A Challenge To Re-find and Refine Your Spiritual Gifts

Tonight, I spoke to you dear sisters about your special spiritual gifts and propensities. Sisters, I urge you, with all the hope of my heart, to pray to understand your spiritual gifts—to cultivate, use, and expand them, even more than you ever have. You will change the world as you do so.

As a starting place, I extended a prophetic plea to you to shape the future by helping to gather scattered Israel with four invitations. This gathering is the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today!

My dear sisters, we need you! We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. We simply cannot gather Israel without you.

President Russel M. Nelson

I wonder if Facebook or Instagram "feels it" when President Nelson, Prophet and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints challenges all of the youth and then all of the women of the church to partake in a "Social Media Fast"? :)  I'll bet they do!! :) I sure have!!

President Nelson spoke in the General Women's Conference meeting Sunday night. During his talk he challenged the women to pull away from social media for ten days and spend the new found time focusing on revisiting and exercising our "spiritual gifts."  Within the hour after the closing prayer suddenly all of my Friends were "signing off."  I knew something important had taken place.

I hadn't been watching the Women's Conference because our internet had gotten bad. But you better believe I climbed back on and listened to what he had said.  I was touched by is message for sure!! I feel that I have been prepared for this for months. Just not quite able to make the leap and sacrifice. Honestly, my vice is Netflix and Binging on shows. ;)  So when he said to pull away from any media that wasn't helping us reach towards our potential, you better believe that's when I felt the pang and heard the hypothetical snapping fingers (DARN!!) And Leif's Snicker as he said "Your Netfilx!" I mean come on, Greys Anatomy is So Uplifting and Insightful for my spiritual growth!! NOT!! LOL! LOL! (eye roll!)

Sooo, here I am. Two days in, and I'm blogging and surviving. :) A little lonely for my outside world of friends and ongoing dialogue throughout the day. But I am grateful for the chance to go back in time about 8 years and reflect on how I am and WHO I am after being sucked into the vast and all consuming world of the internet. Its pretty profound. I have to say. I'm Thrilled to have this chance to make time to truly write again. Long, lengthy, pondering's. Where I puke out my whole life story onto the page. Instead of a little blurb here and there with a picture. The problem is, no one will be able to take the time to read all my ramblings anymore. LOL!  We've all lost the ability to just sit and read... and read... and read...to the end. I guess that's not all bad. I'll remember to hold back the real deep personal things I want recorded for posterity to the end of my posts. Knowing that they won't be read about as much. ;) Just Kidding.

My next goals are to seriously take time to read the scriptures every day. My own personal study time. Something I haven't done in Way Too Long!!

So, in the end, there is Absolutely Nothing wrong with the challenge that our prophet has issued. I know that it is from the Lord and if we take the extra time and use it to grow closer to Christ, we will be blessed with a reminder of our Grand Potential as Daughter's of a King!

General Conference

TRADITION!!! (Insert music emoji) (Insert "Papa" from Fiddler On The Roof!" :) :)  We sure Love our family tradition of watching General Conference together. :) This General Conference proved to be another spiritually edifying and momentous one.  President Nelson seems to be ushering in a new season in the restoration of Christ's church here upon the earth. The Church is now world wide. More members living outside of the USA then within. And since The Church is run as a whole. Following the exact same process and procedures throughout the world within every stake, down to every ward and branch; new changes were made to accommodate. These changes feel sudden to some. But truthfully, they have been coming to past step by step, drop by drop, for many years. And changes may become the new normal as The Church continues to grow, and the world continues to change. The only constant on this earth, is CHANGE! 

Change doesn't mean that the past was wrong. It just means there is a New Right. So, now instead of attending church on Sunday for three hours (Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School, Relief Society/Priesthood/Youth Classes) We will now follow a two hour meeting schedule. With one hour for partaking The Sacrament and speakers/council and one hour for another class. Rotating throughout the month.  With the changes comes an increased responsibility for us as parents to teach a new Family Centered gospel teaching curriculum within our homes at some point throughout the week. So, nothing surprising; just steppin' up The Game Plan a little bit. 

Momentous Changes to Church Meetings

President Nelson announced today that church will only be two hours long. And we will be following a new curriculum as a family in place of that hour lost. "Home Centered, Church Supported gospel learning.

The Tale of the Little Mama in a Grandma Body

UPDATE ANYONE?
I have had an outpouring of Love from my friends and ward members today. I wasn't able to make it to church today. And people noticed. And not only noticed, but Reached Out to see how I'm doing. That doesn't happen everwhere. Thank you Dear ones!!

