Primary Programs & Children's Testimonies

When I first decided to revive this blog, I couldn't remember why I had stopped writing in it the first place. There are many reasons, of course, but a major one is just the time! I've literally sat down to write in this blog three times since last week but someone needs my attention, the computer has to reboot, the laundry is suddenly done and....you get the picture. I've also been doing some food preserving lately. We've done three different jam varieties, corn, pears, applesauce, and dehydrated apples. I have a whole new respect for my grandmother's and mother's generations, who preserved food all during harvest. Man, it takes a lot of time!

But for the topic at hand. My children had their primary program on Sunday. I look forward to the primary program all year and I'm always just a little sad when it's over, knowing we won't have another one for a full year. I love watching the children. The smiles, the shy turns of heads, the exuberant (or barely voiced) songs, the parts so diligently memorized and forgotten, and most especially the testimonies.

One of the things I love most about children is their zest for life. They wake up happy in the morning; they make friends; they forgive and forget; they go to bed happy--and then they do it all over again. That zest and excitement for life is so eagerly applied to their love for the gospel. It's an infectious love! It would be nearly impossible to attend a primary program, to listen to those children sing "I Love to See the Temple" or "Scripture Power" and not notice & be affected by their testimonies of the words they are singing.

The spirit was definitely present at this meeting. Every moment the presence of the Holy Ghost could be felt but I want to specifically mention a couple songs. One of the songs the children had prepared was "Praise to the Man." This is a powerful song anyway but I was so struck by the children singing it. The first verse was sung by a small group of the oldest boys in primary, as well as all the boys who have left primary this year to join the young men as deacons. Oh! I wish I had words to express the feeling I had when those boys started to sing that song. It was so powerful! I had chills and goosebumps.


Another amazing song was "We'll Bring the World His Truth." The change was almost physical, felt throughout the entire chapel. You could just tell there was something about this song that touched the hearts of the members of my ward--myself included. As I was listening I realized it was that song that put the desire to serve a mission into my heart when I was young. The Lord's plan for me was different than my own (hence getting married instead of serving a mission) but this song made me want to serve a mission so badly! I could see in the eyes of some of the children singing on Sunday that they felt the same way! And the presence of the Holy Ghost was unmistakable. It was beautiful!



Our children have such powerful testimonies and when they all combine their testimonies together, it can create a life changing, deep, spiritual feast. I hope I am never too busy to listen to the testimonies of my children. I hope I am never too impatient to wait for them to share their best with me. I hope I am never too proud to remember my children are my greatest teachers.

Let's Revive This Blog

It's been a long, long time since I've posted anything on this blog! I do not know why, but I have felt impressed that I need to start it back up again. What am I going to be posting? I have no idea. Who will read it? Maybe no one. But that isn't the point. The point is that I need to be better at following the promptings I receive from the Holy Ghost and I really feel that writing on this blog is something I'm being directed to do at this time in my life.

It's been a really long time since I posted anything here. Seven years, in fact. Seven! That's such a long time. I had all but forgotten about this blog, in fact. Then a couple weekends ago my husband, Dan, and I attended his niece's sealing in the Rexburg, Idaho, temple. While I was sitting there, thinking about the beautiful place a temple is and learning even more about symbolism and what the temple really means for us (I'll post about this experience later), I suddenly thought, "I need to write about this." As I pondered on that thought I wondered how I should write about it. I was just thinking of my journal when I received a very distinct thought that I should write about it on this blog. I have learned that, for me personally, when I get a thought out of nowhere, especially about something so far removed from my daily thoughts as this blog was, that it is an inspired thought.

As I said, that was a couple weekends ago and I am just now getting to this. Why so long? Because I ignored the prompting. But then as time has gone on, the thought keeps coming to me more and more frequently. So I'm choosing to follow that prompting and revive this blog. And I suppose we'll see where it goes. :)

Since it's been so long I think I should reintroduce myself and my family.

I am married to the most wonderful man for me. His name is Dan and he is my perfect companion. He completes me in every way. We met as students attending BYU-Idaho--we were in the same Family Home Evening group. It's a pretty classic story. :) After dating for about six months, we were sealed in the Logan, Utah, temple. That was just over ten years ago and what a great ten years they've been! Ups and downs, learning curves, laughter and tears. Truly there is opposition in all things and getting through all the tough times makes marriage even better.

I am also a mother to three beautiful and busy children. My Liv is six years old; she is my daily dose of sunshine. Dal is four and he is spunky and sensitive and sweet and my little buddy. And James is one year old and is already so busy but his smiles can light up a room. This is my beautiful family in my beautiful life.

My family is my everything; without them, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I would be incomplete. But in addition to being a wife and mother, I am also a daughter, a granddaughter, a niece, aunt, cousin, friend. I am a baker always looking for a good reason to make cupcakes; a note writer and collector of cute note cards; a vocalist, primarily of classical music, but I dream of singing easy jazz and oldies (like, really old); a chocolate lover, particularly good German dark chocolate; and a recovering perfectionist. Welcome to my world.