Tuesday, April 8, 2014
God is the Gardener....and so am I!
Today I planted my peas. I am so excited. I may have gone slightly overboard, I planted four packs of seeds. While lovingly planting the seeds I took great care to plant each seed just right and not loose a single one. Each and every one was precious. I was thinking about how much I loved each seed and how excited I was for them to grow, and that got me thinking about my recent scripture study in Jacob, about the vineyard. And about how much the Lord loved His olive trees. More than I love my pea plants. We are those olive trees. Our Heavenly Father loves all of us so much. He took great care to plant each of us individually with great love, intent on not losing a single one of us. What hope and great expectations He must have had as he put us exactly where He wanted us to be, exactly where we should be, and thought of each of us growing and what we would become. And how we would become like Him. All the good things we would do. When someone plants a garden they don't plant things they don't like or won't be useful to them, so you can know that Heavenly Father did not plant anyone in His garden that he does not love, or who does not have the potential to be a tool in His hand. So when you start planting your garden, remember who planted you where you are, and how much He loves you and delights in watching you grow.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Stockpiling Service
I have many wonderful women in my life who are great examples to me. I am grateful for all of them. A few weeks ago I visited one of them and learned a valuable lesson. One day we dropped in on a friend of ours, Sara Mckee. Sara and her twin sister, Cindi, were good friends with Cody in high school, and still are good friends. The day we dropped in on Sara and her family she was having a busy Saturday. They were feeding dinner to the missionaries that night and she was also taking dinner to a family in her ward. She explained that, even though her family doesn't eat the lasagnas, she buys them and keeps them in her freezer and looks for families who need a dinner brought in. She doesn't wait for someone on the compassionate service committee to call her and ask her to take dinner to a family, she looks on her own for a family who might benefit from her kindness and acts on it. What?? I told you she's awesome.
So that got me thinking...about stockpiling lasagnas. And as I thought about it I realized that that particular method isn't really practical for my family, and that's okay. So I've been thinking about other things, from cookies to notes. I have a couple of good ideas that I'm going to try out.
But as I type this up I realize that I didn't put near as much thought into actively looking for people who need a little love and service, the way that Sara does. So I'm going to put a lot more thought, and prayer, into that. Perhaps the important part isn't keeping lasagnas on hand, but looking for the opportunities to serve, and acting on them.
Thank you, Sara, for your good example and for the lesson I learned from you!
So that got me thinking...about stockpiling lasagnas. And as I thought about it I realized that that particular method isn't really practical for my family, and that's okay. So I've been thinking about other things, from cookies to notes. I have a couple of good ideas that I'm going to try out.
But as I type this up I realize that I didn't put near as much thought into actively looking for people who need a little love and service, the way that Sara does. So I'm going to put a lot more thought, and prayer, into that. Perhaps the important part isn't keeping lasagnas on hand, but looking for the opportunities to serve, and acting on them.
Thank you, Sara, for your good example and for the lesson I learned from you!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Busyness and Blessings
Somehow I went from being bored to death to busy to death. I think it happened sometime in January but I just can't be sure. It is nice, though. Some aspects of the busyness I am really enjoying, like Zumba and beta reading, but having to juggle things and being so busy is not as much fun. With as busy as I have been lately there are still a couple of other endeavors that I so wish that I could pursue. I've felt disappointed, frustrated and hemmed in because at this time in my life I can't do everything that I want to. I've almost come to terms with it all. Most of the time I'm good but then I get to thinking "what if...."
Today in Sacrament the high counsel speaker, Brother Winterton, said something that I needed to hear:
"Just because you can do it doesn't mean you have to/should."
His point being, don't make yourself so busy that you don't have time for your family. "Huh. That's true," is what I thought as I sat their in the chapel. Now I still have time for my family but I'm tired and stressed out and I do try to figure out ways to entertain Elise so I can work on other things while she is awake. And I've been grumpy occasionally! So yeah, I probably would benefit from evaluating my activities and deciding what I can set aside. Right now is my season to raise Elise, and to Zumba! And those other things will either still be there when I can do them or they just won't matter anymore. Elise will always matter though one day she won't need me as much.
