LDS Papas and Mamas #48 - Page 3

[seren]

Geez, so much stuff posted already, I'll have to catch up later.

I'm Serenity, 25, Married to Bryan, 30, for 7 years now. I'm a SAHMto Savanna, 6, Sam, 4.5, Madalyn, 2.5, and a new one in May. Right now i am going beyond crazy. Sam was sick for a week, fever of 103.8, swollen lymph node in his jaw again. This happened in April. SOme dr's say it's related to the spot under his tongue that is either stones in his gland or a cyst. We have an app with an ENT in Jan to figure out what it is. Looks like he may need surgery. After he was recovering from that he got some other illness that included a croupy cough where he literally could not breath. THat is fun to wake up to in the middle of them night. Now Mady is sick. She has a low grade fever, but is very very lethargic. Trying to figure out at what point I get concerned. Right now i wish I would have taken her to the ER last night, my midwife is a nurse there on Thursday nights. What better time to go? I feel that poor Savanna is just slipping through the cracks lately. I feel horrible guilt over that. And this fits me perfectly right now.

Originally Posted by KermitMissesJim

Not deeply spiritual lately, but I know it's true and I'm plugging along, "faking it till I make it." Gotta get on the ball soon, because birth is much better with God along for the ride.

Now to go cry because I feel so terrible and worried, and oh so tired.

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by magstphil

Jenni- how is Alaska anyway? i have been so curious.

we love it...
people keep asking how it is and thats really hard to answer...ask some specific questions and i can answer those!

there are bald eagles and great blue herons that nest within sight if my back door. Harbor seals swim within sight of the school on a regular basis. There are grizzleys in the woods.Lots of them. A couple of years ago a pod of whales wintered in the fjord right in front of town.
everybody has a dog--I know their dogs almsot as well as I know their kids. Nearly everybody has a gun--or three. They take them on hikes because of the bears.
the entire school has 16 kids, and everyone walks home for the 1 hr lunch break. The health center, post office, and city hall also all close for lunch.
there is no law enforcement--coastguard can be called in but never really is. the fire dept and EMTs are volunteer, and each drive a covered pick-up truck. There are almost no cars (the garbage guy drives his pickup once a week to collect trash)...most folks walk or bike...a few ride golf carts or little ATVs. the speed limit is 15.
The seaplane comes in 2-3 times a day in the summer, but in winter it's only once a day...weather permitting. Weather has only permitted 3 times in the last two weeks. The plane brings the mail and costs around $150 per passenger to Juneau (90 miles--abt 45 min)
The ferry comes once a month in winter--twice a month May-Sep. It only costs $35 to Juneau, but takes 6 hrs each way. People call in their grocery orders to costco and have it shipped out on the ferry. The ferry ride is a whale watching trip as well--I saw humpbacks when I came in, and orcas are common too of course. And lots an dlots of porposes.
The library is open 10 hrs a week--evenings and afternoons (4 days). Saturday afternoon at the library is a major social gathering--lots of kids get together to play board games and things like that.
In the summer everybody is busy fishing, but in the winter everybody ties up their boats andgets social. We have potlucks and cookie exchanges and weekly knitting circle... They did a bingo fundraiser a couple of weeks ago and earned money which they used to buy presents for every kid in town (16 in school, 4 younger) and then next week at thesschool christmas play santa will visit and bring something substantial for each kid!

typing one handed...we need a shorthand for that...toh/nak!!
jenni

[NewCrunchyDaddy]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

we love it...
people keep asking how it is and thats really hard to answer...ask some specific questions and i can answer those!

