Let's Do It Again!

Toddlers can be so persistent.

Have you ever had to watch a toddler for a while?  Particularly one who wants something he should not have?  Or been playing with a toddler who is learning a new skill or doing something a little bit new?

If so, you know that repetition is pretty much a way of life for toddlers.  They can ask for candy a thousand times and seem not to be deterred in the slightest that you have said no all one thousand times.  If you are "helping" them build a tower, just as you are finishing it, they'll want to knock it over and have you "build it again."

Tonight, we were teaching Little Man about the roll of prophets in the Lord's church.  To demonstrate Jake helped Little Man build a house on a board, then he took the board out from under the house.  Of course the house fell down.  I don't think the dust had settled before Little Man exclaimed, "Let's do it again!"

Jake commented on how the Lord probably said the same thing each time He called a prophet to establish/re-establish His church.

Jake's comment made me think about how often the Lord has had to re-establish His church here upon the earth because wickedness overtook its members.

It also made me grateful God is willing to try over and over again with each of us, much like that loving parent who builds the tower over and over again.

But it also made me think about how we need to be persistent like little children in our attempts to live the gospel.  We need to have the persistence to start over when our spiritual towers fall down.  We need to have the enthusiasm to try over and over again to get something right.  And when we aren't quite perfect, hopefully we can have that youthful energy to say "Let's do it again!"

Winning Battles, Losing Wars

Thankfully I have never had to live in a war zone.  At least not the kind where bombs were exploding around me, or soldiers were marching through the streets of town.   I'm young enough that I don't remember the cold war, and the other major wars we learned about in school were over long before I was born.

My personal experience with large scale conflicts is restricted mostly to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing "War on Terror."  And that has, gratefully, been from the long distance position of listening to the news.

My experience with the news tells  me that there are many small things that happen every day--but you never hear about them.  It is only when something major or "news worthy" happens that an event makes the printed page...or radio announcement.

And I suspect that it is rarely those large events that win wars.

Though I have been blessed not to have a large amount of experience in the wars of the world, there is another type of war in which I am a soldier.  Everyone is a soldier; whether they know it or not; whether they want to be or not.  It is the war between God and Satan for souls.

This war rages everyday in the life of every person.  Often it is so "uneventful" that I forget I am actually in the war zone.  I live my life trying to do the "mundane" daily things that my religious leaders have asked me to do--not really feeling like I am influenced much by the war.  But sometimes there are major attacks that bring the war not only to mind, but also to conversation and politics.

One such attack in that battle is the overturning of the Utah constitutional ban on Gay and Lesbian marriage.  I realize people have differing views on the matter.  But this is my blog, so my views take precedence here.

I believe God has given men and women sacred roles not only for this earth life, but also for eternity.  Satan understands that and has done all he can, throughout the history of the world, to prevent us from reaching the full potential of those roles.  Part of those roles are for us to help each other become perfected through marriage and the physical and emotional intimacies of that relationship.  Only in that sacred relationship can we receive all that God truly wishes for us to have in the eternities.

But it must be done in God's way.

I do not believe Gay and Lesbian relationships follow God's way.  In fact, I believe them to be sins because they are so contrary to the way He has ordained.

Many people (and political correctness) call for me to "let it go" or even to agree that Gays and Lesbians should be married.  But I can't.  I'm a soldier in God's army.  And I know it.  And I want to be.  And it is because I care for them and society as a whole that I will continue to oppose Gay and Lesbian marriage.

The overturning of the Utah constitution and the recent rulings of the Supreme Court concerning marriage are battles Satan has won in the war for souls.  But Satan will not win this war.  In the end we know that God will banish Satan and his army and they will be miserable.

But it is not the overall war that leads me to voice my opinion.  The overall war is decided.  Our individual wars are not.  Participating in a Gay or Lesbian relationship jeopardizes an individual's eternal salvation.  Those who feel they have "won the battle" because of the rulings that Gay marriage is legal are "losing the war" for their souls.  And it will be a difficult road back for them--if they choose to try to make their way back.