Even though I feel so busy and, at times, overwhelmed, I have been blessed with this busyness. Zumba has been a huge blessing for my physical and emotional health. Working Mondays for a few hours has been a blessing financially. Being in Young Womens is time consuming but the blessings are many. And I have enjoyed beta reading immensely, though that will be ending in March and is definitely something that I can set aside for later even though I COULD and WANT TO keep pursuing it right now.
One of the great blessings of this busyness is knowing how aware of me my Heavenly Father is and how good He is at perfect timing! He knows what I want and need in my life and when I need it most and when it will be the most beneficial to me and when the time is just right. It gives me the courage to set aside things I want to do right now for later, knowing that He knows that those things are important to me and that if they are good for me that they will happen later, in His right time. This will not be my only opportunity to do those things that I want to do right now.
Today in Sacrament the high counsel speaker, Brother Winterton, said something that I needed to hear:
"Just because you can do it doesn't mean you have to/should."
His point being, don't make yourself so busy that you don't have time for your family. "Huh. That's true," is what I thought as I sat their in the chapel. Now I still have time for my family but I'm tired and stressed out and I do try to figure out ways to entertain Elise so I can work on other things while she is awake. And I've been grumpy occasionally! So yeah, I probably would benefit from evaluating my activities and deciding what I can set aside. Right now is my season to raise Elise, and to Zumba! And those other things will either still be there when I can do them or they just won't matter anymore. Elise will always matter though one day she won't need me as much.
Even though I feel so busy and, at times, overwhelmed, I have been blessed with this busyness. Zumba has been a huge blessing for my physical and emotional health. Working Mondays for a few hours has been a blessing financially. Being in Young Womens is time consuming but the blessings are many. And I have enjoyed beta reading immensely, though that will be ending in March and is definitely something that I can set aside for later even though I COULD and WANT TO keep pursuing it right now.
One of the great blessings of this busyness is knowing how aware of me my Heavenly Father is and how good He is at perfect timing! He knows what I want and need in my life and when I need it most and when it will be the most beneficial to me and when the time is just right. It gives me the courage to set aside things I want to do right now for later, knowing that He knows that those things are important to me and that if they are good for me that they will happen later, in His right time. This will not be my only opportunity to do those things that I want to do right now.
10 Things I Love About Melissa Wilkeson
It's Melissa's birthday! Well, it was on Thursday. But better late than never! Here are 10 things I love about Mel....
1. She is patient
There is so much I could learn from Mel, patience being high on that list!
2. She is a good mom
Mel is so concerned about the well-being of her children. When she first had Dean I asked her what the hardest part about having two kids was. She said spending an equal amount of time with both of them and not having personal time. I told her that not having personal time would be so hard and she told me that she was more concerned about spending time with her kids.
3. She is a good friend/sister
She's always asking me how I am doing and listens to me and I know that I can always count on her.
4. She is strong
She is strong in ways that I am not. Physically and emotionally. I really look up to Mel for that.
5. She's not afraid of hard work
She works hard for her family and doesn't complain, at least not very much! ;)
6. She digs in and helps out
There have been many times when we've had a family dinner and I'm just hanging out and then I realize that Mel is in the kitchen helping clean up!
7. She listens to me complain
A lot.
8. She is down to earth and easy going
Mel is easy to be with and I can be myself with her, and she is always just being herself.
9. She is considerate of others and sensitive to their feelings and what they are going through
I have been grateful for this many times.
10.She's dependable
She is always there for me and I know that if I needed her she should be there for me
1. She is patient
There is so much I could learn from Mel, patience being high on that list!
2. She is a good mom
Mel is so concerned about the well-being of her children. When she first had Dean I asked her what the hardest part about having two kids was. She said spending an equal amount of time with both of them and not having personal time. I told her that not having personal time would be so hard and she told me that she was more concerned about spending time with her kids.
