Congratulations to Holly, who was the winner of the pre-screening tickets to see Ephraim’s Rescue. Yay, Holly!
And I have a question. Actually two. I’m working on a class for youth about recognizing the Spirit.
1. I’m compiling a list of the many ways that the Spirit speaks to us. For me it’s most often through a feeling of reassurance/certainty about something I’m learning and also promptings (which I like to refer to as an idea with teeth that kind of presses on your mind). Can you help me round out the list by adding some of the ways that you have received revelation in your life? I want to show that there are many, many ways that our Heavenly Father communicates with us, and it’s not the same for all people or even for the same person all the time.
2. How have you taught your children or youth to recognize the Spirit? I need a variety of ideas/thoughts/resources since there is such a variety in the ways God speaks to us through the Holy Ghost.
I love doctrine. Here are two recent reads I got from Deseret Book, both written by current apostles:
21 Principles: Divine Truths to Help you Live by the Spirit” by Elder Richard G. Scott. Elder Scott offers 21 principles distilled from his life experiences. These “concentrated truths” will help you understand more fully how to be guided by the Spirit. Elder Scott’s brief explanations open the way for your own discovery and exploration. I really like this book. There are so many poignant quotes and thoughts and it’s a great, concentrated resource about what is and how to live a spirit-driven life.
“One Drop at a Time: A Message for Women” by Elder M. Russell Ballard. Do you sometimes wonder if your little efforts could possibly make any difference at all? Consider a simple example from nature.
I would say this book is mostly a “gift book” because it’s short, decorative, and as far as I can tell, basically a lovely reprint of his recent talk “Be Anxiously Engaged.”
Other books: These are kind of random shares I wanted to pass along. When I was doing my own book signing for Covenant Motherhood at the BYU Bookstore during Women’s Conference, I got to share a table with Elyse of SixSistersStuff.com, who was selling their new cookbook. She was really nice and it was fun to get to know her a little, but I didn’t pick up the book because it was a cookbook and they scare me.
Well just a week or two later, I won a copy of their cookbook as a door prize at an event I went to, and I have to confess, I’m pleasantly surprised. The recipes look like great family meals and the ingredient lists and instructions seem really simple. So I’ve decided I’m going to incorporate it into our summer plans by working with one child a night to make dinner. I think the recipes will be simple enough that they can join in and feel like they’re really being chefs.
Because my calendar has been so busy over the last month or so, I’ve done quite a bit of reading for pleasure just as an escape. I love Jane Austen. That’s no shock to anyone who’s read my blog before. I’ve read some Austenesque knock-offs before, and I’ve enjoyed some of them. (Most just can’t measure up to the originals in that genre.) I had heard good things about Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson, so I picked it up and read it recently. In a day. I loved it. It’s probably the best modern-written, Regency-set one I’ve read. So if you’re like me and you’ve heard of it, but haven’t picked it up, you should. Oh, and it just won the best Romance novel of the year at the Whitney Awards last week. (My friend, Melanie Jacobson, had two books that were finalists in that category because she’s crazy talented. If you like more contemporary, sassy romances, you need to check her stuff out, too.)
Okay, moving on to movies.
Do you like movies that make you weep and thank your lucky stars that you were not a pioneer? Well, I was recently invited to meet the director and lead actor for the new film, Ephraim’s Rescue.
I’m ashamed to say that I was almost wholly unfamiliar with the incredible story of Ephraim Hanks. I think this movie is going to be super powerful, so you know, bring your tissues. It opens in several Utah theaters on May 31.
And finally, prizes. At that movie preview/launch event, Deseret Book offered to let me give away to my own little blog-reading friends two tickets to see a pre-screening of Ephraim’s Rescue. How cool is that? There will be special screenings in St. George (5/25), Ogden (5/28), Logan (5/29), and Orem (5/29). If you’d like to win tickets to that very cool, exclusive event, leave a comment below. Update: I’ll do a drawing for this winner first thing this Saturday morning. Make sure you leave a valid email address when you sign-in so that I can contact you right away and get you in touch with your tickets on time.
For the win: In the comments, tell me your favorite movie that makes you cry every time. (Please just don’t say “The Notebook.” I’ve never seen it, but people are always saying how it makes them cry, and for some reason, I have an aversion to sobbing while cheesy people are kissing in the rain.) Ready? Go!
[image credit: Annie Henrie, "Angels Round About Thee"]
“Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. …
“Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be.” –Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Because She Is a Mother”
I already know I’m repeating myself a lot this week, but it’s a message worth repeating. A few days ago, I made this little graphic to try to get moms to look at Mother’s Day a little differently.
Then today, I have a piece up over at LDS Living that highlights some of the reasons why moms should give themselves permission to be celebrated. It’s called “Hey, Moms: George Washington Wasn’t Perfect Either.” Go check it out and then pat yourself on the back for a minute.
LDS Living is also offering a free e-book for moms that you can download right here.
So do me (and yourself) a favor, and tell me in the comments one thing you do well as a mom, or one good thing you think your children will remember about you. (If it’s really that hard, just ask them. You might be surprised.) I’ll celebrate that with you this Mother’s Day.
In November 2009, I had three small children, ages 6, 5, and 3. I had spent about a year in an intense personal journey to gain a better testimony of my role as a mother. One early morning at the gym, my friend and I had a discussion about the pressures of womanhood and motherhood as we huffed and puffed on the treadmill. My mind sifted through scriptures and I began to put together some thoughts that would later become important ingredients in the book I would eventually write. Many experiences like this one polished my understanding of my divine role. Here is what I learned on the treadmill that day.
…. Read the rest over at Real Intent, where I’m guest posting today.
Day two is over and I’m ready for a good night’s sleep. There were some great classes and talks today and I learned a lot. I also met some really wonderful people. One of the highlights of my day was meeting Annie Henrie, the artist whose work is on the cover of my book, and being able to tell her how much I love her work and how honored I feel to have my work connected to hers. I’m pretty sure we’re BFFs now. Here are the tweets from today’s lessons, again in reverse chronological order. (And you can still click on the links to see photos, etc.)
NEXT WEEK, I’LL TRY TO TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE UP MY NOTES MORE THOROUGHLY AND SHARE THE MESSAGES FROM THE CLASSES I ATTENDED. SO, HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND, BUT STAY TUNED….
Whew. I’ve been women’s conferencing since I left my house at 7:15 this morning. I’m the good kind of tired. Before I sign off for the night, I wanted to share some of favorites from the day, courtesy of my Twitter account. Today is seriously the first day I’ve ever really used it for real– to “tweet” about something as it’s happening. Since I haven’t figured out how to cut and paste this in reverse, just note that the top of the list is the end of the day and the bottom of the list is the beginning of the day. Reverse chronological order. Got it? I’ll be tweeting more tomorrow, but probably not quite as often because 1) I have my book signing for a couple hours in the morning, and 2) it was harder work than I thought it would be. Behold my glorious Thursday:
(If you click on the links, it will take you to photos, etc.)
I'm Stephanie, mother to three little whirlwinds. Moms are awesome. And we need each other, so drop by at your leisure. Hope to make you laugh, think, and get back to mothering with a renewed sense of purpose.
You can email me anytime at dd.stephanie [at] gmail [dot] com
Copyright 2013. The text and images on this blog are the sole property of the author. Any use or reproduction of anything contained herein without written consent of the author is prohibited. All Rights Reserved.
Possibly hypocritical addendum: Any images on this blog that are not photos specifically taken by me are images I found on Google Images. If a specific photographer or artist is mentioned, I try to give credit. I'm hoping that's legal.
Stephanie Sorensen 
