Warm Fuzzies

During General Conference, everyone in the family wrote down ideas of things they thought we should follow up on as a family. Everybody mentioned President Monson's talk, What Have I Done for Someone Today?,  so that became the topic for our Family Home Evening lesson last night. (I love that we can watch general conference talks again anytime we want!)  We only watched a small portion of the talk, but all the kids remembered it, especially when we saw the picture of the warm fuzzies-Jeffrey's favorite part.

We focused on the idea of loosing ourselves in service to others and the following thoughts from President Monson:

Often we live side by side but do not communicate heart to heart. There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”⁷

I am confident it is the intention of each member of the Church to serve and to help those in need. At baptism we covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light.”⁸ How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”

We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes.

We want to focus on "doing" and follow through. The boys went with me to buy warm fuzzies. We piled them in a jar so that each time someone does something kind, they can glue it on a mat surrounding a picture of President Monson and the poem he said he has used as a guide through his life:

I have wept in the night

For the shortness of sight

That to somebody’s need made me blind;

But I never have yet        

Felt a tinge of regret

For being a little too kind.

While we were talking, the spirit whispered to me that this lesson, or the results of this lesson could change the lives of our family. We all loved President Hinckley so much (Jeffrey still regular talks and prays about developing the 6 B traits), but now we have a new prophet, leading us in his own special way. Who is kinder than President Monson? And who knows how long we will have him? How long do we have to become more like him? He is one of the kindest, purest souls on earth. If each of us could be more like him, we would be better people.  He is Christ's messenger on earth today.

I remember the spirit touching my heart when President Packer testified of President Monson and reminded us to pray for him, his wife, and his family. I was similarly touched when, the next day, the prophet himself asked us to pray for him. I don't need to be told 3 times. Every day since then, I have tried to make those pleas a part of my life. I've encouraged my children to do it. I've reminded the missionaries to do it. And this is a natural extension of those prayers. We pray for people we love. We also listen to and emulate the people we love. They are all wrapped up together. Praying for the prophet not only sustains him, it changes us. Jen taught me once, that our job as mother's consists of 3 simple things: providing for the physical needs of our family, loving and teaching them to love, and helping them understand their relationship to their Father in Heaven and to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Following the prophet in this way encapsulates each of these three areas.  During this week of Thanksgiving, as a mother, as a daughter of God, I am deeply grateful to my Savior, Jesus Christ, for a prophet on the earth to love and follow.

A little help, please

This is a great week! Why? The Ensign came. It's already been a whole month since general conference. It's hard to believe. And here's where the help comes. Watching conference once each 6 months and reading each article online or when the Ensign comes is really just the tip of the ice berg. So what ideas do you have for wringing every ounce of goodness out of conference?

Here are some of our ideas:

• Each member of the family has their own copy of the conference edition of the Enisgn to bring to FHE and for personal study. (Got that one from Lisa Greene years ago when our husbands were in the bishopric together.)
• Embrace the digital age and download the music and talks from the church's website.
• During conference, there are slips of paper available for members of the family to write down ideas or impressions of things that want to study/try as a family. These become some of our topics for FHE lessons and activities.
• Create your own crossword puzzle from conference talks for Sunday activities. There are lots of websites, but this one is easy.
• Make a list of clear and measurable goals and objectives with a timeline during a Family Counsel or Family Home Evening.
• Everyone make a list of questions when they read a talk and have every bring them to scripture study to discuss.

Also, if anyone has ideas for specific talks. For example, who has a great idea for a talk dealing with the rod of iron? I love this picture, just had to add it:

• With all the talks about 'love', our kids want to resurrect an old idea. Each week we pick a different person and put little notes of appreciation in a jar. At the end of the week-that person gets the 'You are Special" plate and Dad reads all the messages.
• When I read Elder Scott's talk, I thought we could have an object lesson with a grape and a jalepeno pepper.

Elder Andersen poses these great questions during some talks given in regards to conference and counsel from living prophets.

Since the last general conference, what have we done with the counsel and encouragement we received from our Church leaders?

