Being a parent

When I was a little girl, I used to dream of what my family would be like when it was my turn to be a Mother. I wanted a large family so I had twelve names picked out, six girls and six boys. I was a big dreamer. Of course I would have a handsome dreamy husband to go along with those twelve children.
Well I have the handsome dreamy husband, but after my fifth baby I decided that was the perfect number. My logic was that jeans were so expensive and I had four boys, and with one girl trying to keep up with all the pretty polka dotted this and that I better just stop while I was ahead.
So jump many years later I have a ton of great experiences with my Dreamy man and five children, and four grandchildren. Life has been busy, hard, lots of laughter,tears and so many well earned memories.
Family is so important I can't imagine my life without them in it. Each family unit is different; as it should be. But I believe that our Father in Heaven sent us to this beautiful place to thrive in a family unit. We learn so much about lifes mysteries as we learn to take care of each other

Boy and Girl, Man and Women, Husband and Wife, Father and Mother. We start out so Innocent as a boy or a girl with dreams of becoming and adult, what will we do? who will we Marry, will we have a family? if so how big will it. Is there a rule book on how to raise our little bundles of joy. Not all families are raised with a believe in God, thankfully I was. I will ever be grateful to my parents for introducing me to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have chosen to live my life as a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latteday Saints, or as some people say a Mormon. I do believe there is a book of instruction called the Scriptures and modern day revelation revealed by Prophets and Apostles. In 1995 Gordon B. Hinckley introduced what is called The Family a Proclamation To The World. It starts out as follows.

WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve
Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a
woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to
the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

That first paragraph defines the purpose for families, he really does have a plan for us. The Family unit is designed to full fill his will for us.

Here is the link for the entire Document, it is divinely written and every Man Women and Child will benefit from learning the Purpose of Families.

http://lds.org/family/proclamation?lang=eng

I would like to share one more portion:

HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love
and care for each other and for their children. “Children
are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a
sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness,
to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to
teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments
of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever
they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—
will be held accountable before God for the discharge of
these obligations.
THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and
woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled
to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by
a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete
fidelity.

Having a Family is big responsibility, but having a Family and choosing to allow Heavenly Father to Guide you in your Duty as Parents will make the journey priceless. It does not mean it will be easy, on the contrary it was not meant to be easy. As a Wife and Mother I am so grateful to have current revelation regarding families. It makes my role as Mother clear and drives me to do better. This world we live in is becoming increasingly more difficult and challenging. Moral values are scued and the lines are not defined.
Speaking of the Proclamation Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “It was then and is now a clarion call to protect and strengthen families and a stern warning in a world where declining values and misplaced priorities threaten to destroy society by undermining its basic unit”
How true it is that we see the values we hold dear seem to crumble under our feet, The majority seems to becoming the minority. It is so important to stay close to our Faith and follow the counsel of a loving Heavenly Father. The role of Fathers and Mothers is made clear, the responsibilities of each parent and the value each one adds to the Family.
I have loved my children with everything I am, my responsibility as their Mother is an ever binding contract I made with my Heavenly Father. I will love them, set a good example for them, and just be present. My children are all grown up but I am still their Mother and hold my self accountable for my actions in there behalf. Now it is their turn to be parents and I have the best job now. I am BEE (Grandma) and that is the best title ever.

Before I end I want to share one more thought by Gordon B Hinckley 15th President of the Church, He counseled: "Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices; keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Welcome them into our homes, and nurture and love them with all your hearts"
It does not get any clearer than that.

Just a thought

It is a Thursday evening and I just got back from my Missionary service in the ARP program(Addiction Recovery program.)We are on Step 3 which is Trust in God, so I thought well that is a great topic to put my thoughts to. But before the meeting started, I was looking In a book of quotes in the institute Library. I happened to turn to a quote by Abraham Lincoln who I admire so much he said " What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man without the others consent"

So I decided to turn my thoughts to what I think about that quote. I will talk about Trust another time.

As I have grown older I have learned to appreciate the great wisdom from our for fathers and this great country we are blessed to live in. I spend some of my time listening to the political process, I love to watch a good debate, you can tell alot about a person if you watch closely to how they speak, their posture, the look on their face, and then of course the words they speak. I feel if I don't listen I will not be able to make a good choice. I hear people say" Their all just crooks" Well some are, but not all, there are many good men and women who choose to serve the citizens of this country for the benefit of all men and women.

We have a government set up that give us freedom to choose who we will let govern us. Sometimes we don't get who we voted for, sometimes we have to wait our turn for our guy to be up. But the point is we have a voice.
This country was organized with a set of checks and balances We are encouraged to vote to use that God given gift of agency and use our voice to say what we think.
Although the church I belong to is Politically Neutral we are encouraged to vote. In the church news recently an article was sent out in Utah as they are preparing for their caucuses. here is a part of it.

"Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in the platforms of the various political parties. We encourage members to attend their precinct caucus meetings
The First Presidency has made the same appeal in the past of encouraging members of the Church to participate, with other good citizens, in the political process as part of their individual civic duty, while the Church itself remains politically neutral."

I personally will choose as my heart and mind dictate, I will listen, think , and pray about my decision when it comes time to place my vote.
I trust the system that was set up for us, it works. We are given a choice to Act or be Acted upon. If we don't vote we are being Acted upon.

The other great quote I read on the white board, was by Thomas S. Monson it said
" The past is behind- Learn from it.. The future is ahead - Prepare for it. Th present is here- Live in it..
We can learn so many great things from the past, but we should not dwell on what could have been or what once was, It is exciting to look to the future for what might be, but we should not spend to much time in state of mind, of what could be. But we should be preparing for the future based on what we have learned and the great wisdom of others. To live in the present is a daily gift, life is precious and we should not waste minute of it.
So I will live in the present, learn from the past, and look forward to a great future. I am excited to see how this election turns out. I hope my guy will win. But if not I will support the laws of this land and be a good citizens. I think that is what is expected of all of us that live in America.
Watch, Listen, and Vote....