Why I Stay at Home!

I was one of the lucky ones.  I had great parents that taught me the gospel, loved me, and provided for me.  I never went with out.  I watched friends whose moms worked and saw experiences I didn't want and was glad that I didn't have because my mom chose to be a mom.  I always knew that was what I wanted to do.  My husband grew up with a mother that worked and told me that he would support whatever I decided I wanted to do.  I chose to stay home with my children.

As our family was beginning, there were those tough days of dealing with newborns, toddlers, potty-training, temper tantrums, laundry, dinner to be made, etc.  Then my oldest went off to kindergarten.  I started wondering why chose to be a mom and stay home with my girls.  It wasn't a glamorous or an envious job.  I was struggling with my identity and what I was really doing.

I prayed about these struggles.  They were honest sincere concerns.  Then one day, I had the strongest witness testify to me.  The spirit told me, "When your husband goes off to work, and the kids go off to school, they are having to be out in the big bad world and facing so many awful things.  You are lucky enough to stay home.  You are the only one that does not have to face those trials out in the world.  It is your responsibility to have the spirit in the home so that when they all do return home, they can feel the spirit and know they are safe and that their Heavenly Father loves them."

When I hear of women struggling to decide if they should stay home or not, I just wish for one minute they could have this experience that I had.  It warmed my heart I have never questioned my decision since.

Mother's and Father's

LIFE

Family Life with Teenagers . . .

We have 2 teenage daughters in our home and will have a third by the middle of December when she turns 13.  I actually love having teenagers.  So many people told me I would dread it with all the drama and such that goes along with teenage girls.  But I have yet to "dread" it.  

Of course, there are challenges but what joy doesn't come with it's set of challenges?  I recently experienced one of those challenges but with the help of our living prophets, apostles, and the knowledge of our Heavenly Father's plan, my daughter and I were able to learn and grow together.

The dad in our home was out of town on a business trip recently.  It's hard going to school and being a single mom every now and then when he's gone, but I manage.  The first night he was gone was a Monday.  Since he was in the country, we decided to Facetime with him and he gave the Family Home evening lesson.  Technology can be great sometimes.  After FHE, I hurried the kids up to bed so I could get homework done.  We have a strict rule in our house that all electronic devices get turned in at 9pm.  For the most part my girls are good about turning them in even without us asking for them.  That had been the case up until that night.  I came down stairs forgetting about their devices and started on homework.  Finally at 10:45 I went up stairs and checked on my girls and to ask for their iPod and phone.  I looked at my daughters iPod to notice that she had been texting a boy up until I came into the room.  I was pretty frustrated.  I went to my room and read through her texts. I was beyond furious but decided that I better wait until I talked with her dad to see what the consequence should be.  The next day she came home from school and told me that she felt guilty all day and realized what she had done wrong and wasn't going to do it again.  I said, I'm glad but that we were still going to talk about it that night.  After, piano, dinner, Young Women's, showers, and homework, we finally got to talk.  We discussed the plan for our family.  About Heavenly Father's plan for our family and our desire to follow that plan. We talked about sneaking and commandments and love and respect for each other.  We talked about boys and being up late at night talking to them and even though you aren't physically in the same room with him, you are still alone with him.  Although my daughter was scared to sit down with me, by the end of the discussion we both were feeling better.  She is a good girl and it is these moments that I need to cherish when we can have a gospel discussion to teach right from wrong.  I often wonder how people teach their children to be good moral human beings without the scriptures, the prophet and apostles.  When we know the bigger picture of our families and eternal life, it makes it easier to want to do what's right and to teach our children to do what's right.  As for the consequence, we are reevaluating on Dec. 1st whether she gets it back or not.  She probably will because she is an obedient daughter and she is still pleasant and happy even while she's "deviceless".

Happiness in Family Life

We Believe in Being Chaste

Elder Bednar gave a talk in General Conference - 'We Believe in Being Chaste'.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite quotes from it:

"Neither is the man without the woman, neither 

the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:11).  

"The man and the woman are intended to learn from, strengthen, 

bless, and complete each other."

"We are agents blessed with moral agency

and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God - 

and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or 

secular philosophies."

"The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be

summarized in the following question: will I respond 

to the inclinations of the natural man, or will I yield

to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man

and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord?"

"Guilt is to our spirit what pain is to our body."

The Adversary and our Bodies

"Because a physical body is so central to 

the Father's Plan of Happiness and our spiritual development, 

we should not be surprised that Lucifer seeks to 

frustrate our progression by using our bodies improperly.  

