Toss Back Tuesday: Letting Go a Little & Father's Workshop.

TUESDAY, JULY 16, 2013
Letting Go a  Little.

I feel like the Lord is tutoring me lately.  It's amazing how the Spirit can soften my heart and help me to change like no one else.  For as long as I can remember I've clung to structure and my way of doing things.  For the last several years I've worked so hard to become more of a scheduled, disciplined, organized person.  I love having my weekly menus planned out, staying within a budget, trying to keep my house in order.  Although these are all important things, I'm starting to realize that they are not the end goal...they are the means to a much larger goal.

This week we were fortunate to have cousins over to play.  Their van wasn't starting and a morning play date was running into nap time.  I was trying to be flexible, but I kept thinking that the girls might wake up my sleeping boys...then what?  How would I get dinner fixed?  As these thoughts were running through my head the next question came to mind...so what?  So what if your schedule is thrown off?  So what if dinner isn't on the table right at 5:30?  It may sound silly, but honestly it was as if I had been holding so tightly to my routine that I didn't realize that life could be OK even if things didn't go as planned.  In the end, they got their van working, I was able to enjoy holding my niece and spend a little bit more time with my Sister-in-Law & other nieces, the boys didn't wake up and dinner did get on the table.  What if I had missed out on those moments or put a damper on them by giving into the temptation to be stressed?  I'm so glad that I took a deep breath and tried to follow the Spirit's lead.

Going along with that thought, I feel like the Lord is also trying to help me be more others-centered.  For all of the reasons I just mentioned, this can be a hard one for me.  BUT it feels good to be making steps in that direction.  Joy truly can be found in serving others and it is sweet.  I had the opportunity a few weeks ago to help a sister in my ward at church.  As I dropped something off at her house I told her that we obviously didn't know each other very well, but that the Lord knew and loved her and wanted me to do this for her.  There is almost nothing sweeter than following a prompting, being on the Lord's errand, and feeling the love He has for others.  The times I choose to follow promptings from the Spirit, I truly feel that the Lord would be doing and saying those very things if He could, and that I get to stand in His place.  What a great love and concern He has for others!

MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
Father's Workshop.

I was thinking about an experience that I had as a new missionary in Québec City, and wanted to make sure and include it in our family history.

I was called to serve as a French-speaking missionary, but after a short time in the mission field my mission president, President Petion asked me to start learning Spanish during my morning studies.  I excitedly accepted the invitation, but quickly became overwhelmed.  I was over zealously attempting to learn all of the verb tenses simultaneously and quickly {and understandably} found myself frustrated and getting burnt out.  One night before bed as I was kneeling in prayer I voiced to my Heavenly Father my feelings of being overwhelmed.  The thought came to me that He had asked me to learn Spanish because He knew I loved languages and He wanted to work on it as a project together, the intent was never to frustrate or overwhelm!  In my mind I envisioned a father inviting his child into a workshop to do a project together.  It wasn't so much the finished product that would be important, but the lessons learned and the time spent together.

I have often thought of this since.  What other projects has my Father invited me to work on with Him?  What things may seem daunting because I have tried to do them in my own way and inadvertently left Him out of the picture?

Lately I'm coming to realize that this season with Alex may be one of these invitations into the Father's workshop.  I'm grateful for the invitation and know that as I turn to Him each step of the process He will be there to guide me, to provide perspective and share His love.

Oh how much He desires to teach and to bless us and to spend time with us!  God is good.
(Watch my video here on the Father's Workshop and the joy of spending time & serving with Him)

10 April 2018

More than a decade ago, (as alluded to above) I served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (in Montréal, Canada).  This is a quote I had on my dresser for awhile.  I still feel a sweet & powerful spirit as I read it's words:

Do you believe that you can be a representative of Jesus Christ in the things you say and do?  How has God called you in to His workshop to worth with Him?  How can that transform the way you look at your challenges?  What joy has come as you spend time with Him working on these projects instead of facing them alone?