Philippians 3:13-14

I am not the kind of person that can word things eloquently on the spot. I usually have to ponder on a topic and write things out and proof read about a million times before it makes sense. I practice this process every time I am asked to give a talk in church. It may sound silly being read over the pulpit but it's not as bad as it would be if I were to go up there with a note card. One thing good about writing out my entire talk is that I get to share it on this knowledge blog for everyone. I hope you enjoy the talk I gave today in Sacrament meeting.

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters. Today my talk is on Philippians, Chapter 3 verses 13 and 14.

“13 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 - I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. “

What a beautiful scripture to reflect on with the pending New Year. A scripture about no regrets and making goals.

We have all had a busy year in our own special way. We each have had to deal with different trials and tribulations. We have also received different blessings and hopefully we have tried to improve ourselves and become closer to Christ. But if you are anything like me you know you could have worked harder at improving yourself than you did. Now we could focus on this last year for a minute and remember everything that went wrong and all the mistakes we have made but please don’t waste your time on regret.

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the problem free philosophy of Timon and Pumba. Hakuna Matata: it means no worries. Just go with the flow, do whatever you want. We are outcasts, the world has turned it’s back on us so we’ll do the same, right? Well today I am going to play the role of the singing monkey and ask you, who are you? Can you answer me? Do you know who you are?

When our Father asks us why we have forgotten him we might be like Simba and say, “No, how could I forget you?” And just like Mufasa our Father might reply, “You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life.” Then after hitting Simba on the head, Rafiki told him, “Yes the past can hurt, but the way I see it, You can either run from it or learn from it.”

In last years Relief Society Broadcast Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf talked about the little blue flowers called forget me nots and how beautiful they were if you just stopped to notice them. Here is a quote from that talk:

”God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself.

In the meantime, be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences.”

Jesus died for our sins so that we can return to live with our Father in Heaven someday. They understand we are not perfect and they have laid out a plan to accommodate that. Failure and mistakes are OK. It is perfectly normal to mess up as long as you keep trying and make sure you are on the right path. Like Paul said “ press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God.”

When we make a physical goal we usually need to look ahead pretty far first, decide where we want to end up and then make smaller goals to help us get there. We create a map to follow one step at a time much like Dora the Explorer. All maps have blank spots between landmarks. These blank spots are obstacles you have to overcome before reaching your next destination. On Dora they must follow the path and help their friends along the way. They must guard against Swiper the Fox to protect their mission and purpose.

Heavenly Father is a lot like Map from Dora. He knows exactly where we need to go and how to get there he provides encouraging words and instructions along the way. He warns us when Satan is around and helps us conquer our quests. He always has patience when we ask him, "where do we go next."

We always need to be continually moving forward. There is no stand still. Life moves fast and if we are standing still then we are falling behind. Always have a goal and learn something new every day that will help you become closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” All the little things add up to make big things happen. High performance comes from healthy routines. When someone asked Stephen King how he writes he answered, “One word at a time.”

We need to start small. Read our Scriptures, Pray fervently to our father and ask for his help and guidance. Once we know where he wants us to be we need to do everything in our power to get there. He has a special calling for each of us that no one else can do. He is there to help us accomplish our mission.

Sometimes we may feel that what he is asking is too hard but at the end of the day the only person who can stop us is ourselves. Marianne Williamson said, "We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world."

In another talk by Elder Uchtdorf titled Of Regrets and Resolutions from this last conference, he talks about the regrets of those nearing the end of their earthly visit and what we can change in our life to avoid saying the same things.

“When we are young, it seems that we will live forever. We think there is a limitless supply of sunrises waiting just beyond the horizon, and the future looks to us like an unbroken road stretching endlessly before us.

However, the older we get, the more we tend to look back and marvel at how short that road really is. We wonder how the years could have passed so quickly. And we begin to think about the choices we made and the things we have done. In the process, we remember many sweet moments that give warmth to our souls and joy to our hearts. But we also remember the regrets—the things we wish we could go back and change.

Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence.

Why, then, do we devote so much of our time and energy to things that are so fleeting, so inconsequential, and so superficial? Do we refuse to see the folly in the pursuit of the trivial and transient?

