A Bit of Earth

I've been thinking about Mary and Martha today. So many lessons have been taught from their brief experience recorded in the scriptures and most often Mary's example is the one whose choice was considered best among both good choices, but I was pondering how incredibly I love conference and the powerful, encircling Spirit that comes when sitting at the feet of the apostles and how easy it would be to just sit there indefinitely and steep in that atmosphere and how sometimes I just want to do that continuously. But after emulating Mary, the necessity to emulate Martha always comes and sometimes, for some people--for me--that is the more difficult expression of discipleship. The whole grace without works doctrine seems to invariably trip me up. "Just do it!" is an arduous discipline
.
Most Personally Piercing Conference Thoughts
*Before I hear the words, "well done" from my Heavenly Father, I hope to hear them from my mortal father. (Boyd K. Packer)
*Teach children to understand the doctrines in the context of what they are experiencing in the very
   moment...these are spontaneous and cannot be planned. (Cheryl A. Esplin)
*It is possible to be active in the church and inactive in the gospel. (Donald L Hallstrom)
*Give me this mountain!...The way to rise above trials is to believe that there is a balm in Gilead. (Henry B. Eyring)
 *Why should you be jealous because I choose to be kind?...Envy is equivalent to downing a quart of pickle
   juice anytime anyone is blessed around us. (Jeffrey R. Holland)
*Let us not live our lives in regret of what we did or did not do. (Robert D. Hales)
*Live to lift the burden of others (David S. Baxter)
*You can't be right by doing wrong, you can't be wrong by doing right (Ulisses Soares)
*Have the courage to refrain from judging others. (Quenton L. Cook)
*Be cautious with humor. A good sense of humor helps revelation, loud laughter will not. (Richard G. Scott)
*How can we deny for others the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)
*When you come upon a drowning person would you ask if you could help, or would it be better to just jump in. Asking if you can help, is no help at all. (Ronald A Rasband)
*It is your privilege to go into homes and exchange robes for rags. (Julie B. Beck)
*Come back, come up, come home, come to me. (Pres. Monson)
*Family and values are the cause--everything else is effect...Put everything you do outside of the home in subjection to everything you do in it. (M. Russel Ballard)
*We lose any power or authority we may have from God when we choose to control others...Wise parents prepare their children to get along without them..."Oh look who is here, and are we glad, and isn't she beautiful." (Larry Y. Wilson)
*Share the gospel in natural and normal ways. (David F. Evans)
*Those unanchored by the sacred will find themselves morally adrift on a secular sea. (Paul B. Pieper)
*What thinks Christ of Me? (Neil L. Andersen)
*May we be better than we were two days ago, when this conference began. (Pres. Monson)

Spring Break
Of course it rained...and rained...and rained, but we anticipated that and enjoyed each others company reading, playing games, (lots of Twister) shopping for Eden's Prom, watching movies, rollerblading with the extended family (thank you Ben and Renee for your generosity and for your music=), participating in cousin sleepovers (thank you Renee and Lori for being such incredible hostesses to my children) and then magically, in between Saturday sessions of conference the sun came out and warmed to 70 degrees and we were ecstatic to get our hands in the earth weeding and pruning. By the next session it was gone, but it was a gloriously tender mercy and made us so grateful for Spring. I am not ready for school to start up again. I do not look forward to those quiet days by myself, but I am looking forward to Easter and Mikayla coming home and the hope of more sunshine, so moving forward is good.

Life Lessons
Temporally, I don't consider myself to be overly high maintenance (of course probably no one considers themselves that way). If given a choice, I prefer security to "things" and because it is a choice I am  generally content with the tangible things that I have--sometimes when Fred goes through my closet, he thinks I am too content,=) but for the past few months my farm girl yearnings have become intense. "Just for fun"--I've told myself--Fred and I have been driving around Middleton "just dreaming" about land. Friday, we were driving down this quiet little road with unkempt houses and tiny properties everywhere, getting closer and closer to the river and suddenly there was the prettiest, green, rolling acres--over 25 of them--with a for sale sign right out front. It was the first time that the dream had materialized visibly and when it was staring me down I couldn't help but start putting dreams into facts and figures and of course those figures revealed that the dream was actually a fantasy. and with that realization of reality came a deep disappointment and longing for me and somewhere along the way discontentment and envy starting seeping in to my heart. We have these goals and plans in place that seem painfully plodding. They are goals and plans that we have chosen, that fit within our circumstances but sometimes I get tired of always being sensible..of always waiting, and when I get tired I start looking around me with distorted eyes, seeming to be the only one with unfulfilled hopes and wishes. I had such trouble sleeping Friday night, but Saturday afternoon, Elder Holland, who I am convinced writes his talks specifically for me, forcefully reminded me where "fairness" and envy fit in the grand scheme of things. I am so grateful that those feelings were addressed and nipped before they could fester longer than a day. Isn't it amazing how Heavenly Father knows counsel that we will need and prepares the way for us to receive it before we even have a problem? I love that. It makes me feel safe and nurtured. I know, deep down, that no tangible things can determine joy or peace or even contentment--that has to come from inside and I have some work to do there while I am methodically working toward material comforts that are merely wants. I do know that my family is richly blessed, and that even so, my Heavenly Father cares about my hopes and dreams--even if they are only wants--and maybe--one day--if I am very careful, wise, patient, and generous, I may earn my farm girl dreams and " a bit of earth", "by the sweat of [our] brows", but I will wait and be joyful now.

Quote of the week
"Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is." --Maxim Gorky

Twister--not pretty--especially when you play with a family of cheaters!

Extended Family Fun at the Nampa Rollerdrome

Roller Blade Limbo

Crack the Whip

Nurturing the Crack the Whip Crash Victim

Older Girls Sleepover

Conference Break

The suave way to "lick" the bowl