4 October 2010
Impressions of General Conference
Pres. Thornock once challenged us to get the most out of any talk by praying for guidance so that we would be inspired to think of one thing that we should start doing that we haven’t been doing, and one thing we have been doing that we should stop doing. The one thing I need to keep doing came easily – it’s just the dozen or so impressions of things that I need to start doing – or be more valiant in doing - that will be my challenge for the next 6 months!!!
1st Impression – we need to continue to strive to have family scripture study and prayer… even when SOME of us grumble, moan, groan, complain and grouch – me included! I need to be a better example of obedience to my children! I need to support my husband better when he asks our children to do things they might not want to do – like decreasing the time they spend watching TV and playing video games. Interesting choice of phrase for that statement…“SPEND watching…”
2nd Impression - I need to be more valiant in telling my children how I feel about their choices, and not be afraid that they might not like what I say. There is a fine line between offering parental guidance and just plain being bossy. They have their own moral agency and can choose, but I need to love them enough to tell them – even to testify to them – about my feelings and beliefs…in a LOVING way!
3rd Impression - I need to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude!” This is a topic that has been on my mind SO much lately, and I don’t think it’s coincidental that I heard this message so many times in the last two days. Nor do I think it’s coincidental that I’ve been thinking about the ingratitude of others, when I should have seen how ungrateful I have been. Talk about a moat and a beam! I’ve been a Martha when I‘ve needed to be a Mary. Definitely another case of “despising in others what we detest most in ourselves.”
4th Impression - One of my all time favorite talks, given by Pres. Eyring, invited us to follow his example and write down each day some way that we’ve seen the hand of the Lord in our lives – even if it’s just a few lines. Some days that’s an easy task, but other times we may see something that we’d missed for a long time. Usually we can see the path that we’ve taken after the journey and not while taking each step. Only after the trial of our faith do we receive the promised blessings.
I want to be better at keeping a written record of these miracles in my life. Where would we be if Lehi had failed to record his dream of a “Tree of Life?” Except Guess What? The Lord’s plan won’t be stopped – so Nephi would have done it! But Lehi would have wished he’d been more valiant for the rest of his life. I had a gazillion impressions and thoughts this past weekend, but didn’t write them down – and now they are lost to me. I don’t need to record volumes every day – Pres. Eyring said some days he jotted just a few lines – other times more details were included. I don’t want to look back at my life and have a sack full of “I wish I had’s” and “if only’s.”
5th Impression – EARLY to bed, EARLY to rise. Missionaries are in bed by 10:30 and rise at 6:30 – that is the new goal!!! It definitely won’t be easy for me. Doesn’t it take 3 weeks to create a habit? It will be very interesting to see where I go with this one. 10:30 came and went last night – but I’d found another Ferguson mixed in with the Simpson family while I was searching the Pine Grove Cemetery database – and then Jeffrey R Holland was giving a CES devotional on the Mormon Channel – and then… it was 12:30! For me - those late-night hours just FLY by!!!
One of my problems with this goal is that I am definitely a 9 to 5 kind of person – only in my case that’s p.m. instead of a.m.! I’m WIDE awake from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Just as most people are getting up, I’m ready to crawl into bed. Okay so I missed this one by two hours last night, but I still went to bed 2 ½ hours before I usually do! At least I’m headed in the right direction! Sometimes we have to fight the natural man to increase our spiritual strength. Hard work = increased discipline = increased strength = more faith.
Another issue with this goal will be that my best impressions come to me in the night. I’m more alert (the understatement of the century! My brain feels like a freaking ping pong ball is bouncing around in there!), and with most of the distractions in my life asleep (love you guys!), I think I am better able to tune out the world and tune into a more spiritual plane of thought. I don’t have anyone or anything pulling at me, or calling me to meet their needs. I can focus more clearly on what I need to work on to achieve the objectives I want to accomplish. I can listen better for the promptings of that precious “still small voice.”
So – there you have it – Renee’s Impressions of 2010 October General Conference… Just a few things for me to work on for the next six months.