One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, 

who is miserable precisely because he has no body, 

invites and entices us to share in his misery through 

the improper use of our bodies.  

The very tool he does not have and cannot use 

is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to 

physical and spiritual destruction."

-David A. Bednar

The Law of Chastity and Sanctity of Life

I saw this great quote and thought it fit for this Unit's topic of The Law of Chastity and Sanctity of Life.  This week I was able to read.   'Of Souls Symbols and Sacrament' by Jeffrey R. Holland.  One of the best talks I've read.  He gives such a clear understanding and it is so worth the read. Click on the title to go to the link.  

Why Do We Make Covenants?

Gospel Ordinances and Covenants

Teaching Moments

The best part of this class has been the opportunity I have had to share what I've learned with my daughters.  We had such a great Family Home Evening.  We discussed putting on the armor of God and defending marriage, family and our divine nature.  These sweet girls of mine seem to get it.  I'm grateful to be there mother and am able to teach them to understand who they are and the role they play on this earth.  They are going to be great mother's someday.  

Gender

"Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, 

mortal, and eternal identity and purpose and in large measure 

defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, 

and what we are to do and become.  

For divine purposes, male and female spirits are 

different, distinctive, and complementary."

-David A. Bednar

Society is trying to blur the lines of gender.  I have been lucky to raise 4 beautiful daughters.  No boys.  Each one of them is different from each other but I have watched them grow and see their characteristics blossom.  They are learning their eternal idetnity and purpose.  

They know they are DAUGHTER's of our Heavenly Father.  

I am so grateful to be able to raise these girls and help them discover what their purpose is

and how different and distinctive they are from boys.

Gender and Eternal Identity

This week we are studying about gender and eternal identity.  Society has tried to blurr the lines of what gender is.  They don't see it as something divine and from God, they see it as a hurtle to overcome.  Society wants you to believe that if you aren't happy with yourself then you can just go ahead and decide to be something you are not.  After reading words from our General authorities and scriptures, I can truly say that I believe that we are divine spirits that have been given a specific gender that we are to love and cherish and use to fulfill our divine nature.

Marriage - A HOT Topic

Marriage has been the hot topic for a while  now in our society.  There are those who have been fighting for gay marriage and those who feel that marriage is between a man and a woman.  Those that believe marriage is between a man and a woman have been accused of hatred towards those with same-gender attraction.  The church has taken a stand that marriage is between a man and a woman which I completely support.  They have also taken a stand that we should love others as Christ does.  In my Eternal Families class we were able to read an interview of Elder Oaks and Elder Wickman on the topic of same-gender attraction.  It is VERY long but so worth the read.  As I read the words of these two men, I could feel the love that they have for everyone, just as the Savior does.  This is a sensitive issue and I was grateful to read such loving words of explanation and advice.  Here is the link if you are interested in reading it.

Interview with Elder Oaks and Elder Wickman

Eternal Marriage!

One day I experienced this cartoon.  I was out grocery shopping and my husband was at home.  I had called him about something and we got in a little argument.  I was annoyed the rest of my shopping trip and I knew he was too.  When I got home though, he came out (without saying a word to each other) and helped me unload the car.  

Even though we have made covenants to be married for eternity doesn't mean it's always perfect.  But with the right perspective and the understanding of our Heavenly Father's plan, we work at it.

The Divine Institution that is Essential to His Eternal Plan

Being Married for almost 20 years, I have found that Marriage is a gift from our Heavenly Father.  It has not always been easy or felt like a gift but in those 20 years we have grown as a couple and have a better understanding of what this plan is about and how important our marriage is.

Elder Parly P. Pratt expressed his feelings after learning about the importance of Marriage from Joseph Smith.

"It was from him that I learned that the wife 

of my bosom might be secured to me for time 

and all eternity; and that the refined 

sympathies and affections which endeared 

us to each other emanated from the 

fountain of divine eternal love . . .

"I had loved before, but I knew not why.  

But now I loved-with a pureness-an intensity 

of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift 

my soul from the transitory things of this 

grovelling sphere and expand it as the ocean. . . .

In short, I could now love with the spirit and 

with the understanding also."

Marriage

This semester I am taking an eternal families class through BYU-I online.  For my project I chose to do a blog to share what I am learning in this course, my testimony of eternal families and how it is part of our Heavenly Father's plan.  And I might just add in a few things about my own family and what we are doing to be an eternal family.  My goal is to post at least 3 times a week. I hope anyone that comes across this blog will gain an understanding of what we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints and understand Heavenly Father's organization of the Family.