January

5:1 positives

Fast: homeschool Andrew (and Derek)?

Stirling, Elizabeth Banks and family, April, Aunt Gerri, Cathy Peacock, Whetten’s, loan

Homeschool “helps”

“33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.

34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.” D&C 64

We’re not alone in feeling weary. “let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.“ D&C 123:17

What is the one thing Thou needs me to do today?

• While driving James to swim practice and worried/ stressed about the littles at home, alone, with a worker in the house, I had the thought: “If you obey the law and follow the speed limit, I will protect your children.”

Thus has always been one of my favorite quotes about patience... Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be. -Neal Maxwell.   Wonder and Awe!!!

C.S. Lewis said, “Imagine yourself as a living house.. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What o earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and I’ve in it Himself.”

The Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings.

“no matter how bad things get, they can always get worse. And that is okay as long as the Savior is steering the ship."

Brandon Sanderson “Why I believe”

We can be too slow to ask for help. We all need help. We all wrestle with different things. 

“You gotta hope for the right thing. You can cling to something long past when you should’ve moved on.”

Holy Time is time not spent in writing. Learn how to block out times in your life to focus on things that matter most. If not that would be a misuse of the talents but god has given me. 

The purpose of writing a book helps you become a better writer. The secondary outcome is that you get a book. Writing is good for you and skills improve. Practice with the goal of becoming a better writer. Your first 5 are bad books. 

“I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

“Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.” -Wilcox

Goal setting. Drawing sticks and paying Laban didn’t work. Only achieved goals of obtaining brass plates when Nephi prayed to the Lord and was led by the spirit. -Zurcher

“What level of effort would we be willing to give to invite His miraculous power into our lives so that we can change our very nature?” - Whiting

"And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken but simply unfinished."

"The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light, if only we are brave enough to see it – if only we are brave enough to be it." -Amanda Gorman, InaugurationDay2021

***I worry way too much about the outcome of my children. Just enjoy them.