Scripture Challenge Week 12: Conference Thoughts

I didn't forget to do my scripture post on Sunday. I just didn't have an internet connection.

Last week I went over some General Conference talks and have resolved to watch and take notes on one talk a week as well as my regular nightly scripture reading. I loved conference. It offered me some important answers, some nice pats on the back and some good reminders of things I really need to focus on more fully.

The overall messages I heard again and again was that of discipleship and the importance of centering our faith and our lives on Jesus Christ. I loved that service and love were emphasized throughout (and felt like what I said in this post was underscored by what was said and was not said in conference).

Here are a few specific messages that stood out to me:

• Elder Ballard: Our doctrine is not obscure. If something has been said repeatedly/has been said by all of the apostles, the First Presidency and the Prophet, we can know that it is indeed doctrine. Some people find statements made by one church leader and get all worked-up about what they think is doctrine. They should focus on the overall messages that are repeatedly offered by church leaders instead.
• Elder Eyring: Sometimes we need to change what we're praying for. We may be praying for something very good and righteous and worthy but as we open up our hearts and our request to God's will, praying that the right divine errand will be presented to us and promising that we'll go where the Lord wants us to go and do what He wants us to do, things will unfold in beautiful and often surprising ways.
• Elder Perry: I loved hearing him talk about building a strong family culture and other things that we really emphasize at The Power of Moms through the articles and Retreats and programs we offer. His talk felt like a nice pat on the back for what I'm working so hard to do at The Power of Moms.
• I need to be a better friend and a better sister and a better neighbor. My life is too full of doing and not full enough the listening and waiting and watching required to nurture great relationships and serve as an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I do lots for 1000's of moms out there in cyberspace. But for my sake and theirs, I need to focus more on the people whose lives I can touch in a personal face-to-face way. 
• I was touched by the sad stories shared about the death of loved ones, the death of dreams, and so many heart-breaking trials endured by the speakers and those they know. I love what Elder Anderson said about trials - that they refine us and make us stronger, that they help us build a deeper relationship with the Lord, that they help us learn empathy for others. I love this new post by April that echoes and extends on some of these ideas: Light at the End of the Tunnel. 

There's plenty more but I'll leave it at that for now.

And I'll end with my Psalm 23. I memorized it as a little child. I've been learning to calm myself when I get anxious about all the stuff on my plate and all the worries I've got and I've found that when I'm feeling overwhelmed, if I close my eyes and recite this to myself,, it really really helps me. Here's the psalm along with my commentary:

• The Lord is my shepherd. (I don't have to know everything and do everything - Jesus is always right there to guide me - how nice it is to have a shepherd!) 
• I shall not want. (This seems like both a promise and a command: be content, be grateful.) 
• He makes me to lie down in green pastures. (I can choose whether to appreciate how green the grass around me is or think about how the grass is greener elsewhere.) 
• He leadeth me beside the still waters. (While waters might seem pretty rough sometimes, if I could see the big picture, I'd likely realize that He's leading me through relatively still waters and making my path much smoother than it would be without Him.) 
• He restoreth my soul. (He's there to lift me up when my heart is so heavy and life seems so hard.) 
• He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake. (He wants me to be happy so he does all He can, shy of infringing on my agency, to help me choose the right.) 
• Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. (Again, partly a promise and partly a command - have faith and hope, don't fear, all will be well.)
• Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. (A rod and staff can hurt sheep a little as it prods them to keep them safe and teach them. Hard stuff is often for our good. God wants to comfort us as we go through the hard stuff.)
• Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (Often my enemies are my own thoughts and my too-long to-do list. He can help me see my "enemies" more clearly and fight them off.)
• Thou annointest my head with oil. (He knows me. He has chosen and annointed me for certain things. I am very special to Him.)
• My cup runneth over. (I am SO blessed - even in the midst of trials, I have so very much.)
• Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (My life is full of goodness and mercy and blessings. It will all be OK in the end - it will always be OK - and there's way more good than bad.)

Curried Chicken and Apple Soup

This is a huge fall favorite around here - my husband and I and all my kids LOVE this. Maybe it sounds like a weird combination of things - apples, chicken, curry - but I've never had someone NOT love it.

