Finding Balance

I listened to a great question and answer session yesterday online from Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society (women's organization) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been seeking to find more balance as a mother, here are a few of the points (paraphrased, ideas that I gathered from what she said) that really hit a chord with me:

• Expectations (I would add, often unrealistic) we have for ourselves make life harder for us
• The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the key to finding balance
• Spend some time in the scriptures each day. Consistent time in the scriptures is the key. I love that she shared she doesn't necessarily set a certain amount of time or program for her study, that it varied from day to day, sometimes it was just a few minutes but she made sure everyday she was in the scriptures.
• Prayer
• She gives a great analogy of her mother-in-law who worked different work shifts in hard physical labor. She said as mothers we cannot work all 3 shifts, 2.5 maybe, but we need down time as well. S
• he said as a mother, the most important shift of the day is the afternoon shift because that is when all the children are coming home and they are needy. That is when you need to be "on call" at the "top of your game". I often start to lose steam and get distracted, especially when dinner prep time hits. This was a good reminder for me to be at the crossroads, as President David O. McKay has said.
• What you focus on is what you get. Wow! I need to reevaluate what my focus and time are being spent on because sometimes I am frustrated with myself and the direction life is going but if I'm not focusing on the best, most important things no wonder I'm feeling discontent and displeased.
• As we focus on what matters most, the unimportant melts away. 
• we will never be able to catch up! :) invest in things that are most important. It is often hard for me to determine how to spend time and get "everything" done but that's not possible, some things will need to go undone and hopefully I can learn to let that be the things that actually don't "need" to get done.
• She shared a very heartfelt, emotional story about her daughter asking why it took her mom a few weeks to come help after she'd had a baby. Sister Beck she did not remember what she had that was so pressing that she could not come to her daughter sooner, but that she knows she was doing the best she could at that time.
• Without the Holy Ghost you can't prioritize at all.
• look for opportunities to do things in tandem, I liked that suggestion (cleaning out closet with her granddaughters). priorities--focus on essentials.

Visiting Teaching

I received an email from my visiting teaching supervisor and was really touched by what she said, it was a good reminder to be of how I should be approaching ministering to the sister I have been assigned:

"Sisters, this month I want to encourage you to get your visiting teaching done early. Something that I really love is the "5-10-15-20" challenge for visiting teaching. The "5-10-15-20" challenge goes like this:

1. Contact by the 5th (check in, say HI, etc)
2. Schedule appointment by the 10th
3. Visit by the 15th
4. Report by the 20th

I know I always feel more loved and feel like my visiting teachers care a little more if they come earlier in the month instead of just trying to squeeze in a last minute visit at the end of the month. But, if the end of the month is all you can do, of course that is better than not visiting at all. We just want to make sure we let the sisters know we love and care about them.

Visiting teaching is a great blessing given to us to allow us to watch over our fellow sisters. President Kimball said, in an address given to visiting teachers, "Whenever I think of visiting teachers, I think your duties in many ways must be like those of the home teachers, which briefly are “to watch over the church always”—not twenty minutes a month but always—“and be with and strengthen them”—not a knock at the door, but to be with them, and lift them and strengthen them, and empower them, and fortify them—“and see that there is no iniquity … neither hardness … backbiting, nor evil speaking.” (D&C 20:53–54.)

I challenge you to not just visit your sisters, but to be their friends, and to pray for them. Also, if you have time, the article referenced above has some great thoughts and I would encourage everyone to read it. It's by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball and titled 'A Vision of Visiting Teaching'."

Mormon Messages: A Great Teaching Tool

I am so appreciate of the Church's efforts to use media to spread the good news and inspiration of the Gospel through the Mormon Messages videos. Every time my son or I sees a new video pop up on the home page of the LDS Church we excitedly sit down together and watch it together. It is a great opportunity for me to teach them principles via a medium that children (even more so nowadays it seems) seem to gravitate toward, since media is such a strong force in the world today. It is wonderful to see how we can use the internet to bless our families when it is used in ways such as this.