Slow Down!

Yesterday I turned on conference for a while. I happened to turn it on in the middle of President Uchtdorf's talk. I'm sure I missed some of the really important parts but I think I turned it on just when it was right for me. I got a sense that the point he was trying to get across was to slow down. To take time to appreciate the things in your life whether big and small. In April in the Saturday session he also gave a talk about being patient and letting things happen in Gods time. Oh how hard this is for me.

The funny thing is, lately when I drive, well actually what seems like daily when I am driving It seems like I get behind the slowest people and I hit every red light like clock work. This has become a big laughing moment for my husband and kids as they witness it happening and they see the frustration on my face or hear me complain about others not driving the way they should. Last week this happened to me once again except this time I was alone in my car. As I could feel the anger start to overcome me I could hear something tell me to slow down (not that I was driving fast) it was more of a slow down and enjoy the things in your life kind of feeling. So imagine my dismay when I turned on the tv and heard Elder Uchtdorfs words of slowing down and enjoying life and all that is in it. Perhaps that is not what everyone else got from it but it the message that I needed to get from it. So I am going to try to do better I am going to try to slow down and enjoy things in my life more. I have decided that my time on the computer looking at things like facebook will be limited to a quick browse periodically or a quick update post for my family. Since blogging is my source of journaling I am going to wake up early before my kids and spend a little more time writing down my thoughts or updating my blog/journal.I'm also going to take time to do more of my own personal scripture study before my family wakes. (We will see how good this goes once the new baby arrives.) And most important I am going to make more one on one time with each of my kids and husband and maybe even cut back on some of the "extras" that we have going on in our lives in order to do this. Hopefully this will leave more time for family scriptures and prayers. The things that are really most important but most neglected right now in our life.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that all of the extra things in my kids lives are good but not always necessary.It isn't always great for us to be running from place to place without sitting down and "checking in" as a family of finally coming together to eat dinner at 8 o'clock at night with no time left to do homework or prayers.God didn't ask me as a parent to raise the next superstar athlete. He asked me to teach them the things that they will need to get them back to him to hopefully obtain celestial glory someday. Those are the things that he will ask me someday as a Mother. If I did all I could to put the gospel first in there lives or did I let it get overshadowed by all of the other extras. I want to be able to answer him in the most pleasing way I can. Don't worry, I am not going to pull my kids out of all of there sports but maybe limiting them to the one thing they really love instead of the three will be a good thing for us. The hardest part will be balancing it all and keeping the really important things first. With careful planning I know we can do it.

I feel inspired and uplifted! Now its time to put it into action!