What is our reaction to this prophetic counsel? What has been my response and your response to this First Presidency letter of nearly eight months ago? As a parent of teenagers in a busy world, I can confirm that it takes giving these issues our highest priority to see them effectively work in our family.

Holiday

At least it was for the kids! They were excited to have a Monday off that coincided with the elders preparation day. FINALLY a chance to climb Camelback with them. And none too soon. Elder Endemano leaves for home next Tuesday. Above you can see one of the steeper climbs at the beginning of the hike. From what I hear, Jeffrey was a mountain goat-racing up and down. I think Elder Endemano took the rear position to make sure none of my kids toppled down the hill! Jeffrey found a tailor made spot to rest up while everyone else decided which path to take next. Somewhere along the ling, Elder Gee taught the kids how to play Quaker meeting. It's kind of like the quiet game, except that you add not moving to silence. They had a lot of fun the elders. They were all so happy to be together. Later at dinner, the kids had fun telling us all of Elder Gee's jokes.

When we drove up to the office, there in their suits ready to head off on exchanges. Seeing them was a relief, it meant no little Bassetts (Jeffrey) went running off the side of the mountain. Jeffrey got offended earlier in the morning when I prayed for him by name that he wouldn't get hurt or wander off. I guess he's forgetting what happened last time!

Jess ran into her friend Walker from Mesa hiking with his family. It was just a coincidence that they were there, too.

After dinner, we finally took my Christmas present on a trial run. The awesome 'twig' with all the marshmallows on it is Amanda's stocking stuffer. Jessica gave me a whole bag of s'more fixin's (including several packs of peanut butter cups to use instead of Hersey's), but those were gone long ago. It feels like we've been roasting marshmallows a couple times a week since Christmas.

Mark gave me a whole stack of firewood that we've been using regularly with the indoor fireplace, but the house has started to smell like smoke, so no more fires inside until next year.

And this is the perfect alternative. I love it!

Departure dinners

Every 6 weeks, we have the greatest family home evenings. All of the missionaries that have completed their 2 years of service come to our house for a farewell dinner. They share great stories, play with the kids, sign baseballs and journals, take pictures, and 'feast'. We end the evening with a testimony meeting. It's a highlight of our experience here. I can't get enough of it. Look at this group! Aren't they incredible?

Let's start with the food-it's always fantastic. Sister Willis (one of our church service missionaries that lives in Mesa) always makes rolls and potatoes. Delicious! This incredible woman loves to cook and loves to share her talents with everyone. Her food is legendary around here. Those missionaries are so lucky-do they even know it? I've brainstormed a few recipes from Jen and Emily for the side dishes and have finally settled on one version or another of my mom's trifle for dessert. (My favorite is peaches and raspberries, but in honor of Elder Mackie, this month's trifle had chocolate pudding and Brownies in place of angel food cake and vanilla pudding. And, Elder Hamilton, our assistant that eats NO sugar had bananas a la strawberries courtesy of Taylor.) But the main attraction of the meal is the tri-tip that Mark prepares. (A recipe from our great friend Tommy Wilhelm-we miss you Tom & Marge!) This is something that Mark loves to do for the missionaries, something they love to eat, and if by chance there are left-overs, something the assistants appreciate.

The whole family helps to make this evening a success-from setting up to cleaning up. Everyone has a part to play-and they're doing a great job. I'm so proud of the way they are trying to help and work together. It is amazing to me how quickly Jessica can organize and rally the kids to wash, dry and put away all the dishes then slip in quietly to listen to her dad teaching the missionaries one final time. Mark opens up the scriptures in the Book of Mormon and New Testament that describe the relationship between our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. As often as I hear him tell it, I always find myself captivated and moved by the power of his testimony. The feeling in this setting is beyond my words to describe, but it creates the perfect setting for the missionaries to then share their testimonies about our Savior, Jesus Christ. We've been with these missionaries now for over a year, and I am amazed by the growth and development of their character as they've laid aside their own interests to bless and help others. We love these young people so much, it is hard to see them go, but we know there is so much more in store for them...and we know they have families at home that love them and are counting the seconds until they return.

