The Son

We have had a very mild winter this year.

But the temperature does not always tell the full story.


I walked into church this morning without my coat buttoned up.

Then, I realized I should feel colder because it was only 13 degrees.

I felt warmer than I had the day before when it was 36.


The difference was the sun.


The sun makes all the difference in whether I feel cold or warm.


When I am going through a hard or dark time in my life, the only way to get through it is with the Son.

He makes the cold days seem better even if they aren't.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1

Just Write

Some time back before Christmas I decided to give up social media.

I recently had given up sugar. 

Not because it's "bad", but because I had noticed some effects it had on me that I didn't like. 

So, it was also a bit of an experiment to see if it changed some of these physical things.

It did.

I feel 100% better not eating sugar. 

And I don't even crave it so much because I know what it does to me.

When I started, I wrote down some things that I wanted to replace the sugar with. 

Eat an apple, a handful of nuts, drink some water.


I don't think that social media is bad, but I did feel that I was spending too much time on it.

I had also been thinking about all the books I used to read and wondering why I didn't read anymore.

Was it just because I had gotten busy?

But, really I stopped reading when I got a smart phone and when Facebook came out.

--Sidetrack --

I love Facebook!!

I love being "in touch" with old college roommates and old friends and knowing what is going on in people's lives.

How did I ever live without it?

I guess I had to be more diligent about keeping in touch.

I wasn't.

And I actually had to write letters or make phone calls.

I didn't.

Who has time for that? 

Well, I guess people who aren't spending time looking at their phone at the hundreds of people they're keeping in touch with.

Anyway, my main point was that I wanted to free up some time. 

Or at least experiment and see if it freed up some of my time.

So, I wrote down some things that I would like to replace that time with.

READ
CLEAN
VISIT
WRITE

I've gotten good at replacing social media with reading. 

(In some ways, it's not that different!)

I've already finished 3 books!

My house is cleaner.

And I've been able to make visits to neighbors and friends that I haven't in the past.


But, what about writing?

Why do I want to write?

When I write, I just put all kinds of jumbled thoughts down.

And as I do that, things become clearer.

I'm not saying that I'm a good writer.

But, I'm not bad at editing.

I spend less time writing all the jumbled thoughts than thinking about what I've written and getting it just right.

So, that's what I'm going to do.

Just write.

Summer Schedule

I've been a bit anxious about school ending.

I'm definitely tired of sending my kids out every morning and the rush/hassle it is.

But, I've been feeling a bit lost about what happens next.

This will be my 3rd summer that I am working part-time while my kids are home. And I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

I finally sat down the other night and got my plan figured out.  In case anyone is wondering why I do this, you can read this old post.

I'm sharing my schedule on this blog in hopes that others will join me - I've always thought, the more the merrier.

5:45 am - walking

7:15 am or so - check in at work

8:00 am - family scriptures

8:30 - 9:30am - breakfast/get ready/morning chores/personal scripture study

Play time!!!

1:30 pm - ? work

6:00 pm - dinner

7:00 pm - evening/kitchen chores

read out-loud book

9:00 pm - bedtime

Monday - Homeschool Day/Library

Temple Tuesday - (little kids watch a movie? or do a trade with another family?)

Friendsday Wednesday - play group/park day/etc.

Thursday - Shopping/One-on-one time/Kids Cleaning Day

Friday Funday - Field trip/Hiking

Saturday - Outdoor (work on house or play!!) 

I'm so lucky that I have the job I have. It is so flexible. 

Which I know I will have to be this summer.

I have grand ideas of what our summer will be like. 

But, even if it doesn't turn out just so, at least I have a foundation to work with.

Running Hills (Part Four)

I've written a lot about running hills.

Running Hills (part 1)
Running Hills (part 2)
Running Hills (part 3)

But, not recently.

I was thinking about that the other day on my early morning walk.

My goal this summer is to do a lot of hiking, so I'm trying to get stronger.

Why don't I run hills anymore? Am I missing out on those lessons? Am I doing something wrong?


Actually, I don't mind not running right now.

Walking is what I need. 

I can talk when I'm walking.

There's more chances to look around and notice the beauty around me, than when I was trying to make a certain distance or time.


I do miss the sense of accomplishment I felt when I conquered a hill.

And, I still should probably find some hills to practice on.

But mostly, I'm just walking as much as I can.

So when I start hiking, and come to a hill, I'll already have some strength built up.


Walking can feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again; without really progressing.

The way that sometimes saying prayers, reading the scriptures, going to church, etc. starts to feel.

But, walking (instead of running) is not the same thing as coasting.

I'm still walking and moving forward.

Saying my prayers and reading my scriptures every day is moving me forward.

Slowing down has helped me notice more of the beautiful things in my life.

It is still strengthening me.


And so, if/when I come to a "hill" in my life, I'll have the strength I need to conquer it.

Stuck in the Snow

We have a lot of snow here! I love it.

But, sometimes, it's not awesome.

This morning, I saw someone stuck in the snow.

I parked my car and got out to help the other woman who was already there.

We pushed.

And we rocked the car.

And we pushed some more.

That car did not want to get unstuck.

Then someone else stopped to help and they pushed with us.

It kept seeming like it was going to get out.

It kept being stuck.

I kicked more snow under the front tires to give it traction.

We tried it in drive. We tried it in neutral.

A couple of more people stopped to help.

Someone even brought some ice melt to put under the wheels to give it some traction.

Pushing it forward actually started getting it stuck more!

Finally, I suggested that she try to drive backward more before we pushed again.

Why would she want to go backward?! 

There was a lot of snow behind the car and she had just made it through all of that!


It worked!

She got the traction she needed, she found a new way forward, and upward and onward she went.


There are times in my life when I have felt stuck.

And I have done so much pushing to try and get myself out.

Sometimes that's worked because there have been others there with a little extra push to help me go forward.

But, many times, what I really needed to do to was to go back.

Whether that was going back to things that I didn't want to revisit and repenting.

Or just stepping back far enough to see a different way forward.

Sometimes, the only way to get unstuck, is by going backwards for a bit.