Author Archives: S.D. Sorensen

“I can’t help you if you don’t listen.”

Posted in Divinity by

DSCF0006Natalie is a squirmer, and she likes to exert her independence, so everyday when I try to get her dressed, or change her diaper or put on her pajamas, a small battle ensues.  I ask her to come here, and she scampers across the room.  I tell her to lie down, and she wiggles and flops around and giggles.  I tell her to put her arm in her sleeve, and she thinks it’s funny to roll from side to side.  It’s exasperating.  And it gets old fast.  I find myself saying things like this all the time:

“Natalie, I can not help you if you won’t listen.”

“If you’re not obedient, I can’t get you ready.”

“Do you want me to leave and come back and help you when you’re ready?”

The irony of this whole thing is not lost on me.  It makes me think about how much Heavenly Father probably wants to help us, and how it might be so simple to receive that help if we just listened and obeyed.  I can’t help but wonder how often I’m running around doing “my own thing” instead of paying attention to what he’s asking me to, and therefore, missing out of the help I need to do what it is I should do that day.  Spiritually speaking, I need to listen, come when He calls, lay still and let him dress me.

“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, uponpredicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” which all blessings are   (D&C 130: 20-21)

“I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (D&C 82: 10)

Microposts

Posted in Diapers, Divinity by

Here are a few thoughts I’ve wanted to write about recently, but I don’t have the energy to develop them into “real” posts, so enjoy my extraordinary brevity.

  1. Tonight I was getting ready to go to dinner with a lovely blog friend, and Grant was understandably curious since I put on make up and all.  I explained where, who, what, when, etc. and he seemed satisfied.  He paused from dusting my dresser (yes, I make my children do jobs while I get ready for a night on the town) and said, “You’d better hurry.  I wish you a good time.”  I laughed. What six-year-old says, “I wish you a good time”?  Such a silly boy.
  2. Even though I spent most of today being more detached and lazy than I should be, I spent a little one-on-one time with each of my kids doing some cuddling/wrestling/tickling, and I watched their mouths really close while we talked and played.  I love their smiles.  The cute little teeth and smile shapes.  I felt a deep connection with each of them and wondered if I knew their smiles in heaven before any of us were born.
  3. I know it’s sexist, but I’ve always kind of considered self-mastery to be more of a man’s problem.  Women are more disciplined it seems.  Well, I’ve been realizing lately that’s baloney.  Maybe men have a harder time not doing things they shouldn’t, but it’s sure been hard for me lately to do the stuff I know I should.  I joked with my friend tonight that we moms just don’t have the energy to do all the stuff we believe in and know we should.  Anyway, I concede that self-mastery is a universal problem.
  4. Matt just played a country song for me (not my favorite genre) and told me that he wants to turn it into a heavy metal song and it will be his anthem to me.  I looked skeptical, and he said it’s called “She’s Got It All.”  “Oh, that’s nice,” I said, “but I’m not sure I want my anthem to be a heavy metal song.”  He said he’s got all the guitar solos and riffs and stuff worked out in his mind; he just doesn’t know how to play it.  What a shame.  It’s our tenth anniversary this weekend, and I think he’s right– I do “got it all.”  Still love that guy.  I thank my lucky stars often that I got that choice right.  I think I might do a “How I met Matt” series on my blog to celebrate. It’s quite a fun story. Would anybody actually care to read it?
  5. For family home evening last night, the boys taught the lesson and we all did a role-play of David and Goliath.  Matt was the Goliath defeated by the brave and faithful Grant/David.  He hit him smack dab in the forehead with a little bouncy ball and it cracked us all up.  I guess Natalie even paid attention, but unfortunately she spent the rest of the night saying (in her mean Daddy/Goliath voice) “Come and fight me!”  Not exactly the lesson we were going for, but I’m glad she was listening.
  6. Last week, the kids were on my black list after that hard trip I took with them to Nauvoo.  Matt helped me out by teaching our family home evening lesson on “the body of Christ” and how we have to work together as a family so we can be strong and happy.  We got out the whiteboard and they each took turns drawing a member of our family, and then we made lists of ways to have strong, happy families and what makes sad, broken families (obviously all in preschool vocabulary).  Check it out:DSCF0067

And here’s a close-up of the family portrait:

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This is me right here.  The tarantula or spider monkey that Natalie drew.  It’s good to see what a prominent place I hold in the family.

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7.  I sent out a lot of emails with Protecting Innocence Project assignments and I’ve heard back from several of you, but can the rest of you (who said you wanted to participate) hit reply and let me know if you’re going to be able to do your assignment?  No offense will be taken if you don’t want to/can’t do it, but it helps me to know what parts I still need to work on.  To those of you who are waiting on a response back from me on your initial research/work, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.  Thank you, thank you.

So much for brevity.  Good night.

The Vacation Diaries: Love and Hate

Posted in Diapers, Divinity by

We just did our third camping trip of the summer– this one was five days long, which is the longest we’ve ever attempted.  I’ve complained before about how much work camping is.  I spent two hours at the store at midnight the night before our trip trying to buy all the ingredients I needed to cook camp meals for five days.  Then I try to shove them all into a cooler and bins that aren’t too heavy to carry.  I give the kids packing lists and let them pack their own bags; luckily, the margin of error has so far not caused any major disasters.  Planning for weather, possible outings and activities, how to keep them quiet during camp “quiet hours,” and stocking the car for the road trip portion is no small task.  Five days, five people. Bruises, body odor, and mosquito bites galore.  This much laundry:

DSCF0065But what’s not to love about this?

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and this?

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and this?

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and this?

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and especially this?

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So for all its hard work and exhaustion, I believe camping is here to stay among our family traditions.  I could sleep for three days straight, but the kids want to start planning our final trip.

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

General Conference Book Club Week 18: Brother Neider

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

01_04_neideWith all due respect, it’s not that often that there is a speaker in General Conference that I’ve never heard of before in my life, much less seen.  This however was the case with Brother Michael A. Neider, counselor in the outgoing Young Men’s Presidency.  That explains it.  Having no Young Men in my immediate radar, I hadn’t paid much attention to that organization or its current presidency.  But, I think it’s safe to say that if asked by a prophet of God to deliver a message at General Conference, there’s something important that the Lord wants you to say.  And by default, something important that the Lord wants me to hear.   So even though his talk is called “Revealed Quorum Principles,” another topic not immediately in my current frame of reference, I’m going to read this talk with an open mind and heart.  I’ll probably transfer the principles to my responsibilities among my immediate and extended family, but that’s just me. 🙂

So for week 18 of GCBC (click here if you have no idea what we’re doing here at this little book club),  I give you this talk:  “Revealed Quorum Principles” by Brother Michael. A. Neider.

on the road

Posted in Uncategorized by

Lame post on a blackberry. Sorry.

I sent out emails with PIP assignments. If you did not get one and think you should have, let me know.

In the meantime, I will be away from the virtual world for several days, so be patient with me if I am slow to respond. I am so excited about your help with this project.
Yay.