Inspiring

The Saints

I was at Wal-Mart doing my late night shopping last night.

I am known to hum or sing softly to myself while browsing down the aisles.

For some reason the song When The Saints Go Marching was stuck in my head.

While inspecting the breakfast cereal for the best deal, a woman stopped me in the middle of my measure. “It’s so nice to hear from a good Christian”, she declared.

I said, “Oh, excuse me, I just get a little carried away sometimes.”

She said, “Please don’t apologize. It’s wonderful.”

I was happy that she was happy. I was happy that she was a Christian too. I was happy that she took the time to tell me that she was glad that I was Christian. But, I was skeptical that she would still think so after finding out that I was a Mormon. Most protestant people in the South are taught by their clergymen that Mormons are not Christian.

I didn’t say anything to her. I didn’t want to burst her bubble. And, I was a little embarrassed that I was caught in my musical praise while dissecting the price per ounce of the Life cereal.

But, I would just like to take my Sunday post to declare. No matter what you have been taught by your pastor, please know this….I am true believer in Jesus Christ and his saving grace, and so are my other Mormon friends. We truly believe that we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And so we try to be saints.


And, if you don’t think I am a Christian because I don’t put something so sacred like my testimony of Jesus Christ on my bumper, I will gladly give you my best rendition of any gospel song of praise in the cereal aisle: “Oh when the Saints go marching in, how I want to be in that number, when the Saints go marching in.”

Seatbelt Security
I have posted before about some of our family’s seatbelt dialogue.

Here’s another one that happened the other day.
LG: ” Girls put your seatbelts on.
Do you guys want to know why you need to wear your seatbelts?”
Me: “Because you don’t want to die if we crash, that’s why. Now put them on.”
Abigail: “We know mom. You’ve told us that a million times.”
LG: “Yeah, but there’s another reason. I was reading a Reader’s Digest article the other day and it was talking about people who die in car crashes. 90% die because someone wasn’t wearing their seatbelt. And lots of times the person that was wearing their seatbelt died, and the person who wasn’t wearing their seatbelt lived. The person who wasn’t wearing their seatbelt shot out of their seat like a missile and killed the other person. Wouldn’t you feel bad if you killed mom?”
Abigial: “O.k. o.k. I am putting my seatbelt mom. I don’t want to missile you.”
Me: “I don’t want to missile you or miss you either Abigail. Thank you.”

My mom’s advice for the day is:
Scare your kids into wearing their seatbelts.
And, please, please, teach your kindergartners how to take off and put on their own seatbelts, so that I don’t have to wait longer in the school pick up line while you secure your child properly.

Strength

Last Sunday was our Stake Conference.

Elder David A. Bednar was presiding. I felt so humbled and privileged to be in the presence of a modern day Apostle.

I wished I would have invited all of Knoxville to attend the meetings with me. I also wished that all of Knoxville was willing to believe that there really are modern day Apostles who speak as the prophets of old.

I cannot even begin to describe the feelings of my heart.

The message Elder Bednar delivered made me realize so strongly that the messages given by the leaders of the church are not about the man who is delivering the message. But, the messages are really about the Savior Jesus Christ, who Apostles are privileged to be a special witness for.

One of the most touching moments of the conference for me was the message of receiving power through the atonement of Christ.

Many people consider the atonement as only a sanctification through forgiveness of sins, but Elder Bednar instructed so profoundly that the atonement is also the way which each of us individually gains the strength of God.

With God, all things are possible.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ~ Philipians 4:13

And, it’s Wednesday, so here is a video that I thought was inspiring.

It illustrates that we have got to push ourselves and trust in something beyond our limited vision and we can accomplish more than we ever thought was possible.

And, there should be no other perfect person to place that trust in except for God himself.

Sisters
My sisters and I got to share some moments together recently.
Sisters are the best thing EVER.
Three of us peed our pants multiple times from laughing so hard.
(I’ll let you guess which ones did the peeing.
I have been told that not everyone wants to share their life story.)
The joys of the incompetent bladder: something only a sister can understand.
Luckily we were out on a jet ski & only had to jump in the water to clean up.

Here is an e-mail forward that I read yesterday. I found it strikingly true.

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter

‘Don’t forget your Sisters,’ she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. ‘They’ll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.’

‘Remember that ‘Sisters’ means ALL the women… your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. ‘You’ll need other women. Women always do.’

What a funny piece of advice!’ the young woman thought. Haven’t I just gotten married? Haven’t I just joined the couple-world? I’m now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!’

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

Time passes.

Life happens.

Distance separates.

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go.

Love waxes and wanes.

Men don’t do what they’re supposed to do.

Hearts break.

Parents die.

Colleagues forget favours.

Careers end.

BUT………

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you…Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn’t be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

Off to school
Last week marked the beginning of another school year for the Gold Family.
It is a little historic for us, as Bella, our baby, finally gets to go along with her sisters.




So, now I am left filling my days without children in tow.
I think that this Wild Thing will be o.k.

When I started getting a bit sad, I decided I needed to embrace the change.
I gave myself a treat on the first day of my new found freedom.
I went to Panera Bread and got whatever I wanted.
I sat and ate and read my book just to make sure I could still enjoy some quiet.
I sure hope the girls enjoy school as much as I enjoyed my date with myself.
I also hope that they will find and be the kind of friend that is illustrated in the following story by Susie. And, they will always remember that prayers are answered.
Bella can attest to prayers being answered herself. All summer, Bella repeatedly told us she wanted Mrs. Nitz, and we told her that any teacher would be just fine and that she wasn’t going to get to choose. It ended up that she had been assigned a teacher other than Mrs. Nitz, the one Sophia had last year. Bella was bummed out during the first week of assessments, but didn’t complain. She just kept on saying, “I really really really want Mrs. Nitz.” To our pleasant surprise, when Bella reported to her second day of school, Mrs. Nitz was waiting. Bella had been changed to her class. You should have seen that smile of an answered prayer.
WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom…..

There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives. The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, ‘Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.’
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap. The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, ‘Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!’
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy.. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You’ve done enough, you klutz!’
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, ‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’ Susie whispers back, ‘I wet my pants once too.’

The Foundation for a Better Life
I love these billboards. They are brought to you from an organization called The Foundation for A Better Life. I can’t tell you how many accidents I have barely missed while cricking me neck on the interstate trying to read the fine print. Not to mention trying to photograph.
Love these….plan to try and get more for your view.
And, I plan to live by the lessons in them too. I love it when people are inspiring. I also love it when other people spend time and money and buy billboards to inspire others.