Sunshine, Devotional, travel

Scott finished up AT last week and promptly (Monday afternoon) traveled to Canada and then Minnesota for work.  We had a normal week of school, homework, karate, friends, and other busy-ness.  Scott was able to come home late Thursday evening so that he could see Eric in his second grade Devotional.  It was a treat to see what they had prepared.  Their devotional was about some historic people and events surrounding the translating of the Bible and key people around that.  Eric was a poor person also a group of people known as the Waldenses.  He got a little mixed up on when he was supposed to come up to the mic and ended up saying his part twice.  I don't think many people realized he said the same thing twice.  It seemed that he just had two parts to say.  We feel so blessed that our children are able to attend American Heritage.  We love their teachers and their friends and the community there.

We had some really cold weather this week and then toward the end of the week it was warmer and then this morning some snow.  But it was mostly all melted by the time we came out of church.  The kids start a week off of school.  Thanksgiving is this week and we will be headed to Toquerville on Wednesday.  Rubie is insistent on getting Christmas decoration up today.  I like seasonal decorations, but it just ends up being so much work.  Also, I'm ready for real decorations and not the $ store stuff that I have collected.  Sigh.  Oh well, I do it for the kids, but do wish I had some nicer, cuter, things to put up.

We had YW in excellence on Wednesday night.  I was asked to speak about working in the Virtue value.  The theme in YW this year has been about recognizing the hand of the Lord in our lives.  And so I was to speak about how I have seen the hand of the Lord in living virtue, or the had of the Lord has helped me to live virtue.  It's kind of a different twist on it that made explaining or having an experience with the value a little more difficult.  But following is what I spoke about.  I typed this up but then I did not read from it, so the actual delivering of it was a little bit different.

1.       What have I been working on in Personal Progress around the value Virtue?

2.       How has this helped me to see the Lord’s hand in my life?

From Virtue Value Experience 2: Virtuous living “at all times and in all things, and in all places” qualifies you for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.  Being an example will open opportunities to share the gospel or share my testimony in some way.

I love exercising and working out.  And I spend a couple hours each day engaged in exercise.  I do believe that one way to have success with a sport is to have the gear and clothing you need for the activity.  At the level that I chose to participate it would not be good to wear my temple garments.  I have noticed a trend among many women that I exercise and workout with that they will continue to wear their exercise clothes long after the workout is finished.  Or they engage in activities that they call exercise so they can wear their exercise clothing without their temple garments.  Now, I totally understand, and am not judging, how as a mother with small children, you don’t often have time to exercise, let alone take a shower and even change your clothes after exercising.  One of the biggest differences that I am well aware of between me and other Mormon moms like me that participate in triathlon and the pros is the quality of recovery time.  Most days as soon as my workout is completed I am bombarded with the family and home duties.  Instead of being able to take the time to stretch, get a recovery meal, soak in a bath, etc.  I continue to run because of my motherly duties.  A line from my Patriarchal Blessing will ring in my mind. 

In my Patriarchal Blessing the Lord tells me, “You will wear the garments proudly.  You will not desecrate them in any way.  You will not fall for the fads of the world that would require the altering of the garment or the wearing of it improperly.” It is not stated as warning, or a promise, just a statement.  But I think of it often and why it is there.  I think of it as warning sometimes, sometimes it is a caution to me and sometimes it is a promised blessing.  Whatever the Lord meant for it to be, it is there and I think of it.  So even if I do not have the opportunity at the moment my workout is completed to shower, I still have set a goal to change my clothes in order to wear my temple garments.

In August I had the fantastic opportunity to participate in a two day bike race relay with a group of elite athletes.  I knew that many of these men and women were active participants in the church, and some were in precarious places with regards to their testimonies, and some are not members of the Church.  As I was leaving that morning I prayed that in some way I may be an example or help with strengthening someone’s testimony.  It came in a very unlikely way.  On our team of 10 people, we each rode our bike 3 different times.  We were in two vehicles for over 24 hours together.  We all came with big bags of gear and food and things we would need.  I happened to notice in the team picture we took at the starting line, that I was the only girl dressed in my street clothes and not my biking clothes.  I wouldn’t be biking until later that afternoon.  After each of my rides I quietly found a place either in the van or at the transition spot to change back into my street clothes.  The others stayed in their biking outfits or changed into other exercise clothes.  I didn’t think anyone noticed or paid attention.  In fact I didn’t really think anything of it until after the event and a comment that someone made.  It was just something I did because that is what I do.  A couple days later I was visiting with a friend that is part of our training group but wasn’t part of this team.  We were talking about this bike event and she wanted to share with me something that one of the other ladies had said.  Someone had noticed that I changed my clothes after each ride.  That I obviously was putting my temple garments back on.  She was impressed by that, and noticed that it made a difference in me.  She was impressed by that and wants to make that a goal for herself as well.  Which she feels will help encourage her husband to get to the temple.

Without realizing it, the Lord had used me as an example.  Simply living the standards I have set for myself and holding to the counsel given to me by our Father in Heaven.

I really hope that all of you parents and young women will recognize the power that will come into your life by setting standards for how you dress.  I have a strong testimony based on many experiences about the power that comes into our lives by following high standards for dress and grooming.