RS Dinner

Tonight I went to the RS Visiting Teaching Dinner/Program.  They had a nice dinner (which was pretty much all off limits for me because almost everything had gluten in it -- sigh!).   So I wasn't able to be physically fed but at least I was spiritually fed!  The theme was "Mission Possible" instead of "Mission Impossible."  The first things they did was have us find a "top secret" envelope with our name on it.  Opened them later to find our visiting teaching route.  The committee went all out and it turned out really nice. This is our awesome RS Presidency! (Tode Hafen, Cindy Frei, Martsi Strong, and Jamie Morris).

Peace and Quiet in the Home

Rick and I are going to be speaking at BYU Education Week at BYU Idaho.  I am excited to be able to spend a few days with my husband and to be able to attend different lectures!  But I am also nervous about presenting.  Rick of course teaches for a living and is used to speaking to large groups all of the time (although he usually presents to the youth rather than adults).  As for me, my extent of presenting has been sharing a few thoughts at EFY, teaching Sign Language for a small college class, and teaching Sunday School for our Deaf Branch (and in those last two I don't have to utter a word -- at least not in English!)

But at least we will be speaking together so I won't be on my own.  And hopefully the Holy Ghost will be there to inspire and edify as well.  Rick will be giving three talks to the Youth and we are doing six talks together (that relate to Parenting) for the "Mom" track.  We had to submit the talk titles several months ago before we had the talks written.  So the past few weeks we have been putting together our talks.  Rick  prepared three and I prepared three.  One of the talk titles he gave to me to prepare is:  "Establishing Peace and Quiet in the Home:  Come and explore ideas on how to create a feeling of reverence in your home."   He obviously came up with this title because it is such a problem in our home.  After struggling with the talk for awhile I joked with him about the fact that after sixteen years of parenting we still were not achieving peace and quiet in the home.  I said, "What am I going to tell these people?  We haven't figured it out and so we were hoping they could tell us?  I mean duct tape and ear plugs are not doing the trick!"  But jokes aside, I did gain some perspective on the topic while attempting to put this together -- including things I can do personally to improve the spirit in our home.

First of all, I realized that I didn’t so much want just a “quiet” home, but rather a “reverent” home.  "Quiet" is characterized by an “absence of noise.”   I realized that there are certain “noises” that I do want in my home – such as laughter, singing around the piano, playing, prayer, and talking/listening.  What I didn’t want was arguing, whining/tantrums (another education week talk), contention, disrespect and too much noise from outside influences (mostly technology) such as the TV, video games, the computer, and so forth.  “Reverence,” on the other hand, is described as having “a feeling of profound respect, usually reserved for the sacred or divine.”  I realized that I wanted our family to share a profound respect for God and to also show respect to each other.  I wanted our home to be a peaceful, sacred place, a “refuge from the storm.” 

I have thought a lot about the word "quiet" with my new visiting teaching route.  I was sad when my visiting teaching companion moved.  We were neighbors and good friends.  We went to homes where we could bring our children and let them all play together while we visited.  We all had a lot in common and enjoyed chatting about the challenges of motherhood and sharing our feelings about the gospel.  Well, recently my route was changed and I was assigned to two elderly widows -- one who just turned 90 and the other who is 86 (or thereabouts).  I have to admit that I was really disappointed at first.  I couldn't bring my kids anymore because they had no one to play and just got in the way and so I had to arrange for someone to watch them.  I worried that we would have nothing in common and little to talk about.  And while it is true we have less in common than the others we had visited, I have realized that there is a lot to learn from someone who is nearing the end of her life. They have seen and learned so much and have the wisdom that only comes through years of experience. 

Visiting them has also made me grateful for my current stage of life -- including all of its noise and chaos.  We go to the homes of these sweet sisters and it is so QUIET!  You can hear the clock ticking on the wall because there are no children running around, no TV or music blaring, no video games in the background,and  no bickering kids fighting for attention.  And they tell us how lonely it is.  Their husbands have passed on. Their children and grandchildren are gone.  Much of their time is alone.  They also have the health issues that come with growing old -- aches and pains, difficulty getting around, and inability to sleep.  And while they maintain a positive attitude, both have expressed a desire to be able to move on to the next life where they we will be free of pain and joined again with their husbands.   

When I leave these appointments I feel young.  I feel healthy.  I am cognizant of the fact that I have no aches and pains.  I have energy.  I can see and hear well.  I have a good husband.  I am happy to go home to my noisy home that is bustling with activity.  Yes, the noise level in my home does bother me.  I have enjoyed exploring different ways to bring reverence in our home as I have prepared for our presentation.  In the meantime I will try and cherish a little joyful noise while I have it! 

The Crayon Messages

"We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together. --Lucy Mack Smith-- Every so often, our Relief Society chooses a book that they want each sister to read. They purchase several copies and then list seven or eight names on the back of each book. After one sister reads it, she checks off her name and then passes it along to another sister on the list. "The Crayon Messages: a visiting teaching adventure" is our current read. I am assuming it is in preparation for the Visiting Teaching Convention next week. It is the first novel by Christine Thackeray and I quite enjoyed the story with its engaging, diverse characters and uplifting messages. Here is a little blurb from one of the web-sites about the book: "The Crayon Message is a touching reminder of 'untapped treasures' we as women have to offer one another. This story illustrates a woman's great gift of compassion and sensitivity. Cath in a struggle to find her place takes a journey of love and acceptance thanks to her unusual visiting teaching route and companion. Through her wit, Christine Thackeray shares this uplifting story showing the possibility for all women to find our place no matter what our circumstances. A wonderful comforting book for anyone who needs a little encouragement just being a Mormon mom!" Well, I just checked off my name -- now I will run it over to my neighbor to read...