Military Spouse's Prayer

Lord, Grant me the greatness of heart to see,

The difference in duty and his love for me.

Give me the understanding to know,

That when duty calls he must go.

Give me the patience to know in my heart

That he's serving his country and doing his part.

Give me the strength to carry on

When he's working late or must be gone.

Give me a task to do each day

To fill the time while he is away.

Give me others who can share

The ups and down and who'll really care.

Give me the wisdom to get me through

When I'm not quite sure of what to do.

Lord, while our family is here

Keep us healthy, safe and full of cheer.

And when duty takes him far away

Keep him safe, this I pray.

Author Unknown.

Quote

" Oh, that every girl and woman would have a testimony of her potential for eternal motherhood...Female roles did not begin on earth, and they do not end here. A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the world to come, and where her treasure is, there will her heart be also. [ Matthew 6:21 ] By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood."

-Sister Julie B. Beck

I found this quote on my friend's blog (thanks Monique). I just thought it was really great because, (don't think I'm horrible), sometimes I forget why being a mom seemed so appealing to me. I know that sounds awful, but sadly its true. I sometimes, especially in my abnormal circumstance, forget the amazing opportunity and responsibility that Heavenly Father has given to me. This quote reminds me that my 24/7 'job' is a divine one and it is exactly what I am supposed to be doing right now. It is something I should treasure more than I do.

It seems like some women were born to raise children. And they were born good at it. Its 2nd nature to them to be a good mother and to be so kind and loving to their children all the time. I feel like I'm not one of those women. I don't think kindness is 2nd nature to me (I know you're laughing Clint!). Its something I have to consciously work at every day. Even with my own family. Even with my own daughter who is more perfect than I realize. So anyway, I'll be reading this quote often to remind me of the divine nature of my role as a mother and wife.

General Conference

Over the weekend our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, had General Conference. It is a semi-annual, 2-day conference where the living Prophet of God, Thomas S. Monson, and other leaders of our church speak and teach about gospel principles. The tabernacle choir and other choirs perform musical numbers as well. It is an extremely uplifting meeting and provides great counsel to members and non members. The leaders of our church teach and inspire us to be more Christ-like and to live our lives in a way that would be pleasing to our Father in Heaven. You can watch it at BYU Broadcasting. Click on 'watch rebroadcasts online'. If that doesn't work try the local news channel, KSL. On KSL you can actually watch individual talks.

I usually don't take notes during General Conference. Not since high school Seminary. But I approached this Conference with an attitude that there was specific things the Lord wanted me to hear. So before the session started I had my pen and a notebook ready. I'd like to share (or just document) some of the things that stood out to me and really touched me. Keep in mind that these aren't direct quotes unless quotations are added.

L. Tom Perry-of the 12 Apostles
~Don't allow stress to get the best of you.
~Remember that the best is yet to come (speaking of life after death).
~Live a simplified lifestyle. There are only 4 things needed to survive in this life.
1. Food-He referred to the Word of Wisdom found in D&C 89. Taking care of your body nourishes your spirit.
2. Clothes-being modest nourishes our spirituality. "Casual dress is followed by casual behaviors."
3. House-buy according to your needs and financial situation. Live within your means. Stay out of debt, save for a rainy day, don't PAY interest, EARN it!
4. Fuel
Be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Silvia Allred-1st counselor of the Relief Society
Missionaries bless their own lives, their families, and generations to come.
To help the missionary effort we must;
Have a clear understanding that God loves all of His children.
Remember that our message of Christ is the most important gift we have to give.
Invite nonmembers to our homes.
Give referrals to the missionaries.
Write to and pray for missionaries serving in the field.

Marcos Aidukaitis-Quorum of the Seventy
The Book of Mormon, along with the Spirit, is the most powerful resource in converting ourselves and others.

Dallin H. Oaks-of the 12 Apostles
Sacrament meeting should be quiet and spiritual. A time for reflection. When prelude music is playing there should be no visiting. Each member bears the responsibility for the spirituality a meeting can bring. NO CELL PHONES, games, books. Sing the Hymns! Sacrament replaced the sacred sacrifices of old, we should treat it as sacred as people did at the alter.