Would it not be wiser for us to “lay up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”

How do we do this? By following the example of the Savior, by incorporating His teachings in our daily lives, by truly loving God and our fellowman.

We certainly cannot do this with a dragging-our-feet, staring-at-our-watch, complaining-as-we-go approach to discipleship.

When it comes to living the gospel, we should not be like the boy who dipped his toe in the water and then claimed he went swimming. As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more. For that, good intentions are not enough. We must do. Even more important, we must become what Heavenly Father wants us to be.

Declaring our testimony of the gospel is good, but being a living example of the restored gospel is better. Wishing to be more faithful to our covenants is good; actually being faithful to sacred covenants—including living a virtuous life, paying our tithes and offerings, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and serving those in need—is much better. Announcing that we will dedicate more time for family prayer, scripture study, and wholesome family activities is good; but actually doing all these things steadily will bring heavenly blessings to our lives.

Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self.

Let us resolve to follow the Savior and work with diligence to become the person we were designed to become. Let us listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, Heavenly Father will reveal to us things we never knew about ourselves. He will illuminate the path ahead and open our eyes to see our unknown and perhaps unimagined talents.

The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us."

We all know life is hard and we are all busy. But time is going to pass whether we plan for it or not. Change is good. But it’s not always easy. We need to Remember who we are and take our place in the Circle of Life. I admonish all of us to forsake the Hakuna Matata attitude and to live our lives on purpose. Go to your Father in Heaven and ask which pathway you should take. Make sure you have time to help your friends along the way and beware of the dangers of Satan that distract us from our quest.

You are a child of God with Godly potential. Embrace your future and seek guidance from our Heavenly Father who will lead you closer to Christ, who is the prize. Don't beat yourself up when you make a mistake, just get up and try again. Believe in yourself and you will go far. Let's make 2013 be our best year yet!

I humbly say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Homemaking

So yesterday I found this blog.

http://passionateandcreativehomemaking.blogspot.com

Just by reading her bio I think we might be kindred spirits. Yesterday she had an interesting post about homemaking styles. She asked her readers to answer a few questions about how it looks in our house. I'm feeling like this is a good area to annalyze about myself so I will take her challenge. But if you want to go and read her post first, mine will probably make more sense. Here is the link to her thoughts on the subject.

http://passionateandcreativehomemaking.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-kind-of-homemaker-are-you-link-up.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FprHKLK+%28*%29

Here is the questions she asked:

So...what does homemaking look like in your house? Share it with us!
- Who cooks?
- Who cleans?
- How does your average day look?
- What chore do you hate doing the most?
- What do you struggle with the most?
- What do you exceed at?

So I wanted to define homemaking real quick and what it means to me. First I simply switch it around to say Making Home. In order to make your home the best it can be you need to be well balanced and have good time management. Two things I struggle with on a daily basis.

#1) I would have to say homemaking looks chaotic in my house unless you are a guest that I don't feel comfortable around. If I don't know you too well I will usually pick up the house before you get there. But if you are a good friend or family member it totally depends on the day and week.

#2) I usually cook unless I decide to slack off and put my husband in charge. Last year we were in a marraige enrichment class that our church provides and one of the exercises had us write down an area that was important to you but that your spouse was slacking off in. I learned that it is very important for my husband to come home and have dinner ready. He is hungry and the kids are hungry and he does not like to come home to a chaotic house being expected to cook while kids are whinning.

This is something I am still working on. I'm not a fantastic cook and I'm extremely lazy. The meal will usually depend on which pots are clean and how much time I have. Since he got a new job that is farther away my success rate has improved because he will call me as he's leaving work which means I have a good 45 minutes to make dinner. But there are those days that I just can't handle it, either my brain is fried and I can't even follow a simple rice-a-roni box recipe (usually because of stress for something else I'm working on) or I'm really sick or tired and just don't want to be bothered. But these days have been far apart lately. So usually Saturdays and Sundays are the only days he might cook a meal.

