Do it!

So, did you watch Conference?!  I LOVE, love, LOVE Conference!  I will most definitely be watching and reading it over and over again.

There were some wonderful talks and some that I felt were just for me.  During those talks it seemed like that's when my kids were extra vocal..."did they say prayer?!, no they said "dare"...yeah, they said prayer....sweet!, BINGO!".  Oh I don't know, it was just hard to listen.

Even still, I did feel the Spirit and I did feel a renewed motivation to be better.  The talk by Elder Maynes I think, said,  "we can't get our bodies in physical shape by watching sports on T.V., we also can't gain a testimony by watching General Conference on T.V."

So, it's time to decide what I will DO and DO IT!

It was kind of funny to get on Facebook and Instagram after conference and see how quickly some quotes were made into cuteness and circulating.  Awesome too, though.  There was one quote that was super catchy that I liked along with everyone else.

"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your Faith" -President Uchtdorf

This can be angled to anything or anyone you have faith in, Jesus Christ or other people too.  Like your spouse.

Have you ever doubted your spouse?

Doubt your doubts and give them the benefit!  Believe they are truly trying and they are doing the best they can.  Encourage them.  Love them.  Try to understand.  Try to help.  Be kind.  Remember who instills doubt.  Satan does not want us to give our spouse the benefit of the doubt.  He wants us to get mad, stay mad and thereby fuel the fire and never let it go.  Dumb.  Lame.  Remember the source of the negative.  Cast those thoughts out!  Insert every good intention you can think of.  Build your spouse up in your mind and to their face.  With so much, negative, be a builder.  Be a lover.  Be a friend- one who always looks for the good.

Here are some specific apples I'm going to be doing this week.

* mailing a note to his office....an encouraging, nice one.

* shaving my legs and doing my hair (in the same day! ha ha)

* then texting him and telling him what I did and that I can't wait for him to come home.

* then having dinner ready when he gets there. (boy, all in one day! I better ship off the kids! :))

* arrange a sitter for Temple night

* not saying one negative thing.  (i've been kind of a whiner lately.  it's hunting season. :))

* share funny things.  even if it has been a crazy day, take a deep breath, kiss him good and enjoy the time he's home.

What apples are you going to do this week?  Did you have a favorite talk from Conference?  What stuck out to you?  Have a great week!!!

in a rut?

Do you see that large belly I'm sporting?  (3 more weeks-ish!)  Oh gee, I'm getting huge and it seems with that, for me, comes feeling overwhelmed.  I get frustrated because I can't do or be everything.

So, a rut is a good way to describe the current predicament.  (not to say I am not completely excited for this lil' babe to arrive because that would be way off!)

For Zach and I, there have been different times when we have felt in a rut in our marriage.  There is a wide variety of reasons.  Honestly, the reasons don't matter.  No one likes to be in a rut.  Besides, if we focus on the reasons why we're in a rut, I think it's harder to get out.  We should focus on what can build us back up.

So, here are some apples I've come up with:

* Focus on the good that both of you are doing.  Recognize it (be specific) out loud or write it down.

* Do something random.  Our random the other night was playing Monopoly.  Long game, super fun!  I'd recommend setting a timer or time limit! :) (we played til after midnight and I was so exhausted of course I went bankrupt!)

* Think about what you haven't been doing.  (kissing on the lips at night before sleep, praying on your knees, how long has it been since you've been out on a date?, have you asked him/her how you can help them out?, what is your "welcome home" ritual like these days?)  What can you add back in?

* Put a note under their dinner plate, in their shoes, dry erase marker on the mirror, or on the steering wheel that tells them how they rock your world.  (this sort of thing is easier if you've been doing the first apple.)

* Bring a small token gift home or make one.  I think a lot about food lately, so pick em' up a treat or make one.  Be sure to tell them you were thinking of them.

What sorts of things help you when you're in a rut?  Here's hoping this week is a lovely one for you!

"An apple a day"

In Sunday school our lesson was on Noah building the ark and the tower of babel. Toward the end our teacher asked us to consider what "arks" or places of security do we have in our lives. Are we building an ark or are we building the tower of babel? WE ARE BUILDING SOMETHING! What are the things we can build that can be a protection against the storms that will surely come?

Home, family relationships, testimony, Temples, church attendance and MARRIAGE! I loved the visual I had in my mind of building my marriage, making a blue print, deciding what we wanted to work for and then build it! Our marriages need to be that strong!

The key point I got from this analogy was that Noah didn't wait until it started to rain to begin building the ark! In our lives we will be challenged, we have to make sure our marriage can withstand the storms! We can't wait to start building either!

Have you ever written a mission statement? What about writing a mission statement for your marriage? What the things you would like to accomplish together? Today start a rough draft.