"Getting It Done A Little Less"

I am still working on my Conference isssue from April.  I know- kind of behind.  As I was reading, I came across a quote by Anna Quindlen.  Elder M. Russell Ballard relates her thoughts in his talk:  

"The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one most of us make... I did not live in the moment enough.  This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs.  There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one.  And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.  I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing:  dinner, bath, book, bed.  I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

Since Reading that thought, I have come to realize how quickly the time REALLY goes by!  If you stop and think about it, we really only have them around for five years.  They go of to school and they are at school longer than they are at home (at least in the waking hours.)  How lucky we are to have these little ones.  They are so special, and teach us so much!

"The Joy of Womanhood"

"Women of God can never be like women of the world.  The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind...  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith."

-Margaret D. Nadauld

Former Young Women General President

So Many To Learn From!

I am reading a great book called,"Your Child's Strengths," by Jennifer Fox M. Ed.   It is a great book about finding the learning strengths of children.  (It has actually helped me discover a few things about myself.)  Throughout the book it adds quotes, here are a few that just recently caught my eye:

"People do not lack strength; they lack will."  -Victor Hugo

"To think negatively is like taking a weakening drug."   -Remez Sasson

Last Testimony

Just before my Father passed away he and my mom had the opportunity to speak in church.  This is the last testimony he shared:  

"I want you to know that my Father in Heaven lives and you heard me say that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and President Hinckley is the current prophet of God. I want you to remember that - that I said that."

-Kenneth L. Cloward

Dec 1938 - May 2006

OUR LITTLE ONES

"Behold your little ones, and teach them. I need not remind you that your example will do more than anything else in impressing upon their minds a pattern of life.

The story is told that in ancient Rome a group of women were, with vanity, showing their jewels one to another. Among them was Cornelia, the mother of two boys. One of the women said to her, “And where are your jewels?” To which Cornelia responded, pointing to her sons, “These are my jewels.” Under her tutelage and walking after the virtues of her life, they grew to become Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus—the Gracchi, as they were called—two of the most persuasive and effective reformers in Roman history. For as long as they are remembered and spoken of, the mother who reared them after the manner of her own life will be remembered and spoken of with praise also.

May I return again to the words of Brigham Young: “Let it be your constant care that the children that God has so kindly given you are taught in their early youth the importance of the oracles of God, and the beauty of the principles of our holy religion, that when they grow to the years of man and womanhood they may always cherish a tender regard for them and never forsake the truth.”

- Pres. Hinckley, December 2007

Life Changing!

A book that I recently read and absolutely love is: "How to Win Friends and Influence People." This is one of the best books that I have ever read! It is one of those books that when you put it down, you have the desire to be a better person. My favorite quote, from the book is:

"Any fool can criticize, but it takes true character to be understanding and forgiving."

I don't mean to sound Oprah-ish, but this is a quote that has been life-changing for me. It is so easy to criticize people and the things they do. We don't know what others are struggling with, and I certainly hope that other people give me the benefit of the doubt. I must say it again- I love it so much! "Any fool can criticize, but it takes true character to be understanding and forgiving." (Did I say I Love that quote?!)

What it's about

I came across this quote in the September 2008 Ensign:

"No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

I think this quote is a great reminder to us! Good will prevail even though at times life may be difficult, and it seems as though we are alone in our beliefs. If we endure we will come off conquerer.