Last week I went to a FANTASTIC Relief Society meeting. It was given by a family and marriage therapist. She said so many many things that just really resonated with me. I was so so SO grateful that I went and I have been thinking about it ever since. Here are a couple things that spoke to my heart...
1. The most important relationship in this world is with your spouse. I know this but sometimes in the drama and busyness of raising four daughters, it is good to be reminded. I cannot even begin to say how much I love Cory. It just sounds so cheesy when I say it but it is so true. Are there things he does that drive me bonkers sometimes? Of course. But, they are so inconsequential when compared to all the many things that he does and says that are so RIGHT and perfect. In just the last two days, we have had a number of conversations where I have vented or been concerned about something and somehow he completely says EXACTLY what I needed to hear. He lives so close to the spirit and so often our ideas and thoughts seem to connect and be on the exact same page. I will be thinking about something we should be doing better at and he will come home with almost the EXACT idea. He's amazing like that. It probably helps that he listens to more general conference talks each day than anyone I've ever met. He listens to them when he rides his bike or runs at lunch. He listens to them in his office. He listens to them in the car. Have I mentioned how amazing he is? One of my favorite parts of the day is in the afternoon after he eats lunch, he will usually always call me and see how I'm doing that day and what I'm up to. I look forward to his phone call everyday. I look forward to the kiss that I get the moment he walks in the door. Yesterday morning, he woke up really early to finish preparing for his lesson at church. As he got out of bed, I commented about how cold I was and then went back to sleep. The next thing I know, he was layering blankets on me that he had pulled out of the closet. Then he went and warmed up a heating pack for me to put under the sheets for added warmth. How sweet is that?!! When I married him at 19 years old, I really had no idea the man I was getting. It hasn't happened over night and we have definitely had our hard times and major STRETCHING years, but without those experiences, we wouldn't be where we are today. Marriage is hard work and it is something that has to be worked on EVERY SINGLE day. I am and will be FOREVER grateful that he is the one that I get to learn and grow with and spend eternity with.
2. The importance of spending time and giving one-on-one attention to your children. I got so much out of this part. So I have been trying to implement a couple of things that really stuck out to me. One of those was being a good listener. The other day when Katelund came home from school she started talking to me all about her day. Instead of continuing to clean or do whatever I was doing, I stopped and looked directly at her as she was talking. After a couple of seconds, she stopped and looked at me with a really weird look and said, "Mom, what are you doing? You're freaking me out." We both laughed about it after I explained to her what I was doing. It was really funny, but also kindof sad. I need to be a better listener.
3. The importance of not having a critical voice. For every 1 negative thing you say to your children or spouse, you should have 5 positives. I love this idea! As a mother, it is way too easy to have too much of a critical voice. Children and husbands have enough critics, we need to be their greatest cheerleaders. Of course there are times when teaching and correcting is vital, but there is also a right and wrong way to do it.
4. The importance of eliminating and/or controlling distractions (i.e. social media, email, etc...). I am really trying to be better about not always having to have my phone with me. If I miss a phone call, oh well!!! I will call later. If I miss some exciting news on Facebook, oh well! I am determined to not let technology consume my life. It is so easy to get trapped in and so liberating to just let it go and be unavailable to everyone except the ones that matter the most to me, the ones that are right in front of my face.
5. One of my new favorite quotes by Steven Covey.....
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."
Monday, March 04, 2013
The Main Thing
Last week I went to a FANTASTIC Relief Society meeting. It was given by a family and marriage therapist. She said so many many things that just really resonated with me. I was so so SO grateful that I went and I have been thinking about it ever since. Here are a couple things that spoke to my heart...
1. The most important relationship in this world is with your spouse. I know this but sometimes in the drama and busyness of raising four daughters, it is good to be reminded. I cannot even begin to say how much I love Cory. It just sounds so cheesy when I say it but it is so true. Are there things he does that drive me bonkers sometimes? Of course. But, they are so inconsequential when compared to all the many things that he does and says that are so RIGHT and perfect. In just the last two days, we have had a number of conversations where I have vented or been concerned about something and somehow he completely says EXACTLY what I needed to hear. He lives so close to the spirit and so often our ideas and thoughts seem to connect and be on the exact same page. I will be thinking about something we should be doing better at and he will come home with almost the EXACT idea. He's amazing like that. It probably helps that he listens to more general conference talks each day than anyone I've ever met. He listens to them when he rides his bike or runs at lunch. He listens to them in his office. He listens to them in the car. Have I mentioned how amazing he is? One of my favorite parts of the day is in the afternoon after he eats lunch, he will usually always call me and see how I'm doing that day and what I'm up to. I look forward to his phone call everyday. I look forward to the kiss that I get the moment he walks in the door. Yesterday morning, he woke up really early to finish preparing for his lesson at church. As he got out of bed, I commented about how cold I was and then went back to sleep. The next thing I know, he was layering blankets on me that he had pulled out of the closet. Then he went and warmed up a heating pack for me to put under the sheets for added warmth. How sweet is that?!! When I married him at 19 years old, I really had no idea the man I was getting. It hasn't happened over night and we have definitely had our hard times and major STRETCHING years, but without those experiences, we wouldn't be where we are today. Marriage is hard work and it is something that has to be worked on EVERY SINGLE day. I am and will be FOREVER grateful that he is the one that I get to learn and grow with and spend eternity with.
2. The importance of spending time and giving one-on-one attention to your children. I got so much out of this part. So I have been trying to implement a couple of things that really stuck out to me. One of those was being a good listener. The other day when Katelund came home from school she started talking to me all about her day. Instead of continuing to clean or do whatever I was doing, I stopped and looked directly at her as she was talking. After a couple of seconds, she stopped and looked at me with a really weird look and said, "Mom, what are you doing? You're freaking me out." We both laughed about it after I explained to her what I was doing. It was really funny, but also kindof sad. I need to be a better listener.
3. The importance of not having a critical voice. For every 1 negative thing you say to your children or spouse, you should have 5 positives. I love this idea! As a mother, it is way too easy to have too much of a critical voice. Children and husbands have enough critics, we need to be their greatest cheerleaders. Of course there are times when teaching and correcting is vital, but there is also a right and wrong way to do it.
4. The importance of eliminating and/or controlling distractions (i.e. social media, email, etc...). I am really trying to be better about not always having to have my phone with me. If I miss a phone call, oh well!!! I will call later. If I miss some exciting news on Facebook, oh well! I am determined to not let technology consume my life. It is so easy to get trapped in and so liberating to just let it go and be unavailable to everyone except the ones that matter the most to me, the ones that are right in front of my face.
5. One of my new favorite quotes by Steven Covey.....
"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
This was great. I need to be so much better! Thanks for the reminder!
Post a Comment