What if everyone was a thinker?

I know that I have posted on thinkers before. I guess that it is something that I really believe in and I wish that I could instill a love of thinking in all those around me. I'm not exactly sure how I became a thinker (and by no means am I perfect at it), but I know that it is now a vital part of who I am. I am using the word thinker as someone who questions, researches and decides the best answer for them.

A couple of weeks ago we were visiting my sister-in-law and her family. I posed the thought that I wished everyone would become a thinker. My brother-in-law responded that there would be no followers if everyone thought for themselves. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that I disagree. And here is why...I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we are taught to not follow in blind belief. I have been taught to question and ponder and pray for myself about everything that I am taught. Millions of people belong to my church and are taught the same principle, and yet we all follow living prophets -granted we are all on different spectrums of our following, but we are all followers and thinkers (well at least a lot of us are thinkers with regards to the church:) So if everyone were thinkers I think that we could still have followers, they would just be informed followers and I think that would make an incredible change in our world!!! If everyone questioned and researched what they were taught and then came to the best conclusion for them and their family I think it would make a big difference in the world and I think that different and better options would always be coming out. Things like health care, food, and education are very often politically run. And I believe that they have their place, but not for everyone. I believe that if you know your options you can make the best decisions for you and your family and when you make those decisions you will have the knowledge and belief to back up your decisions and feel good about them!!!:) So I encourage you to question what you are taught and see if you really believe it!!! Become a thinker and make your life richer by your beliefs!!:)

Ramblings from a chat with a neighbor!

So last night I was talking with my neighbor and she brought up that someone she knew had 7 children and wanted another one.  At first I thought her concern was for the mother, but as the conversation unfolded it turned out she was really worried about population control.  Of course she doesn't know that I plan on having a large family, but it really got me thinking. I decided my  freshman year in college that I was going to have a big family...I was in a sociology class and I left feeling super disturbed.  I couldn't believe the evil in the world and I thought as I walked home, there is no way that I want to bring children into this world.  And then the Spirit spoke to me and said, those spirits would be better off in my home then in a home dominated by evil, where the spirits really don't have a chance.  That was a defining moment for me.  I don't know what a large family is, but I do know that I have trust in Heavenly Father and I have an idea how many children I want...

 Then I started thinking about faith -- it all comes down to faith.  I don't believe that the world could ever become overpopulated because I have faith in Heavenly Father. He knows what He is doing and He has a perfect plan.  And I felt so grateful for that knowledge that gives me such security!!:)

After this conversation my 3 year old said she saw a man in the sky last night.  I immediately said, "she is really imaginative right now."  And my neighbor totally went with it asking her questions about the man.  While they were having this conversation I reflected on what I had said...why did I feel the need to explain my 3 year old's imagination?  Shouldn't it be typical for a 3 year old to have an imagination (shouldn't we all?)?  I am not sure why I felt the need to justify her statement and I feel really frustrated with myself for doing it.  I felt like if I continued on this path, that my daughter would soon see imagination as a bad thing, which I don't want at all.  So I guess for now, those people who can appreciate her imagination will get to benefit from it, and those who don't will just be left hanging in the dark.

God truly loves us All!!:)

Recently I was reading in 3 Nephi -- just after the destruction, but before Christ comes. I read this verse: Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen! (9:2) It hit me. Some of the people who died were very very wicked. (For example, King Jacob - the leader of the Gadiaton robbers.) And yet Christ still calls them his "fair sons and daughters." As I read that I felt the love that our Savior has for all people, even those who choose to live wickedly. He really has such love for us!!

I continued to read and then came across this: And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them. (verse 5) I know that I have realized this before, but Christ really allowed the wicked people to die to save them from themselves. Christ did not want them to suffer any more than they absolutely had to. And he said this right after he had finished suffering for all mankind. I know that there are many different visions of how Christ is, but I know that he is the most loving, merciful god there is. He truly loves us, no matter what we do and he always provides a way for us to receive the least amount of punishment possible and to come back to him!!!

Nephi and the Plates

Recently my husband and I were reading Elder Bednar's talk in the recent Ensign. And something he said really struck me. "This pattern of revelation tends to be more common than rare and is evident in the experiences of Nephi as he tried several different approaches before successfully obtaining the plates of brass from Laban (see 1 Nephi 3–4). Ultimately, he was led by the Spirit to Jerusalem, “not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do” (1 Nephi 4:6). And he did not learn how to build a ship of curious workmanship all at one time; rather, Nephi was shown by the Lord “from time to time after what manner [he] should work the timbers of the ship” (1 Nephi 18:1)." All of a sudden it hit me. If the Lord had told Nephi to go into the city and kill Laban the first time, there is no way that he would have done it. He HAD to have the prior experience to realize that it was really the only way. Ultimately this makes me feel better...so often I am doing something because it feels right, and it blows up in my face, and I wonder, did I understand wrong, what is going on, but sometimes we have to have experiences and trials to get us onto the right path. Especially raising my children, I feel like this is such a relief. Sometimes I do make mistakes, but if I can learn from them and eventually end up doing the right thing, then I am being successful!!:)

Funerals

So in the past few months I've been to two funerals, both for family. The first one was unexpected and very sad (she was only in her 50s) and at that point I decided that I did not ever want to speak at a funeral. Then my Grandpa died; it was expected he had been sick for about 7 months or so. Because I am his oldest grandchild I got the 'privilege' of speaking at his funeral. I did not want to do it, and add to that the fact that my uncle said I was representing all the grandchildren (ugh.) But I said yes anyway. They figured that I knew my Grandpa the best because I used to go visit all the time (however, most of that time was spent talking to my Grandma). But the good thing in all this is I actually enjoyed preparing for a talk. It forced me to remember things that I probably wouldn't have just remembered. And I tried to be mostly general in my memories so that my cousins would be able to remember similar things. I think it turned out nice and although my talk was the shortest (I've never been longwinded -ever) I think I did exactly what I needed to and I learned from it as well!!:) So if you ever want to really remember someone, plan a talk for their funeral:)

Trusting in the Lord

“After all that has been said and done, after he has led this people so long, do you not perceive that there is a lack of confidence in our God? Can you perceive it in yourselves? You may ask, ‘[Brother] Brigham, do you perceive it in yourself?’ I do, I can see that I yet lack confidence, to some extent, in him whom I trust.—Why? Because I have not the power, in consequence of that which the fall has brought upon me. …

“… Something rises up within me, at times[,] that measurably draws a dividing line between my interest and the interest of my Father in heaven; something that makes my interest and the interest of my Father in heaven not precisely one.