there are bald eagles and great blue herons that nest within sight if my back door. Harbor seals swim within sight of the school on a regular basis. There are grizzleys in the woods.Lots of them. A couple of years ago a pod of whales wintered in the fjord right in front of town.
everybody has a dog--I know their dogs almsot as well as I know their kids. Nearly everybody has a gun--or three. They take them on hikes because of the bears.
the entire school has 16 kids, and everyone walks home for the 1 hr lunch break. The health center, post office, and city hall also all close for lunch.
there is no law enforcement--coastguard can be called in but never really is. the fire dept and EMTs are volunteer, and each drive a covered pick-up truck. There are almost no cars (the garbage guy drives his pickup once a week to collect trash)...most folks walk or bike...a few ride golf carts or little ATVs. the speed limit is 15.
The seaplane comes in 2-3 times a day in the summer, but in winter it's only once a day...weather permitting. Weather has only permitted 3 times in the last two weeks. The plane brings the mail and costs around $150 per passenger to Juneau (90 miles--abt 45 min)
The ferry comes once a month in winter--twice a month May-Sep. It only costs $35 to Juneau, but takes 6 hrs each way. People call in their grocery orders to costco and have it shipped out on the ferry. The ferry ride is a whale watching trip as well--I saw humpbacks when I came in, and orcas are common too of course. And lots an dlots of porposes.
The library is open 10 hrs a week--evenings and afternoons (4 days). Saturday afternoon at the library is a major social gathering--lots of kids get together to play board games and things like that.
In the summer everybody is busy fishing, but in the winter everybody ties up their boats andgets social. We have potlucks and cookie exchanges and weekly knitting circle... They did a bingo fundraiser a couple of weeks ago and earned money which they used to buy presents for every kid in town (16 in school, 4 younger) and then next week at thesschool christmas play santa will visit and bring something substantial for each kid!

typing one handed...we need a shorthand for that...toh/nak!!
jenni

I'm insanely jealous!

[brightonwoman]

question

So, I was thinking about this the other day, and I'm wondering what the official doctrine is...
If a priesthood holder is doing things that would make him unworthy to, say, give a blessing...
But someone (who doesn't know about the sins) asks for a blessing, and has faith etc etc...
And said priesthood holder gives the blessing...
Then how does that all work?
I know the recipient would still be blessed if they had faith, since they weren't doing anything wrong. If they didn't know about the man's unworthiness they are still entitled to the blessings, right?
But what are the consequences for the unworthy priesthood holder?
What if there is no one else that the person could ask for a blessing? (Living in a tiny corner of the world where the ONLY priesthood is my dh makes me wonder about these things sometimes!)

jenni

[quarteralien]

Today is my birthday. DH and I were planning on going to a screening of "The Business of Being Born" tonight, but when my visiting teacher who offered to babysit found out how late it went, she declined, because bedtime for her kids would be difficult. So it looks like we'll be seeing it on DVD when it comes to that. I have no idea what we'll do tonight.
FIL called this morning and said that DH's grandma will probably pass away in the next few days. She has cancer and has been really deteriorating lately, and is currently comatose. So a funeral is planned for next Saturday, and we'll probably all fly out to California for that.
On the other hand, when I woke up this morning, there was a poem on the dining room table that DH composed for me. He said that it has always bothered him that in 7 years together he couldn't come up with a poem about me. He's finally done it. And I quite enjoyed it.

[linguistmama]

I'm insanely jealous of you too Jenni! How christian of me! Right now a group in Provo is considering starting a cohousing and one of the benefits would be a greater sense of community.

[Leiahs]

Originally Posted by quarteralien

You'd probably have passed 1,000 if you had split up that post. But then you'd have to come up with a title sooner.

Split up a post? But then you all wouldn't get to know the real long-winded me!! Besides, I hit 1,000 already. Oh noes! I don't have a title!!

Seren, I'm soooo sorry that your kids have been sick and you're getting stressed out and worried. You'll be in our thoughts!

Originally Posted by quarteralien

FIL called this morning and said that DH's grandma will probably pass away in the next few days. She has cancer and has been really deteriorating lately, and is currently comatose. So a funeral is planned for next Saturday, and we'll probably all fly out to California for that.
On the other hand, when I woke up this morning, there was a poem on the dining room table that DH composed for me. He said that it has always bothered him that in 7 years together he couldn't come up with a poem about me. He's finally done it. And I quite enjoyed it.

I'm sorry to hear about your DH's grandma. DH's grandma is still alive and well, as is my maternal grandma, but I lost my favorite grandma soon after I was married, to cancer. It was a tough time. I do hope flying out for a funeral will work out for your family.

And how about getting a poem from your DH! What a random lovely thing to wake up to!

[Moonprysm]

Wow, I go to my MILs for 4 days and come back to 3 pages! lol I'll catch up later.

I'm Tiffani, SAHM to 1 incredibly cute toddler who seemed to age 6 months while we were out of town. lol His vocal skills at least trippled while we were there (mostly because he LOVED my SILs dog and so added "doggy", "puppy" and various other dog-words, haha). My husband and I just "celebrated" our 5th anniversary and on the same day found out that we'd lost our second child.

