JANUARY

It's only one month into it, but 2016 has been a pretty good year so far.   

I got this book for my girls as a gift for Christmas. We already love it.  52 pages, (family night for a whole year) each page has a character from the bible. It tells their story, what we can learn from them, and gives a fun activity to go with the lesson. The first night we read about Adam and Eve, and how they tried to hide from God when they were ashamed. Talked about how we shouldn't hide from God and those we love when we make mistakes, cause they can help us. Then we played hide and seek. SO MUCH FUN. I got a picture of Shortcake in the best hiding spot of the night.

Shortcake started dance class this month. Finally getting to do all the exciting things she has watched her big sisters do.

She had a birthday too!

Her big sisters made sure she felt special that day.

We Skyped with grandparents.

Her best friend and her family came over for dinner and cake to finish off the day right.

My love and I got some really fun date nights in this month too! Every weekend we watched one of the old Star Wars movies.  Then we went and saw the new one in the theatre.  I love being this guy's date, and he doesn't complain when I SQUEEZE his hand during the scary parts.
We really enjoyed the new movie and I'm glad we took the time to re-watch all the old ones first. 

Plenty of fun things this month.  But plenty of simple life as well.  Like working our way through 5th grade and Kindergarten.  This little girl LOVES worksheets. I buy her workbooks at the dollar store and she whips through the whole book in one sitting. (20+ pages!)

  

It's been a great month, in many ways.  So to celebrate, we went out for a special treat to see Kung Fu Panda 3 .

But lifes little joys just keep on coming.  We got a small window of sunshine and the girls managed to get a few minutes out on the trampoline.   

When that got too cold, they came in and did one of their favorite things.  Made a super comfy bed using every blanket in the house.   

My love and I even squeezed in a 2nd date night out this month!  Definitely feeling spoiled.  We went to see the play "Arsenic and Old Lace."  Not as good as Cary Grant, but they still got us laughing.  (Kind of a dark picture, but it was as good as we could get.)

My Legos

I tell my primary kids, "building your testimony is like building with legos."
It is not an all or nothing process.


 
My brother had this lego castle growing up.
We played with it countless hours.
Building our testimonies is like building this really cool castle.









It is built just like this.

One

piece

at

a

time.





Just like when you put together a lego set, sometimes it can be hard to understand the next step.   It can be hard to see just exactly how the pieces fit.

The Lord has been helping me build my testimony.  And my heart is filled with gratitude for it.
Some of my recent lego blocks:

Fasting

When I graduated High School and was getting ready to leave home and go out into this great big world, my bishop gave me some counsel and advice that I have never forgotten.  He encouraged me to gain a testimony of fasting.  I've tried my best to do that.  Fasting is a testimony block that I have relied on many times.  During some of my recent challenges/learning experiences, the opportunity to fast, gave me hope that I couldn't seem to find anywhere else.   Fasting on Fast Sunday is a great opportunity to practice, and be more focused on feeling the spirit.  But fasting on a day other than Fast Sunday, is my way of showing the Lord, "this is so important to me."

God loves me

This is another block that was already part of my testimony.  But I've felt it reiterated and strengthened.  I guess you could say it's been traded out for a slightly bigger and stronger piece.  I've come to better relate to the scripture: Luke 11:11–13

11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?

13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” 

Priesthood blessings

I have had lots of priesthood blessings over the course of my life.  They have been nice, and helped me to feel peace.  But I recently had a priesthood blessing that strengthen my testimony and helped me to truly believe that they can be more than just nice and peaceful. I have overwhelming gratitude for the very specific things that were said.   Words that I know were not just spoken by His servant, but words that I know were from my Heavenly Father.

I'm thankful for the Lords servants.  Ordinary people like you and me.  But they live their lives in such a way that they stay worthy and able to be the Lords hands and bless God's children. 

 Depend on God

I once read this analogy:
 "When our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist the man who gets out to push than the man who merely raises his voice in prayer — no matter how eloquent the oration."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Oct 2009)

I try my best to be like the man who gets out to push.  I actively work hard and problem solve.  But I've come to realize that I get so wrapped up in "pushing my wagon" and relying on my own solutions, that I forget to depend on God.  God can see our "stuck wagons" far better than we can.  Sometimes "pushing" isn't the best answer.  Sometimes we need to pull, or dig, or wait. 

I have been studying hope these past few months.  Sometimes I have been afraid to hope.  Because sometimes hopes are shattered.  My experiences have helped me to realize that I have been hoping for the wrong things, and hoping in the wrong things.  I've hoped that my trials will be "solved" through various "solutions."  Instead, I am now doing my best to put my hope in God.  More specificly, hoping that God will show me His love as He has in the past.  And I truly believe that God's love is a hope that will not be shattered.