun, and admired.       Today has been one of those days where I've had to seriously ask myself what I was possibly thinking.  Not to say that being a college student, a part-time employee getting paid nothing, a missionary, or a 4th grade teacher have been more glamorous or desirable occupations, but being a stay-at-home mom has its unique challenges. I have been pooped on, vomited on, spit up on, screamed at, cried at, yelled at, ignored, and replace