Thanks so much for all of your great comments about my lovely calling. I know that I need to really look at myself and find inspiration on how I can better fulfill this calling and share my testimony about it with the sisters of my ward. Obviously I will not be able to motivate others when I have a bad attitude. I know, I know. I really appreciate all of Laurie's comments (who is a friend of a friend of my sister, Jill). I now know that I NEED this book and if I still lived in Utah I would be at Deseret Book this very minute to buy it. I just ordered it online, so at least my sister Lori can bring it to me next month. Still too long.
I love the theme of this book and know that every one of us need to open our hearts and be more open to serving others. Next 2 paragraphs are taken from
The question the book answers is "What can I do, beyond keeping His commandments and praying fervently, that will help me feel God's love, personally, every day?" Her response is that we do not have to impose any additional "things" to do in our lives to feel a great increase of the Lord's love. She discusses how simple changes you can make within yourself will increase your ability to feel the love of God and in turn extend that love to others. She shows how this can change your outlook completely.
So how she came to understand all this is that years ago Virginia and her friends decided to do an "Awareness Experiment:"
1. To be more aware of the condition of our hearts and with that awareness to keep them more open toward others.
2. To do this in the normal course of our lives, in other words, not put any extra activities into our day--no extra visits, no preparing of casseroles, etc. Above all, people were not to become "projects," and our lives are not to be filled with more things to do!
3. Notice the Spirit, and be willing to come together and honestly report what happened or didn't happen.
All of this blogging, thinking and reflecting is making me realize I have alot more work to do on this calling... much of it spiritual work. You know, the pondering and 'laboring in the Spirit' and things like that. I know that I get lazy sometimes and obviously this is one of the reasons I was called to this position. Thanks again for all of your suggestions. Really makes me love blogging even more.
4 comments:
Don't you just feel so motivated after reading all the comments on your last post? I do! I think this is another huge benefit of blogging. You heard from people you didn't know who live in California, Idaho and Utah--not too shabby. It's like you took a world poll and got great help and advice.
I think all the comments are really helpful and the idea of the open your heart experiment is a great one. I think as you keep this topic in mind you'll be blessed with revelation and an increased love for the sisters. This is a cool job to have!
I am so glad that the comments have help you to feel motivated. Seriously that's what this blogging thing is all about. I mean it is such a great journal of sorts, but its also the best sounding board for what we are going through in our lives. Especially since most of us are in the same place in life.
Thanks for sharing the book. It sounds very interesting and like something I could definitely use.
The awareness experiment sounds amazing! I just love that idea. Especially that part about not making casseroles, not making people "projects", not getting busier, just being more in tune. I guess I'll have to check into this book, too. I'm glad you're feeling better about your calling. You'll have to let us know how it goes.
Robyn, I'm so glad our comments helped and that my open heart experiment blogs were of help!! Every time I post I wake up the next morning and think, oh how embarrassing! People probably think I'm such a nerd for the things I say. So thank you so much for validating me! :)
I'm realizing that I've been pretty lucky to have such good visiting teachers which help me see all the little services that visiting teachers can do. It's really wonderful to know that there is a sister (or two) in the ward who you know are there for you, remember your birthday, schedule meals when you have a need, etc. My grandma was in a wheelchair b/c of polio and her visiting teacher would always pick up her favorite items at a particular specialty grocery store when she would go and my Gma would reimburse. Such a small service, but so greatly needed and appreciated. I have had a more dramatic experience. While at BYU I visited a very sweet girl who was older than me, from Provo. We didn't become super close, but my companion & I always visited her. As it turns out, she died that summer in a car accident. It was shocking, and I was so grateful that I had taken my calling seriously as her last VTer. Anyway, I'll email you if I have more ideas, and I'm going to be coming to you before long for commiseration about all the stages our babies go through!
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