3. She is a good friend/sister
She's always asking me how I am doing and listens to me and I know that I can always count on her.
4. She is strong
She is strong in ways that I am not. Physically and emotionally. I really look up to Mel for that.
5. She's not afraid of hard work
She works hard for her family and doesn't complain, at least not very much! ;)
6. She digs in and helps out
There have been many times when we've had a family dinner and I'm just hanging out and then I realize that Mel is in the kitchen helping clean up!
7. She listens to me complain
A lot.
8. She is down to earth and easy going
Mel is easy to be with and I can be myself with her, and she is always just being herself.
9. She is considerate of others and sensitive to their feelings and what they are going through
I have been grateful for this many times.
10.She's dependable
She is always there for me and I know that if I needed her she should be there for me
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Patience and Christmas Presents
This year for Christmas I got Cody what I think is the best present I've ever gotten him. I'm so excited I don't even know how I stand it! I am DETERMINED to not give him his present early like we have every year since we've been married. I was also determined to just pretend like I had no idea what I was getting him but then he came home and saw that I had been using his HDMI cable because I didn't plug it back in the right hole, port, whatever, And when he asked about it he knew it was about Christmas. I keep getting so tempted to just give it to him because hey, he's going to get it anyway, right? Right??? But then I got to really thinking about it. Yeah, I could give him his present early, nothing bad would happen. The world wouldn't end, I wouldn't be jeopardizing my eternal salvation or hurting anyone and I wouldn't have to wait and be patient anymore! And we would have, what, three extra weeks to enjoy it. But what if I do wait and do it properly? What then?? Well, first of all, I would be exercising my patient muscle. Secondly I wouldn't be taking the fun out of Christmas. Not having any presents to open Christmas morning isn't very fun.
There are some things in life that we know that one day we will have that we just have to wait for. It might take three days, three weeks, three months, three years, three decades, a whole lifetime! but eventually the promised blessing does come. Heavenly Father knows He's going to give it to us, so why make us wait? Well, because it has to be the right time. That's important. And we need to be given the opportunity to wait, especially for things that we really want. It helps us to learn patience and to learn to trust in the Lord and most importantly that we CAN trust in the Lord! That He will be there for us and that he will deliver as promised. Cody knows that I love him, and that he can trust me and that I know enough about him to get him a really great Christmas present. He knows that if he waits that he will eventually get his Christmas present--at the right time, that I'm not just going to promise it and then give it to someone else.
I have also been given the unique opportunity to figure out how to do something on my own that normally I would have just asked Cody to do. Not only do I now have the great joy, pride and satisfaction of figuring it out and doing it all on my own but now I know that I CAN do it, and that I can do things on my own. And being able to show Cody those accomplishments makes the joy of giving him the present even sweeter.
Think of all of the things we miss out on that we would not experience if we were always given what we want exactly when we want it, things you and I wouldn't even think of. Think of the great joy we can experience when we can tell our Heavenly Father, look what I did!! And how very proud of us He would be.
I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to wait, even though I don't like them. At all. I am grateful for the things that I have learned. I would wait again and again to know my Heavenly Father and my Savior the way I know them now. To feel that love, to know what I know, and to know that I can do it! I can wait, I can find joy, I can survive the trial and come out stronger and better.
Yeah, it's just a Christmas present, and it's just three weeks, but if I can't wait and be patient for something as small as that then I am definitely not applying what I have learned.
There are some things in life that we know that one day we will have that we just have to wait for. It might take three days, three weeks, three months, three years, three decades, a whole lifetime! but eventually the promised blessing does come. Heavenly Father knows He's going to give it to us, so why make us wait? Well, because it has to be the right time. That's important. And we need to be given the opportunity to wait, especially for things that we really want. It helps us to learn patience and to learn to trust in the Lord and most importantly that we CAN trust in the Lord! That He will be there for us and that he will deliver as promised. Cody knows that I love him, and that he can trust me and that I know enough about him to get him a really great Christmas present. He knows that if he waits that he will eventually get his Christmas present--at the right time, that I'm not just going to promise it and then give it to someone else.
