My Role Model

     On Saturday night, my husband, baby, and I got to participate in Fountain Green, Utah's annual Live Nativity.  My husband grew up in Fountain Green and I mentioned to his Mom one day how I thought it would be fun to participate in it and so she signed us up!  I do happen to have a cute little guy who turned 11 weeks old today after all.
     In the Nativity we participated as Joseph (my husband), Mary (me), and baby Jesus (my baby Reuben).

It was such a beautiful experience playing the Mother Mary.  During the 2 hours we were there, I took the time to reflect and think about Mary and baby Jesus.  She is my biggest role model.  I have always had this desire to be a better person because of Mary.  I want to be just like her.  The Lord found favor in her, Nephi describes her in the Book of Mormon as the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  She was worthy to be chosen as the Mother of the Savior.  I hope that someday I can be as choice and righteous as she must have been.  As I looked at my baby I thought about how much joy Mary must have felt to hold her little baby Jesus in her arms and know that he was the Savior of the world.  

Here are the scriptures found in the Book of Mormon, written by the Prophet Nephi in 1 Nephi chapter 11:

 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

 14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms

Love,

      Becky joy

Are you happy or unhappy?

Book of Mormon-- Mormon 9:14

 14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still.

     While in College I remember going to a fireside where Elder Oaks (an Apostle of Jesus Christ) and his wife were speaking.  I actually don't really remember much from Elder Oak's talk but I do remember his wife's talk pretty well.  She spoke a lot about her single days.  She is actually Elder Oaks second wife and his first wife had passed away.  She was single for most of her life and didn't get married until she was kind of old.  
     She spoke about how sometimes she would let herself get down about being single, thinking that if she was married she would feel less lonely and much happier.  Something that was very interesting to me is when she talked about a Priesthood blessing she received counseling her that if she was unhappy now then she would be unhappy while married and if she felt lonely now then she would feel lonely married, and that she needed to find happiness and fulfillment in her life now.   Isn't that interesting?
     Well I have noticed this to be true.  I am just as happy or unhappy as I was before I got married.  I am not trying to say marriage hasn't elevated my life because it has and I have grown stronger as a person but honestly getting married is not a "happily ever after" kind of thing.  If you can't learn to be happy in the circumstance you are in, then you won't be happy if the situation changes either.  So enjoy the moment!!  I am trying to learn to do this as well. It's harder said then done.
     I suppose people think death will fix everything, well from this scripture that is just not true.  Unrighteous people will still seek after sin.  Unhappy people will still be unhappy.  The feelings of addiction will remain also.  So seek after good things now.
    To read Elder Oaks and his wife Kristen Oak's talks from that night you can here.

  And speaking of happy, check out this cute little happy guy:)

Love,
     Becky joy

It Does Matter

Book of Mormon -  Mormon 8:31

 31 Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.


     In Mormon chapter 8, found in the Book of Mormon, Moroni is the last Nephite left after the Lamanites came and destroyed all the Nephites (the Lord would have saved the Nephites and helped them but it was at a time when the Nephites were very wicked and did not turn to God for help.  He wants to help us but if we are wicked then we separate ourselves from Him.
     Moroni was one of the very few righteous Nephites though and he took the records made by the Prophets (aka--Book of Mormon), added some writings, and then he hid the records in the ground to be preserved until the Lord declared it time for the records to be found and used.  Many years later, a man named Joseph Smith the very first Prophet in these Latter Days found the record, after Moroni (now passed away and now an Angel of God) appeared to him and told him where to find the records.  
     Through revelation and visions Joseph Smith restored Jesus Christ's church back to the earth, translated (with the urim and thummim) the records, and published them to what is now known as The Book of Mormon.  
      Sorry long explanation but really it is rather short compared to the whole story but I just felt good about sharing details.  
     Part of the writings that Moroni added to the Book of Mormon talk about what the world will be like when the Book of Mormon comes to the earth (which is now).  You can read the whole chapter to see the rest but what I wanted to focus on was verse 31 where it says, "there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day."
     It is true, a lot of people are saying things like that.  Such as Gay marriage is OK or sex is OK before marriage, or pornography is OK, and things like that.  I have heard before that God isn't up there (heaven) looking down on anything and it is wrong when people think He is.  
    SO NOT TRUE!  Even if God didn't send His judgements to sin (but He does, because He can see the destruction that not only sin causes on the sinner but also the people surrounding the sinner), I can tell you one good reason why IT DOES MATTER to live as the Savior and to follow His Prophets.  Because it causes pain.  These things rob happiness.  Heavenly Father doesn't just set commandments because He is trying to make us miserable, it is because He is trying to save us from falling into misery, addiction, divorce, murder, ... etc.  He is trying to keep us from the grasp of Satan.  He loves us.  He loves me.  I have experienced pain from someone else making wrong decisions and it almost destroyed my family.  That is Satan's goal, to destroy families.  
      It does matter.
Love, 
     Becky joy
     

