Hava's prayer and perspective

I have a sweet three year old that repeatedly says in her prayers: "And please bless the baby in mommy's tummy to come out soon."  We smile indulgently, or gently remind her that it won't come for some time, so it will be healthy.

It struck me the last time I heard her, knowing that what she prayed for was good, but not good now:  I wonder if Heavenly Father hears our prayers  and thinks the same thing..."That is good to ask for, but it is not for the best,...not now."

There is a great Ensign article in the latest edition: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/07/when-good-plans-dont-work-out?lang=eng

It goes right along with this concept.  I think this is something I need to work on :).

Organizing every needful thing...

I just happened across another amazing passage of scripture...imagine that :).

In D&C 88, starting in verse 118, I was struck by a bunch of cool concepts:
-vs 118: I thought the way the verse started was interesting: "...as all have not faith..."  then "seek ye diligently," "teach one another words of wisdom," then "seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom."  It made me think of the powerful effects of faith, and how much we can truly learn just by exercising faith and belief.  It made me think about children, and their faith, and how we are to be like them. 
It made me think about faith as central to the whole learning process, and, thus, the Spirit, which is central to learning by faith.  We must feel the Spirit and exercise faith in what it teaches us to be truly taught by faith...which, apparently, is the most ideal way of learning. 
It makes me think about the prophet Joseph Smith and the huge difference in his level of learning at the beginning of his life verses the end of it.  I have read a bit of his "Lectures on Faith" (apparently more appropriately named than I first realized :)!), read his teachings to us in other places, read how we can only imagine how much God has to teach us.  With all my "education," I have a hard time understanding the sophistication of his concepts and terminology at times!  And all this learning happening within twenty years of constant persecution.  Learning by faith indeed!

-vs 119:

 ^aOrganize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a ^bhouse, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

There is a quote I heard once that I wrote in the margin of this verse: "Every home is a house of learning, for good or otherwise." What is being learned in my home?
I also thought that this is a perfect verse to use to evaluate my home.  There is plenty to work on in that verse alone :).

-vs 122:

Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let ^anot all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that all may be ^bedified of all, and that every man may have an equal privilege.

This says it all :)...I think we are going to memorize this for our next verse at the table as a family each morning :).

vs. 124:

 124 Cease to be ^aidle; cease to be ^bunclean; cease to ^cfind fault one with another; cease to ^dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be ^einvigorated.

 I think it is interesting that this is spoken so directly and clearly; in particular, the parts about sleeping.   He doesn't say, "unless you have this problem" or "unless you are a night person."  Very directly he promises that our bodies and minds may be invigorated.  Of course, this may be relative, but I could use all the "invigoration" possible with this pregnant body :).

Questionable motivations for peace vs. action...

I love this time of year,..a time to reflect upon the heritage of both my pioneer ancestors who migrated to Utah to escape religious and physical persecution and upon the Founding Fathers and the birth of freedom in America.  (In fact, off topic, there is a great little book I am reading right now that I highly recommend: "American History Stories You Never Read in School but Should Have.")


I love the Declaration of Independence.  It is such an incredible document.  One particular part, though, tends to haunt me: 

"accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to

suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves"

I see this and all my experience "hath shewn" the same...we tend to suffer, "while evils (or problems) are sufferable," rather than try to do something about them.  Sometimes, we genuinely shouldn't do something, if our intended plan of action would just make it worse :).  Sometimes, we just need to wait it out.

However, there are times when we need to act...when is that time? When is it time "to right ourselves"?

I have something of a "rainbow" personality, when it comes to the "Color Code" personality analysis, and tend to take on the "polar opposite" personality of those I am with, depending upon the situation.  For instance, although yellow is my least present color, I can, when I am with "blues," get very "yellow," and want to not worry so much about things :). (Just ask my father-in-law...when I am with him, I am the whitest of whites :)...I think it drives him nuts! Sorry, dad :)!)

I am married to a white, have parents that are white, and feel that much of the society I interact with, when it comes to defending what is right or our personal freedoms, is "white."  From "colorcode.com":

 White: These are the peacekeepers. Peace: the ability to stay calm and balanced even in the midst of conflict, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of clarity and tolerance and are generally kind, adaptable, and good-listeners.


While I love all the benefits of these personalities, when I am with them I tend to gravitate to the "red" side...let's get things done!

Red: These are the power wielders. Power: the ability to move from point A to point B and get things done, is what motivates and drives these people. They bring great gifts of vision and leadership and generally are responsible, decisive, proactive and assertive. 

My interactions with them have led me to ponder these questions: At what point is it important to "suffer while something is sufferable," and when is it important to resolve something that is obviously not resolving on it's own?  I have to really be mindful of this while working with all these wonderful people that I love..and society.  When is what I want to do "what is right" and when is it just my "bi-polar personality disorder" kicking in, protesting the "white" all around me :)?

(There is an excellent quick overview presentation you can skim through that covers the essentials of the color code at:  http://www.mrharris.us/Focus/colorcode/colorcodepdf.pdf...Enjoy!)