I have also been given the unique opportunity to figure out how to do something on my own that normally I would have just asked Cody to do. Not only do I now have the great joy, pride and satisfaction of figuring it out and doing it all on my own but now I know that I CAN do it, and that I can do things on my own. And being able to show Cody those accomplishments makes the joy of giving him the present even sweeter.
Think of all of the things we miss out on that we would not experience if we were always given what we want exactly when we want it, things you and I wouldn't even think of. Think of the great joy we can experience when we can tell our Heavenly Father, look what I did!! And how very proud of us He would be.
I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had to wait, even though I don't like them. At all. I am grateful for the things that I have learned. I would wait again and again to know my Heavenly Father and my Savior the way I know them now. To feel that love, to know what I know, and to know that I can do it! I can wait, I can find joy, I can survive the trial and come out stronger and better.
Yeah, it's just a Christmas present, and it's just three weeks, but if I can't wait and be patient for something as small as that then I am definitely not applying what I have learned.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Life Lessons
I'm teaching the lesson in Young Women's this Sunday. The lesson I'm teaching is "How can I find solutions to my challenges and problems?" I'm going to have the YW tell me problems and challenges that they face in their lives and we're going to write them down on the board then I'm going to have them draw pieces of paper out of a box. The box is going to be a "toolbox" and written on the slips of paper are going to be "tools" that Heavenly Father as given us to help us with our challenges and problems. Things like prayer, scriptures, attending church and the temple, etc...then we'll talk about how they can use those "tools" to help them with their problems. I can't take credit for that great idea, I have the Holy Ghost to thank for that one! Yesterday I was writing down a list of "tools" to put in the box and one I thought of was "Remembering." And I thought, remembering what? Well, remembering that the Lord is there and what He has done for his people in the past, but more importantly, remembering what He has done for ME in the past. Remembering that He loves me and that I've experienced His timing and that I know that His timing is perfect, and that He answers prayers differently than I would have Him answer them but that I wouldn't have it any other way. Except for when I forgot, lol. And most importantly, remembering that I have faced, and survived, some very hard things, and that with the Lord's help I can, and will, get through future trials, too. It's been a tough month, seriously the ENTIRE MONTH! I thought I was doing good working on getting my muscles better but I have been experiencing some serious pain this month and now where I thought I knew what my game plan was, I'm now having to figure it all out again, and I'm at a loss. So frustrating. Add on to that some insecurities that I've been struggling with and we've been having a great month. My "tools" have been getting some good use lately. Sometimes you just have to set aside everything else and pull out your faith tool! And hang on with all you've got! Because sometimes holding on to your Anchor, to Christ, is the only thing that is going to get you through. I am grateful for Him. And I'm grateful that I'm giving this lesson this week so that I can give myself a little perspective and remember, and hold on, and count my blessings, for they are many. My window of heaven is more than overflowing and I just need to REMEMBER that! Now hopefully the Young Women will learn something that they can put in their "toolbox" to help them through the hard trials that they will face in the future.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
10 things I love about Krystal Wilkerson
Krystal's birthday is today! She is the big 30! She likes to do a "10 things I like about so-and-so" post when it is their birthday but I didn't think she would do one for herself, so I thought I'd do it for her!!
So here are 10 things I love about Krystal
1. She is so considerate and she has the talent/gift of loving others.
--Krystal is always thinking of others. The last time we went to visit them in Logan, she had a little separate guest gifts for me, Cody and Elise that were so thoughtful. She is always telling others that she loves them, something that I wish I could be braver and learn to do more often.
2. She is so good at hand stitching and making quiet books.
--Krystal's quiet books are amazing. To me they look professional and I'm amazed at how good she hand stitches.
3. She has great attention to detail.
--I marvel at the little details in Krystal's quiet books. She takes the time to do things--and to do them nicely--that I would either just leave out or would do a quick, lazy job of. Her attention to detail is also seen in her consideration of others, the decorating of her house, her parenting and her traditions.
