Monthly Archives: May 2010

GCBC Week 9: Helping Hands, Saving Hands

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General Conference Book Club Week 9:


“Helping Hands, Saving Hands” by Elder Koichi Aoyagi

President Monson has encouraged all of us to reach out to others and serve more.  He has invited us to ask ourselves often, “Have I done any good in the world today?”  In this General Conference talk, Elder Aoyagi revisits this theme and exhorts us to follow our prophet’s challenge:

“May we follow the counsel and example of the prophet and each day seek out those in need, that we might be the hands of the Lord in helping and saving His children.“

This talk is brief and full of personal experiences where he and his loved ones were saved by selfless others.  What are some of your own experiences where another person’s service or love have rescued you?  What about this talk is meaningful to you?

Go here to find the media versions of the talk (audio, video, mp3, etc.).  If this is your first visit to the General Conference Book Club,  click here to learn more about it.

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Just in case you thought YOUR children were crazy…

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Because I have no pride, I sometimes let my kids do videos with me while I’m still in my pajamas with bedhead.  Clark’s been obsessed with the music I burned to give to my Zumba teacher, so he asked if he could make a movie of us dancing to it.

We tried.  I think I need a Tylenol.

p.s.  I already know this room is trapped in 1970s purgatory. It’s my least favorite room in the house.  Someday we’ll fix it.

Sunrise, Sunset.

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It’s a new day and I’m fine.

Thank you to all of you who left such nice comments on my pathetic post yesterday and didn’t say things you should have said, like “Buck up, you sissy. It’s life, you chose it, and you have no real problems, so deal with it.” It was a hard day, one of those days where you call a “family meeting” and cry a little bit. But it ended. President Monson always quotes this one scripture (which is really about death and grief and stuff, but for my own purposes, it means crappy days will pass and things will get better) —

“For [her] anger endureth but a moment; in [her] favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” ~Psalms 30:5

and I have a testimony of that one other scripture (I’m totally making this up):

“For behold, when a mother of small children doth begin to despise her flocks, therefore she is weary and it must come to pass that she sleepeth.  And yea, when she doth offer up prayers that she might not harm her flocks, and doth lie in her bed and sleep, behold, the Lord will have mercy upon her and she shall rise again.”  ~Book of Stephanie 4:7

Amen.

The post I’ll wish I didn’t write tomorrow

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*This post is mostly for therapeutic purposes and does not claim to offer anything constructive, inspirational, or even useful.  In other words, read at your own risk.

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Actually I woke up in the wrong bed this morning.  I had to sleep down in the basement because while I stayed up late working on some stuff for my calling, Clark got out of bed about 20 times.  Against all my fire-breath wishes, my husband let him get into our bed, which is where I found him at midnight.  He is the heaviest kid on the planet.  And he sleeps in a top bunk.  And I was way too tired to try to pull off the the hefting and heaving (and possible bad words under my breath) that would probably be required to relocate him.  I maybe could have woken up Matt to help except that, oh, that’s even harder than moving Clark.

My kids are sleeping horribly.  IS ANYONE ELSE HAVING THIS PROBLEM?  I don’t know if it’s the daylight savings, longer day issue or what, but even when I put them to bed on time, they are playing and tossing and turning and not falling asleep for a couple hours. And THEN, they’re getting up earlier and earlier.  I’m talking about times that kindle my wrath, like BEFORE 6 a.m.

Remember that video I linked to a little while back?  The one where the comedian (I mean WISE, WISE man) said, “Sleep deprivation in a mother leads to murder.”?  Well.  It’s not as hilarious as it was a week ago. Continue reading →

GCBC Week 8: The Blessing of Scripture

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General Conference Book Club Week 8:


“The Blessing of Scripture” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Elder Christofferson summarizes the history of scripture and how blessed we are to have such a great quantity of holy words within our reach, more so than any previous generation.

“The central purpose of all scripture is to fill our souls with faith in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ—faith that They exist; faith in the Father’s plan for our immortality and eternal life; faith in the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which animates this plan of happiness; faith to make the gospel of Jesus Christ our way of life; and faith to come to know ‘the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent’ (John 17:3).”

This talk makes me grateful for the abundance of truth and guidance that sits right on my nightstand table.  It makes me realize how much more I can do with what I’ve been given.  What does Elder Christofferson’s talk say to you?

Go here to find the media versions of the talk (audio, video, mp3, etc.).  If this is your first visit to the General Conference Book Club,  click here to learn more about it.