Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
An. Eternal. Perspective.
Yesterday Court and I were in Sunday school and something's the teacher talked about really stuck out to me. He was talking about the use of our time and how much time we devote to the Lord and how much time we devote to the World. It really got me thinking about how I spend my time and how our family spends time.
While we do not spend our time doing bad things, we also do not spend enough of our time giving of our time to the Lord. Life is so busy and there are so many distractions, but it got me thinking about how this life is "The time for us to prepare to meet God." I have a very personal and sacred relationship with my Heavenly Father, but I am not spending the appropriate amount of time strengthening that relationship, I am not DILIGENTLY studying the scriptures, and I am not always praying with a sincere heart. I am a busy mother of 4 children and I am squeezing the Lord in when I can, a quick morning prayer, a chapter, maybe 2 of the scriptures each day, Church on Sunday. All of these things are good, but they aren't enough.
In Relief Socitey (Sunday school class for women in our church) yesterday the subject was on staying on the Lords side of the line. With the things spoken about in Sunday school and then Relief Society yesterday it was clear to me that the Lord aw sending me a message... I need to ALWAYS be on his side of the line, I need to increase my spirituality, and I need to devote more time to him. The thought keeps coming to my mind, " Where much is given, much is required". I feel so incredibly blessed in my life... I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, I have a knowledge and testimony of the Savior and his plan for us, I have a wonderful family, I am married to my best friend, I have four beautiful, amazing children, and we have a wonderful life. I feel so grateful for all of these things in my life, so why is it that I have such a hard time showing it?
I have decided that it is time to STEP-IT-UP, it is time to take my spirituality to a higher level, it is
time to really dive into the scriptures and not just read them, but learn and grow from them. We have tried this rule before as a family, and still try to but often forget...
Jones Family Rule....
No tv, Internet, books, etc.... Until we have Read our Scriptures and said our Prayers!!!
The days go by quickly and we sometimes forget to put Heavenly Father first with Prayer and Scripture study, but I know if we will keep this simple rule of not doing any of these worldly things before we turn to the Lord in prayer and study from his powerful scriptures that we will be so blessed and will grow spiritually.
I want to take my spirituality to the next level and this means that I need to devote more time and energy to things of an Eternal Nature, this life is my time to prepare to meet the Lord, not my time to
Facebook, blog, etc... While none of those things are bad, they an be if they are coming before more important things. I am going to start out with having a goal this week to always put the Lord first
each day, to read my scriptures more, to pray more fervently, and to open the Ensign (our churches magazine) each time I am tempted to waste time on something that has little significance to keeping an eternal perspective.
At night once the kids are in bed Court and I like to sit down and watch a tv
show together, it is relaxing and requires little thought, I don't think this is bad but when we are so tired afterwards that we forget to kneel down and pray together, then we are waisting valueable time where we could be connecting with each other and growing closer to the Lord. This week I am also
going to not watch any tv at night unless first my personal nightly prayers have been said and second Court and I have taken the time to pray together, study something spiritual together, and have taken the time to have a real conversation with each other about our day.
While we do not spend our time doing bad things, we also do not spend enough of our time giving of our time to the Lord. Life is so busy and there are so many distractions, but it got me thinking about how this life is "The time for us to prepare to meet God." I have a very personal and sacred relationship with my Heavenly Father, but I am not spending the appropriate amount of time strengthening that relationship, I am not DILIGENTLY studying the scriptures, and I am not always praying with a sincere heart. I am a busy mother of 4 children and I am squeezing the Lord in when I can, a quick morning prayer, a chapter, maybe 2 of the scriptures each day, Church on Sunday. All of these things are good, but they aren't enough.
In Relief Socitey (Sunday school class for women in our church) yesterday the subject was on staying on the Lords side of the line. With the things spoken about in Sunday school and then Relief Society yesterday it was clear to me that the Lord aw sending me a message... I need to ALWAYS be on his side of the line, I need to increase my spirituality, and I need to devote more time to him. The thought keeps coming to my mind, " Where much is given, much is required". I feel so incredibly blessed in my life... I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, I have a knowledge and testimony of the Savior and his plan for us, I have a wonderful family, I am married to my best friend, I have four beautiful, amazing children, and we have a wonderful life. I feel so grateful for all of these things in my life, so why is it that I have such a hard time showing it?
I have decided that it is time to STEP-IT-UP, it is time to take my spirituality to a higher level, it is
time to really dive into the scriptures and not just read them, but learn and grow from them. We have tried this rule before as a family, and still try to but often forget...
Jones Family Rule....
No tv, Internet, books, etc.... Until we have Read our Scriptures and said our Prayers!!!
The days go by quickly and we sometimes forget to put Heavenly Father first with Prayer and Scripture study, but I know if we will keep this simple rule of not doing any of these worldly things before we turn to the Lord in prayer and study from his powerful scriptures that we will be so blessed and will grow spiritually.
I want to take my spirituality to the next level and this means that I need to devote more time and energy to things of an Eternal Nature, this life is my time to prepare to meet the Lord, not my time to
Facebook, blog, etc... While none of those things are bad, they an be if they are coming before more important things. I am going to start out with having a goal this week to always put the Lord first
each day, to read my scriptures more, to pray more fervently, and to open the Ensign (our churches magazine) each time I am tempted to waste time on something that has little significance to keeping an eternal perspective.
At night once the kids are in bed Court and I like to sit down and watch a tv
show together, it is relaxing and requires little thought, I don't think this is bad but when we are so tired afterwards that we forget to kneel down and pray together, then we are waisting valueable time where we could be connecting with each other and growing closer to the Lord. This week I am also
going to not watch any tv at night unless first my personal nightly prayers have been said and second Court and I have taken the time to pray together, study something spiritual together, and have taken the time to have a real conversation with each other about our day.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Double Digits!