#3) Cleaning... well growing up I was the youngest, I always got the easy chores. I was never really taught how to deep clean things and if I was, I wasn't forced to do it very often (if ever). I am blessed to have a husband that doesn't mind doing housework and helping me out. He grew up with a great work ethic and knows what has to be done (and he loves me a lot). I usually have him to everything I don't want to do. This is a big stumbling block in my progression towards a better homemaker. I don't feel capable and I have no motivation and he is always there to pick up the slack. I am slowly improving by trying to step up my actions so he doesn't feel like everything falls on him. We used to have an agreement that I would do the dishwasher dishes and he would do all the big pots and everything else that needed hand washed. But last year at some point I grew up a little bit more and decided I could handle all the dishes. And last week I scrubbed my own shower something I have never done before (maybe once as a teenager).

#4) My average day is lazy. I have a couple productive days or I might be productive for a couple hours but then I take a break and never really finish. There isn't too much structure in my day either. I have a first grader so there is a specific time he has to be ready for his ride and there is a specific time I need to load up the other 3 and go pick him up. So there is definitely potential for a schedule but it is hard for me to keep. We definitely don't have a major problem with bed time though. We make sure the kids are in bed sometime between 7 and 8 every night so that we can have our alone time. I usually have the TV on for the kids most of the day and I spend a lot of time at the computer or if I have a deadline I am in my craft room. I do host preschool 1-2 times a week but we just do puzzles or other learning games for a couple hours. I recently started getting up while my husband is in the shower (6 am-ish) and I do a short work out routine and then I get in the shower. This makes the morning and the day go so much better. We just need to work on going to bed earlier so that I don't crash for a nap by 9 or 10 am because then the rest of the day is hard.

#5) I would have to say my least favorite chore is dishes because I don't really like getting my hands wet (I know, really lame). But I would much rather wait until the sink is over flowing onto the counter before I dig in because that means that I can spend an hour and get them all done, start the dishwasher and be done for another 2 days than to rinse and load after every meal. This preference drives my mom crazy and every time she comes over she feels like she has to do my dishes for me. I've been trying to do them before she comes but it really just depends on the day. The only bad thing about my habit is if the end of that 2nd day of dishes ends up being really busy it might be 3 or 4 days before I get to it and that causes a major back up in the system. Then it becomes this huge ordeal and it's definitely hard to find the motivation and that is typically when I have to get real creative with dinner because all the pots are dirty. Unfortunately this happens more often than it should but I'm working on it.

Also laundry takes FOREVER and it's hard to get it completed in one day. I already expressed my disdain for deep cleaning. Vacuuming is the one chore I really don't mind. However in order to vacuum that means you have to have a clean floor. 2.5 years ago I was seeing a counselor. I had major anger issues and was sturggling with being a parent. She had me bring the kids to one of the sessions and when it came time to clean up she told me I couldn't do it for them. They had to do it by themselves. She offered them a sucker for when they had finished and they all worked together and got it done quickly. Now I can't offer them candy every time but I have found that when I offer them something it gets done quicker. Later that week it was grapes that did the trick. A couple months ago I offered them 1 goldfish for every 5 toys they picked up. But more often then not I just don't want to bug them about cleaning. They are getting better at it but I usually have to give them specific instructions the whole time which means it's hard for me to be productive doing something else. And if I really am just sitting or standing there slave driving them it doesn't leave good feelings for anyone.

#6) I struggle with knowing when it's ok to have personal time and when I should spend time with my kids. I like spending time on the computer and I love creating things in my craft room but even if those things are going to benefit the kids in the future I need to do them in moderation. I ignore them way too much and they aren't going to be young forever and I wish I had a good method for managing time so that I could have a schedule where 2-4 hours every day were mine but the rest of the day was spent doing things with the kids. Which means I need to be ok with doing things that I don't want to do. Like having an imagination so that I can play dolls with my daughter or being willing to crash and race cars for a half hour straight and other things like that. It's so hard for me to just sit on the floor and play with them when there are a million other things I could be doing. I know they are not as important but it's still hard for me to make the right decisions with my time.