Sustaining The Prophet; Book of Mormon; 1 Nephi 2:12-16

     Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints means that I sustain President Thomas S. Monson.   He is the Prophet called by God for these Latter Days just as Moses was a Prophet in his day.  

     The other day while getting my hair-cut from a friend of mine who is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, asked me what I thought if all the sudden the Church asked us to do something strange (I am omitting further details and just calling the request strange).  I just replied with, "I hope that doesn't happen, that would be hard."

    Then she said, "but what if President Thomas S. Monson said he was told by God to bring this strange request into the church, what would you do?"

     I answered, "I would do it but it would be hard."

     Now I really hope that this strange thing never happens but because I know the Prophet Thomas S. Monson is Jesus Christ's true Prophet, I would know it was right.   I love it how Nephi in 1 Nephi chapter 2 responds to the strange request he was given:

1 Nephi 2:12-16

 12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew notthe dealings of that God who had created them.

 13 Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.

 14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in thevalley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them.

 15 And my father dwelt in a tent.

 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

     Laman and Lemuel when asked to move to the wilderness by their father (aka Prophet of God) they complained and didn't want to.  As Nephi explained, it was because they never knew their God who created them.  They just thought it was strange and silly and that was that.

     Nephi also had a hard time with the strange request to leave his home and move to the wilderness but he responded differently.  Instead of complaining he prayed to be able to know for himself and by the spirit he was comforted and knew he that his father (aka- the Prophet) was right.  

     This is a really good way to approach this situation.  If the Prophet ever asked something strange and possibly to a lot of people he already does, then ask God yourself.  Get down on your knees and ask.  Then the Lord will you know that it is not strange anymore and peace will flood through you.  I know this is true, I have felt it for myself.

Love,

     Becky joy

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE ; Book of Mormon--1 Nephi 2:24.

 24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

    Last night I read this chapter and this scripture has never really stuck out to me before now.  Here Lehi is talking to his younger son Nephi, telling him because of his obedience to God that he will always be more powerful than his older brothers.  Then he tells Nephi here in this verse up above that if his brothers rebel than their posterity will be a trial for Nephi's posterity.  Which does end up happening, but what really sticks out to me is when Lehi goes on to say that this will help Nephi's seed remember God.  
     All trials are blessings in disguise.  This is something that has been hard for me to realize sometimes (especially while caught right in the middle of a trial).  Last night while I was laying in bed I was thinking about this, and all my trials have brought me to remember my God and turn to Him and I have grown stronger with His help.  

      Just for fun I decided to change my look.  I wanted some layers and also decided to go with bangs.  The craziest thing I did was get my eye brows waxed!  I have never done that before.  I am happy how everything turned out.  

Here is my Before.  It is kind of hard to see with my 2 little kiddies on me but who can pass up these cute faces.  I love them

After

       Either way though, I feel beautiful.

Love,
    Becky joy

Family Home Evening- Our Thankful Tree

     Every Monday we hold Family Home Evening in our home centered around our Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We sing a hymn, pray together, have a lesson, activity/game, and then usually a treat to end with (except right now we are not eating sweets so we didn't have a treat at the end).  

     Tonight for the lesson we talked about being thankful with Thanksgiving coming up and everything.  My husband Weston shared the scripture  1 Nephi Chapter 2 verse 7:  "And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God."  

   This scripture is talking about the Prophet Lehi from the Book of Nephi found in the Book of Mormon.    The Prophet had a vision that the city he was living in was going to be destroyed because of the wickedness and that he needed to leave his home and take his family into the Wilderness.  So they did.  They left everything except for a few supplies they needed and that they could carry so they could survive.  THEY LEFT THE COMFORT OF HOME!!  

