SUNDY'S SEVEN SABBATH SENTIMENTS - EDITION 18

1.

Well, my time in the Young Women's organization has come to an end today.  I got a new calling.  I will miss my beautiful Laurels.  They are incredible girls and I have grown to love them soooooo much.  I have gained a testimony, in the past 6 months, of the YW organization.  It is truly inspired.  And I ADORE the Personal Progress program.  Although I won't be with "my girls" on a weekly basis anymore, I plan on encouraging them from the side lines to accomplish their goals.  I know the girls are in good hands.  I love you all!

2.

My new calling?  I am serving in the stake primary presidency as the 2nd counselor.  I am nervous.  I had a meeting and my responsibilities are more than I imagined.  (I have to certify as a Cub Scout leader this Saturday [which scares the heck out of me since I raise girls and not boys] and attend all ward primary programs and ward conferences.  We also are in charge of a stake activity in October.  - to name a few.)  I am excited to get to know the new presidency.  The stake primary president is Monica Tullis, the first counselor is Dina Smith and the secretary is Kim Shreeve.  They all seem really neat.  I feel a bit out of my league....

3.

Stake Conference was awesome, as usual.  We have amazing leaders in this stake.  Our stake presidency consists of three great men:  President Day, President Neal and President Blair.  These inspired men encouraged us, as families, to read Mosiah 1-6 prior to attending stake conference today.  Our family decided to take the challenge.  It was neat.  We learned a lot.  Instead of just reading the assignment, we discussed it after reading it (silently.)  The exercise was really enlightening.  We plan on studying our scriptures this way all the time from now on.

4.

Key Lime Pie and Kotten Kandy had a very eventful week.  They got to go to the temple on Thursday with the youth from our ward.  They LOVE participating in the saving ordinances at the temple.  And I'm glad that is where they choose to be.
Then, on Friday, they were invited to a teenage party at a friend's house.  They had a great time "hanging out" with their good friends and making new friends.  All the teens had high moral values and the party consisted of games, food and joking around.
I guess my kiddos are growing up....  Which is kinda sad, because I love my baby girls.  But they are turning into such beautiful, righteous, young women.  I am proud of them!

5.

Thinking about "free time" or "play time" this week.  Seems like the older you are the less "time" we have that is "free" or used for "play."  My eldest daughter is learning this when it comes to school work.  She is taking harder classes this year and has less "free time".  So Scott and I had a long talk with her about using our time wisely.  I am trying to use my time better as an example... but using our time wisely is a hard thing to learn.  Any suggestions or advice would be WONDERFUL!
Time is funny stuff.  I believe it is one of the reasons we are hear on this earth - we need to learn about time and how to use it.
When time is wisely used, it is a valuable thing.  "Time flies on wings of lightening; we cannot call it back" we sang recently at church.  It's true.  What time we have we must use wisely.  We must learn to prioritize our choices to match our goals or waste our precious gift of time.
A leader in our church once said, "A poor use of time is a close cousin of idleness."  We need to be sure that being busy also means being productive.  I am often busy (reading a blog post or catching up on FB) when I should be productive.
I guess I'm rambling now...  But I really do need to use my time better - devote my time to the things that matter most.  And the things that matter most are the things of God.

6.

I've been thinking about Writing Styles....  Both of my daughters are writing a paper for their English assignment this week.  They are comparing and contrasting two different fictional people.  Both papers are coming along great!  When they finish, I'll post them.  Key Lime Pie is very organized in her writing.  She also knows what she wants to say and says it concisely.  It's easy to read, and although she doesn't enjoy the writing process, she has talent.  I just wish she would believe in herself more.  Kotten Kandy LOVES writing.  Her paper has a lot of "voice" in it.  She makes reading it fun.  Her conclusions are also well thought out and communicated.  She tends to be a bit more wordy, but it's fun to read.  I have such talented daughters!  (But they could both use some help with their grammar.  We're working on it.)

7.

I've also been thinking about "tender mercies" a lot this week.  I am striving to notice them more throughout my life.  Heavenly Father has really been good to us.  I think I'll start a "tender mercies" journal of sorts.  The other day I had a SMALL dilemma while attending the temple.  I said a quick prayer thinking that it was so small that Heavenly Father would probably just ignore my petition.  But He mercifully answered my prayer.  It was definitely a "tender mercy" moment.  Heavenly Father really does want to bless all of us.