Heaven is manifested all around us--the beauties of nature; the kindness of a stranger; the wisdom and thoughtfulness of a friend; the unconditional love we receive from family; moments when we pause to listen to and connect with the true Source of Light and Love.
We got to do some connecting this weekend, during General Conference (aka "Jennifer" conference, if you're Mikey). I made some delicious food (if I do say so myself)--cinnamon rolls that were to DIE for, and some scrumptious Cafe Rio knock-off dishes--to tempt my family to cozy up with me and listen to 8 hours of talks from inspired servants of God. Not that they needed much bribing--the kids have come to look forward to the bi-annual General Conference weekends as special time with family (crafting, eating, coloring, drawing), and and even a little listening to the inspired messages.
We have a tradition where, at the start of each talk, Jaron or I will pick a word (like "families), and every time the speaker says the word, the kids can get a candy from a bowl up by the computer. It keeps them (and us) from falling asleep (which is no easy feat after all that good food and cozy-ness!), and helps them stay at least a little attentive to the speakers. This year, we kept forgetting to mention a "keyword", so the kids just took the initiative to reward themselves with a candy whenever they thought they deserved one. The candy bowl emptied pretty quick this year.
The weather was also gorgeous here, so in the mornings before the sessions started we'd go for a "bike ride" (mom huffing it on foot to keep up with the youngsters on bikes), and then settle in at 11 for some good food and inspiration from the internet. Jaron also took advantage of the before-and-between session time to paint his skateboard ramp. And can I just say that I am SO grateful for the internet?? When I was a child, we'd go to the church to watch the satellite broadcast of Conference. Since the church building was 25-ish minutes away, we never had time to go home and relax or eat in between sessions, so we'd haul our food to the church (sandwiches again...yum), and of course be in our "Sunday best" (which really means "un-comfortable") all day. I much prefer cozying up on the couch in my sweats and slippers, cuddling all my boys while I watch and listen.
There were a lot of powerful, peace-inspiring messages given. I'm glad I can go to the LDS website and re-watch or listen to all of the talks, so that I can really let them sink in better. But I wanted to share on this post something I liked that President Monson said:
"My counsel for all of us is to look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. The lighthouse of the Lord sends forth signals readily recognized and never failing. I love the words found in Psalms: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; … I will call upon the Lord … so [I shall] be saved from mine enemies.”3
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The Lord loves us, my brothers and sisters, and will bless us as we call upon Him."
I agree wholeheartedly with what President Monson says--that Heavenly Father is the God of ALL His children, and that he'll nourish and guide us more abundantly than we probably recognize. I have had too many specific, heart-wrenching prayers answered in clear and powerful ways to ever deny that God is Real, Present, and Ever Ready for us to seek Him so that He can bless us. May we all seek Him a little more intently, because surely He is all around us and has the power to open our spiritual eyes to recognize Him.
I also came away from this Conference weekend filled with love for others and desire to serve others better! Let me start by saying that I'm SO grateful for all your friendship!! I feel like I'm the luckiest gal because I've always been surrounded by good, fun, inspiring friends. If you're reading this blog, you can be sure that you've touched my or Jaron's life in some way, and from the bottom of my heart, I (and we) thank you!
3 comments:
I enjoyed reading this post Em. It's fun to hear how your family makes a whole weekend of fun out of conference. I love that you really enjoy it as a family and think that your idea with the candy and a "keyword" with each speaker is brilliant. I'm going to do that with my kids next conference weekend. I love you Em. I love having you as my sister and I have learned so much from you. You are such a great example and I really admire you.
Em you have always inspired me and I always have and always will continue to look up to you. I think you are absolutely amazing and would love to be more like you. I loved reading this post.
Ditto.
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