Abiding By It's Precepts...

Yesterday was a learning day for me and this post may be pretty random. I mentioned how on Sunday our Sunday School teacher gave a great lesson about really getting into the study of the Book of Mormon this year. He gave us a couple of challenges that I feel really committed to complete. The first was to give a Book of Mormon to at least one person this year and share that experience in class when you do. I'm excited to do this and have an idea about who I want to give a BOM to- I just need to pray about it some more. The other challenge he gave us was to write down our commitment to read through the whole BOM within this year which was cool since I've already made that commitment. The final challenge he gave us was to not only read the BOM but to really study it- and not only that, but in order to get nearer to God, to abide by it's precepts. In order to abide by it's precepts you have to know what they are and in order to do that I really need to understand and internalize what I read when I read the BOM. I realized that I need to study better and do more of abiding by the book's precepts because I really do want to get nearer to God. So even though I was already in 2 Nephi I decided to start all over at the beginning and this time to really pick out what the precepts I read are and to abide them. I still plan on reading a chapter a day and plan on finishing by August 31st. So yesterday I read 1 Nephi 1 and this is the part that really stuck out to me- the precept that I focused on abiding:

1 Nephi 1:20 "...But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

I need to have more faith in Christ that His tender mercies will deliver me from what I struggle with. So as I went through the day I tried to keep this thought fresh in my mind at all times... and I'm glad I did. I had so much planned for yesterday and I'm the type of person who when I put my mind to something, I mean really put my mind to it, I want it done exactly how and when I planned it. Well this doesn't always work out so well with a newborn and a 2 year old. One of the things I planned on yesterday was to start some intense potty training with Baily. Apparently that wasn't in the plans for Baily. She was excited about it for the first 2 times and then she was done with it for the day. And as the day went along as I was trying to get my ginormous list of to dos accomplished Joaquin decided he wanted his momma's undivided attention. He's definitely getting to the stage that when he's awake he wants to be held. Most of the time I love this but I was so set on getting all these things done that I was feeling overwhelmed with how I was gonna manage it all when I had 2 kids who needed my full attention. As I was feeling overwhelmed I remembered my precept I was trying to abide and realized I definitely needed to have faith so I could have some of those tender mercies to deliver me from feeling so overwhelmed. Ad I thought about the best way to show my faith I realized a simple prayer was what was needed. And not only prayer but a prayer of faith. I really focused hard on having faith and not worrying but really putting it into the Lord's hands. And guess what? It worked! No I didn't get everything on my list miraculously accomplished but I did feel a sense of peaace. I had the thought that my life is not a race or competition. I felt like I just need to take my life one step at a time as long as it's my best and it's in the right direction. I know that my top priorities are my husband and kids and that taking care of them comes first and foremost. I felt peace at letting things go and being content that I was doing what was most... best with my time and that's taking care of my little ones. It reminds me of Elder Oaks conference talk "Good, Better, Best." Sure- getting my house organized, filing paperwork, writing letters, sending pictures- these are all good things. But taking care of my kids and giving them my full attention is best. And eventually they both took good, long naps and I was able to get my huge amount of laundry done (why do I have so much laundry?... seriously!), get the house picked up AGAIN (weekends do some serious damage around here) and have the kids cleaned and ready for bed so that when Robert got home we could have FHE and put them to sleep. For FHE we read the January Ensign's First Presidency message by Pres. Monson called "The Master Bridge Builder." It was a great read and great lesson. I always love Pres. Monson's words. For dessert we had some yummy chocolate cream pie and then it was time to get ready for bed. I was planning on getting some stuff done after the kids were asleep but I think I fell asleep before Baily did. I was pooped. So even though nothing huge or extraordinary happened it ended up being a great day of learning and building faith for me. And on a personal note I'm gonna toot my own horn for a second. I'm already below my pre-pregnancy weight! Wahoo!! Of course it's still way too much weight for myself but I'm so excited to be losing weight and I feel totally motivated to start my BFL program next week!