So, I never write much church stuff down, mainly so I don't offend anyone. But since this is sort of my journal, I have a bunch of thoughts I think I should put down.
First of all, I actually did my visiting teaching this past month for the first time in about a year. The lesson was on scripture study and how it can effect your daily life. Then our Sunday school lesson a couple of weeks ago talked at the end about what scripture study can do for you and no one was answering the lady's question, so I did. It seems like whenever I participate, even my answer hits hard with me...probably just the spirit telling me what I need to change. But I've noticed through the years Justin and I have been married, that as we read together, our relationship is stronger. Justin and I don't have a lot of arguments...in fact, I can't even remember one fight. We've had our differences and frustrations, but I honestly can't think of ever having a fight. We've never raised our voices to each other. But I think a lot of that has to do with what we are doing to feed our marriage. I've noticed that when we read together, we understand each other more and respect where the other person is coming from. When we don't read, we get annoyed with each other more or let little things bother us...and when that starts happening, I go through the check list of what we are or are not doing and if we're not reading or praying together, I realize we have to up that. When I read by myself, my day goes smoother. I'm a better mom with more patience, more optimism, and my every day dealings with other people are more pleasant and people don't get to me. I'm not great at this at all, and I definitely need to work on this.
Another thing, I love the temple! I love the spirit it brings and I have a quote that I've so found to be true. It says something like "When you attend the temple, your problems seem to go away. It's not that they disappear, but that they're easier to handle." I know that as we attend the temple, we can have the spirit of the Lord with us. I've noticed that when I've attended by myself or without Justin, it's still great, but I enjoy it so much more when I go with Justin. Every month Justin and I go with his family, and I love that. It keeps us going consistantly. But sometimes, I want to go with only Justin because I feel like it's so good for our relationship, that sometimes we'll add it in that month or if Justin's family can't go, we will still go together and I love that. I really think that attending the temple regularly has been part of what keeps our relationship good. I guess I've been thinking about that since we just had our anniversary and I was thinking what we do to keep it good so we will continue to always have good anniversaries and stay married. Satan targets the family so much in today's world and I know that I'm not exempt from that. I know that Justin and I will always have to work on feeding our marriage to keep it good. When I have gotten frustrated in the past, as soon as I realize it's probably Satan pushing me to let the little things get to me, I have to make things better. I don't want Satan to win that battle, so that usually means I have to drop my pride towards Justin and do something for him to make things better. But I guess Scripture study ties in there too, because as I read the scriptures, that is part of the armor that will fight off Satan. One piece of advice that I got when we were married was when we get in a fight, do some sort of service for the other person...I've done that and I seriously can't stay annoyed. Doing an act of love replaces the opposite feeling...good and evil can't dwell together at the same time.
So that's the other part that really has struck me...service. One of the blessings I've had Justin give me told me that as I serve others, Heavenly Father will make sure my needs are met. I just had a lesson on service for young women's and I got so much out of that lesson. My mom and dad have always been a great example of service to me. I have prayed for ways to serve others lately and to recognize the ways I can serve and so when an idea comes to my mind, I can't ignore it. Especially since I prayed for the opportunity.
I'm really glad for Justin. As we raise our family, I know I'll look to how I was raised to keep us close. We always ate dinner together as a family and I'll make sure we will always do that. Even when it was just me and Justin, I waited to eat with him, even if he was late working on a tower. My parents have always done a date night and we always make sure we at least reserve a night a week for each other that doesn't include other friends or family...sometimes Mya and Parker are part of those dates, but the key is that we are spending quality time together and talking to each other. The last part is Family Night. I wish that we had done this more even when it was just me and Justin. But we do it now with Mya and I love doing that to strengthen our family. I love this gospel and how happy it makes me. I can't imagine my life without the church. I have a lot I can always improve on and I need to be better about working on always improving. I feel like I'm slacking and so my goal is to be better about reading the scriptures more every day. My goal for the last 3 months have been to be a more pleasant person to deal with and to be nicer and treat others how the Savior would. Obviously, I haven't perfected this yet and it'll probably be something I'll always have to work on, but I know it's something I have to work on and in doing so, I'll be a happier person. I'm so glad for my patriarchal blessing. I haven't been good about reading it often the last couple of years, but I've had blessings from Justin that have told me to get to know my Patriarcal Blessing better. So, my goal is to try to read it every month. I know it brings me happiness and directs and instructs me with how I need to live my life.
This is long, so I guess I'd better wrap it up. I love the gospel. I always pray that I can keep the spirit with me and in my home and relationships. As I do, I can be happy and help others to be happy. I'm so glad for my family and the temple, that we can be an eternal family and that is my main goal in life. To always work on that...If I always kept that perspective, of what really matters in life, then it makes decisions so much easier to make and how I look at and treat people...as God's children.
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