Hope leads to action

Hi there! How has your Monday been going so far? Mine started off rough. My son, bless his perfect little heart, is (possibly) teething and with that comes the night time routine being thrown to the dogs. Last night he woke up at 4:30 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. He just wanted to be held and snuggled. While my mommy heart exploded with joy and happiness (because somehow my seven month old son hates to snuggle and is the most independent human alive now), my Tiffani heart was like "Kid! If you don't go back to sleep this very instant....."

So needless to say I didn't get all the sleep I wanted last night.

I did get a couple more hours of sleep after that, but then was awoken by my husband asking if he could take the car because it was storming outside. It's days like these I curse only having one car. Usually he rides his bike to school, but obviously when it's pouring rain out that's not a great option. And since Abilene has the worst drainage system it usually means I'm giving him a ride for several days following as well. Chase woke up about that time so I just put everybody, including the excitable not to be left out of anything, dog in the car and drove him to school.

That was about 9 am. I was hoping to be at the gym for two back-to-back classes from 11:30 to 1pm but Chase refused to go down for his morning nap, and between his fussy-ness and the dog's whining my ability to handle life was rough this morning.

But, everything turned around for me when I had the lightbulb idea to text one of my young women and ask if she could be an emergency baby sitter. Thankfully her mom drove her over immediately and I was able to make it to the gym. Of course, with the weather I was a few minutes late for my first class and, because it was full, missed out on that. Usually I wouldn't mind being up front, but I would have had to carry all the equipment I needed from the back to the front and I would have gotten in the way of the other patrons, so I decided against it. No need to mess up their rhythms just because I was a few minutes late.

I wasn't necessarily happy about it at the time, but after the second class I was feeling refreshed and worked over and I'm still sore from all the chest presses we did in BodyPump today! I can honestly say this is the first time I've every worked out and it's changed my attitude completely. Usually I'm annoyed, I work out, and I am glad I got it in, but I'm still annoyed. Today I walked out of class proud and smiley, so it was a win over all.

I got to have lunch with my husband because of a canceled appointment we had, and that was fun since we don't get to do that often. This may have actually been the first time.

Then the rest of my day was just trying to make it to bedtime.

Today though, I did a personal progress thing so I wanted to write about it!

For FHE (family home evening) I we had a discussion on keeping the Sabbath day holy. Since it's just my husband and I, when it's my turn for FHE I find a topic, read up on it and then we just generally discuss. It feels weird teaching a grown man who served a full time mission basic gospel principles, so we discuss.

I started with the talk Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy  by Elder Earl C. Tingey of the 70 from Feb of 2000. It was a pretty long talk for an Ensign article, but it was filled with some great things! We talked about the meaning of the Sabbath day, reviewed the commandment to keep it holy, and talked about how it's been practice to keep the Sabbath holy for many generations of people- back into the days of the Bible.

I quoted some things from Dallin H. Oaks that I found via the blog middleagedmormonman.com, and then ended with the talk The Sabbath Is a Delight! by (now) President Russel M Nelson. Hearing that talk, for the first time in 2015, was the first time in a long time I had thought about my intentions and feelings towards the Sabbath day. And ever since then I've been aware of how I treat the day. I don't ever do it justice, but I'm hoping that after tonight I can commit to keeping the Sabbath holy and truly see it as a delightful day each week.

Right before I met my husband I was the most spiritual I had ever been. I truly felt like I walked with God each day. I had him in my sights, and in my heart at all times. I was regularly attending the temple and I fulfilled my calling with fervor. But I wasn't keeping the Sabbath day holy. Sure, I loved Sundays and I loved attending church, but without fail I was at the gas station after church each week filling up my big cup with Dr Pepper and probably buying a candy bar I would never eat. (Back then I had a weird habit of buying candy bars and NEVER eating them. When I moved I had a stash of over 20 candy bars that were stale and gross LOL. That's not the case anymore, candy bars don't last long around here anymore.)

I was grateful for the spiritual place I was in, and I knew that I was doing many things right in the eyes of the Lord. But if I could do it all over again, I would make keeping the Sabbath day holy a habit. My husband and I talked about how sometimes you think "when I get married _______ will be easier," but that's not the way with marriage. There are two of you committed to doing the best you can, to lift each other up where you can, and to teach your children truths... which means there is twice the pressure and twice the temptation to give in and not do those things you know you're suppose to be doing.

So, my resolve is to commit to keeping the Sabbath a holy day. To wake up early and prepare for church long before I need to be there. To read books that bring me closer to Christ, to stay in my church clothes the full day, to act and treat the day with respect. And I am excited for the promised blessings I know will come by following this commandment, but I'm also excited to truly know what a day of rest really feels like.

Faith experience #3:
Hope leads to action.
Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ leads to action.
Living the gospel principles requires faith. Read about faith in the Bible Dictionary and True to the faith.
Choose a principle such as: prayer, tithing, fasting, repentance, or keeping the Sabbath day holy.
In your own home, or another setting, plan and present a family home evening lesson about how faith helps you live that gospel principle. During the family home evening lesson come up with a question about your principle.
Challenge each person or have them work in groups of 2-3 by sharing a scripture, principle, and recent personal experience about how this has blessed their lives.
Record your own personal experience or one shared during the family home evening lesson.