And...*insert drum roll* I have my baptism interview Sunday with my baptism tentatively scheduled for next Saturday!!!! (that is, assuming I get approval *gulp*). I'm really nervous and really excited, but I just felt like the fact that my missionaries got to stay was such a blessing that I couldn't wait another 6 weeks and have one (or more likely both) of them leave without getting to see me baptised. Wish me luck!

[klg47]

Originally Posted by brightonwoman

(Living in a tiny corner of the world where the ONLY priesthood is my dh makes me wonder about these things sometimes!)

That's something that's been bothering me a little lately. Our baby is a little over 3 months now, and we're going to have the Bishop bless him on Sunday. But if my mom hadn't kept bugging me about it, I probably wouldn't have bothered scheduling it. I honestly don't think that it makes a real difference. Does our doctrine really state that the baby blessing (or any blessing) will actually bring the baby more blessings or better blessings than a non-LDS baby would get? And do we believe that if you have a great relationship with God and you believe He can heal you, it won't work unless you get a blessing? Or that it's more likely to work if you get a blessing? That just doesn't make sense to me. Why would God require you to receive blessings and inspiration through a third person? Especially in cases like Jenni mentions, where one literally isn't available? Or like in the case of many women, where priesthood holders are available, but you would never actually go to one for a blessing.

[Stacymom]

Tiffani, I'm so excited for you- congratulations! Don't stress about the interview- I'm sure it will be a very positive experience. And I'm so glad that the elders can be there for the baptism- what a blessing!

And Jennifer, your sealing pictures are beautiful! J has gotten so grown up! Congratulations.

Katie and Jenni, you bring up some very interesting questions. I'm going to muddle through what I think, but I'm very interested in seeing what others come up with as well. First of all, giving the baby a name and a blessing is not an ordinance required for salvation- I think it is a beautiful ritual, and something that a lot of families look forward to, but its not required for salvation like baptism or the endowment. When our first dd was blessed, our bishop at the time counseled my dh to really think about the blessing, and think about what spiritual gifts we would want to bless our children with, and then pray and ask what Heavenly Father would want to bless our children with before giving the blessing. Both of our dd's blessings have been amazing, spiritual blessings that we have seen fulfilled in some ways already in our children's personalities. To be honest, I don't know if my dh blessing them with those spiritual gifts granted them, or if my girls were already going to be blessed with those, but I know that their blessings were both really meaningful experiences for both of us.

I'm not sure what to think about other kinds of blessings like blessings of healing, etc. I know that Heavenly Father often wants to bless us, but makes those blessing contigent upon us asking for them. And the very definition of the priesthood is the power of God given to men on the earth, so we all can be blessed through the priesthood. In my own life, there have been many times where I have thought to ask for a blessing but haven't, because I was too prideful, nervous, etc, and I wonder what blessings I passed up by not asking for them. We have had many experiences, (especially with our youngest dd who seems to be more accident and illness prone) where a child has been healed in front of us, and I just don't know that that would have happened if we would have only kneeled in prayer. I think that priesthood blessings give us access to a much greater range of Heaven's influence and blessings, and its only our own faults that keep us from receiving them. There was one time where I was having a very private problem, and asked my dh to give me a blessing, but he felt very strongly that he needed to have someone else there with him. I had a very very hard time asking someone else to be there since it was such a sensitive issue, but we finally asked someone else to come and participate in the blessing. I feel strongly that the Lord wants to bless us, but sometimes we are the ones that forget to seek and ask for those blessings from whatever source they need to come from.

For me, there is a certain clarity and power that comes from priesthood blessings. There is such a comfort in hearing words from God that are meant for me, and when I'm really confused, or really hurting, its an amzing experience to have hands on my head giving me direction, comfort, and peace. I seem to get a lot mroe guidance out of that than I would from praying and struggling and trying to receive that revelation on my own. But in Jenni's case, or others that Katie mentioned, I think that Heavenly Father is merciful, and blesses us according to his will and the righteousness of our hearts.

Like I said, these are very interesting questions, and I'm going to have to think and study more about this. Please don't quote this post, because I will probably delete it tomorrow. I feel a little nervous about this being on such a public board.

Very interested to hear what others think.

[frogleymom]

The baby blessing is not an official ordinance in the church. It is not required, and doesn't give the baby any extra blessings that a non-LDS baby would get...

