Prescription

Here’s a dose of Mormon in case you haven’t had it today.
I have mentioned church callings from time to time on the blog.
About.com has a pretty accurate summary of what a calling is in my religious community:
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a "calling" is a position or assignment in which members have been asked to serve. Members are called of God to serve each other, and all callings are important. Callings are voluntary.
The Process:
There is a specific process in which callings are issued.
First the person who presides over a calling will carefully ponder and prayerfully consider the name of an individual. They submit that person's name to the proper priesthood authority (such as a Bishop) who also prayerfully considers the recommendation. Once spiritual approval has been received the calling is extended to the individual. When a person is extended a calling they either accept or reject it.
When a calling is issued and accepted the rest of the congregation during Sacrament Meeting “sustains” that person by the raising of a hand, a sign of support. After the regular services are over the person is set apart for their calling. Setting apart is when the proper priesthood authorities place their hands on the person's head and give them a blessing.

Whew. Got all of that? Now we can dive in a little deeper.
One of my favorite talks is given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Lift Where You Stand.
He shares the following account:
“Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. None were professional movers, and the task of getting that gravity-friendly instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall seemed nearly impossible. Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. They repositioned the brethren by strength, height, and age over and over again—nothing worked.
As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Brother Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, ‘Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.’
It seemed too simple. Nevertheless, each lifted where he stood, and the piano rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. That was the answer to the challenge. They merely needed to stand close together and lift where they stood.”

Given in October 2008, this address prepared my heart to serve in our branch nearly a year later.
Laboring among a limited number of Saints is hard. And there are so many church units smaller than mine! But the efforts endured in our callings have yielded experience, and good friendships. I’m truly standing and lifting among choice people. :)
With that said, it has been refreshing to stay home from church this past month, to take a kit-itty-kat break, you know? Many times this year it felt as if we are lifting a pipe organ, so this hiatus is much needed. At times it is hard to remember D&C 64:33 !

AND, Can I just say how thankful I am for the new handbook? It makes that pipe organ feel like this:
Back to the essentials. Getting people back to the family, back to the home. This handbook speaks universally to every unit of the Church. Meeting needs not standards. Gotta love it.

Don't you?

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

A recent blog post of a friend spurred this post.
After I had Caleb I was frequently asked if he was a “good” baby.
Now that I have a second child that question is not as pertinent as how the firstborn is adjusting to the, well, the adjustment.

So here’s the scoop (and a couple of toppings) on that subject.

Caleb’s first encounter with Nathanael was at the hospital. He entered the room and Nate was crying. This probably wouldn’t have been a problem for other children, but if you know Caleb (and odds are if you are reading this blog you do), you’d know Caleb doesn’t like crying. Like most males it weirds him out to the point of petrifaction. As we put Nate into his carseat, Caleb managed to mumble, "Nate no go home. Nate stay here."

Despite the rocky start, Caleb has warmed up to his little brother. See Figure A

(Sadly, most older children never perceive their younger siblings as more than Projects.
This is when the older child feels compelled to inform, instruct, improve and/or correct their “immature” or “inexperienced” sibling mercilessly- it seems the relationship is nothing more than a community service project)

Overall, I’m liking this whole three-year space. It wasn’t in my child-spacing blueprint but I’m diggin’ it.
Since my siblings are not close in age or otherwise, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I figured the only way to insure my kids were close was to have them close together. (After reading the Old Testament, The Book of Mormon, and watching Lost, you’ll be instilled with a great concern for sibling rivalry. Trust me.)

But things are good… for now. Check back in with me every so often, okay?

Anyways.
Caleb is very independent at this point and, besides trouble with breastfeeding, Nate is the most chill baby I’ve ever had the pleasure of spewing out of me. Nate is not the proverbial squeaky wheel. Like today. I took a 20-minute shower before 10:00 AM. Week 3, people. In the bathroom Nate sat happily in an inactivated bouncy seat, wide awake while Caleb remained occupied in his room. If you have kids you know that just doesn’t happen. EVER.
I know kids really are pretty much just the luck-of-the-draw and sadly you can’t nurture a type B personality, so I’m feeling pretty dang grateful. And smug. But mostly grateful.

Not Defeated.

As part of being Branch Mission Leader Michael teaches a Gospel Principles class each Sunday. We often read the upcoming lesson during the week as a family to help him prepare to teach.
Today he is teaching Chapter 2: Our Heavenly Family (click for complete lesson).
I really liked this extract from the lesson:

“At the Grand Council we also learned the purpose for our progression: to have a fulness of joy. However, we also learned that some would be deceived, choose other paths, and lose their way. We learned that all of us would have trials in our lives: sickness, disappointment, pain, sorrow, and death. But we understood that these would be given to us for our experience and our good (see D&C 122:7). If we allowed them to, these trials would purify us rather than defeat us. They would teach us to have endurance, patience, and charity.”

Good Sabbath.
I'm trying hard not to miss my Primary kids today...
Nate is doing a good job helping me cope. :)