Dieter Uchtdorf-2nd counselor of the First Presidency
Faith, hope, and charity stabilize our lives. Without hope we can't receive the Kingdom of God. Have hope in Jesus Christ, hope in God's promises. Hope is there to uplift us. The brighter our hope is the stronger our faith will be. The stronger our hope is the greater our charity will be.

Joseph Worthlin-of the 12 Apostles
He quoted his mother, "Come what may and love it!" Learn to laugh in difficult/stressful situations. The Lord will compensate those who have experienced lost.

Jeffry R. Holland-of the 12 Apostles
God never leaves us alone in our trials. He gives us heavenly and mortal angels to guide and protect us. Pray for those angels to administer to you and then be one yourself.

Gerald Causse-Quorum of the Seventy
It is vital for us to gain knowledge in this life.
The truths of God are understandable by all regardless of age or education level.
Humble yourself as a child.

David Bednar-of the 12 Apostles
Prayer becomes more meaningful as we seek God in ALL things. It becomes natural. Ask with faith and you will receive. Recognize your faults while praying and ask for help in those areas of weakness. Acknowledge when you have done something wrong and what you should have done differently. Express thanks for the help you've received. Your evening prayer is a continuation and prelude to your morning prayer. Meaningful prayer is essential to receiving blessings. Counsel in the Lord in all of your doings. Give a lot of thanks and few requests. The prayers of prophets are childlike in their simplicity but powerful because of their sincerity. Prayer becomes more meaningful when we pray for others with all our heart.

Elaine Dalton-Young Women President
"Stand for right, even when you stand alone." Don't get so absorbed in body image that you forget you have the ability to change the world through virtuous acts.

**I can't remember who spoke about this...but someone said, Don't argue over gospel principles. Explain them with love. Be a peace maker.

M. Russell Ballard-of the 12 Apostles
"We can't afford to be superficially righteous."

Thomas S. Monson-President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and the only living, ordained Prophet of God.
The greatest lessons in life are the ones that teach us what is important and what isn't. "Find joy in the journey now." Make the most of today, make pleasant memories. Enjoy your children now, they grow too fast. Never assume that someone knows you love them, let them know. Show them, tell them. Always express thanks. Don't take your loved ones for granted. "Let us relish life as we live it." Focus on blessing in your life, not the challenges. Help someone every chance you get.

I Am A Child of God-September 21, 2008

I am a child of God,
And He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

I am a child of God,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand His words
Before it grows too late.

I am a child of God.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do His will,
I'll live with Him once more.

I am a child of God.
His promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but edure.

Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with Him someday.

Today in our sacrament meeting we sang hymns for the entire hour. The bishop would stand up in between each one and ask for someone to shout out their favorite. Then we would sing it. For some reason I Am a Child of God really touched my heart today. Especially the 2nd and 3rd versus. I didn't know about the 4th verse (its in the Children's Songbook). Anyway, it got me thinking about some verses in the Book of Mormon;

3 Nephi 11:38
"And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."

and Mosiah 3:18
"...but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children..."

So then I got to wondering, what does it mean to become "like a child"? I look at Morgan and I see perfection, innocence, pure love, grace, beauty, holiness, mercy. How does an adult, with all of the evils in the world around them, with all of the stress, pressure, temptations, and mature emotions, become as perfect as a child? The next verse in Mosiah answered that question for me;

Mosiah 3:19
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

This is going to be my focus this week. Learning to become like a child. Not perfect, but more like a perfect child.

*As a side note. While all of this singing was going on at church Morgan was sitting on her Grandma Lanny's lap and she was singing too, sometimes at the top of her lungs, and even when it got quiet for a few seconds. It was quite entertaining. I wish I had it on video. Also, during Sunday School, she was looking at a book on my lap and talking in a soft voice, like she was reading the book. It was so cute. I loved the whole day today. Morgan was an angel through all 3 hours of church (a first) and all 3 meetings were very inspirational. I hate missing church.