Curried Chicken and Apple Soup

1 tsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 big breasts)
1 large onion, chopped
5 crushed/chopped garlic cloves (or 1-2 tsp bottled crushed garlic)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or bottled crushed ginger)
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
5 cups chicken broth/stock (can use "Better than Bouillon" concentrate to make this)
2 15 oz. cans or one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (the whole can with the juice) or one large can crushed tomatoes (if you don’t like tomato chunks)
1 medium green pepper and one yellow bell pepper, chopped (optional)
2 apples, chopped in small chunks (Granny Smith or Fuji work well – the crisper the better!)
1 cup rice
Garnish: sour cream or plain yogurt, cilantro

1. Saute everything on the ingredient list down to the broth/stock together in large soup pot until chicken isn’t pink anymore and onion is tender.
2. Add the chicken stock, rice and diced tomatoes.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes (until rice is tender)
4. Add the apples and peppers and cook about 8 minutes or until apples and peppers are somewhat soft and rice is done.

If desired, serve with a garnish of chopped cilantro and a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream. Great with warm crusty bread

Makes 10 one-cup servings. I often double this and freeze half.

Little Updates on the Kids

Here are a few snapshots (in words and pictures) of the things the kids have been doing lately.

Isaac joined the school Cross Country team when school started and has become quite a runner. The team includes kids in grades 6-9 so Isaac is one of the very youngest but he sure holds his own! He's been placing pretty high in meets and has been in the top three when racing against his own team in practices. The team went to Regionals last week then Isaac was chosen to be one of only 8 runners on his team to go to State this week. The team didn't place but they all did a great job and we're excited about Isaac's new-found talent and love of running.

"do a running pose."

 

at Regionals

At the recent school carnival, when I couldn't help with set up because I had to set up for a church party at the same time, I dropped Isaac off to help in my stead. When I arrived the moms there said Isaac had been super helpful with carrying everything and they'd assigned him to run the big bouncy slide along with two of his best friends from school. These three cute kids took tickets at the slide all evening and did a wonderful job helping all the scared little kids navigate that steep slide. It was fun to meet these kids that he hangs out a lot with at school.

Ashton is doing touch football for the second year and now that he really knows what he's doing, he's enjoying it a lot more this year and really progressing. It's been great to see him really step up and take a leadership role on his team, getting them into a huddle or lined up when it's time and encouraging others. 

see him there in the center?

Ashton's also been practicing on his new electric guitar a lot (but somewhat sporatically - got to work on that and find him a teacher...). He prides himself on having ridden his bike or roller blades to school every single school day so far. Sadly, his bike was stollen a couple weeks ago (learned a lesson the hard way - he'd gotten a little slack about locking up his bike in public places...) so he's down to just the roller blades now and he's amazing (and pretty scary to watch) on those roller blades!

Eliza LOVES her dance class and it brought tears to my eyes to see her dance her heart out at her recent performance. She just dances with all her heart and soul and at least to me, it's breathtaking. Sorry, I guess I was too busy enjoying to take any photos at her performance but here she is putting on her own little show in the back yard:

Here's Liza performing a Spanish dance with her school class at the school carnival:


She also loves coming up with plays with her dear friend Savannah. When Savannah comes over, they always come up with a very thoughtful and lovely play to present to me and anyone else who cares to watch.


The twins are super sad that our neighbors just gave away their dog who was Oliver and Silas's best buddy. But they're making new dog friends in the neighborhood and all is well. They have to pet every dog they see and they know the breed of just about any dog. Here they are saying goodbye to best-buddy Hobbs. The used to keep an eye out the window as they did their homework and when they'd see Hobbs heading out for a walk, they'd go flying out the back door yelling "Hobbs!" with glee and the three of them would have a lovely little reunion sometimes followed by the twins helping to take Hobbs on a walk. The neighbors were very patient with the twins' infatuation.

Ollie and Si have been loosing teeth like crazy. And our darn tooth fairy is really really slow. Oliver had one tooth under his pillow for like 2 months. Then he lost it. Then he lost another tooth and put that one under his pillow with a cute note that explained the loss of the previous tooth and requested that the tooth fairy see if she could use her "tooth powers" to find that other tooth and perhaps pay him for both teeth. The tooth fairy finally did show up (some excuse about being on the other side of the world and having an extra large number of kids loose teeth while there...) and gave him TWO $2 bills AND a 50 cent piece. He was pretty excited. Silas is right behind Oliver with the tooth loss and the tooth fairy has been slightly less negligent with Silas. They're so sweet and understanding with our silly tooth fairy.


