Just Passing on a Few Random Thoughts

I loved this post called I could hide it under there... on gerbsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com. Check it out.

Just have to share how my Sunday went down. I love going to church in my pajamas and actually being sure of getting great messages instead of the hit and miss...Well actually I think we usually have good messages, I just can't hear them. We have tried a number of ways to get our kids to sit reverently in Sacrament Meeting. The best way to accomplish it is to just be late enough to miss it or spend the end out in the foyer. Since that makes it kind of hard to take the sacrament, we keep trying other ways. It's easier when J. can be there, since he usually brings candy and keeps bribing them, but it's kinda sticky. And we're still outnumbered and so if you don't balance the stuffed mouths with the sugar rush just right, it backfire anyways. For some reason, there is something about the chapel that just makes it impossible for any one to keep from emitting sounds of every kind from the hum to the snicker to the scream, plus the appendages flying everywhere or the occasional breakaway kid or scuffle with the neighbor. No matter what I bring with me to engage them in quiet behavior they always seem to find a way to make noise with it. My favorite song from the Children's Song Book says "It shouldn't be hard to sit very still and think about Jesus, the cross on the hill, and all that he suffered and did for me, it shouldn't be hard to sit quietly. It shouldn't be hard even though I am small to think about Jesus, not hard at all." I added a little descant to the end though that goes like this, "But it is!"
Anyhow, a few weeks ago J. was going to have to work and I thought, D&D love drawing in their journals at school, I'll just take a little spiral notebook and pencil for each of them to write in. Ha! They stuck the pencil in the spirals and spun them around and poked each other and tried to have a fencing match with the pencils, and even though D2 ate the eraser and smashed up the metal tip of his pencil, it didn't keep his mouth or anybody else's quiet. I ended up getting them all up and marching them right back out after 10 minutes and took them to the Relief Society room, which is supposed to have the audio piped into it, because it comes on all the time when you don't want it to, but it wouldn't then of course, so I separated them into the 4 corners of the room the best I could and tried to get them to practice being quiet. The next week we tried again. It was a little bit better. This week was off! And I actually heard most of the first session in the a.m. even though I grounded the two older boys from the t.v. because they sneaked off to watch a video instead of conference in another room. The talks were obviously exactly what I needed to hear because they are things God keeps telling me over and over again to do, but I keep forgetting to actually do. Then once the last amen was said, I knew how bad the Lord must've wanted to give me those messages, because all heck broke loose. Kids were exploding everywhere.
Finally everyone settled down just in time for me to have a nice visit with my Tio Bruto and family. I am so glad they came, because I forgot they were coming and I would have missed them entirely. Then the second session started. Mr. wheel and deal G. had bargained that if he and C actually sat with me through the whole p.m. session and then could tell me what they learned and what they were going to do about it, then they could watch t.v. this week. SO at 2:00 sharp not only they but the little boys came in and joined E,J and Me and if I thought sacrament was bad, it was all-out chaos. I just sat there and thought, there must not be anything at all that the Lord wants me to know about this session. E. quickly gave up and went to watch downstairs, and I eventually caved and took the little guys to their room and put on a movie for them. Then I looked for one of the missing batteries I got downstairs in the morning, but then I needed to use my hands so I stuffed them down my shirt, because there is plenty of spare room in there. So much so that one fell out while I was visiting because I had forgotten to put them in the remote and then I forgot to pick it up. Suddenly in all the chaos when I was trying to find my son's off button, I remembered the batteries and started pulling them out of my front and J. asked me what I was doing and I told him I was taking out my batteries. I mean hadn't he noticed by now that I am battery operated? I just keep going and going...I was missing a battery though, so I looked around and couldn't find the missing battery or the missing remote, and finally I found it only to discover that someone else already put batteries in it. It wasn't a total wash-up thought because while I was doing that I was remembering how many times I have been inspired to try one on one instead of all together on just about everything with my kids. I just forget or am too lazy to go through every thing 5 times, and it's kind of hard to do family things separately but we will never be able to do it together if we can't do it individually first. I might as well give up and try it His way instead of mine and I can use reminders on this.
By the time I got back, the 3 men left were semi quiet because apparently it is just my evil influence that makes them behave that way (couldn't be D-evil and D-iablo) and then I actually heard more things I actually could need to hear. Not only that, HERE COMES THE SPIRITUAL PART-my boys heard it too. This is paramount to walking on water kind of spiritual because C. doesn't ever get anything. You can read a little story and then try to get him to tell you what it was about, and it is a meandering mess of confusion. But here is what they told me they learned. G. said. I learned about decisions. Some are good, some are better and some are best so I have to think what is the best decision to make. C. said I learned that I should not watch very much t.v. or video games and get some fresh air. sort of ironic, since that's what motivated him to listen... but hey! Elder Oaks gets the prize for the best talk!
Also, while my brain is on the subject of church, I thought I would share this great song that my sister-in-law e-mailed me ages ago. I loved it! It's hilarious. If you're not LDS, you won't get it but you still might find it amusing. You'll at least know we are weird in an entirely human sort of way. I really enjoy laughing at us, because I think if you can't laugh at yourself, you are lost. It is at http://ourldsfamily.com/media/FastMeetingSong.mp3. Let's try not to have too much to laugh about next month though, let's try to focus on the real issue at hand.
Ok, and just because it is Sunday, I will share that I heard a nice talk on the BYU station in the middle of the night once this week because I was still up getting things ready for the next day and it is also located at byubroadcasting.org then you go to search for talks I think and pick Education Week 1999 and then there is a talk on functional families. It's really quite good and I found out what I already know that we put the fun in dysfunctional, but it's better than putting the dis into it, and we're not as bad off as I thought, however there is a lot of room for improvement and this guy did have some good ideas. So the point I am about to make here (maybe, if I can get to it) is that he took notes from a meeting where this scripture was read:
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
The point was made that He suffered for all our sorrows and problems, not just our sins. When He suffered in Gethsemane, a bunch of sins didn't pass by him, a bunch of people did. He felt what each of us has or will feel. I know this is true. If only one of us were to take advantage of His atonement, He would have willingly gone through it all, and because He did, he understands us better than anyone, and loves us better than anyone. He really is the Saviour of each one of us. I know He understands me and loves everything about me. I know if I could just learn to listen, remember and do everything he so lovingly tries to help me to do, maybe I could find the key to helping my kids do the same with me. I'm truly trying really hard to think more like Him and love more like Him and act more like Him. I know that he would like us all to come unto him, so he can help us all where we're lacking. I know He's real. There's a lot of things I don't know but this is one thing I'm sure of.