Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Olivia's baptism day
Olivia was baptized by her father, who holds the priesthood. Her grandma did fancy hairdos for her and Allison so they would feel extra special. It was a wonderful day for our family.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
The duck pond
Tears
filled my eyes as my precious daughter fed the ducks and skipped
along the paths at Beus Pond. Her electric curls stood out against
her soft white dress, the very dress I wore 23 years ago as I entered
the waters of baptism. Back then, my grandpa – Papa, as we called
him – would take me to that pond. We fed the ducks and ran away
from Honker, the ornery goose.
Now
there are several Honkers waddling around. I smiled as I wondered if
any of them were direct descendants. I scanned the trees, smelled the
air, and analyzed the way the light reflected off the pond. I watched
Olivia flit around and wanted to take it all in. Can I tell you how
my heart sang?
My
little girl was going to be baptized, to make a sacred covenant to
follow her Savior, Jesus Christ, every day of her mortal life so she
could, in turn, live with him forever. If you ask Olivia, she'll tell
you she's prepared to keep the commandments, lighten the burdens of
her fellowmen, and stand as a witness of Christ no matter what. She's
a star. But this is about more than proud motherhood for me.
The
duck pond is just up the street from Papa's old house. It's just up
the street from the yard where he was working when he collapsed 18
years ago from a massive heart attack. It's just up the street from
the church where we held his funeral, and where I said goodbye to him
one last time before they closed his casket.
Ah,
but that's the thing. It wasn't the last time.
See,
I want my daughter to be baptized not because it's a tradition or a
neat milestone, but as an important step in ensuring that our family
is together for all eternity. To the one who makes and keeps precious
covenants with God, death is never goodbye.
I
am overwhelmed with gratitude for Jesus Christ. His incomprehensible
grace ensures that every soul who has ever lived will be resurrected,
like he was, and exist forever. We are lovingly saved from death by
grace! But what kind of forever we enjoy depends not only on
our being saved by grace, but on our choosing to be changed by grace.
Baptism
opens the gate leading down the path of change. It's a path that
requires covenants, ordinances, repentance, service, sacrifice and
humility. It requires that we study the Savior and his gospel
extensively so we truly know what he expects of us – not just
follow our friends. It requires us to be clean and virtuous so we are
worthy of his investment in us. It's a path of hard work and
obedience, but it ends with families knit together in the kind of
forever God himself enjoys.
The world tells us these things aren't important, that they're old-fashioned or
just traditions. I say they're everything, absolutely everything.
This
blog received 723 page views last month. My heart has been so full, I
wanted to share a piece of it with all of you. I know Jesus Christ is
real and that he died for us. I know his gospel, his priesthood
authority, and true and living prophets are found in The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There's so much good out there. We
invite everyone to come and let us build on what you already have.
Understanding of God's entire plan for us, from beginning to end, has
given me a deep sense of purpose and peace.
When
Olivia and I came home from her photo shoot at the pond, I noticed a
smear of dirt on her white dress. That dirt didn't want to come out
at first. But with a little work, the dress became pure white again.
Every single one of us matters to the Lord. No matter what our past
looks like, no matter how unworthy or insignificant we feel, no
matter how difficult or stressful life seems, with a little work on
our part, Jesus Christ can make us clean and whole. I love him.
*The photography was done by my beautiful friend Liz Whitesides. Stay tuned to see the whole photo shoot.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
The long-awaited 8
Olivia started her birthday off with a bowl of strawberries and cream before heading to school. That night, we had Panda Express for dinner (it's her tradition), then opened presents and ate cake. We kept things simple, knowing her big baptism day was coming up at the end of the week. Happy birthday, beautiful girl!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Best babysitter ever!
.... that is until your baby barfs all over the keys .... and you have to shimmy thin slices of paper towel into the cracks to mop it up.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
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