A Daily Scoop-September 7, 2008

In my minutes of blogging today (minutes that became hours), I stumbled onto a blog called A Daily Scoop. I had heard about this blog quite some time ago from some friends, the Shepards, but hadn't gotten around to visiting it. Tonight I took some time to read several posts. To any of you in need of strengthening, uplifting, inspiration, or a good cry, I say take a look at this blog. Fair warning, give yourself time to sift through some of the posts. Specifically the ones under "June" in her archive. You will be absolutely drawn into what this amazing woman and family has endured in the last 3 months. What strength! And what great lessons can be learned from their willingness to share their experiences.

In the seemingly difficult trials I am currently experiencing with my own little one I tend to forget how truly precious this time of her life is. As I have expressed in recent posts, I struggle to find the good in her tantrums, her sleepless nights, her unwillingness to take naps, teething, and so forth. 'Find the good' is not the right phrase. I struggle to not get so stressed out and frustrated and angry etc etc. What I'm getting at is that from this blog, A Daily Scoop, I have found comfort and have been inspired to put forth more effort in enjoying this time I have with my sweet, precious, Heaven-sent daughter.

What lead me to these thoughts and feelings came from a post entitled Behold Your Little Ones.

"Love your little ones--even the ones that drive you crazy. If you could see them the way God sees them -- you would be astounded at their glory."

New Favorite Quote-June 19, 2008

This is from the 1997-2002 General Young Women's President of the LDS church, Margaret Dyreng Nadauld:

"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." ("The Joy of Womanhood," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 15)

I feel like this quote is a great summary of the person I want to be. Its so easy to get wrapped up in what the world wants me to be rather than what God wants me to be. This quote reminds me of the qualities I should always strive for.

K-K-Korea-June 15, 2008

On Friday morning Clint cam home from his morning formation and found me in the bathroom getting ready for Morgan's 6 month check up. He just stared at me in the mirror with no readable expression.

Katie: "What?"
Clint: "We got orders."
Katie: "WE DID?! Where?"
Clint: "Korea."
Katie: "Whatever, you're joking."
Clint: "No I'm not."
Katie: "Are you serious? You better not be lying!"
Clint: "I'm not lying, we got Korea."

And then came the flood of tears. Yes, I cried. The lonliness of having Clint gone is still fresh in my mind from him being away for 3 weeks. Of course we can TRY to get permission for Morgan and me to go with him, but we just don't know how likely it is. So we'll see. People have gone through harder things than being seperated for a year, so I'm sure we can handle it. We feel like God wanted us to join the military for a reason and we know He wouldn't send us (or Clint) anywhere without a reason. The initial shock was hard, but we're excited for the next phase of our lives and for what the future holds. We truly believe what the Lord told Joseph Smith while a prisoner in the Liberty jail...

"...if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." Doctrine & Covenants 122:7

Some might compare moving to Korea as the jaws of hell gaping open, but we see it as an opportunity to experience a small piece of this world. Regardless of whether or not we go as a family or part ways for a year it will be a learning experience for us and will only make us stronger as individuals and as a family.

PS We will continue to update everyone as we get more information. We don't know when Clint has to be in Korea, we don't know exactly what Camp he's going to in Korea, we don't know what the chances are of Morgan and me going, we don't know if we'll be stopping in Utah before he/we go, we don't know where I'll live if I don't go with him, we don't know how long we'll be there if I do go with him. We do know that he graduates from Flight School on July 10th, so we won't be going anywhere before July 11th :)

Sharing the Gospel

The following is a quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard’s speech given at Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s graduation ceremony on 15 December 2007. It never occured to me to use a blog as a tool to help others learn the truch about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

"Now, to you who are graduating today and all other faithful members of the Church, as you graduate from this wonderful university, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple, clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true. You can download videos from Church and other appropriate sites, including Newsroom at LDS.org, and send them to your friends. You can write to media sites on the Internet that report on the Church, and voice your views as to the accuracy of the reports."

Click here to read the full speech.

Go to http://www.leeloublogs.blogspot.com/ if you want a button for your blog.