Parallels of callings and parenthood

One of the blessings of staying with my parents was to be able to see my dad in action as ward mission leader.  He is amazing at it.  He knows the names of those he is serving, their lives, their interests; he visits them frequently and is willing to rush over to help at the drop of the hat; he is committed to teaching them weekly at church and with the missionaries, whenever he can.  This, I believe, is similar to how he home teaches and has been for years.  I love to see him when he is working with them, and the glow or concern he has on his face after he works with them...all born out of love.

Last night as I was thinking about this, I was struck with a powerful parallel to parenting.

What if we treated our eternal calling of parenthood like my dad does his calling as a mission leader?

Just think about it!  There are several keys that I believe makes him successful and I think they would be powerful tools in parenting:
-He discusses with the ward council each person and their needs and progress over the past week and month.  How often do we discuss each of our kids from that perspective?  Not how much they are driving you crazy, or which clubs or lessons they need to be at, but their spiritual needs and concerns?
-He and the ward council or missionaries come up with a plan of action--something they can do now to either improve their relationships with that person or ways that they can invite them to feel the Spirit.
-He prays about them individually (I believe), and acts on that inspiration (that, I've seen firsthand)...whether it is in the middle of a previously planned event or something that seems strange.
-He calls them, visits them weekly, one-on-one...a visit with the express interest of finding out how they are or how he can help. (Yes, my dad is amazing.)
-He accepts them, whatever stage they are at, and recognizes and celebrates their progress--as a hypothetical example, let's say, they were smoking 20 packs a week and are down to 10, he reports that to the council with excitement about their progress...even if they haven't quit. I have seen him mourn with them as they have tragedies in their lives, become interested in their jobs or things they sell and support them in it...all out of genuine love.
-He goes back and reports on their progress, expresses hope and concern, and then re-vamps the plan as necessary.  Then once again, he moves forward with hope. He acts.

I could take each of these and draw the obvious parallels to parenting, but right now the Spirit is whispering one or two I could start with (discussing the kid's individually with Quinn and coming up with plans of action to do now--not just "wait and see," praying about them individually, celebrating small successes...), and I want to move forward.

Why is it we distance ourselves from our parenting responsibilities and just go through the motions?  Does it hurt too much?  Is it too personal?  Is it just easier to pray from a distance and hope?  Are we looking for what we can do now? Are we celebrating where our kids are at?  Does it seem like it is just going to take forever, anyway, so we put it off?  (We are in it forever, right :) ?)

Just some thoughts...

What an American is...

Whether this was actually written by an American dentist in response to an Afghani ad, to me, is irrelevant.  The truths in it are beautiful about what an American is and the role of God in our freedom:

Written by an Australian Dentist  

To Kill an American 
You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there was actually a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American.  

So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is . So they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!!!!)  

'An American is English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish , Polish, Russian or Greek. An American may also be Canadian, Mexican, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Australian, Iranian, Asian, or Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan. 

An American may also be a Comanche, Cherokee, Osage, Blackfoot, Navaho, Apache, Seminole or one of the many other tribes known as native Americans.

An American is Christian , or he could be Jewish, or Buddhist, or Muslim. In fact, there are more Muslims in America than in   Afghanistan . The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. 

An American is also free to believe in no religion.. For that he will answer only to God, not to the government, or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God. 

An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. 

 The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence , which recognizes the God given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous.. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need, never asking a thing in return.... 
When Afghanistan was over-run by the Soviet army 20 years ago, Americans came with arms and supplies to enable the people to win back their country! 
As of the morning of September 11, Americans had given more than any other nation to the poor in Afghanistan

The national symbol of America , The Statue of Liberty , welcomes your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed. These in fact are the people who built America  
Some of them were working in the Twin Towers the morning of September 11 , 2001 earning a better life for their families. It's been told that the World Trade Center victims were from at least 30 different countries, cultures, and first languages, including those that aided and abetted the terrorists. 

 So you can try to kill an American if you must.. Hitler did. So did General Tojo , and Stalin , and Mao Tse-Tung, and other blood-thirsty tyrants in the world. But, in doing so you would just be killing yourself . Because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that spirit, everywhere, is an American. 

Balloons...

We have a tradition in our little family--every year, when we celebrate the birthday of my little boy Isaak in November, we make cards, attach them to helium balloons, and let them go to the sky, watching them until they disappear. (My sentimental side wins over my environmental side in this instance :)...)

Last night, at a birthday party for my awesome brother-in-law who just graduated and is here visiting on his way to Oregon, we had a bunch of black balloons out to celebrate.  Thinking of my little boy, I let one go, watching it until it disappeared. 

Now, I observed something as I did this...the point where it begins to be harder to see you have to really focus on where it is in order not to lose it.  And even then, some people can just see it longer than others.  As I sat there, watching it flicker in and out of my range of sight right there at the end, wishing I could see my Isaak again, I began thinking:  this visual acuity is symbolic of our spiritual "eyesight".  Some people can just see better than others spiritually, and some can see things all the way to "the other side."  They can see longer, clearer, and those of us who can't, come to trust them.

You also need to focus on what it is you want to see in order to really see it as long as possible, and as well as possible.  When we allow ourselves to be distracted watching things that aren't really as important, it is easier to lose sight of what it is we really want to see, like that tiny balloon at the edge of our sight.

Just a few thoughts...