Here is one of my favorite songs about prayer. Actually it’s one of my favorite songs of all time. I have felt the power of the message while teaching it to many children. My own and many who belong to my good friends.
I kneel to pray every day. I speak to Heavenly Father. He hears and answer me. When I pray in faith.
I begin by saying Dear Heavenly Father. I thank him for blessings he sends. Then humbly I ask him for things that I need In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Artistic Caroline presented by LG’s smartphone. Such a perfect depiction of her almost 2 year old attitude.
Sophia has been really sick.
And this mom has been really worried.
She didn’t have enough strength
and was in too much pain
and couldn’t go to school all last week.
They say she just has two really bad ear infections.
But I am not sure if that is right.
This girl has had A LOT of ear infections.
2 bouts of Swimmer’s ear.
Three sets of PE tubes.
And she has never been like this.
Her lymph nodes were huge on Friday night.
Visibly huge.
I also think she has a little whiplash from her cheer-leading class a few weeks ago.
Thankfully she looks a lot better today.
I am keeping my fingers crossed.
And praying more than crossing my fingers. Especially since she just said her ear is hurting.
She already had one round of zithromax
and 3 shots of rocephin.
Sophia hasn’t been sleeping as much as she should.
Her eyes were really really red and bloodshot yesterday.
Despite her lethargy, she was dying to go to church to be the reverence child.
(I looked for a link to an explanation for a reverent child, but I couldn’t find any –
a reverence child is the lucky kid who gets to stand in the front of the LDS sacrament meeting –
they stand with their arms folded and act as an example for the adults to remember reverence.)
Another side note: there is nothing like an assignment to be 10 minutes early for church to make a family 2 minutes late for church. We have been early for the past 6 weeks. Sorry Sophia.
After Sophia got dressed all pretty for church, Abigail voiced her observation:
“Look mom, Sophia looks like Rosalie (from Twilight).
Abigail was right. Sophia looked like she needed some blood bad. And fast!
Now I have two vampire children.
Just what I always wanted.
Thanks to all of our fallen soldiers who made it possible for me to raise a bunch of monsters.
We live in a wondrous country, despite the politicians.
Recently, because of a very in tune Relief Society teacher, I had the opportunity to reflect on the evolution of my testimony. I thought long and hard about any spiritual experiences I had as a child. The main thing that came to mind was the amazing tingly feeling I had shoot from my head to toe when I received the Holy Ghost. Christian doctrine says that we must be baptized by water and fire. In my faith, at age 8, when a child is accountable for their own actions they can be baptized by immersion. Afterwards, under the hands of those in authority holding The Holy Melchizedek Priesthood, one can be confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be baptized by fire when told to receive the constant companionship of The Holy Ghost. I had a really cool experience that even at age 38, I still remember vividly.
Besides this amazing experience, I could not recall a lot of details of times that I felt the influence of The Holy Ghost as a child. One thing that I did recall was a picture of Christ that my mom had hanging in our home. It was a beautiful sketch of Christ spending time with the children. I remembered that as a child, I spent significant time looking at this photo. It made me feel so good.
I can remember as a teenager looking at this photo, and having a distinct impression that I wasn’t living in a way that showed Christ that I knew that he loved me and that I loved him.
As an adult, pondering this piece of art and all the good feelings associated with it, I had a profound realization. I realized that as a child I had a pure love for my Savior Jesus Christ. I feel like I have grown to love the Savior even more in the last few years, but I don’t believe this testimony has evolved. I think I had a very strong testimony as a child that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Now as an adult, yes I do have a great knowledge of my Savior, but it does not trump that I had as a child. If anything I am trying my hardest to get back to that pure testimony that I had when I was young.
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
And if you are anything like me, and are struggling daily with raising children. Go here. You will find inspiration as I did. I promise.
LG’s law practice is a thing of the past. I think sometimes he misses it a little bit. Although he would never admit it. For any of you starting your own practice my husband will gladly give you some advice. Have a partner. The other thing he will tell you was told to him by a smart law professor.
“Get a good assistant and keep her.”
