I. Love. Sundays.
Sundays feel different and I’m very grateful for my LDS heritage for that. When it is Sunday, I’m wired to approach it with a feeling of reverence, peace, rest, spiritual seeking and thirsting, and not hurrying.
This morning, I decided to take the time to meditate. Not only did I find great peace, and continually felt myself saying, “I need more of this,” but I also made some great breakthroughs on getting through my panic about my promotion. I should also mention that Lily shared words with me last night that felt like an answer to prayer in helping me heal and recover from my panic attack as well.
Before heading to church, all four kids barged into our room in their dress-ups. While organizing yesterday, I found a big box of their dress-ups, and now that they are out and available, they have been using them like crazy. Here are some pictures!
You will also notice that Lydia, Mary and Clarissa all are wearing matching dresses that just came in the mail. I wish I had also taken a picture of them just in their dresses!
At 11:15 we went to Centerpoint church for our ecumenical Sunday. The kids call it the fun church. It’s fun for me to because there is a band that plays Christian Rock, which I love. The sermon was very beautiful. It was about resolving conflict. The main take away is that when there is conflict, we should assume the best in the other person, and approach the conflict with an attitude of wanting to learn how to move towards resolution and not an attitude of wanting to be right. The insight was also shared that there is no guarantee that there will be peace in every relationship, because it requires the other person to also behave well and love, but you can have peace about every relationship as you do everything you are able to make it work, even if it ends up not working out.
After church we we went to Trader Joe’s for groceries and at Medici Pizza for lunch. I was obsessed with their marinara sauce that came for the bread sticks and put it on everything including my pizza.
Then I rested while Lily read and the kids rand around the house playing. Once I got up, I did some blogging and then Lily and I put dinner on. Lily made an amazing garbanzo in which she cooked the beans with feta cheese and onions, and it was my favorite way I have ever had Garbanzo beans. Also, the Salmon and cooked carrots were great.
Over dinner, we had one of my favorite Come Follow Me lessons yet. I shared a scripture from 1st Nephi about how God will not suffer those who come to Him to perish because He (God) is merciful. Lily shared the universalist perspective, that God is helping everyone everywhere, because we are all coming to God in our own time and way. Mary had the insight that God would only help someone to do something good and not something bad, and that gave me a deep insight that I’m still thinking about which is that God will assist us according to what we are trying to do in the moment we need assistance, not according to our resume of how good or bad we are. I really think there might be something to that. We talked about Trevor Noah’s mother who had many miracles from God, and how perhaps she was so helped because she was so devoted to helping her son break out of the cycle of poverty their family was stuck in in South Africa. We covered a range of other topics including patriarchy, marriage, education and more. The girls gave such incredibly bright comments.
After dinner we had family home evening and watched Mr. Rogers, who is unequivocally my hero. I gain so much from watching his shows and how intentional of a healer and messenger of love, tolerance and forgiveness he is. I hope, honestly, to be like him. He is the best possible thing I can imagine putting in front of my children.
Also, I had the most wonderful conversation with Georgia after the dinner in which she shared he desire to comment more during our Come Follow Me dinners. I’d love to hear more of her thoughts, so I’m looking forward to that! I am gaining a very strong conviction for the power of diversity, and how harmony is so much more rich that unison, and how people can all come together, and humbly learn from and share from others with different ideas that are expanding to all that are in the room.
Now I’ve just finished organizing a bit more, and blogging while Lily is reading and almost done with her 3rd book in 3 days. It’s called Three Women.
Tomorrow is my self-care day. It will include, cross-country skiing with Daniel Olsen, the temple with Andrea, Top Golf with Jay, a movie with Lily ,a haircut and a massage from Lily. I can’t wait!