Last night we took Mac out for her birthday as a family. I can't believe that I have a child that is turning 10!!! How did this happen? How did we reach double digits and how did she get so old so fast (AND how did I get this old;).
Mac wanted to go to a "Hawaiian Style" restaurant but didn't want actual Hawaiian food, so we drove down by the beach and drove around until we found the perfect restaurant. We ate dinner at a place called the Tiki Lounge, it had outdoor seating in a lush garden area and live music. We got nachos, Hawaiian style pizza, and a Philly sand which, it as really yummy. The kids all got POG to drink, it is their favorite Hawaiian juice. The restaurant was attached to some outdoor Hawaiian shops so Court took Mac to pick out a little birthday gift. She found a cute ukalalie with flowers on it.
After dinner we went to an outdoor roller skating rink at the beach park. They only had roller blades which made it a little hard for the kids since they have only been a few times. J-man was toast after about 15 min. Luckily they gave us our money back for his and my skates, so Court skated with the girls and J-man and I took the baby next door to the skate park to watch the skaters. Watching all the skate boarders sure made me miss my brother Jake.
It was a really fun night celebrating our beautiful girl! I can't believe it has been ten years already since that precious girl was placed in our arms, making us parents, and changing our lives forever! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to us.
Mac wanted to go to a "Hawaiian Style" restaurant but didn't want actual Hawaiian food, so we drove down by the beach and drove around until we found the perfect restaurant. We ate dinner at a place called the Tiki Lounge, it had outdoor seating in a lush garden area and live music. We got nachos, Hawaiian style pizza, and a Philly sand which, it as really yummy. The kids all got POG to drink, it is their favorite Hawaiian juice. The restaurant was attached to some outdoor Hawaiian shops so Court took Mac to pick out a little birthday gift. She found a cute ukalalie with flowers on it.
After dinner we went to an outdoor roller skating rink at the beach park. They only had roller blades which made it a little hard for the kids since they have only been a few times. J-man was toast after about 15 min. Luckily they gave us our money back for his and my skates, so Court skated with the girls and J-man and I took the baby next door to the skate park to watch the skaters. Watching all the skate boarders sure made me miss my brother Jake.
It was a really fun night celebrating our beautiful girl! I can't believe it has been ten years already since that precious girl was placed in our arms, making us parents, and changing our lives forever! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to us.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Back. To. School.
Before school started I took each of the girls on back to school dates. I love when I get to spend one on one time with my kids! It is so fun to get to have time alone with them without the distractions of the other kids. Every time I do an alone date with each of my kids it reminds me of how important it is that I work on my individual relationships with them. With four kids and a husband who works weird hours it makes it hard for me to have alone time with them too often. This is something I am going to work on doing more.
Lex was a hoot on our date! She LOVED having me all to her self and had a blast going back to school shopping. We didn't buy a whole lot of clothes this year because first of all we are in Hawaii and well there is really only one season here, Summer, and the kids school requires uniforms. We had a lot of fun shopping and getting lunch at a cute diner at the mall.
For Mac and I's date we went shopping, ate dinner at panda express at the mall (one of her favorites) and then got a frozen yogurt. She was so sweet and so much fun to be around. We also went to Ross to look for some things for our house (it is one of the few places to shop for house stuff on our island). She was so cute and loved helping me find things to decorate with.
Lex was a hoot on our date! She LOVED having me all to her self and had a blast going back to school shopping. We didn't buy a whole lot of clothes this year because first of all we are in Hawaii and well there is really only one season here, Summer, and the kids school requires uniforms. We had a lot of fun shopping and getting lunch at a cute diner at the mall.
For Mac and I's date we went shopping, ate dinner at panda express at the mall (one of her favorites) and then got a frozen yogurt. She was so sweet and so much fun to be around. We also went to Ross to look for some things for our house (it is one of the few places to shop for house stuff on our island). She was so cute and loved helping me find things to decorate with.
Eleven Months
August 2012
Dear Baby Girl,
I love you so much my precious baby girl. You are such a sweet little thing. We are all still so smitten with you. You have the cutest little giggle and love to put both of your little hands under your chin and bat your big beautiful eyes at us (it's pretty much the cutest thing we have ever seen).
For weeks now I have thought that you were teething, you sure seem to be, but no teeth yet. You are trying so hard to walk. You pull your self up on everything and have tried to take a few steps. Your brother and sisters sure find this entertaining, they are some of your biggest fans.
You are becoming quite the little eater, which is so good for you! We are hoping now that you are eating lots of solids that you will start putting on some weight. You are still such a tiny little thing at just 15 pounds. You love to eat yogurt, cheese, fruit, and Cheerios.
Your dad and I are constantly talking about how much fun you are and how lucky we are to have you in our lives. You have the sweetest countenance and you bring so much peace and love into our home. You have completely stolen your daddy's heart and I love watching him with you! You are truly a gift and we love you so much!
I love you to the moon and back!
Love,
Mommy
Friday, September 14, 2012
Aloha :)
Aloha from Hawaii! The Jones family are official residents of the state of Hawaii!! We still can't believe it. We feel very blessed to be here and have this unique opportunity for our family. Getting all six of us here was quite the adventure. We have been here almost six weeks now. I am happy to report that after the first few discouraging weeks we were finally able find a very nice home, in a great neighborhood, with a great school for the kids. Finding all 3 of those things is no easy feat here in Hawaii, it was a stressful couple of weeks, but we are soooo happy to be in a home now and getting settled. The kids are loving their school and are making friends quickly.
Stay tuned to see more of our adventures here in Hawaii!
Ps- is it just me or is anyone else having major issues with blogger? It won't let me post from my pc and won't let me comment on friends blogs... Weird!!!
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