Isaac has just started loosing his molars so maybe one of these days he'll have enough permanent molars to anchor some braces to so we can start working on his bunny teeth (he calls them "my buckers" with a big buck-toothed grin). All Eyre cousins who have permanent teeth have remarkably similar big big teeth as a special problem/bonding trait they share.

So handsome - buckers and all

As far as extracurriculars, Oliver and Silas are perfectly happy just hanging out with this cute little "gang" of neighborhood boys who are always coming up with imaginative games (that USUALLY don't involve anyone getting hurt), building forts, and working on the hole in the backyard where we've promised to put an in-ground trampoline when it's done (they've got a long ways to go but they seem to really enjoy the digging!). Here's what I saw as I drove into the driveway the other day:



And they were very excited about their recent performance with their class at the school carnival.

See Silas on the front row, second from the right?

See Oliver?
He's the guy in the middle with the way-too-big hat over his whole head. Oops.

On another note, we (mostly Jared) finally finished the huge back yard fence project. All our kids plus some great neighbor kids had a good time helping with the fence (some pickets aren't exactly straight but there's a lot of love and hard work in that fence).  Then w got a truckload of gravel to finish off the parking area by the fence and the neighborhood buddies pitched in again. It's looking good now (and we did finish staining the fence in case you're wondering about that two-tone look...)

Cowboy Caviar

* This recipe is great as a topping for simple grilled chicken or fish or it's wonderful just with chips.

Cowboy Caviar

12 oz. can of black beans (or 2 cups if you've made them from dry beans)
4 chopped tomatoes (can use canned diced tomatoes if that's all you've got)
chopped cilantro (a lot - I like to use 1/2 a bunch to a whole bunch bunch, chopped)
about 4 chopped green onions (more if you really like green onions like I do) OR 1/2 a chopped sweet onion
1-2 avocados, cubed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder or 1 tsp crushed fresh garlic
1/4 tsp. cumin
juice from 1-2 limes (depending on how much you like limes)
1 c. corn (frozen is my favorite but canned is OK)
1 c. finely chopped orange or yellow peppers (optional)
1 pkg. good seasons Italian dressing mix (or I skip this - don't like the MSG and some of the other stuff in the mix. I just put in 2 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp oregano, works great that way)

Mix everything together. Makes enough to serve 10-15 (depending on how hungry people are!)

Halloween Ideas

I've dumped out all my thoughts on Halloween at Power of Moms today. Check out the link below for thoughts on making Halloween meaningful, costumes, sugar, parties, all that stuff (and lots of great photos):
http://powerofmoms.com/2012/10/a-deliberate-mothers-guide-to-halloween/

Scripture Challenge: Week 10 - General Relief Society Meeting

Wow, lots of interesting comments on my last scripture challenge post! It was great to hear other people's thoughts and think my own thoughts through further. I love it when I really need to think through what I think - I come away with both more questions and more answers. I think religion is supposed to be able both questions and answers and about learning to be at peace with both.

Anyway, this week I wasn't stellar with my scripture reading. I read Alma 5 (lots of great nuggets in there) but the main thing I focused on was the Relief Society General Meeting broadcast from last weekend that I watched on the internet, one talk a day. I loved it. I loved the focus on searching our hearts and changing our hearts and truly loving and serving each other in ways that really matter. I also love the focus on the Atonement.

Here are my notes from each talk:

Sister Stephens:

• "Sisters, it is for us to be wide awake in our duties." - Zina Young
• We're supposed to stand as witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places.
• We've made covenants to come out of the world and into the kingdom of God. We are supposed to be different.
• None of us will ever make a serious mistake without first being warned by the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
• Is our heart soft, teachable, humble?
• Don't allow too much of the noise of the world to disrupt our ability to hear the Holy Spirit.
• Take our changes of heart seriously - make them work for us, don't forget the changes of heart the Lord has wrought in us.
• * continually striving will keep us progressing.
• use our agency to choose what we'll learn from the adversity we'll go through
• let us begin with ourselves and begin where we are. let us begin TODAY.
• awake to who we are. awake to our duty.

