Gratitude

During general conference President Monson (Our living prophet, servant of the Lord, same divine calling as Abraham, Moses, Isaiah etc.) Spoke about gratitude. He told the story of the Savior and the 7 loaves of bread and the huge multitude that followed him. Clearly there was not enough food for this huge multitude that followed him but he gave thanks anyway and because he gave thanks a MiRaClE happened. I never really thought about that story in that way. It was very enlightening for me to hear that. There is something else that President Monson said that struck me that I want to make EVERY effort to cultivate, he said "To live with gratitude is to touch heaven". I want to touch heaven on earth!

Patience

This morning we discussed Patience for spiritual time. We pulled every single word from Preach My Gospel. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I highlighted the parts that struck my heart.

Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God's will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith-you must wait for the Lord's promised blessings to be fulfilled.

You need patience in your everyday experiences and relationships, especially with your companion. You must be patient with all people, yourself included, as you work to overcome faults and weaknesses.

President Thomas S. Monson stated in "Patience-A heavenly virtue," Ensign, Nov. 1995

"Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required."

God knows me so well. I believe he guided me to read this for spiritual time this morning. Seriously everything in blue rang true for me. Today instead of trying so hard to get this girl out, I'm going to enjoy my day! I'm going to appreciate my life and my good health. I'm going to appreciate my family and their good health. I'm going to be kind and graceful when someone makes a comment about how long this birth is taking. I'm going to appreciate the weather rain or shine. I'm going to embrace in the fact that I'm the closest one to this little girl inside of my womb and I'm the only one that can feel her move so intimately and have both our hearts beat to the same drum. I'm going to ponder of the beauty that my blood flows into hers and we are literally connected. I'm going to ENJOY my day!

These are pictures we took from our hike yesterday to Battle Creek Canyon

Purple Flowers in the Desert

(Photo from google images)

Many people do CrAzY things for love. This past weekend was the case for me. Eve has been getting so excited as we drive in the car and she can spot out the big white Y on the mountain. So we thought well it's been a while since we did a recreational activity as a family why don't we hike the Y? Eve would just LOVE it! Those of you who are not familiar with the hike, it's ALL up hill, 2.4 miles round trip, uncovered very much exposed to the hot rays of the sun, & theres not much to look forward to but the letter Y that has been painted on this mountain. Oh yah I'm about 39 weeks pregnant hiking this strenuous hike. I knew it would take me longer than the average Joe this time around and I didn't expect my family to wait on me. So my stats looked something like this: hike, rested, hike rested, hike rested, hike, hike, rested, rested, rested, rested, hike, rested finally made it to the top! Overall it took me 2 hours & 15 min. and I really almost felt like fainting towards the last 100 feet when my knees started shaking & giving in (good thing Mark held my hand the rest of the way down). Things I appreciated on this hike that I didn't think I would; Purple flowers! As I rested and looked off to the side and noticed how dry this area was I noticed a bunch of purple flowers. It's as if I was carrying on a conversation with them (I probably needed more water at this point) I said to the flowers "why something as pretty as you want to grow in this dry ugly area?" "Of all the places you could grow, why here?" and it's as if they whispered back saying "For people like you, we want to make smile". This was so symbolic to me in many ways, but one I will share with you. Some of us are led or drawn to areas or situations that are not entirely ideal but you have a specific purpose for being there. Even though it may seem insignificant at the time, to the one who you were meant to be there for is an answered prayer. My whole way up I saw random purple flowers growing in places that were unusual but I know they were there for me to smile and give me the encouragement I needed to finish this hike. I spent most of my time looking down as I hiked because I didn't want to slip and fall. It was nice to see something pretty. I found myself appreciating rocks because it gave me a place to sit when I rested, appreciating the grasshoppers and lizards that ran across the path because I'm sure Eve was entertained. Finally when I reached the top I noticed something I never really noticed before. I saw beauty! I could see 2 temples, additional mountains, water and floating low clouds. I believe there is beauty everywhere if you look DEEP enough. Even at the Y!

P.s. And no, this did not induce labor;(