There were two talks that stood out to me and that is where I chose my quotes from.
The first was a talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson called "Salvation and Exaltation".
I loved that he called the home "God's laboratory of love and service." Sometimes I think we, and I especially, can focus too much on the external appearance of our Christ-centered lives. I worry too much about making sure my family appears perfect, instead of realizing that a "laboratory" is a continual experiment where we adjust and readjust our attempts at perfection. God's laboratory is a perfect place to teach love and service, and as we teach those two attributes, all the other attributes we desire our family to have will come as we bring the Spirit into our homes.
I also loved the quote below. Again, sometimes I can focus more on external activites like callings, friends, hobbies, and fail to succeed at the most basic and important responsibility I have - to be faithful to my husband and love my children. Everything else is extra, I have to keep reminding myself of that.
The other talk I loved from this message was by Sister Linda K. Burton called "We'll Ascend Together". It is a fabulous talk, especially when you're trying to strengthen your relationship with a spouse. There was a line there that stood out to me. She said: "how often do we intentionally 'speak kind words to each other'?"
I thought about that a lot as I read the message: not just in my family but with others around me - my neighbors, friends, ladies I visit. How often am I kind just for the sake of being kind? If you are like me, it may not happen often. So, I made it a point to write out a kind note for each one of the sisters I visit. I've included the little note template I used - you can insert into a word document and print 4 or 6 to a page.
I'm not sure why I was feeling black and white this month, but it is what it is.
Happy visiting!
