Been a long, long time since.....

Wow, so here it is over five years, since my last blog post. I suppose that is because I get busy with life and really don't make time to do it. Even now as I sit her to type up this post, my youngest is climbing all over me. Most of the people who read my posts are family or friends, so you are aware that I now have three kids. My oldest will turn eight this year and my youngest three. So many things have changed over these last five years and yet some have remained nearly the same. I won't bore you with a detailed account of the past, but suffice it to say that I am very happy and content with the majority of my decisions and life choices. One of the biggest changes other than having another child was in my work situation, I quit the job that was draining the life out of me. I was a full time stay at home mom for about a year and a half, then I got a part-time no stress job. Shawn has been working on getting his Business Management Degree and working hard at his job. We have nearly changed every room in our house, but anyone who owns a house knows that you are never truly done with home improvements. Really the reason I sat down to write a blog post was not to catch you up on my life, but to impart a bit of my personal inspiration, but as I sit here having summed up five years in two brief paragraphs, my reason for doing so seems to have ran to hide in the back of my mind. Inspiration comes and goes and sometimes if you don't commit it to paper as soon as it comes, it flees somewhere deep inside of you again. This seems to be the case for me today. My hope for you all is that you can find the things that breathe life into you, brings out the best in you and helps you to bring out the best in those around you. So many times we go with the flow of life, barely keeping our heads above the water, so concerned about being what you think everyone else wants/needs you to be. When we need to just step back and evaluate where we are, what we want to accomplish and how we can do that in a way that is most beneficial to ourselves and those who depend on us. We often get caught up in worry about pleasing the world and not pleasing our Father in Heaven and strive to find worldly success and forget that worldly success dies when we die. Heavenly Father isn't going to be impressed by our resume, and how much money we made in life or how much praise we received from our peers. He wants us to always strive to be like His son Jesus Christ and find ways to honor him by helping our fellow man. Not to gain praise for these acts, because if we are charitable with the expectation of praise it is not true selfless service and charity. Quite acts of service done anonymously, and with an eye single to the glory of God are what we should strive to do. Now, you may be reading this thinking, yeah this is great, but who are you to preach to other people about this, and you would be right. I am not perfect and really don't serve as much as I should. This isn't me trying to preach to anyone this is just me trying to figure things out for myself and in so doing trying to help others to as well. We are all imperfect and need our Savior to perfect us. In this journey of life we can either judge one another based on those imperfections we see in each other or strive to lift one another and help them see the parts of them that are praiseworthy and help to cultivate the good. Water the fruits and ignore the weeds, because the more we focus on the virtues in each other the more there will be to see. It is my sincere hope and prayer that I may continue to learn and grow towards the Son and that I may not fail in my duty as a mother, wife, family member and friend. That I can be here to help those in need and that I will show more love to those around me. To change from a person who makes snap judgements of others, to someone who truly seeks to understand and love people who may not choose the same path as me. To love myself as I am loved by my Heavenly Father.

In closing I want to add a quote form Dieter F. Uchdorf, "It may seem odd to think of having a relationship with ourselves, but we do. Some people can't get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God's creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean to you personally. Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you-as His precious daughter or son with divine potential." From his talk "Of Things That Matter Most," General Conference of The Church of Latter Day Saints October 2010.