“I know that we should feel and understand, as far as possible, as far as fallen nature will let us, as far as we can get faith and knowledge to understand ourselves, that the interest of that God whom we serve is our interest, and that we have no other, neither in time nor in eternity.” (as quoted by D. Todd Christofferson, Ensign, April 2011)

I feel that in some areas of my life I am so willing to leave everything in God's hands and completely trust Him, but in other areas, it seems my faith and trust seem to always be lacking. For example my budget. Even though God has proven that we will make it through I find myself constantly doubting and worrying. 3 years ago I had no idea how we were going to financially live the last year of Chad's schooling. For the first year I knew we would be okay because of our savings, but I had no idea how we would make it the second year. However, Chad was able to make enough money working part time for us to not only survive, but thrive. We did so well that we were able to put 10% down on a house -for us quite the accomplishment. Yet here I am again, wondering how we are going to make it the next few years and put a lawn in and a fence and...

"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith."

Mostly, I've just decided that I really need to work on my trust in God, trusting Him in all things. Knowing that He knows me better than I know me and He knows my needs better than I do.

Food

So what food is the best to eat? Is eating organic the best? Why can't I afford to eat healthy? I recently read in the Ensign this quote from President Kimball: "grow all the food that you feasibly can on your own property. Berry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees—plant them if your climate is right for their growth. Grow vegetables and eat them from your own yard. Even those residing in apartments or condominiums can generally grow a little food in pots and planters. Study the best methods of providing your own foods. Make your garden … neat and attractive as well as productive.” Then it dawned on me, God knew what would we would need and 45 years ago he told a prophet to counsel us to grow our own food, because that would be healthiest. There is so much processed food and food that is just no good for our bodies. If we all heeded this prophet's counsel and grew our own gardens we would be able to eat more healthy for a lot less. I'm still not sure what "healthy foods" look like. I have pretty much eliminated hydrogenated oils from our diets (but I don't enforce it when we go eat at someone else's house and I do occasionally splurge and don't read the ingredients list). And I am trying to eat healthier, but it seems like everywhere I look there is a different idea of what healthy means. I believe that part of this is because we are all made different and so our bodies need different things. I've seen diets that are tied to blood type, and that intrigues me, but I still am just not sure what to do for my family. A while ago I seriously considered trying to go all organic, but that just didn't seem right for my family, so I decided to just try to do what I thought was best for my family. I am really excited to be able to grow a garden, and part of that vision includes as many fruit trees as I can fit in my garden area. I've decided that it is only worth it to can fruit if you grow the fruit yourself, otherwise it is much more expensive. So I want an apple tree, a cherry tree, an apricot tree, a plum tree, a peach tree (maybe two, because I really love fresh peaches), and a pear tree...I'm excited to be able to grow fresh vegetables and use them, and freeze them. I'm excited to learn how to garden, because I really enjoy it!!! I'm also toying with the idea of creating a greenhouse, but we'll see how that goes. Most of all, I am excited to be able to eat as healthy as possible!!!:)

Updates

Well they are still not finished with my basement, but we are surviving! I am reading this awesome book by Lawrence Cohen called Playful Parenting and that has helped. Basically it encouraged me to spend time playing with my daughter every day and that would help her have the desire to do quiet time. It has helped immensely. I highly recommend that book to anyone and everyone, it is an amazing parenting book and has some really neat concepts. The other thing that has helped is that I researched how to do quiet time (we decided nap time is over:) and decided that I need to build up to an hour (today we did 35 minutes) and I also started some quiet time boxes. Basically I put special activities that are only for quiet time in a box and I have one for each day of the week. I get it out about lunch time and put it on the fridge so she can see it and be excited for it. Then I put her down about 2. It has worked wonderfully every day except Wed. (I don't think he activities I put in for Wed. were that cool). I am so grateful that my mom suggested to me to research quiet time online and that I found this amazing idea!!!

Frustration

So while I was having my baby at the hospital, our basement flooded. I had everything worked out perfectly, but all my plans had to change, because our basement is now uninhabitable. Luckily it wasn't a fire, and none of our stuff got damaged, but we have been living upstairs with my in-laws for the last 2 1/2 weeks and still have 2-3 weeks to go. The most frustrating parts were bringing home a new baby and having to move that weekend, and my 2 year old. She is doing wonderfully for all the changes that have been thrown into her life, but she is struggling. She recently discovered how to open doors and that she can reach the light switches, so putting her to bed is a nightmare. She will not stay in bed (she is currently in my in-laws tv room) and plays -- last night we put her to bed about 9:00 and she didn't go to sleep until after 11:30. If we were in our own environment, then I know a lot of the problem would be solved, but she wants to explore this new room and it is driving me crazy. I wonder if really need to worry about it or not, because we will be going back to our basement soon enough, and in a few months we will be moving into our new house, so is it a big deal and do I teach her now, or do I wait for a while until she and I am more settled? I'm just not sure, but I know that I am really struggling with this trial right now.