4. She is really good at decorating.
--Krystal has decorated her house so cute. It was seeing how well her house was decorated and how it made her home feel complete that inspired me to put more thought in the decoration of my home. (Not that I've done much, yet...lol)
5. She is a good mom.
--I know Krystal doesn't always think she is being a good mom and that she gets impatient with Elaina but I admire the effort that Krystal puts into teaching Elaina and playing with her and the fun things that she does with her. I greatly admire that she is teaching her in the Montessori method.
6. She has traditions
--I love that Krystal has started her own family traditions and that she does them without fail every year. What fun memories she is starting for her family!
6. She is a good sister and friend. She listens to me complain. We are a lot a like
--These three go together but are worth mentioning separately. Not only is Krystal good at listening to me complain but when I do complain to her about things she almost always understands exactly how I feel because we are a lot a like and she usually feels the same way about the situation as I do. Even our own mothers and daughters are similar! And of course our husbands, because they are Wilkerson boys *insert eye roll here* Another benefit of us being a like is I'm not the only impatient Wilkerson girl!
*These two are a little selfish ;)*
7. She is fun to tease
--Which means when she is around I don't get teased! Haha Well, that's not true cause I'm a pretty easy target, but it does add to the fun :)
9. She laughs at my husband's jokes
--So I don't have to! ;) And she sincerely thinks he is funny! Which makes me think I should maybe appreciate my husband's sense of humor a little more....
10. She is who she is
--Krystal is who she is and isn't trying to be anyone else. She spends her effort working on bettering herself than trying to be someone different. And I love who she is!
Love you, sister! Hope you have a great 30th birthday!!!
So here are 10 things I love about Krystal
1. She is so considerate and she has the talent/gift of loving others.
--Krystal is always thinking of others. The last time we went to visit them in Logan, she had a little separate guest gifts for me, Cody and Elise that were so thoughtful. She is always telling others that she loves them, something that I wish I could be braver and learn to do more often.
2. She is so good at hand stitching and making quiet books.
--Krystal's quiet books are amazing. To me they look professional and I'm amazed at how good she hand stitches.
3. She has great attention to detail.
--I marvel at the little details in Krystal's quiet books. She takes the time to do things--and to do them nicely--that I would either just leave out or would do a quick, lazy job of. Her attention to detail is also seen in her consideration of others, the decorating of her house, her parenting and her traditions.
4. She is really good at decorating.
--Krystal has decorated her house so cute. It was seeing how well her house was decorated and how it made her home feel complete that inspired me to put more thought in the decoration of my home. (Not that I've done much, yet...lol)
5. She is a good mom.
--I know Krystal doesn't always think she is being a good mom and that she gets impatient with Elaina but I admire the effort that Krystal puts into teaching Elaina and playing with her and the fun things that she does with her. I greatly admire that she is teaching her in the Montessori method.
6. She has traditions
--I love that Krystal has started her own family traditions and that she does them without fail every year. What fun memories she is starting for her family!
6. She is a good sister and friend. She listens to me complain. We are a lot a like
--These three go together but are worth mentioning separately. Not only is Krystal good at listening to me complain but when I do complain to her about things she almost always understands exactly how I feel because we are a lot a like and she usually feels the same way about the situation as I do. Even our own mothers and daughters are similar! And of course our husbands, because they are Wilkerson boys *insert eye roll here* Another benefit of us being a like is I'm not the only impatient Wilkerson girl!
*These two are a little selfish ;)*
7. She is fun to tease
--Which means when she is around I don't get teased! Haha Well, that's not true cause I'm a pretty easy target, but it does add to the fun :)
9. She laughs at my husband's jokes
--So I don't have to! ;) And she sincerely thinks he is funny! Which makes me think I should maybe appreciate my husband's sense of humor a little more....
10. She is who she is
--Krystal is who she is and isn't trying to be anyone else. She spends her effort working on bettering herself than trying to be someone different. And I love who she is!
Love you, sister! Hope you have a great 30th birthday!!!
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