Welcome back to SO WHAT SATURDAY. This week I have really studied and considered and blogged. But … so what? How has it served me – how am I any better? Let’s look at see:
SUNDAY
DAY #219 On Sunday, reading Elder Renlund’s words and considering what the message was for me, I was able to really get a good idea about what I want from myself for my life in the next 13 years of my life. And all are within my power:
- 100% positive relationships with others
- 100% positive relationship with myself, my body, my home, my money, my responsibilities
- I want to try new things, taking the gifts I have been given and adding to them
- I want to live for and serve the Lord, with Him as my focus and my reason, in my home, in my community, in whatever way He sends me, by desire or by call.
MONDAY
DAY #220 This morning, I was talking to a close friend about raising boys. From what she’s learned from her experience, boys don’t get angry for no reason. There is something “off” in their life – something that is bothering them – when they are cross. And when they won’t talk, when it remains a secret, it turns into shame and anger.
“How (can I) create a climate of openness in (our) home?”
How can I communicate to my boys, as well as to my girls, that their thoughts and their fears and their experiences can be shared in our home? And that they are 100% worthy, just the way they are. And that they are 100% lovable, just the way they are.
I can do that by being open with them about my own fears and my own experiences.
“I can be open with them, and they can be open with me.”
I can invite conversation with questions, and maybe more importantly, follow-up questions. I can invite conversations by creating an opportunity for those conversations – slowing down my life enough that I have one-on-one time with each child. I can invite those conversations by not reacting negatively to what thy chose to share with me.
These things are within my power. Every one of these things is something I can do. I cannot force any of the children to talk, but I can be more intentional about these things in myself and in the way I show up in my home.
TUESDAY
DAY #221 Resistance. Yes. This is a game-changer. If I can start recognizing what resistance I, myself, introduce into my life, and in what areas, I can gain some leverage over this tendency of mine – to resist what is.
“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”
A simple example from this week. I woke up, a few nights in a row, in the middle of the night. Not because I was upset or uncomfortable – just because my body wanted to be awake. And I had the opportunity, in a very real way, to practice acceptance instead of resistance.
Resistance would have looked like this: I can’t believe I am awake, again! What is wrong with me. And if I can’t get back to sleep right away, I am going to be too tired tomorrow to enjoy Bry’s day off. And I will be grumpy. And no one will want to be around me – including myself. Dang it – just go to sleep already!
Acceptance, which is what I chose to do, looked like this: Hmmm. I wonder why I am awake again. Is there something going on in my life that is upsetting me right now – something that could use my attention? Is there something I can do to make my room more comfortable? Is there something I can learn from being awake tonight? Maybe I can learn how different this experience can be if I choose acceptance over resistance.
Those were my exact thoughts, actually. And because of those thoughts, the experience didn’t elicit a quickened heart-beat or frustration or agitation. In fact, I was able to eventually peacefully drift back to sleep.
This was a really merciful way to practice this principle. And maybe if I practice it enough in these smaller circumstances, I can be more mindful of resistance in bigger and harder circumstances. And I can change that part of me that is holding me back from being the next best version of myself.
WEDNESDAY
DAY #222 Where does confidence come from? Does it come from doing more and doing better? Actually, no. I think true confidence comes in stepping into your “true self”.
“Your true self is your divine nature created by God. Your true self knows truth. Your true self is who the Holy Ghost speaks to. Your true self recognizes the difference between light and dark. Your true self is your highest, best version of you. Your true self is love. Trust THIS self.
Trusting the negative voices around us, and the negative voices in our mind, including our own monkey brain, is easy. Have you noticed that? Believing that we are not good enough is, for whatever reason, easier than believing that we are good enough – it takes way less convincing. And those voices require no invitation…
But those are not the only voices we get to experience while trying to live our purpose. There are other voices that communicate with our true self. But those voices require effort to hear. That voice requires us to ‘ask… seek… knock…’.”
What effort can I exert to hear those other voices, communicated to my “true self”? And if I choose wisely how to use my time and effort, there is time enough for that effort – it is imperative, in fact! I can use my time to turn to the Lord in prayer – regular and humble and focused prayer – whether or not I have a question or a problem. I want to come to know His voice speaking to my “true self”.
THURSDAY
DAY #223 This specific blog post was revelatory to me, in my life.
“Plot the story of your life from past to present on a timeline, paying particular attention to highlighting our positive life-turns and negative life-turns…
When looking at your life on a timeline of positive and negative turns, it’s important to step back and look for patterns. Is there a recurring theme that arises? Where does God show up in your story?
And where do I show up for God?
FRIDAY
I did my burpees and my deadlifts this morning. (High five.)
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