I know many think that my opinions mean that I "hate" gays and lesbians. I don't.  But please don't expect me to give up my beliefs to make you comfortable.  I believe that I should not only live by the gospel of Jesus Christ, I should encourage others to do the same.  And I should support measures that legally encourage the gospel to be a part of everyone's lives and oppose those legal measures that would weaken the gospel in others' lives. 

Christ called the sinners to repentance and bade them to follow him.  He did not condone their sinful acts, but He loved them.  I may not do it perfectly, but I am striving to do the same.


 For those looking for information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' stand on the matter, I would recommend the following:

The Family a Proclamation to the World
The divine institution of marriage

Watch out Baby Sis'er, IT'S ME!!

Toddlers can say the funniest things.  And sometimes the reason they are so funny is because THEY ARE SO TRUE!

Yesterday, I was holding our Baby Girl on the couch and my Little Man kind of bounded onto the couch and randomly exclaimed, "Watch out Baby Sis'er, IT'S ME!"

Honestly, for those of you who know my Little Man, I am curious to know the image that just popped into your head that would cause that to be a valid warning.

With as rambunctious as my Little Man is, I kind of wonder if he will be able to come up with a more true statement to tell her for quite a while.  We have had quite a few close calls where flying objects....or flying toddlers.....have nearly pummeled our Baby Girl. And as much as I am trying to keep my Baby Girl safe, there are times that my ability to do so is lacking.

For example:

When Baby Girl was about 2 weeks old, against my better judgement, I gave into Little Man's request to stay in the bathroom while I showered.  I decided that would be okay because Baby Girl was sleeping in her bassinet in my bedroom.  Unfortunately,  Little Man got tired of being in the bathroom and I had not locked the door to keep him trapped (kind of, anyway).   When I came out of the bathroom, I discovered that Baby Girl was now sleeping peacefully on my bed.  I'm making a guess Baby Girl didn't jump out of her bassinet by herself. I can only hope the transport process wasn't to upsetting for her.  I suppose it wasn't too bad since she had gone back to sleep by the time I discovered her.

Last week, I had just left the living room where Baby girl was sleeping in her rocking chair.  I had barely made it down the hall when Little Man comes running up and says "Babes, Babes, Babes, Babes, Babes turn Baby Sister upside down." I returned to the living room to find Baby Girl grunting in her tipped-all-the-way-backwards rocking chair.

But perhaps Little Man's warning is more applicable to the future than the past.   Last night, as Baby Girl and I were sitting on the couch, Little Man came up to snuggle with us.  Not long after, he slyly said, "Babes take away Baby Sister's head, please, please?"  Say WHAT?  NO!  You may not take away Baby Sister's head!!

So Baby Girl, consider yourself duly warned by your big brother, "Watch out Baby Sis'er, IT'S ME!!"

Babes hold Baby Sis'er

Baby Sis'er taste like salsa!!

 
Disclaimer:  Little Man has expanded the game his Grandpa likes to play with him of "stealing your nose" to include stealing any body part he feels like....and that is how he wanted to take away her head.  He (hopefully) doesn't really  want to decapitate his sister.

Adventures Not Quite in my neighbors driveway

So, winter has arrived in our little town. Those frosty little snowflakes now cover our lawns, house tops, trees, parks, and when the snow first falls....they cover up our roads and driveways.

There are snow plows and four-wheelers moving snow all over town attempting to restore our ability to travel to and fro.  And for the most part, they are successful.  Still travel shortly after a snowstorm can be treacherous--especially in the dark.  Such was the case for me last Sunday while I was traveling to my neighbor's house to help prepare handouts for our upcoming Relief Society meeting.

Though I can't recall actually going to this neighbors home before, I was pretty sure I knew which house was her's (this makes much more sense if you know how county addresses work around here).   This particular neighbor lives in what I consider the "other side of the Y" on a dead end road.  Because the road is a dead end, I haven't really been a frequenter of the area, though I am sure I have driven it a few dozen times over the years.  But that doesn't mean I had the area memorized.

Anyway, I headed over to her house just after 7 p.m. (remember it is dark then ;) ) on the day after our first  heavy snowstorm.  Since I was only mostly sure (not 100% sure) which house I was headed to, I was focusing on finding the house.  Focusing on finding the house must have been a little bit distracting because as I rounded the corner and saw the house I was headed for, I started searching for the driveway.  Remember it was dark.

