Pearls & Perfection Pending

Oh, New Year.  How I have missed you.  Thanks for reminding me to get it together, old friend. This year's theme ideas: Enough. I have enough. I know enough. We make enough. It's time I start to believe it. WOW 2015! ( Word of Wisdom reboot) Simplify...everything... Stop Spending All The Money, Denae...Shopaholics' Anonymous? Be nicer. Okay...so I have a lot I want to work on.  Isn't that what January 1 is for? Here's what I've decided, and then I'll tell you how I got there: Theme: Living Happily Goal #1: Prioritize People and Memories over Money and Things Goal #2: Nourish & Strengthen Body Goal #3: Be Nice The past couple of years have been interesting and exhausting and nothing that I imagined they would be. I don't know if it's because I became a mother, or if I am just facing that mid(ish)-life panic--that people talk about--of wondering where I went wrong, but I've been struggling.  Church. Organization. Feeli...

I thought I would kick off November with something I am thankful for each day until Thanksgiving.  It has been my experience that whenever I take the time to count my blessings and pay attention to what I should and am grateful for, I see miracles and I find happiness. "Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things." - Doctrine & Covenants 59:7  This is a cute little video of people on the streets of New York sharing what they are thankful for. Day one: David I am thankful for a husband who makes me laugh, puts up with my inner six-year-old, serves the world, and tackles each day as if he just won a spelling bee.  His optimism and kindness are admirable.  His ability to work when no one else would is inspiring.  His unique thoughts and ridiculous on-the-spot songs keep me smiling.  I love everything about him and I am so grateful he chose me.

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 ...

Yesterday I taught a lesson on the sermon on the mount. Christ fulfills the Mosaic law, outlines the higher law of the gospel and sums it up by saying,"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Or... "Basically, you just have to be perfect!" While that seems like a rather stiff commandment, I think it is supposed to be a source of inspiration rather than overwhelming impossibility. How can the command to be perfect motivate us rather than frustrate us? President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “I believe the Lord meant just what he said: that we should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. That will not come all at once, but line upon line, and precept upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God. “But here we lay the foundation. Here is where we are taught these simple trut...

Yesterday I had yet another of my famous panic attacks. This is becoming quite ridiculous. I have a very difficult time controlling my negative thoughts about myself when these begin. I don't know what the cause is or why I have suddenly developed this habit, but I sure hope it is not permanent. Today, I was fine. The words to a song I used to sing in high school kept running through my mind: "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again." I just had to wake up this morning and think those things. I reflected a lot on what Elder Eyring said too. When I am tired and don't feel like doing what I should need to remind myself to remember Him. Elder Oaks said, "Some people live the gospel with “short, frenzied outbursts of emotion,” followed by long periods of lapse or by performance that is intermittent or sputtering. What we need in living the gospel is “the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” I hope I can come closer to thi...

I've been thinking about two of my students all weekend. One of them needs serious help with being able to focus. I don't know if he has ADHD or something else. It could be any number of things. All I can see are the behaviors. I can see that he is capable of achieving when he has someone sitting right with him, helping him to stay focused. But the second he is left to his own, he literally cannot focus for more than 15 seconds. I know that the nature of these children is still to please. They want to perform well and they want to feel successful. I truly believe that if he COULD follow my directions, he WOULD. I set up a meeting with his mom and our school counselor for Monday, and I hope we are able to take some steps to help him. The other student I have been thinking about a lot lately is actually in my ward. He is very independent and rarely interacts with the other kids in my class. I don't think it is because he wants to be independent. I think he is c...