June 21, 2015
Happy Father’s day! I am thankful for my
wonderful Dad and wished I could give him a hug today. I am thankful for
the things he taught me and for the wonderful home and childhood he and my mom
gave me. I got to see my dear Father-in-law tonight and give him a hug so
that was very nice. I am thankful for Art and for his positive influence
in my life and in the lives of Chad and my children. He is a talented man
and fun to be around. I am especially grateful to celebrate Chad’s role
as a father to our children today. He loves being a father and is a
wonderful father. Also happy birthday to my big brother Brandon today, I
am thankful to be his sister.
I forgot to report a couple of things worth
mentioning in my last letter. Chad and the girls had a big ward Daddy
Daughter outing on May 30th. It was put on by the Elders quorum and since
Chad is in our EQ presidency he helped out a lot with it. They had the
activity at Bartlett Lake. They had horseback riding, several kayaks, and
3 speed boats for wake boarding or tubing. I think they might have had
other activities too, but I don’t remember them. Our EQ President thinks
big. He is a wonderful blessing to our ward. Our girls had a
wonderful time. They especially loved the kayaks. All the girls and
young women had a good time and they felt good that they got to have a special
ward activity just for them. I think they plan on keeping it a yearly
tradition like fathers and sons.
The second thing I failed to mention was an
experience I had when I got to go with our ward youth to serve at the Randolph
House on Sunday, June 7th. The Randolph House is a state run facility for
special need adults. Fifty two stakes around the valley area take turns
providing a worship service for the celestial individuals at the Randolph house
each Sunday. Usually each stake gets the opportunity to go once every
four years or so. (However, there was a special need this summer and our
stake gets to go again in August.) The worship service we help give them
is like a big primary. The individuals have lived at the Randolph house
their whole lives. They are all 40 years old or older now. It is
such a wonderful experience to go serve there. We get way more from the
individuals there than we give to them. While I was there I was asked to
help with a lady named Judy. She was in a group that doesn’t like to have
youth helpers. When I met Judy one of the first things that I said to her
as we were walking into the building was, “I love you.” She stopped,
looked directly into my eyes and said, “I love you too.” It was a very
special experience. I felt as if it were the Savior telling me He loved
me. This all happened a few days before my miscarriage. A few days
after that, I realized how the Lord was showing His love for me that day to
help me through that trying week. I was promised in my patriarchal
blessing that in times of challenges I would be able to sense the love my
Father in Heaven has for me, know that he knows me by name, knows what I need and
stands ready to bless me with every needful blessing. That promise has
been fulfilled in my life so far and I feel confident that it will continue to
be fulfilled as long as I am faithful. I feel like that as Heavenly
Father has taught me and molded me and shaped me He has been right there with
me through all the joy and pain.
This last week and a half have gone well.
Friday June 12th I went to lunch with a few friends for my friend
Chelsea’s birthday. Later that afternoon my nephew Porter came over and I
helped him make cinnamon rolls so he could sell them to earn money for scout
camp. I was glad Macaia and Collin came too and that we were able to
visit while we baked. I love them.
Saturday the 13th and Thursday the 18th I
helped some of my young women make cinnamon rolls so they could sell them for
Father’s Day breakfasts to make money for girl’s camp.
This week has been pretty low key. I ordered
Chad’s Father’s Day gift on Monday. He had already bought a Kayak for our
camping trip which counted as his Father’s Day gift, but I decided to get him
some casual shorts that he’s been wanting too. Later that morning I took
the kids to Makutu’s Island, an indoor play place. It was free with our
Pogo Pass. Tuesday I had an appointment with my OB/GYN to make sure
everything was back to normal after my miscarriage. Everything looked
good so I was given permission to start swimming again which made my kids very
happy. (When I told all the kids about my miscarriage they were so
understanding that I had to take it easy and that I had some restrictions like
no swimming. They were extra nice to me all week.) We have gone
swimming every day since the doctor gave me a good report. We are so
lucky to have several friends who let us go swim any time we want.
Last Sunday I worked on Faith #2 in personal
progress. I started a discussion on Facebook to “discuss the
qualities a woman needs in order to teach children to have faith and to base
their decisions on gospel truths.” These are the points from that
discussion:
- A women needs to do her best to know and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ in all situations and relationships in her life. She has to live and model what she is teaching. Children can quickly spot hypocrisy and will not give much credence to what is being taught. To teach a woman needs to show and speak about the joy that comes from a life of following Jesus. She needs to seek the Savior and continually seek to know Him by following Him.
- I think it's important that when we make mistakes, which we will because we are not perfect, that we openly admit our mistakes and model the repentance process. In other words, it's important for kids to know their parents aren't perfect and that's ok because we are all I this road to perfection together.
- Mostly I think the basic answers; prayers, scripture study, and listening for the Holy Ghost are how I base my decisions and remember my faith.
- Follow the Prophet
- First and foremost, a woman needs to gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. She needs to have unshakable faith in those truths. Then, she needs to do the things every day that will keep that testimony burning bright, like reading the scriptures and prayer. Sharing her testimony with her children will help them grow in the gospel and gain testimonies themselves.
- Modeling the repentance process by being humble, showing love and asking for forgiveness is key. It is important to let those you teach know you are trying your best. Also granting forgiveness and showing love while others are going through the repentance process is essential.
What are your thoughts?
I’ll close tonight with a quote I really liked
from our gospel doctrine lesson last week. “Elder
Joe J. Christensen said: “There are
those who wake up every morning dreading to go to school, or even to a Church
activity, because they worry about how they will be treated. You have the power
to change their lives for the better. … The Lord is counting on you to be a
builder and give them a lift. Think less of yourself and more about the power
you have to assist others, even those within your own family.”
Love,
Mindy
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