Sister Burton

The pioneers didn't cross the country for a program, they did it because of faith and covenants the truths they knew in their hearts. to make room for what matters most, maybe a lot of other things need to fall out of our handcarts. 

*** we have to decide what will go in our handcarts and what we need to leave out. We have RS handcarts, family handcarts, work handcarts. Everything can't fit into any of these handcarts. What is written in our hearts should determine what we should be including.

Key thoughts to remember about the Atonement

1. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the atonement of Christ. suffering is part of the plan for our progress. Oaks: Our needed conversions are more often achieved through adversity than through comfort. 

2. There is power in the atonement to help us get out of every bad situation we may be in. Jesus lowers the ladder to get out of the pits we may be in - and He comes down to comfort us and give us courage to climb out. But WE have to use that ladder and that comfort in order to actually climb out on our own power. the enabling power of the atonement is REAL and gets us on the path leading back to our heavenly father.

3. The Atonement is a supreme act of love by Heavenly Father. It shows how much we are worth to Him when we realize that He gave his beloved son for us. We may feel crumpled and dirty and old but we're still a $20 bill.

When we each have the doctrine of the Atonement deep in our hearts, we'll be recognizable as Christ's true disciples. The Atonement is the true "glad tidings of great joy." It leads us to want to do God's will and find happiness. Ask the Lord to write these principles of the Atonement in our Hearts.

We need to make, keep and REJOICE in our covenants.

Linda Reeves

Story of Jesus' compassion for Mary and Martha after the death of their brother Lazrus. He had deep compassion for them. He wept with them. Jesus weeps with all of us as we go through hard, hard stuff.

Shared a story of when she thought she would be losing her husband when he was very sick. She quit praying and planning. Then she realized there was no way she could do it alone and prayed for forgiveness and said she would accept His will. Peace and love fell all around her and she felt God say, "that's all I needed to know." Her husband recovered. Her 17 year old daughter was very sick and they pleaded for her life but the answer was no. They still felt great peace and love. They've come to know what it really means to cast our burdens on the Lord and to feel His compassion and love and lifting. Alma was able to get rid of all his sins and feel the pain of them no more - he was able to feel longing towards God rather than fear of God as he fully repented. Whatever sin or weakness or pain we're going through, he knows those moments. He will carry you through. He has paid the price so that he can know how to succor us. Tell Him about your pain and afflictions and give them to Him.We are graven upon the palms of Christ's hands. None of us should go away - we should come unto Christ. We must feel and see for ourselves and then help all of Heavenly Father's children to feel and see and know that Jesus has taken upon us all our sins, our pains, our afflictions. 

Elder Eyring

Lucy Mack Smith "we must cherish one another, comfort one another and gain instruction that we may all sit down in Heaven together."

We should feel the appreciation and commendation of God. 

God answers prayers through the vital work of the Relief Society. We are each other's caregivers.

Then I spent the past couple days watching General Conference and this week I'll be studying some of those talks in greater detail and will report some of my thoughts on them next Sunday.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Just had to share one more conference weekend favorite:

This recipe is from my mom and it is GOOD. Fall and pumpkin bread go hand-in-hand in my book. We always have a couple loves of this around to snack on during October General Conference. You can whip up the batter in just a few minutes and I think it's way better than any pumpkin bread I've had from a bakery.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Put the following in a large mixing bowl:
1 15 oz can of canned pumpkin (about 2 cups)
3 cups of sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup canola or vegetable oil (I use 3/4 c. oil and 1/4 cup applesauce - I think it's even better that way)
MIX TOGETHER until smooth, then add:
3 1/3 cups of flour, one cup at a time
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
(if you don't have cloves and/or nutmeg, allspice also works well)
MIX TOGETHER, then add:
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips and fold them into the batter
Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans if you like

Grease loaf pans. Put into 2 large loaf pans or 3 smaller loaf pans (fill about 2/3 of the way). Bake at 325 F for 60-70 minutes (until a fork or toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbly bits of bread).

Fresh Pesto, Mozerella and Tomato Sandwiches

We have TONS of fresh basil this year. So I've finally learned to make pesto. And it was so easy!