Many have asked for an update about how I'm healing from my Shingles episode and all of the other crazy things going on with my body. So here it is, The Tale of the Little Mama in a Grandma Body. The saga continues:   First, the shingles rash is healed. The skin is still tender and itchy. In general, I am still experiencing quite a bit of pain throughout my body. Mostly in my elbows and hands. But that isn't new. It just feels more amplified. My left elbow is pretty intense. Also, without a lot of anti inflammatory meds I have waves of "hit by a truck" days. Days when only the bare minimum gets done.

School has started for the kids. I love it, of course. But the schedules are strange here. JJ gets out one hour before Caleb and Jakob. So I walk to the school with Joshua and we all hang out for an hour until everyone is out. It would be a great scenerio if I was in remission. However, since I'm not, I battle the sun and fatigue; from the basic walk, socializing, and updating with the kiddos. By the time we get home at 4. It's mandatory nap time before dinner.

Gratefully, my family is familiar with how life rolls when I'm down. But it's a tiny bit more complicated with a baby in the mix. 

So last week, I had two teeth break off at the gum line. Yep! You read that right. They broke right off. That's part of my journey these days. I have a hereditary condition that makes my teeth brittle. My siblings and I are at the point in our life where we can't put the inevitable off any longer. We have to rebuild our mouths. One sibling has crowned the teeth, another doesn't have the bone structure for the implants needed. So, dentures, it is. I meet with the dentist tomorrow to start deciding my fate. 

So you remember the brain/pituitary gland MRI my doc requested? Well, there wasn't a pituitary micro tumor. So we don't know why my prolactin level is high. But, they did find a cyst at the base of my brain.  Truth! It's in between my skull and my cerabellum. So it could be the cause of some of the headaches. And if I start getting dizzy, then we'll know why.

Are you wondering why I posted this with a pic of chocolate chip cookies? Well, that's because they are currently part of the strongest sweet chocolate craving I've battled in a Long time! I worried that I was diabetic again (was during pregnancy. ) But my blood sugar is fine and I'm not dying of thirst. But it's crazy hard to keep from eating a bucket of cookie dough in one day. The struggle is Real!!!  Hormones, chemicals, and their balance. It's a delicate art to get them balanced.

For now, I will finish this volume of The Tale of the Little Mama in a Grandma Body.   Heaven knows it's been long enough. Have no fear friends. All is well, enough. It could all be so much worse. 

Divided. Flourish.

Divided. My life is divided into many many different pieces. Places, people, passions, hobbies, responsibilities, trials, goodness, mother, wife, sister, daughter, close friend, social media friend, church member, school member. And on, and on. I am divided. I long for the islands. I love the convenience of city life on the coast. I miss my quiet life with family and farm animals. Storms rolling in and green pastures. I love following everyone as we write tiny blurbs and share a pic with each other throughout the week. I miss long blog posts and heartfelt discussion. I love Netflix. I miss reading.
My goal is to find who I am NOW. HERE. and to Flourish.

Happy Birthday Leif

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  today to the Love of my life!! Leif Baron there are no words to completely express how much you mean to me. Thank you for bringing so much joy to my world and to all who you come in contact with. I Love You!

Happy 39th Papa!

Celebrating Papa's birthday at the beach. We had such a great couple of days with him during his days off. The boys shopped for special gifts (Jakob got him a Massaging roller. JJ got Life Savers, because Leif is a "life saver" and Caleb got him a Lava Lamp.) We ended the party with a trip to Sizzler for all you can eat shrimp for Papa. The kids have officially declared it their favorite restaurant. Which is a gift in itself. We Love You Papa!!! You're your son's Best Friend. Who could ask for more!?

Grateful for Strength

Before I fall asleep tonight I am finally going to take a moment and sing praises to my Father in Heaven who saw fit to restore my strength after years of illness and fatigue. Every single day I find myself at least once, often more, in awe at how it feels to be able to care for my family completely. My life is not without its challenges. But my heart's desire was granted after years of pleading for the ability to be well enough to truly live, and raise my children. For this blessing I am forever grateful to my Lord!! #Hehearsourprayers  #Histimingissure  #nevernevernevergiveuphope

Facebook is the New Blog

How sad that it's been SOOO Long since I've updated this blog!!!  Luckily I have life documented elsewhere. But I shouldn't let it slip like this. It doesn't help that I started writing on a new blog for our latest adventure.

I'm pregnant again. Thrilled!! But still often wonder What the He*l we were thinking getting back to this part of life's journey. But this baby wants a body relentlessly. And after years of not being able, a miraculous healing, months of praying, professional counseling we began the sojourn of bringing another baby into this world. His story can be followed on www.MamasEndlessWhisper.blogspot.com

Otherwise, we still live with family in Alton. Leif is working at all of the local hospitals in the region. The kids LOVE School! Our pony passed away due to old age. Our goats have all given birth except for one who is due any time. We Love our world. My only struggle is the absolute remoteness of where we live. One Hour OVER A MOUNTAIN to get to Walmart and TWO HOURS to the temple and Costco. I'm trying to hang on through this part of the journey and focas on the many positives we have to be grateful for.