     While living in the Wilderness, Lehi build an altar and saw God in his life and remembered to thank him.  This just amazes me.  It is important to recognize God's hand in all things and also to remember to thank him whether we are living comfortably or going through a hard time.  God is there in each step of our lives and I have recognized this myself in my own life as I look back.  

    For the activity we made a thankful tree.  We let Sage (our 3 year old) put all the leaves on the tree.  I showed her how to do the first one and then she did the rest.  After we got our kids to bed, Weston and I were sitting on the couch talking and he told me how he thought it was so cute how Sage put each leaf on exactly the way I did the first one.  I hadn't realized that (all I noticed was our tree didn't look so much like a tree because of how uniform the leaves were).  After he pointed that out tears filled my eyes and I realized how cute and special that was.  I am so thankful for that little girl and my sweet family.  

Love,

Becky joy

Book of Mormon 3 Nephi Chapter 15

 3 Nephi 15: 6 And blessed are the Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father.

     I read chapters 14 and 15 today and I am kind of having a hard time knowing what to say.  I have read through the chapters a couple times and I realized I love this verse.  I have never seen the Savior (in this life at least) but I know He is real.  I don't need to see Him to know He is real, I have felt he is real because the Holy Ghost has testified of this to me as I have patterned my life after the Saviors.  I have felt my Savior's love and I have been healed through His atonement. 
    I remember the night I learned for myself that the Savior truly was more than a fairy tale.  I was reading my scriptures and the Holy Ghost flooded through me so strongly, I knew after that night that the Book of Mormon and all of it's Prophets were true men that once walked the earth and kept the records and the Savior and Heavenly Father were just as real as I was sitting in that room that night.  The Holy Ghost is amazing and brings such a warm feeling spreading peace.

Love,
    Becky joy

  

Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi Chapter 14

     Before I talk about this chapter I just wanted to share what my little 3 year old daughter prayed tonight in our Family Home Evening prayer.  She said, "thank you for giving us Reuben."  Reuben is the new little addition to our family and we love him so much.  I just thought it was so sweet how she said that in the prayer. She is just so sweet and we love her.

It's hard to get her to wear anything but a dress.

In this chapter (3 Nephi 14) I couldn't help but feel the spirit as I thought of the Prophet: Thomas S. Monson.  In verses 15-23 it warns against false Prophets and how to tell between a true Prophet and a False one.  In these scriptures the Savior says:

 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

 20 Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.

 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

 22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?

 23 And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; departfrom me, ye that work iniquity.

     I know Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet in this dispensation for Jesus Christ.  The spirit testified that to me as I read this chapter, when I hear his words I am filled with the spirit also, and as I study his life/works he has lived his life very close to the Savior.  I invite you to listen to his words and study his works as well.

Love,

     Becky joy

Book of Mormon: 3 Nephi Chapter 11

     I'm back!!  Sorry I had my baby on October 5th!!  We named him Reuben Hinckley Cook (his middle name is after the past Prophet of our church, Gordon B. Hinckley, I loved that man).  And I am in love love love with my little baby boy.

Family picture after my little boy was born.  Joy completely filled me.

Our daughter Sage meeting her new little brother.  She is in love with him!

     Tonight I found myself in 3 Nephi chapter 11.   One of my favorite things about the Book of Mormon is the record in it containing Jesus Christ coming to America.  Isn't it neat that there is a record of it!  The chapters that Jesus Christ is in are also some of my most favorite ones.
    This chapter is packed with such good messages and doctrine from the Savior but the thing I wanted to focus on tonight was something I struggle with so much and that is contention.
     In Verse 29, Jesus says: For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
     Since I had a baby, my Mom is here this week.   She is such a wonderful Grandmother and has been such a great help to me but the truth is, we don't always see eye to eye.  While reading this chapter it hit me,  Why do I feel the need to share my opinion with her on some matters that she already has such a strong opinion on?  I think it is because I want her to know I think she she is wrong.  That is not right and it won't get us anywhere.
     Also while reading this chapter and verse, I came to realize, I am following Satan when I allow myself to get worked up.  Contention is not of the Savior, it is of the Devil.  So perhaps when I am starting to feel crazy, I need to stop what I am doing and go and spend time with my Heavenly Father.   In verse 27 the Savior states, " 27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one."  
     So as I spend time with my Heavenly Father I will become more Christlike.  I really hope I can remember to do this before another argument occurs.  It really doesn't matter about how my Mom speaks differently than me, what matters is that our family is strong and that Satan doesn't have power to destroy us.  
      Love,
          Becky joy
P.S. to read the blog about me birthing my baby you can go here.