Thanks to all our pesto, here's what we had for lunch the other day. SOOOOO good. And we're having it again for an easy Conference evening dinner while Ashton and Jared are at the priesthood session (they're so excited they get to go to the Conference Center and see it in person).

This is just nice whole wheat bread (Aspen Mills - a lot like Great Harvest), pesto spread, fresh mozzerella, fresh garden tomatoes. YUM! The whole family loved these sandwiches. These sandwiches are great cold or you can grill them. The same filling is also really good served on sourdough bread or Italian crusty bread (great if you have a panini maker).

Fresh Basil Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves (packed down a bit - about 3 large bunches)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves (or 1/2 tsp crushed garlic)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional - I usually leave it out and add a little Parmesan into whatever dish I use the pesto in and like it as a spread w/o the cheese mixed in. It doesn't freeze well if it has cheese in it, otherwise, it freezes great.)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or regular salt is fine)

Pulse in blender or food processor until it reaches the desired consistency (I don't like it totally pulverized, I like a little texture - but it's good any which way).

Serve mixed into pasta, as a spread on sandwiches, etc.

Our Book Launch

Today's the day.

After over two years of gathering material, writing, compiling, editing and writing and editing some more, our book officially launches TODAY. It's called Deliberate Motherhood: 12 Key Powers of Peace, Purpose, Order and Joy and it features the stories, ideas and wisdom of 60 moms from all walks of life. My mom wrote the forward. My sister Shawni and Saydi wrote chapters. There's a beautiful excerpt by my sister Charity in there. And the writing of so many other moms who I've come to know and love thanks to Power of Moms is also included.

Click on this link for more details and some great excerpts from the book:
http://powerofmoms.com/deliberate-motherhood-12-powers-of-peace-purpose-order-and-joy/

Congratulations are especially in order for my Power of Moms partner April who did the lion's share of the final tedious editing and formatting for way more hours than anyone would have guessed would be necessary. And my dear friends Catherine and Allyson did a great job with the pulling all the chapters together in the first round of editing. And all the authors crafted such lovely and powerful chapters. And all the contributors sent in such great stories that augment so well what the chapter authors had to say. And my friend Rebecca did a fabulous job on the cover design. And the cover photo by Cary Brege (she won our cover photo contest) so beautifully captures the power of motherhood - love those little kids in their superhero capes with their mom keeping them safe and helping them see their next steps as they look into the future together... I could go on and on and on. But I'll leave it at that for now. Way to go, ladies!

Fall Splendor

I love fall. I love the crispness of the mornings and evenings. I love the change in the intensity of the light and the sun. I love sleeping with the window open and feeling that lovely fall air. I love going running in the mornings right after I drop the kids off at school when it's the perfect temperature for running (55 - 60 degrees in my book) and gold leaves are strewn across my path. I love the hints of color in the trees around our house and the full-fledged party of colors in the hills. I love making and eating the orange things that just feel right in the fall - pumpkin bread and cookies, butternut squash soup, sweet potatoes (more recipes coming...).

Last week I went on a perfect hike with my friend Mindy. We hiked for 5 miles and talked up a storm and got great exercise and enjoyed breathtaking scenery on a perfectly cool and lovely day. Then Jared and I took the kids on the same hike again on Saturday (but we didn't have time to do the whole thing again - we'll have to do that another day...). Got to enjoy those leaves as much as possible before they're gone.

Here are some favorite shots from both hikes (taken with my phone - even my little camera phone does OK when the beauty is this amazing!):

And here are a few shots of the path where I run three mornings a week:

I love these golden heart-shaped leaves on my path as I run. They make me think about how much I love the world and love my family.

One time on my run, I found a little broken-off branch with 7 golden-heart leaves on it in the middle of my path and brought it home for the kids - 7 heart-shaped leaves on one branch for the seven people in our family who are bound together by love. Then I found another 7-leaf branch the next time I went running. And now the kids expect me to bring leaves home for them every time I go running. It's fun to look for them as I run and see the kids delight when they find a branch of leaves (I feel fine about "doctoring up" a branch of leaves to get it to the number 7 if need be...) or a pile of unique and beautiful leaves on the table waiting for them after school.