Oh the Promptings

Over the length of this week I have never felt the Spirit so strong in my entire life. I have had some promptings that I have tried to shake because I was scared and didn't know how to go about them. I did not want to upset anyone or make them feel angry with me. Finally last night it got to the point that I was forbidden sleep until I acted on the prompting. I am in no place to share the experience but I want to express my gratitude for this Gospel. I know that the things I shared last night were not my actual words. The Lord was working through me to help someone else in need. Whether it will make a difference in their life or not, it was a definite testimony builder to myself. I said things that I know I couldn't have made up by myself. All I wanted to do today was read conference talks, the ensign and watch Mormon Messages.

Earlier this week, a talk from general conference came to mind. This is horrible to admit but I remember very little from April's conference except for one talk in particular. It was the talk by Elder L Whitney Clayton titled "Marriage: Watch and Learn". I read this talk out loud to Jordan and was reminded of the blessing that I have to be married to him. I also sat back and realized that we both have things to work on. I definitely have more to work on because of my many flaws but nobody is perfect. No matter how many times we can read that talk and think that we have these principles down, we never will. A marriage is never perfect and a marriage is never easy. 

The five principles Elder Clayton speaks of are:

1. A priceless marriage

2. Faith

3. Repentence

4. Respect

5. Love

1. A priceless marriage: So many times we take things for granted. Having a priceless marriage to me means that no one else matters but me and my spouse. Yes, people can hurt us, hate us, talk bad about it, belittle us, not forgive us, underestimate us etc, but at the end of the day, Jordan (besides Reggie of course) is the only thing (besides what could be more important. If there is something, then you need to ask yourself why and what you need to do to put your spouse first. It reminds me of the MasterCard commercials...

Nice truck: $17,000

New phone: $299

Relaxing vacation: $1,000

Being married to your eternal companion: Priceless

2. Faith: I know that a marriage would not survive without faith. When things are hard, I know that I need to have faith to endure through the challenges and differences that Jordan and I have. We have to have faith in the Lord knowing that there is a plan for us and if we have faith and do what we should be doing, we will continue on the path to live and love each other for eternity. 

3. Repentance: Even for the little things such as eye rolling, snapping, and simply getting angry when the plate was put in the sink and not the dishwasher, we need to repent. Repentance to me always comes across so negative. I feel that if I have to repent it is something so horrible but it's not. When we repent it gives us the opportunity to ask for strength. It gives us the ability to ask for patience. If we continually ask for help, we should be able to reduce to amount of times we need to repent. 

4. Respect: When we respect each other, that means we are treating each other as equal partners. The most horrible thing we can do in a marriage is belittle one another. I will admit and my family can atest to this that I used to be disrespectful towards Jordan. I would talk him down in front of my family and it was 100% wrong. If anything, I should be talking highly and uplifting Jordan; not making him feel like he is worthless. If we continue to encourage, uplift, and praise one another not only in front of others but while we are alone, I know that we can continue to build on the love that we already have for one another.

5. Love: This word is self explanatory. We as spouses need to love each other with all our hearts. All women want in a marriage/relationship is for the man to love them and fight for them. Love each other as if no one else exists. Love each other as if there was no tomorrow because in this crazy world, there really could be no tomorrow. Too many times we get caught up in the real world and the negative things surrounding us that we tend to lose our focus on each other. The love never fades but the affection and attention can which makes a spouse insecure and question the love. Never get to a point that your spouse has to question love. Never go to bed without telling your spouse you love them. If you are having a disagreement, always no matter what, tell each other "I love you". When you wake up in the morning, you will wonder why you were so angry in the first place. Love is the most treasured.

What do these principles mean to you? Journal it, talk about it, pray about it.

Families can be together forever...

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/marriage-watch-and-learn?lang=eng

Bittersweet Moments

Well, I made it through my first two days back to work. I think I cried enough Monday and Tuesday that I did not cry much on Wednesday. I dropped Reggie off at Jacque's house and left as quick as I could. She asked how I was doing and I knew that if I stuck around I would break down.

I have the best co workers. They are what made coming back so much easier. When I got to work my desk had been sticky noted. There was a note on my screen that said, "Welcome back Kayla! We have missed..." And then every sticky note had something they missed about me. Some were priceless and definitely made me laugh. They also got me goodies to replenish my snack drawer since I am always snacking. As much as I want to just eat it all, I resist the temptation for now anyway (diets suck but it is so worth it). As much as I missed being with Reggie all day, I was glad to be back. No that doesn't mean I'm okay to stay full time or stay working forever but it definitely helps when I work for an amazing company and have the most amazing team.

I am so blessed at the fact that Reggie is in good hands. I love that I can just go home on my lunch break to snuggle him. Today when I went home, he was just cooing away, telling me about his day. Seriously, the best thing to come home to. I'm so grateful for all that I have and the blessing I have to go to work everyday. Yes, it's hard. I now have to worry about work, coming home to cook, clean, spend time with Reggie, run and do school. But right now, work is what I need to do and I know it will be worth it in the end when I can eventually spend all day with Reggie. The Lord has a hand in all things and for that I am grateful.

I love my family. Every single one of them.

I love my lunch breaks!!