Book of Mormon: Helaman chapter 10

     Last Friday my husband and I went to the temple together.  While we went to the temple one of my good friends took Sage (my daughter) horse back riding.  I thought that was so nice of her and her husband to do that for us.  I love where I live, this place is filled with such good people and making friends comes soooo easily.

     While I was in the Celestial room of the temple I decided to read my scriptures and so I read Helaman chapter ten.  This chapter filled me with the spirit so easily.  A couple of versus that I loved were:

4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

 5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.

Isn't it crazy how much freedom is given when our will is in line with the Lord's?  On Saturday I attended General Women's conference. President Uchtdorf spoke on obeying all of God's commandments even when we don't understand why because He knows something we don't.  It is like a parent putting a plate of broccoli in front of a child.  The child doesn't understand why he needs to eat his vegetables but the parent understands and knows it is important.  And think of the freedom that child will have with his health if he eats healthy compared to someone who skimps on healthy food choices.  

If you would like to watch women's conference you can here.  It was so good, I cried because the spirit was so strong!

Love,

  Becky joy

New Testament: Mark 4:37-40

I don't want power, I want peace.

     I just got home from a fireside that was such a treat for my spirit to indulge on.  Emily Freeman, an LDS author, was the speaker and she spoke on peace.  Something she touched on in her talk was the story in the New Testament found in Mark 4:37-40 when the apostles with the Savior on a ship awoke Him in fear asking Him to save their ship from the disaster of the storm.
     I remember reading these same versus one day as I was studying this chapter in the New Testament 2 years ago (ask me why I remember the exact time frame, and the only thing I can answer is the people in my life at the time and the apartment we lived in) and I was amazed at the different message I got as an adult reading this story than I did when I was a child hearing the story.
     As a child I remember learning this story and thinking to myself,  if I have great faith then I will have lots of power to move mountains and to calm storms!!!  Which ya know, is true but as I read it on my bed in our apartment in Houston, Texas 2 years ago I remember reading the words from versus :37-38 that said, "And there arose a great storm of wind , and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he (talking about the Savior) was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow..."
     Those scriptures amazed me! Here the Savior is sleeping in a storm!  And when the Savior asked the other men on the ship after calming the sea, the questions, "Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"  I felt as though the Savior was looking at me and personally saying, "Becky why are ye so fearful, how is it that ye have no faith?"
     I decided I wanted to be like the Savior and not because He could move mountains, walk on water, or calm seas  The fact is, I didn't care at all about the part of Him calming the sea anymore, what really stuck out to me was that He had so much faith that He could sleep on the ship whether the storm was present or not.  I craved that peace because it was most certainly missing from my life at the time.  I didn't want power, I wanted peace.
     Looking back, I can't help but be thankful I learned it is possible to find peace through storms (or trials). I am most certainly not to the point where I could sleep in a flooding ship being blown around at sea, but right now I have so much peace in my life when uncertainty is also present.  In fact, I have never felt so much peace in my life as I do now (and I am pregnant so that is saying a lot), but I think it is because the Lord has never given me any reason not to trust Him, and I allow that knowledge I have gained to stay with me each day.

Love,
    Becky joy

Family Home Evening

     Every Monday we have Family Home Evening.  Tonight as a family we went to a restaurant for dinner and then came home and had our usual song, prayer, and lesson.  For the lesson I read a poem entitled "We're all different" by Susan Parry from the Friend:

"Some kids are short, and others are tall.

Some have lots of freckles and some not at all.

Some ride in wheelchairs because they can’t walk.

Others sound different from me when they talk.

Some kids wear clothes with a funny design

And have faces a lot different from mine.

Some kids are skinny and others more round.

When I think about Jesus, here’s what I’ve found:

He loves every child. He just doesn’t mind

What they look like or talk like. He’s still just as kind.

I want to be like Him. He’d never make fun

Of a child who looks different or can’t walk or run.

So when I see children who aren’t just like me,

I’ll think about Jesus, and like Him I’ll be.

I might feel a bit shy, but I know what to do.

I’ll be friends with them all—and I bet you will too!"

     I love the simplicity of this poem because it is easy to explain to my daughter who is nearly 3 years old.  But the gospel really is that simple to understand.  Jesus Christ loves all of us, he does not look on the outward appearance and I want to be just like Him.

