Good reads

Since my mom's passing, I've had more time to read (and do other things and yet so much still doesn't get done) and these three books have been such a comfort and inspiration to me. Since Sam is a late sleeper, I relish my time each morning after the big kids get off to school but before the little kid wakes up. It's such a good way to start the day, eating breakfast in peace by myself and reading good books that teach me about Jesus Christ and His gospel.I wish wish wish I could remember and apply all of the Christ-centered principles taught in these books! Looking back over the notes I've taken, I'll share a few ideas from these books with you here, in complete random order:

• "When filled with God's love we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand.  Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us." (Elder John H. Groberg)

• God loves us all the time, however, our ability to feel His love comes and goes.

• Focus your efforts on what you have been called to do, not on what you feel qualified to do.

• Don't define yourself or others by temporary tendencies.

• If we do the right thing at the wrong time, we can be frustrated and ineffective.

• If we are becoming new creatures, we will be consistently practicing--whenever, wherever.

• We can ask the Lord to help us open our heart so that it is softened, filled with His love, reaching out, non-judgemental, positive, kind, affirming.

• We must try to teach our children to do their duty, do it well, and enjoy the process.

• Any message we hear---at church, a conference talk, and Ensign article---is personalized by the Holy Ghost to our exact, immediate, and individual needs.

I've also been listening to past BYU devotional addresses, which are all archived online. I didn't know this until recently but in the app store you can subscribe to the BYU Devotional podcast and listen to the audio of recent and older BYU devotionals. They are amazing! Most of them are about 30 minutes long, perfect for listening to while counting down the minutes on that (stupid) treadmill. Thanks for letting me share. 

 

And birthday week continues! Sam has had a paper chain in his room counting down the days, eagerly taking a link off each morning. And somebody else has their big day tomorrow.  So far it has been a super fun week filled with small but meaningful-to-me events that have reminded me that God loves me in my completely imperfect state and is aware of me. What more could an almost 39-year-old ask for?  Here's to my last day of being 38....