#7) This will be the hardest one for me to answer because I don't feel like I succeed at anything. I do enjoy helping my kids learn. My oldest loves to ask questions and they drive me crazy but lately more often than not I will take the time to answer them (if they are a logical question that has an answer on his level). I worry that my daughter won't learn to ask questions for herself because he always does it for her and she still learns the answer but hopefully she won't fall behind in school like I did because I was too shy to ask questions. I do know how to plan a good party, not so hot on the carry out though. It is usually a crazy stressful day and I am usually preparing the food until an hour into the 2 hour party. But I have been trying to manage time better and set priorities on things. The last one I did ended up being a huge success and I didn't have to cut too much out of my plan because I ended up staying up all night. Looking back it was totally worth it but I will try harder to prepare more ahead of time for the next one.

Let's see what else do I exceed at? I am a great listener. I love talking to adults and I don't mind listening to their problems and being there for people. It's kind of a bummer when I feel like I have no one to turn to but I still enjoy being the listening ear. But that doesn't have much to do with Homemaking. I mentioned I like to do crafts. I'm not incredibly talented or artistic but I guess I could say that I exceed in copying other peoples work. I prefer to make things that are useful. Since I joined pinterest I have a ton of ideas added to my "I will do this some day." list. A lot of them are ideas for gifts or to make another activity for the kids. But I have been resisting the temptation to work on anything lately because I know I need to help the kids with school and keep up the basics of homemaking before I add anything else. However it almost seems pointless because I end up on the computer most of the day anyways. ARGH! I definitely exceed at waisting time.

Ok Angell that is what kind of a homemaker I am. I will look forward to finding encouragement from your blog as I work on all my shortcomings.

Goals for twenty twelve

Ok, I've always thought that New Years Resolutions were a little silly. I mean who needs to wait until the begining of the year to change or make a goal? Well I'm also a lover of new beginings and so being... I am one of those people who prefers to wait for a new day, a new week, a new month, etc. to start something new. So of course I will take advantage of the New Year to make some serious goals for myself.

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Growing up I had this vision of myself. I will be awesome and well rounded someday. Unfortunately I have no work ethic, no self discipline, no self esteem, no decision making skills and no strong personal convictions. (When I say 'no' that means not very much, but I'm sure I have some) So as the years have gone on I have gotten older, expereinced more, learned more, matured some and I have a bunch of kids. But there are rarely times when I feel like I am closer to the vision of the woman I want to be. There are those moments when I accomplish something I didn't think I could do and I look around me and say "I did a good job and I like where I am." But then the next day or week ends up to be a horrible step backwards and I can blame no one but myself. It's like I'm afraid of moving forward but I'm in love with moving forward at the same time. So confusing.

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Back to what this post is supposed to be about... my goals for this year.

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Scriptures - This has been a huge hurdle for me my whole life, I have never been able to stick with reading every day or get in a state of really studying the scriptures. But so far we have been reading scriptures with the kids every night (except 1 because John wasn't here and it totally slipped my mind) we finally made it through chapter 1 of Nephi last night. We have also read scriptures as a couple every night after the kids are in bed but before we turn on the TV. We have read the first 9 chapters of Matthew and we usually talk about a couple different points and try not to hurry through it. I know it's only been 4 nights of the new year but we are both pretty determined to keep this one up.

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Personal Prayer - This is another one that usually escapes my mind. We are really good at meal prayers and family prayer, but I hardly ever remember to have a personal conversation with my Heavenly Father and I don't like myself for it. He has given me so much and I need to put him as a priority in my life too.

Exercising/eating better - This is one that is pretty mandatory for me. I feel horribly unhealthy. I have only exercised 1 out of the 4 days but 3 out of the 4 days I have not eaten past 8:00 pm. John says he will join me after he's devoured all the junk food in the house. I do want to loose weight and look good but more importantly I want to feel good.

School - I want to have a more formal preschool with Vivian and be better with helping Michael with his homework. I have a hard time giving up 'me' time for this but it is waaaay important and if I put this as a priority, John will be happy too. This will probably require a schedule and that is something I am not good at keeping. So far this year... I have failed with this goal but today is a new day and as soon as I get my butt off the computer I will clean up the school room and make it happen.