It's usually late before the missionaries leave the house for some apartments we have a few doors down the street. As much as they love their families, they are anxious about returning home. Many of them are torn with desires to stay and continue this work they have come to love so much and the love and longing they have for their families. As a result, some of them hardly get to bed before it's time to come back to our house one last time for breakfast. Mark and I are up around 4:30 to dress and be ready when the missionaries show up between 5 and 5:30. Mark does all the cooking, carrying on a family tradition of waffles on the heavy duty, industrial double grid waffle iron. The missionaries are in and out in no time and off to the airport. This particular transfer was difficult since we were not only saying goodbye to so many missionaries we love, but also to 3 of our assistants: Elder Mackie, Elder Soane, and Elder Hamilton. Because these missionaries serve in our ward and work so closely with Mark, our family becomes particularly attached to them. We will miss these young men that have been a part of our family.

Thank you to all of the families that have supported these great missionaries for the past several months and shared them with us and with Arizona!Take care everyone, and make sure to keep in touch!!!

Family Home Evening

We had a great Family Home Evening last night. We began with a game. Each person came up with some problems and solutions; writing the problem on a purple slip of paper and the solution on a green slip. Here were some that we came up with:

problem: A mosquito is buzzing around your head.
solution: Slap him as hard as you can.

problem: Your toe nail polish is fading.
solution: Get a pedicure.

problem: Your little brother fell down and is crying.
solution: Try and give him a hug and tell him you love him.

problem: It's your turn to lead the music on Sunday and you're nervous.
solution: Always remember to sing out as loud as you can whenever that happens.

The purple slips go in one basket and the green in another. Each person took turns pulling one out from each basket and reading off the problem and solution. We ended up with something like:

Your toe nail polish is fading. Always remember to sing out as loud as you can whenever that happens.

Your little brother fell down and is crying. Slap him as hard as you can.

A mosquito is buzzing around your head. Get a pedicure.

Those are the only ones I can really remember. Some of them were really silly. We had a lot of fun. (Jeffrey was really getting into it and didn't want it to end.) Then we discussed how we could find solutions to real problems and questions we had.

I used the Preach My Gospel manual on page 107 as a guide. We talked about how we could use the Book of Mormon to find answers and solutions to both 'questions of the soul'** and temporal problems** we were having. Then everyone wrote down some questions and problems, and we put them in a bag. We pulled out a couple and talked about how we would go about finding answers using the index and topical guide in the Book of Mormon. Then we picked one more out and everyone is going to look for some help on that problem and report back next Monday. I was worried it might be too difficult for Jeffrey, but he had some really great questions. It was a great lesson.

I realized that much of my testimony and convictions about Jesus Christ have come from my reading and applying His gospel principles taught in the Book of Mormon. The prophet Joseph Smith said that a man could get nearer to God by abiding by it's precepts. I have experienced this. In difficult times and even times when things were going great, regular and consistent study of the Book of Mormon has made me a better, happier person, because I feel closer to God during those times and have a greater love/gratitude for Him and desire to serve Him. Nephi, one of the ancient prophets that authored part of the Book of Mormon, shares this insight about why prophets wrote and preserved the records that made up the Bible and the Book of Mormon in these verses:

23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.
24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.
25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Verse 26 is particularly special to me. Of everything that I have and can give to my children, a deep and abiding testimony of Jesus Christ is the greatest. God is our loving Heavenly Father. He sent His firstborn Son, Jesus Christ, to pave the way for us to return to Him. He is both interested and involved in our loves-often much more than we appreciate. The Book of Mormon, written by God's prophets, was created with the purpose of convincing people of these truths. If anyone is interested in getting a personal copy of the Book of Mormon, call me. I know where you can find one!

** This is a list of questions of the soul and other temporal questions that the Book of Mormon addresses (compiled from the Preach My Gospel manual and questions our children asked).

How can a belief in Jesus Christ help me?
What does Jesus Christ expect from me?
What is the purpose of life?
How can I find peace and Joy?
What happens to little children and babies when they die?
Does my baby need to be baptized?
Why does God allow evil and suffering to occur?
I'm lonely.
How can I avoid the evils that threaten my family?
How can I improve relationships with my family?
Did I exist before I was born?
How can I feel God's love more abundantly?
When will Jesus come again?