Sister Beck opened the meeting up to questions from the audience and she was amazing at answering questions on the spot! I'll just share a few things that I learned. The thing that stood out to me the most is that we should live in such a way that invites the Holy Ghost to guide us in our lives - or in other words, we should qualify for the Spirit. Then we should ask for guidance from the Holy Ghost in all that we do. One sister asked how we know if our own personal goals are in line with what our Father in Heaven has in mind for us. She counseled us to use prayer and seek guidance from the Spirit. She said that we would never receive inspiration from God that was not in line with His plan. His plan is for all men and women to gain immortality and eternal life with Him. Our main role as women should be to raise righteous families. She said that the children born in these days are some of God's strongest spirits and they need us to be strong parents and leaders to guide them.
She also addressed the purpose of Relief Society several times. She told us that some people think of Relief Society as a "women's club." That is not true. There are three purposes of Relief Society. 1. To Increase faith and personal righteousness. 2. To strengthen homes and families. 3. To teach the gospel and reach out to those in need. She talked about how she's heard a lot of excuses for not wanting to participate in Visiting Teaching. (Excuses such as not enough time, schedules not meshing, hard feelings or dislike for someone, etc.....some of these I've used myself.) She talked pretty straight and said the God doesn't care what our excuses are and that we should just get over them. (I laughed.) She said that this is a sacred opportunity to be an agent for God (and the Bishop) and that we should embrace it. God cares about what we are willing to give back. This was good for me to hear!
I could go on and on with about 10 pages of notes that I took from her talk today. I know that I went to that meeting for a reason today! I went with my parents and it was nice to spend some time with them. It's not very often that I get to do that - especially with my dad. They bought me lunch afterwards and we had a good time.
So today, the hand of God was very apparent in my life. Now we are going to settle down to a nice quiet evening at home with the kids. We kind of feel like this last few weeks has been the "calm before the storm." All of the kids have been between extra-curricular activities and we haven't had a lot to do. That all changes starting Monday. Next week the kids start track, club volleyball and wrestling. So back on goes my "taxi hat." I just try to enjoy it, though. I can feel my time with my kids slipping away quickly as they get older. Mataia will graduate in a little more than three years! How did that happen??? So I cherish every moment I have with them - even if it's in the car. And I love to cheer them on in their activities. They are great kids!
Life is Good!
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