Pearls & Perfection Pending

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 mu...

I worry too much. Someone once told me that worry is just another form of atheism.  This is a very strange stage of life for David and me...especially me.  I am freaking out because I am transitioning from being a workin' girl to a stay-at-home mama, while David is much more stylishly freaking out about what to do with his life and what to be when he grows up.  It is hard for me to give up my income and to say, "Good luck, honey!  I know you can do it!" because it is still so uncertain right now.  I push the whole seminary thing maybe more than David wants it because to me, it looks like immediate security for a few years to pay of loans and have medical insurance taken care of.  He is always working on other ideas though and I don't know that he really wants to take that route.  It was my idea in the first place, not his passion.  It is hard for me to just trust that we will be okay financially, even if things are slow at first and we have t...

Setting new year's resolutions is invigorating no matter how short-lived they sometimes are.  I know however, that I can do these things.  Some of them are just for fun, but others are things that we have been commanded to do.  I will go and do these things because I know that they will help me to live a more happy and productive life. P.S. This is the coolest ever scripture mastery site .  Love it.

Today I was impressed by a statement made by Carl B. Cook as I read his recent conference address .  He spoke of a particularly overwhelming day he had in which he was staring blankly at the floor of the elevator he was on, when President Monson entered and somewhat humorously encouraged him that it was better to look up. "Experience" Brother Cook says, "has taught me that if we, like President Monson, exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life.  We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do.  We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy.   We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance--and if it is, the Lord will help us.  But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow his direction. " He goes on to talk about our difficulty in consistently looking up in life.  He asks, "Why is it ...

I headed out to the car, late as usual, but hot chocolates in hand as always, hoping to make up for my perpetual tardiness to everyone in the carpool.  I don't remember anything about seminary that early morning, but I remember the snippets from the radio talking about some trade center building, whatever that was. Meagan and I headed to our locker to pick up our IB European beast of a book.  We met Ross Barnes  on our way to class and walked into what we thought would be another morning full of Nazis and Fascists.  As we entered the room, everyone was watching something on the television screen.  A plane zoomed into a skyscraper and Ross shouted, "Cool!  What movie is this?"  Mr. Chamberlain with his perfectly groomed goatee and squarely knotted tie said nothing.  It was then that we realized the gravity of the situation.   We spent the rest of the day watching the news in every single class.  We watched the se...

I have been more than amazed by the amount of support and enthusiasm we have found as we have asked people to help with the DREAM Project. We emailed some friends and family and checks started showing up within days. Yesterday we wandered around town explaining what we were doing to a few business owners and we now have a BBQ fundraiser and benefit concert set up for this month. We ran into Sam Schultz (Sammy's) at the copy store and I opened my mouth. We went to Broulim's and the manager volunteered his grill, Coke trailer and ice as well as any food we might use at their price. I highly underestimated our power to influence others for good and the willingness to support a good cause that most people demonstrate. We are getting very excited for the challenges and adventures that await us this summer. Today in Sunday School, I taught a lesson on John 9&10. We discussed Christ's invitations to both see and hear what he has to teach. I told the story of John ...

I suppose I have probably been thinking about the chaos in our world a little too much lately. It is hard to ignore when I go to school every day and am reminded of the jeopardy my job is in. Many days I have to remind some of my kids to wash their hands or brush their teeth because it is obvious that they have not been bathed in days. We turned on the news in class yesterday to watch some snippets about a massive 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunamis; natural disasters that seem to become more and more familiar to us. While all of these things swirl in and out of our information-driven society, I had a thought the other day that gave me comfort. The Book of Mormon is example after example of societies that chose to ignore the counsel of the prophets. These societies all faced destruction, captivity or some other major events that caused them to repent or be destroyed. This cycle that we read about took place every few decades or every hundred years. In some ver...

David made a good point the other day when I was complaining about not meeting some of my expectations for myself. He said, "All you have to do is set a goal and work until you've accomplished it." My response: "I've set a hundred goals and I can't seem to even get one of them!" Of course I know it's ridiculous, but it's really what I do. I get a fleeting moment of inspiration or motivation, I set a hundred goals, and I am disappointed when it all comes tumbling down. Maybe if I would simplify or focus in on one thing at a time (or ten things at a time for that matter!) I would be able to balance my success and not become overwhelmed by imminent failure. I liked this talk by Elder Andersen because I often have that nagging feeling of inadequacy. It is true that I don't know everything. But I do know enough. I know what the commandments are and how to keep them. I know the skills I need to develop to become a better teacher. I k...

I get a newspaper delivered to my classroom twice each week so my kids can participate in current events if I so choose. I sat down and read the paper the other day after my kids left to take a breather and was reminded why I hate the news. In a four minute period, I dwelt on the fact that Luna (our ridiculous superintendent) has decided that computers are more valuable learning motivators that 800 teachers in our state (lots of hope for next year!), Obama feels that defending marriage between a man and a woman is unconstitutional and impossible to defend, and some crazy lunatic polygamous man is using 12-year old girls to satisfy his creepy sexual desires. Spending this short amount of time dwelling on my threatened employment and the wickedness of our country made me panic a little. While I like to think that I am an optimistic and faithful person, it is scary sometimes to face issues like these. What do I do if they decide to cut me next year? Or worse, what if they keep me, b...

David taught me about the Sabbath day today. We talked about a quote by President Kimball which basically said that Sunday is still a day for working, not just laying around. It is just a very different kind of work. He said that he is worried about this semester and the demands it will have on his time, but that he knows that if he keeps the Sabbath, he will find unexpected time during the rest of the week and hours that would not otherwise be there. I admire his faith.