The (Spiritual) Wheels on the Bus Go 'Round and 'Round

I put this picture here, because
when Glo sent it to me, I just
felt such gratitude that she keeps
on trying to do all that is good
and smart and kind...while wearing
her new Darth Vader sweater ;-)

Since receiving the exhortation from President Nelson to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, along with the challenge to increase temple attendance, and to be a light, life has been busy for the Kennedys. I think I feel the most sympathy for my student children who already have so much to do, and for Rebecca, who is a full-time, 24/7 mom who is still nursing a baby. However, in so many ways, they are stepping up to do what they should be doing.

I have been surprised to hear that other women and youth are not doing the Book of Mormon challenge, and that's been difficult for me to process. I have always hated the fact that people mock the ancient people who didn't listen to the prophet (Noah, Moses with the brass serpent, Abinadi), but then turn around and don't think they need to listen to our modern-day prophet. I have seriously heard every excuse in the book: I'm already reading it, I don't have time with kids, I don't find the scriptures very interesting. Really? Are you going to let the snakes bite you and die versus looking, or are you going to drown in the flood?

Little Baby has been memorizing scriptures. To put this in perspective, my kids weren't even talking by age three, and Baby can recite scriptures in their fullness.

Ethan and Rebecca have the Washington DC temple just minutes from their home, but because it's being renovated for two years, they drove to Philadelphia to go to the temple.

Johannah and Glo are following a reading schedule for reading the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year. And I haven't heard one complaint.

And in the hopes of encouraging our Young Women to complete anything that President Nelson has asked them to do, I taught a lesson on what it means to be converted, and to join "God's Army" or "the Lord's battalion". Glo, my fearless artist, created a phenomenal drawing for me of what a YW could look like, fighting Satan and sin and temptation which I then passed out to the YW.

Zoom in on this picture and look at the shield. It's unbelievable.

And Mark leaves us early on a weekend so that he can get back to help Allison teach their Sunbeams. We're being asked to do more and be more. The question is: Will we do it?

Comments

The Quest for Birkenstocks

One of the main reasons I go to Germany every couple of years is to restock my supply of Birkenstocks. I started buying them when I lived there, and I basically can't live without them now. It just about kills me when a pair runs its course and needs to be thrown away. I think in my lifetime, I've thrown away only three pairs. One that never was quite right (the straps were plastic and would cut into my skin after a long day), one pair that I wore gardening one too many times (the brown dirt stains wouldn't come out of the white leather), and the pair that I was wearing when I broke my ankle (they were an unfortunate casualty of broken ankle PTSD because those purple and blue paisleys go down as one of my favorite pairs of all time). I only threw out the garden ones a couple of days before I left for Germany, because I knew I would be getting a new pair. The only store where I have ever bought my Birkenstocks is Hoffmann's in Speicher. (Well okay, t...

Like Dominos....

It all began with glare. Simple, obnoxious, I-can't-stand-it-anymore glare. Our 60" rear projection TV in the family room was basically unviewable except after 10 o'clock at night. The glare from the windows was making it impossible to see anything during my 10 minute lunch break each day, and something had to change. Too, the TV didn't fit in the entertainment center from Germany. John, wanting bigger and better, hadn't considered that the space is only 40" wide. For the past five years, I have been nagged by 6" of overhang on both sides of the TV stand. I went to Lowe's to price blinds. $1,043 for five blinds, and that was at 20% off. I figured a new TV would be cheaper than that. I was right, even with the state-of-the-art receiver and new HDMI cables that sly salesman told us we needed to have. But where to put the old TV? It just needed a quiet, dark place to retire. Glo's bedroom. Her TV was a relic from the paleoneoneand...

Your Life in Two Suitcases

I remember when Johannah told us that she wanted to serve a mission. It was a couple of months after her freshman year had begun. When she uttered those life-changing words, "I want to serve a mission," my heart sank. Mark hadn't been home from his mission for very long, and the pain of having a child gone was still pretty fresh. Let's just say that I wasn't at all encouraging. However, time passed, and when she actually submitted her papers, I was so excited for her. I was excited for me too. While I can't pinpoint any specific blessing that came to us when the boys were serving their missions, there is just a special kind of purpose that enters my life. I can't really do anything without thinking about my missionary, and in some special way, my life is changed. I write daily letters which, for an introvert, is cathartic. I study my scriptures a little bit better because I want to be able to offer encouragement. I'm constant...

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

Search This Blog