The first year of LG’s law practice I was the assistant. I guess I wasn’t good enough because he didn’t keep me. We often joke that I think I quit and he thinks he fired me. Either way it doesn’t matter. What really happened is I had a baby and it was too hard for me to take care of the baby, the other girls, LG, and his practice. I was forced to let LG take a portion of his take home pay and divvy it out to a real assistant.
I can’t remember the details, but before I knew it, LG had hired two assistants.
You see, he tries to be a humble guy and will gladly admit to needing all the help he can get.
The other lawyers that got to know is assistants always teased LG that he knew how to do things right. It was more than a little eery that they would all make the same joke:
“LG, you must be one hellofaguy. You have a blonde assistant on T and TH and a brunette on M,W,F.”
Yuck.
I really had to work on my confidence for years, and a wife really doesn’t need jokes like that. For a long time LG and I had an understanding that the only assistant he was going to have was a gay man.
But then came Sheena and Stephanie. I trusted these girls with my life and my husband. And they took really good care of him. I think if LG were to enhance his new job in any way, he would request a personal secretary to do all the things he doesn’t like doing. These girls were a godsend. They relieved my man’s stress level by about 40%.
Funny, by the pictures you would think that Sheena was the brunette and Stephanie was the blonde, but when they worked for LG, they both had opposing hair colors to these photos.
Sheena on her wedding day. I stole this photo from her facebook.
Stephanie on her graduation day. She e-mailed me this photo. And gave me permission to use it on my blog.
When Stephanie was working for LG, her mom showed me a pair of shoes that Stephanie had requested for her birthday. Upon seeing them, I begged her not to wear them to work. No explanation needed. She honored my request. Or didn’t she? I can’t remember. It really didn’t matter. I was just joking with her.
You can imagine my entertained laugh a few weeks back when opening an e-mail with this photo from Stephanie. Stephanie had graduated from paralegal school. She said she had to wear her heels to make a statement.
I replied with,
My thought was what point were you trying to make…that all legal assistants have to be hot? Because if that’s the case, my sex life should have been a lot better than it was during that year that I worked for LG.
At dinner the other night Abigail started telling us about her experience at school with missionary tag. Not a missionary tag that you wear on your lapel, but a game that you play at school.
I was more than curious. The social influence of LDS culture astounds me, and I am now living through the eyes of my children. There was no missionary tag in Tennessee. I found the idea very entertaining, as I knew it had to be a game made up by some Mormon some time in the last 200 year history. I enquired further. So, how do you play missionary tag?
Abigail responded: “well everyone has a partner.”
Oh, yes indeed. Missionary tag was referring to Mormonism. You see, just like the animals in the ark, God sends Mormon missionaries out to testify two by two. Whenever you see a Mormon missionary preaching anywhere in the world, they will always be accompanied by a companion. When I was a Mormon missionary I had a companion in eye’s view every minute of 18 months, except when I was in the bathroom. You would think I would be a better wife after having that kind of training.
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established, 2 Corinthians 13:1
Apparently that translates into a school playground game where everyone has a partner.
Before I let Abigail explain any further, I started heckling a bit. Just because that’s what we do.
me: So, you get a partner and then you go and find your bikes.
Abigail: No mom.
me: Oh yeah, that’s lame, not all missionaries have bikes, um, after you get a partner, you kneel down to pray?
Abigail: Mom, you are so lame sometimes.
me: After you get your partner, you run inside and whoever find a Book of Mormon first wins.
Abigail: Are you done yet?
me: After you get your partner, you sing Called to Serve.
Abigail: Mom, I am not going to tell you if you don’t stop.
me: So, you get a partner, and then….
LG: Alice, it’s not funny.
me: really?
LG and Abigail in unison: Really.
awww man. I was laughing. I thought I was hilarious.
Abigail went on to explain the rules of partner tag. But just so you know, in case you ever visit, in Utah, classic partner tag is called Missionary tag. Even a simple little schoolyard game has been inundated with Mormon doctrine…much like many other facets of living in this great state.
Wouldn’t you know it?
alice w. gold 