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Teaching my kids - I would also like to do more hands on activities with them. I am a total perfectionist and control freak. I hate cleaning up messes so it's really hard for me to allow them to cook or craft but I know how important those things are for their development and I really want to get over myself and provide them with more opportunities to perform. I've already told them that we will do cooking lessons over the summer. Vivian got a Hello Kitty sewing machine for Christmas (it's a piece of crap) but I have promised her sewing lessons regardless. I have found so many ideas online for science experiments and activities to keep them busy so that is another goal of mine.

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Family Home Evening/ Temple - So just like my non existent prayer and scripture reading habits we are also very patchy with FHE and going to the Temple. Our goal is to attend the temple once a month and of course to have FHE every Monday night.

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OK, so those are all the really important goals I have for myself but I also have some other ones. These are the ones that I'm slightly more excited about but need to keep my priorities in check.

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Crafting - So around Thanksgiving I figured out what I want to be when I grow up, and since I'm already an adult, I can pretty much do it now. I want to be a craft blogger and own an Etsy shop.

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At various points over the last 8 years (since I was 18) I have inherited, been given or been placed in charge of storing different craft materials from my mom, my MIL and other various sources. Then last year I went a little crazy with going to the dollar store, JoAnns or Michaels and spent WAAAAAY too much money on intended future projects. I am also fairly green and I don't like to throw things away or recycle them if I can reuse or re-purpose them myself. All this has resulted in a huge mess of craft stuff. John was getting pretty frustrated with all of it and does not want me to turn into my mother. (Not that my mother is a bad person but she has craft stuff all over her house and usually takes on too many projects at once resulting in stress and chaos.)

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When we moved into this house, he insisted that the den was an office and I insisted it was a craft room. For a long time it was both, he did not think I needed a whole room for my crafts and he's probably right. But I was the youngest kid in my family and am therefore labeled as "a spoiled brat" and that is because I can usually talk and whine and complain enough until I get what I want. So we were finally able to compromise and come up with a better arrangement of furniture and I think it was late October when we moved the computer out of the craft room. I did a bunch of organizing but it wasn't complete until right before Christmas. My FIL had just given us a huge desk, it took us a good week to figure out how to arrange the room so that it would fit but we finally managed. Then of course I used it to get a few last minute Christmas projects finished. But after Christmas was over I cleaned everything up (not just by moving it over but by finding or making a home fore everything withing the room.) So I am starting out this year with an organized craft room and a huge working area to use.

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Since my goal is to own an Etsy shop I need to make things in bulk (which I'm great at, the first one is the hard part). I want to start out by finishing projects that are already in the works. I have over 20 of them (probably over 30). Then I have a list of projects that I already have the materials for. Then I have 18 boards on Pinterest with (so far) 548 pins in them of things I would like to make in the future. I would also like to have Christmas in July and really make all the stuff that I wanted to this last year but didn't have time for. One of which is a compilation of several different advent ideas.

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Cooking - I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food. I have a few recipies I use again and again but mostly it's Rice a Roni or something of the sort that is the base of my dinners. I would like to branch out and try new recipies to add to our regular menu.

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Food Storage - This was a huge focus for us a couple years ago and fortunately we had people living with us that helped out with food purchases and I was able to fill my cupboards quite nicely and keep them that way. However they have been gone for over a year and my cupboards are starting to look quite sad. Obviously I have not put a priority on this in my budget but I need to. Also I have a huge back yard and even though I am not a fan of gardening... I love canning and preserving food so I should probably gear myself up for the work this summer and fill the multitude of mason jars that I possess.

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So lots of good worthy goals just like every year where I get so overwhelmed and end up doing nothing. However I'm trying not to get overwhelmed by taking things slow. Obviously the top section takes priority over the bottom section but even that feels like a lot. I think the important thing is to hold myself accountable but not beat myself up when I miss something. I heard about a good self esteem habit is to write down everything that you have done that day... instead of making lists of all the things that need done tomorrow. I've tried it a couple times and it did make me feel good.

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What are some of your new goals? What are some of your methods for doing the things I'm working on?