My mind has been filled with so many thoughts and different emotions this week. I have been dying to sit and write and felt inspired to share a few thoughts here on the blog. It seems that everytime I feel inspired to write something I can't find the time! As this new year has begun I have struggled to set goals and feel joy as
I fight with the baby blues and live off little or no sleep. I have
finally decided that my theme for this year is to "Be of Good Cheer". I searched pinterest for a cute little printable and put it up in the house where I will see it often. As I've been reading talks and studying scriptures related to this theme I have totally been inspired and motivated to live my theme more fully this year.
I have been thinking a lot lately about our angel baby and the heartache and sorrow I was feeling at this time last year. I felt that this trial was some form of punishment and that I maybe didn't deserve to have another child. It took me a long time to overcome these feelings and to realize that a loving Heavenly Father would never do such things. I am so grateful for the things I learned from priesthood blessings and for the strength I was given to press forward each day with hope and faith. As I read through some of my old journal entries I was grateful for the perspective I gained and the way my relationship with the Savior has deepened.
The other night while doing dishes I listened to this really great talk from general conference and loved what he had to say about trials. One thing that stuck out to me was when we said, “often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into your life because of what you are doing right”. I feel like if I approached my trials with this perspective, it would be easier to cheerfully endure them. It also made me think of past trials and realize that they came into my life as an opportunity to grow and stretch.
A few days ago I stumbled across a really good talk by Neal A. Maxwell and I loved the paragraph where he said, "Then the perceptive among us voted not secretly, but audibly—by shouting for joy! Let us not go back on those feelings now—for we saw more clearly then what we are experiencing now! May God help us to be of good cheer, for this is the forerunner feeling which precedes that glorious condition when our joy will be full!" It might be easier to be cheerful each day when we remember that we shouted for joy at this opportunity to live on the earth and have these experiences.
I love love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 which reads "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along". It really gives me comfort to know that an all knowing, loving Father in Heaven is in control.
I have been thinking a lot lately about our angel baby and the heartache and sorrow I was feeling at this time last year. I felt that this trial was some form of punishment and that I maybe didn't deserve to have another child. It took me a long time to overcome these feelings and to realize that a loving Heavenly Father would never do such things. I am so grateful for the things I learned from priesthood blessings and for the strength I was given to press forward each day with hope and faith. As I read through some of my old journal entries I was grateful for the perspective I gained and the way my relationship with the Savior has deepened.
The other night while doing dishes I listened to this really great talk from general conference and loved what he had to say about trials. One thing that stuck out to me was when we said, “often trials and tribulations are allowed to come into your life because of what you are doing right”. I feel like if I approached my trials with this perspective, it would be easier to cheerfully endure them. It also made me think of past trials and realize that they came into my life as an opportunity to grow and stretch.
A few days ago I stumbled across a really good talk by Neal A. Maxwell and I loved the paragraph where he said, "Then the perceptive among us voted not secretly, but audibly—by shouting for joy! Let us not go back on those feelings now—for we saw more clearly then what we are experiencing now! May God help us to be of good cheer, for this is the forerunner feeling which precedes that glorious condition when our joy will be full!" It might be easier to be cheerful each day when we remember that we shouted for joy at this opportunity to live on the earth and have these experiences.
I love love the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 78:18 which reads "Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along". It really gives me comfort to know that an all knowing, loving Father in Heaven is in control.
Aside from enduring trials with cheer, I mostly picked this theme to help our home be a better place. It is so hard for me to greet my children cheerfully in the morning when I've gone to bed too late or am running on little sleep. But I want to choose to greet them each morning with a smile and a hug. I want them to remember a cheerful mommy, not a grumpy one. I want to learn to smile when bowls of cereal are accidentally dumped on the floor, or when the children are learning to work out their differences. I want to laugh more this year and to feel the joy that comes as we spend time with family and get a glimpse into eternity.
I came across this awesome quote the other day by William Morris and fell in love with it. I think it will also be paired with my theme. Instead of just floating through life day after day I want to live each day with this quote in the back of my mind. I want to take interest in all of the details of my day. I want to remember the way I feel when I look at the pink sky each morning as the sun comes up. I want to instill in my memory the feeling of soft baby hands on my face or chubby toddler hands holding onto my own hands. I want to remember the sweet way that Hyrum smiles when he's genuinely happy about something. I want to remember Camilla's spontaneous hugs and the way they fill me up with love. And I want to remember the way Mr. Stannix makes me feel so special each and every day. I know that as I acknowledge these blessings in my life each day I will be able to "Be of Good Cheer" as I live each day this year! It's going to be a good one!
1 comments:
Great great great post Addie!!!!! Love your theme. We are striving to 'Choose Happy' and to speak with 'Soft Words' because they turneth away wrath. So blessed to know we have a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of us and a Savior who can truly understand, who set a perfect example for us to follow. Love your theme!
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