Family Home Evenings

Family Home Evenings have been very good at our house lately. Not because Vaughn and I have done anything spectacular, but because our kids have.

Josh taught a couple of great lessons, on service and gratitude, complete with scriptures to look up and read, and his testimony. Ashley prepared and presented a touching Easter message.
And Noelle spent the Sunday afternoon before her lesson on the Word of Wisdom, preparing visual aides while everyone else in our household over 8 napped.

Living the Word of Wisdom helps you to be healthy and happy.


Breaking the Word of Wisdom will make us unhealthy and unhappy.

(See Doctrine and Covenants 89)

A Wise Principle For Dealing With Difficult People

A friend of mine on Facebook posted a link today that I found to be quite useful:
How to Stop Difficult People from Zapping Your Energy and Happiness . Fortunately, I do not have to deal with too many difficult people in my life but for those times when I do run across a porcupine I will now be prepared! Well, at least in theory! (There is the minor detail of actually applying this new info.)

I recommend you read the original post but in a nutshell, this is what I learned from Brian Vaszily:

What zaps our energy and happiness more powerfully and rapidly than anything else is our reaction to difficult people. Difficult people are not responsible for zapping our energy and happiness. We are in control of ourselves. We have a choice in how we respond.

He recommends that we make a list of the difficult people in our lives and then think, of all things: What about this person is worth emulating?!

Vaszily goes on to say: "It is our reactionary egos that are prone to completely trash those who seem to have a negative influence in some way on us. Our egos are primitive; if somebody strokes them, that somebody is good, and if somebody kicks them, that somebody is bad.

This lingering reaction creates the notion of “dislike,” or hate, which blocks our eyes, mind and heart from focusing on anything but the negative. But by focusing on the negative in anyone – “I really don’t like that person” -- we are doing by far the most damage to ourselves.

Honing in on what we don’t like in people (or in situations for that matter) won’t change them, but it does make our lives considerably less peaceful and sucks away our energy and happiness. It becomes a habit that perpetuates the self-damage. Plus it makes us considerably less attractive to others."

So there you have it. Now we know what to do, lets just do it!

I overdosed on caffeine a few hours ago and now I can't sleep! I haven't done this since my high school days when I worked at a restaurant and I could drink all the diet coke I wanted for free. Rather than wasting my time in bed I decided to make use of this jittery energy and do something? Anything? to save my blog!?!

The perfectionist in me has been stressed out by all of life that I didn't chronicle last year; the overwhelmed me realizes there is no way I will ever adequately "catch up"; the aspiring blogger in me does not want to abandon ship; and so I'm doing the only thing I can do. I'm letting bygones be bygones and moving forward.

I'll just say that 2008 was a year of many afflictions that culminated in the great blessing of receiving sweet little Faith. Would I do it again? Whole heartedly I say YES!!! But I am grateful, very grateful that I don't have to.

Sweet Little Faith when she was 1 month old.

2009 has so far been a little kinder and yet... Heavenly Father has not seen fit to lift all of the heavy burdens. I am trying now to more fully"Come unto Christ" for I truly need His rest!

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matt: 11:28-30