Life is Good! NOT EASY, but Good!

Family Update: Air Force - Homestead - and the Priesthood

We have created our new "Normal" here in Alton, Utah.  We've all finally acclimated to the higher elevation and can breath much better. Our skin and noses are still very much missing the humidity. But that will come in time as well and we will move on to acclimating to the Cold temperatures that are quickly approaching. Life is good here.

Months ago Leif went through the process of applying to become a Medical Officer in the USAF. Everything was complete except the interview with the Chief Nurse. Hawaii was going through a change in command and he wasn't able to meet with someone before he had to leave the island for his new work contract in California. He had warned his recruiter in advance that he would be probably be relocating to CA and was assured that there wouldn't be a shake up in his application process. Well, that wasn't true. When he arrived in California his Hawaii recruiter passed him a name and phone number and dropped him like a rock. That person was on Leave and the time came and went for the process to be completed with no further communication or answers to Leif's calls. Therefore, the journey of the Air Force life will not be in our future within this year. And most likely, not ever. 

It has been years since I have felt the drive and peace about settling down and establishing some roots. We feel that now. I don't know what the future holds. But at least I know that I won't have to pack us all up within the year and move again.  The kids are thriving in their new school. And I Love working with our animals and land on our little family homestead.

Leif is working hard in California and has extended his contract through February.  From there, I'm not sure what his career path will be. We miss him often. But are settled in here and find a lot of joy with Erik and Stacey and their daughter Victoria. I'm able to handle the every day challenges three weeks out of my cycle and one week is a nightmare filled with a lot of loneliness and anxiety.  But we know the pattern and are able to work through it with the love and support of Heaven and family around us. 

I still revel in the miracle of renewed health and strength. This weekend I was able to toss logs for splitting for a couple of hours as well as bales of hay to feed the animals. Along with mothering duties and caring for the animals. Strength like that still humbles me and fills me with gratitude and amazement. 

Jakob turned 12 years old in August and Leif was able to come home and ordain him to the Aaronic Priesthood. This was a very special event in Jakob's life and he takes it very seriously. He is a precious son of God with a tender heart, willing to do what is right. I feel blessed to be his mother. 

Within this month I was able to find the Miniature Shetland Pony of my dreams. He has been a great soothing distraction for me. As well as a blessing for JJ, who loves to ride and care for him. 

We are very blessed and I feel our Father in Heaven's hand in my life daily. Without Him, I would be lost and wandering in a hard, hard, journey. Praise Be, to Him!!

Hold to the Light - Live for It - Fight for It

Today I'm pondering the power and difference between Light and Dark. Sometimes we receive negative (dark) information, opinions, and "facts" about some one or something that we individually have already felt Light, Peace, Edification, Completion, etc, about. When we receive this new information that does not resemble these feelings of enlightenment we Must Remember the feelings, answers, and peace, The Light, that we have already felt prior to the new-found "information". And Cast Not Away Our Confidence in the Light and Knowledge we were already given. We must hold on to Light and pray through the storms of doubt and confusion that will surly come through time. Light is Always fought against by Dark. Hold On to that which brings Light, Peace, Edification, and Completion. And in time, Light will prevail and grow. Darkness will fade away. #FightForLight

Surrounded by Beauty and Joy - Yet Incomplete

There is a common struggle that we face as spouses separated by Deployment or Employment Abroad. There's not really a name for it, other than maybe "Incomplete Joy."  I am faced with the fact that I am surrounded by nature's majestic beauty and the excitement that comes from living on a homestead in the mountains of Southern Utah. But even with all of the glory that surrounds me, at times I'm unable to completely feel the joy that it emanates. I am incomplete. And there is only one explanation for the way I feel. My husband isn't here to share it with me. The joy, the beauty, the new life...

This can go both ways really. It can cause a lot of friction if not kept in check. One spouse may be experiencing an African safari while the other is wrestling the crazy kids on the home front. Or, like us, one may be preparing to bring home the new bottle calves for the boys to raise or living on the beach in Hawaii while the other is working double overtime to pay off the bills and create a savings. It's very easy to build up resentment towards each other in these situations. In my world, I try hard to fight against that resentment when it comes, and the result sometimes tends to be loneliness. Not despair. Just a sense of sadness that Leif's not here with us to relish in the joys we're experiencing.

We're looking at another four months of separation with a mini vacation to Missouri in between. We've tackled one month so far. Today it feels A Lot longer then one month. Wow! I shouldn't have done that math. ;) The daily grind makes it feel so much longer.