I have loved having my babies blessed because I felt that it helped me get to know them even more, to know how to help them develop their talents, and to help them overcome difficulties. DD#2 was blessed with the gift of music... we always kind of assumed that with DD#1 because DH and I both come from musical families... but we have noticed that DD#2 pays attention to music in all forms much more than her sister ever did. At 18 months, she now enjoys conducting the sacrament meeting hymns along with the chorister... for the entire song.

And personally, whenever I have asked for a blessing, it's because I need to *hear* someone else say what I'm already feeling. Sometimes (especially when I'm sick), my feelings get so confusing that I'm not really sure if they're accurate or not. I always feel much more peaceful after a priesthood blessing. Maybe I just have a hard time putting the spirit into words or something, and the blessing seems to do that better for me. I have noticed a couple of times when the one giving the blessing said something that just didn't feel right to me... but by the end of the blessing I can't remember what it was. I usually try to remember one or two phrases that really stood out to me and get them written down as soon as possible.

Emily

[klg47]

I appreciated your responses I totally agree with what you've said about blessings. As you may have surmised, my recent experiences have colored my perception a bit :

[klg47]

I told you that my ward is kind of atypical for Utah. Here are some quotes from our RS biography of the week: "I am incorporating more organic, local, and slow food movement ideas into my cooking." and "I have nursed kids on airplanes, trains, subways, boats, and while running from one to the other."

This lady is a RS teacher. She even read from The Omnivore's Dilemma in RS. I thought that it was very inappropriate, but awesome nonetheless

[KermitMissesJim]

Originally Posted by seren

Now to go cry because I feel so terrible and worried, and oh so tired.

I feel you.

Lacysmommy, thank you thank you thank you infinity for sharing your "spiritual time" script with us. We are following it to a tee -- Church song, five verses from the BoM, and then prayer. My 7yo is a fabulous reader (actually, it was the BoM that helped him make his reading breakthrough) so he does one verse for him and one for our 2yo. Dh helps 4yo read her verse, does one of his own, and I do the fifth. We take turns praying and picking the song. It really calms them down for bedtime and makes a nice little niche of peace in our day. I truly cannot thank you enough.

Like my Sunbeam calling, your spiritual time has been a great reminder that it's the small and simple things that are worth the most.

[holyhelianthus]

Originally Posted by klg47

I told you that my ward is kind of atypical for Utah. Here are some quotes from our RS biography of the week: "I am incorporating more organic, local, and slow food movement ideas into my cooking." and "I have nursed kids on airplanes, trains, subways, boats, and while running from one to the other."

This lady is a RS teacher. She even read from The Omnivore's Dilemma in RS. I thought that it was very inappropriate, but awesome nonetheless

why inappropriate, might i ask?

[klg47]

Originally Posted by magstphil

why inappropriate, might i ask?

Not immoral-inappropriate, but against the rules-inappropriate. The teachers are given specific instructions to teach from the manuals and the scriptures and nothing else. There is a very short list of other approved LDS books that you can integrate into lessons, but you are told to use these very sparingly. This is from the Teaching, No Greater Call manual, I think. Has anyone studied it recently?

[brightonwoman]

Originally Posted by klg47

Not immoral-inappropriate, but against the rules-inappropriate. The teachers are given specific instructions to teach from the manuals and the scriptures and nothing else. There is a very short list of other approved LDS books that you can integrate into lessons, but you are told to use these very sparingly. This is from the Teaching, No Greater Call manual, I think. Has anyone studied it recently?

I haven't recently...But I do know that it says that. :-)

[Leiahs]

Right, it's my understanding that materials used in church classes should be pulled only from very official resources. I took a "Teaching, No Greater Call" class back in my college ward, but haven't referenced the book in quite some time.

I think it's cool that you have someone in RS who would want to use a resource like that, but I'd be very afraid of what other sisters (or any teachers) might decide to incorporate into lessons if they could use any book they came across, and felt it fit their idea of what the Gospel is. Anything other than official doctrine has the potential to lead members astray.

[LionTigerBear]

Happy Birthday, Bronwyn!

And hugs for pretty much everyone ---

I'm sorry things are difficult for some of you right now. I wonder if part of it is the winter months. The gray winters definitely get me down.

[klg47]

It's possible that I may need to call my housekeeping skills into question. We have some Christmas window clings. I wet them down to get them to stick on the window better. We just went to put them up on the front window and the water mark outlines from last Christmas were still there!! : When I tell people that one way I handle working and being a mom is that I just don't clean, they laugh, as if I am exaggerating. Now I have proof!