Love,

     Becky joy

Book of Mormon: Helaman Chapter 7

     In Helaman chapter 7 it talks about Helaman's son Nephi and how much sorrow he feels because of the wickedness of the Nephites.  The Nephites are desendents of Lehi and Nephi from the book of Nephi who were Prophets.  For the most part in the Book of Mormon the Nephites are the more righteous group of people but now they are putting their focus on worldly pleasures instead of their God and are becoming wicked.
     The scripture that sticks out to me the most is in verse 6 when it says, "Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years...."
     How long does it take to become wicked when we lose focus....not long.  I look at this scripture and realize for myself how important it is to make God my focus each day of my life.  I can't afford to allow worldly things to become my focus.
     How I made my relationship with God a priority today:  served a friend by watching her kids, read and studied my scriptures, talked to God through prayer, donated money to the scouts, read scriptures with my family and prayed with my family, shared my testimony with my sister-in-law, read the Prophet's message from the Ensign.
     Wow I was thinking I wasn't going to be able to name very many things when I began but then as I started I kept thinking of more and more things.  That makes me happy that I really am making my relationship with God a priority each day!  What did you do today??  Comment with the things you do each day. :)

Love,
    Becky joy

Book of Mormon--Helaman 6:4

Book of Mormon-- Helaman 6:4 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and repentance.

     When I read this scripture I started thinking about my conversion story to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I was born in the church and I heard my parents bear THEIR  testimonies to me every day of my life.  This was such a blessing for me and I don't think there is anything I can do to equal the blessings I will receive from this.  
     The interesting thing is, I always believed their words without realizing that my testimony relied on their testimonies.  When my testimony truly came and I knew for myself for the very first time that The Church that my parents raised me in was indeed true, was when I was a Freshman in college.  I will never forget the night.  I was reading my Book of Mormon (the same beautiful copy that I introduced to you earlier and you can see again here) and all the sudden my insides felt like they were growing like a fire was growing inside of me and thoughts started flooding my head such as, "Nephi really lived,  this really happened! These stories are journals, these people really lived!!  God is real, He is real, I mean He really lives, He is real!!!!"     
     Even though I had heard these things my whole life, I realized that night for myself that it was true.  It was not only a story, it was a truth.  From studying my scriptures, the spirit was able to grab hold of my heart and testify these things to me and I knew they were true.  
      Just as I did that night, as I type these words, that feeling returns.  The feeling of the spirit growing inside of me.  

Love,
     Becky joy

My Favorite Scripture 1 Nephi 17:50

My favorite scripture is found in the Book of Mormon in the Book of Nephi chapter 17 verse 50.   It says:
50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

     This is Nephi talking to his brothers after Nephi told them how he was going to build a ship.  His brothers thought he was crazy and this was Nephi's response.  I love Nephi.  He has so much courage and faith.  His response to his brothers has affected me greatly.  There is nothing that the Lord has asked that I can't do.  
     Something interesting that just came to my mind is forgiveness.  This is something the Lord has asked me to do,  I need to find Nephi's faith inside of me and get over this hurdle that is hurting me.  Why is forgiveness so hard??  I need to pray to be like Nephi, because I know these words are true.  God has commanded forgiveness so I can do it.  

Love,
     Becky joy 

Family Home Evening

     Every Monday night our family holds Family Home Evening.  Sometimes on these nights we just go out as a family like to the swimming pool or to a movie, but most Mondays we just do it in the comfort of our home with a prayer, primary song, lesson, game, and then treat.
     Tonight our lesson was taken from the Friend.  A magazine printed by our church made specifically for children.  The article I chose to talk about for the lesson is entitled, "Heavenly Father Loves You."  By Elder Uchtdorf (A latter day apostle of Jesus Christ).  Since my daughter is 2 almost 3 I started to tell her how much Heavenly Father loves her (oh and we held family home evening tonight outside starting with a dinner picnic).  As I was trying to explain how much he loved her, she laid down on the blanket and yelled, "look a star!"  Then the lesson turned into all the things Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ created for us because they love us.  We ended with a family walk trying to name all the things Heavenly Father created for us.
     My heart began to feel so happy during this because I felt so blessed.  Sometimes I feel like these lessons are more for me than her.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ created and provided this beautiful world for us to live on.

Love,
     Becky joy