In the shadows I saw what I thought was their plowed out driveway with a light snow dusting on it.  Did I mention they live on hill????  Anyway, since I thought there was a light dusting of snow on their driveway, I gunned it so I would be sure to make it up the hill.

Gunning it was my second mistake.....the first mistake was identifying the driveway.  It turns out that what I thought was the outlines of their plowed driveway was actually 2 sets of footprints on their yard. :(  So basically, I plowed my car right into the snowbank on the side of the road.  Of course, since the snowplow (or 4 wheeler) had been by, it was not just the fallen snow, but the extra snow from the road, and I was buried 3/4 of the tires deep in snow.  And Very Embarrassingly Stuck.

Fortunately for me, I live in a very friendly town and there was another neighbor heading home who took time to stop and try to push me out.  He wasn't able to get me out just by pushing, but he hurried home and got a tow rope and he and the husband of the neighbor I was headed to were able to pull me out fairly easily with a truck.  I was then able to drive the additional 50 or so feet and make it with no problems into their ACTUAL driveway ;)

No Con Se Ken Says

At first glance, the title of this blog may appear to be a foreign language.  It isn't.  Instead, it is the phonetic breakdown of how my Little Man says the phrase "No consequences."

The most recent use of this phrase was last night.  Jake and I are trying to teach Little Man that he needs to listen to what Mom and Dad say and obey quickly.  Our teaching this principle is feeling even more urgent since we have recently welcomed a Baby Sister to our family and she of necessity spends a (large) portion of the day not in our arms--leaving her exposed to the energetic and speedy actions of her overly loving Big Brother.

Last night, we were preparing to have our family prayer and had asked several times for Little Man to join us, but he kept running away.  We  have found that if we state a consequence for disobedience, he will do as we have requested.  Unfortunately, Little Man is occasionally SLOW to obey even with the stated consequence.  Perhaps it was my state of exhaustion that caused me to lose my patience, but there came a point that I started counting to 3 (which almost always elicits the desired response in a rapid fashion).  Tragically (yes, tragically) last night I actually made it to 3 :(.  

The tragic consequence for Mom making it all the way to 3 without Little Man sitting down for prayer was that he didn't get his sippy cup of milk while going to bed.

Upon hearing that he would no longer be able to have his "Sippy Big Milk" he rushed over to where we were kneeling and started crying, "Babes pray with Dad! Get Sippy Big Milk! Peas Peas Peas (Please)" We reminded him that not getting milk was the consequence for not listening to Mom.  This caused him to break out with a string of "No Con Se Ken Says!"

These "No Con Se Ken Says!" moments have taught me something that I never supposed as a child: Enforcing consequences is as hard or harder for parents than receiving them for children.  Not allowing my Little Man to have his "sippy big milk" last night made my evening much more difficult not only because I had to listen to him begging for milk (saying please over and over for it no less) and crying, but because I knew that giving him the milk would likely result in him falling asleep quickly and allow me to finish up some other responsibilities I needed to attend to.

But I did not give him the milk.  I couldn't because as a Mom, it is my responsibility to teach my child correct principles.  As a Mom, I need to teach my Little Man and Baby Sister to trust that what I say will happen, will happen.

I don't need them to know this because I am their Mom and want them to obey me, but because the home is the first place (and increasingly the ONLY place) that they can learn there are consequences for their actions. Despite what the government may do remove the hard consequences of unwise choices, the Lord has not removed them.

I want my children to know that they must obey the Lord to receive the blessings He so wants to give them.   I want them to know that they can not reach the judgement bar after a disobedient life and cry "No consequences!" and receive the same blessings as the obedient and faithful.  I want them to trust that God will do as He says He will, and the promised consequences, good and bad, will be waiting for them after their choices.  I am sure it is hard for our Heavenly Father to have to with hold those blessings from us, much like it was hard for me to not allow Little Man to have his milk, but He will withhold them if we have disregarded His Laws.

And I feel it is my role to teach my children this principle by letting them experience it in a small degree at home---so that they can develop the discipline to do it with a Heavenly Parent they can not see.  So, I'm sorry my Little Ones....there will be "Con Se Ken Says"in our home.