What more appropriate day to blog about my gratitude for the gospel than on fast Sunday? Today was an especially spiritually uplifting and lovely Sunday. I wore my new skirt to church, and I looked cute :) Being fast Sunday, I did actually fast (true fasting wasn't really in my upbringing - although starving on fast Sunday was lol). I read my scriptures and pondered November's scripture for Primary (Matt. 22:37 - ... Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.)
In an attempt to understand the scripture more fully so that I might accurately help the kids learn it, I did some reading on lds.org and found this awesome talk by Robert F. Orton. During sacrament meeting, I did some scripture chasing of references. Oh, and testimony meeting was awesome. The Workmans blessed their new baby, and they are such an awesome family! Seriously, they're children are amazing, which says a lot about their parents :) Isaac gave an awesome blessing, and both Addy and Isaac bore their testimonies. I loved hearing about recent events in Isaac's life that illustrated to him that God is aware of him and knows his particular circumstances. We also learned a sister in our ward has a terminal disease, and her testimony touched me as well.
On less of a spiritual side, Matt and I were asked to be on the Christmas party committee. I love planning parties :) AND Connie and Chip Butler are the chairs - and Connie is fantastically crafty. I'm really excited to work with them over the next month or so :) Also, in our Relief Society bulletin, I found out my neighbor's birthday is today. Matt had made some brownies yesterday, so I put a few on a plate and used a card I had complimentary from somewhere to write her a little birthday note and took it upstairs to her. She's inactive, but a really cute girl. Yay for warm fuzzies, and for doing something outside my comfort zone. I think pondering that scripture today, coupled with the themes from that talk and testimony meeting, must have had a bit of an impact on me :)
Afterward, we went to Matt's parents' for dinner. It is always nice to spend time with family. I love my in-laws. I'm so lucky to have them and to feel like I really am a part of the family.
After that, we headed up to my parents' house. My dad and Gloria are back from New Mexico for a little bit. Dad had to have surgery on his eye again because his retina tore in a new place. He's currently recuperating from that. I didn't realize how much I missed being able to go to their house whenever and hang out, even though we didn't really do it much since buying the condo. (Having our own washer and dryer is amazing!) Nolan is also living there again, so we got to chat with them, watch some football, and eat brownies. I'm also grateful that Nolan has a friend who can take a look at my sewing machine :) We had Mocha with us, and I was worried Gloria wouldn't appreciate letting the dog in the house, but she was excited to see her and was fine with her in the house.
I guess this wouldn't really be a true "thankful for the gospel" post if I didn't share my testimony. I know the gospel is true and that this is truly the restored church of Christ on the Earth. I know God speaks to his living prophets, and that He speaks to us individually through His Spirit. I am grateful for the peace and direction the gospel provides. I am grateful for the knowledge it provides that we so often take advantage of. I can't fathom wondering how I came to be or if there was any life after death. I know it is there and that we can continue to progress in the next life if we earn that privilege in this life.
I am grateful for God's love for us, that he sent His Son to be our Savior and example. I am grateful that Jesus ransomed us, that we may live with Him again. I love the feeling of joy I get when I follow in His footsteps and act as a conduit for His love. I know that by serving others we can be closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus, and that we can be tools in Their hands.
We were recently challenged in church to learn everyone's names and greet everyone in the hall by name. I don't know a lot, and I'm a super shy person, but today I at least made the attempt to smile and say hi to people, more so than usual. Even though I may not know everyone's name, I was happier just showing that joy and love to others. I can honestly say that I love everyone I came in contact with today. I may not know their name or circumstance, but they are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and we're all here working toward returning to Him. I enjoy the feeling of camaraderie I feel at church, and also wherever I am, just by reaching out to people and getting to know them. We really are social creatures, and we weren't meant to go through this life alone. We each have separate talents meant to help and uplift each other. Together we can be whole. This reminds me of, well, a lot of quotes I've found on Pinterest... but this is the one that came to mind just now:
