Barnard Sibs Ornament Exchange 2105

Shauna gives to Corey
Valerie gives to Shauna
Tammy gives to ValerieMorena gives to Tammy
Corey gives to Morena

A gracious sentinel day one

It feels like Christmas morning every Tuesday, because I have the wonderful blessing of being an ordinance worker in the Washington DC temple. I love being there; I feel complete and whole while I am in the temple. Everyone is so kind and I feel like I see "the face of God" every time I go, even though I don't see Him in person. 

Each week I am given a different assignment: on any given week I might help on an endowment session, answer phones, fold clothes in the laundry, or transcribe names from the prayer roll voicemail. Almost every week I help in the initiatory ordinance. 

Last week, I was assigned to be the hostess to greet patrons as they enter the temple. In the Washington DC temple, patrons come to the recommend desk, show their temple recommend, and then proceed across a bridge or a long hall lined with huge windows to the main body of the temple. The view from the windows is spectacular: it looks out onto the flowers and greenery that make this part of the world so beautiful. Still, to me, walking across this bridge is when one leaves "the world" and crosses into "where God lives; the House of the Lord". The hostess stands at the end of this bridge to greet the people entering the temple.

That's one duty, at least. A less obvious duty is to be a sentinel. Those who look carefully can spot a huge set of enclosed metal sliding doors at the far end of the bridge, as you enter the temple proper.  The temple workers at the recommend desk or security personnel can close these doors quickly and electronically, if there is an imminent threat. I don’t know if they have ever been used, but unfortunately, it is not unknown to have people, who do not have temple recommends, somehow slip past the recommend desk and make their way into the temple. The hostess needs to follow the Spirit and be aware of all those coming in. 

On Tuesday, I was pondering the duties of the "hostess/sentinel", and thinking, “Boy, I would sure want to be on the inside of those doors if they ever came down!” Then the Spirit gave me a little lesson: I realized that this assignment is very symbolic of a role of women, wives and mothers. The men are out in the world, working hard and sifting through right and wrong. We women/wives/mothers are the sentinels of our homes. We need to be very watchful of who comes into our homes and what influences enter our homes. Of course, we are welcoming of people from all walks of life, but we need to be careful. Even more important is being hyper-watchful of what comes into our homes through the TV and Internet. We need some spiritual doors that will slam down when something threatens our peace to destroy, right?  What would those doors be??

Prayer? Personal revelation? Scripture study? Honoring and renewing covenants?

 We are women of covenant. 

“When covenant women keep our covenants with the Lord, we are filled with power from God. When covenant women keep our covenants, we are given access to the literal ministry of angels. Angels are dispatched to our need.” We heard this from Elder Nelson's wife, Wendy, at the BYU Women's conference. Ever since then, I have prayed at times that angels will be dispatched to help a loved one. Elder Holland also testified that angels are sent to help us. 

 I know that the Holy Ghost will guide us, if we are paying attention, and that those who have already crossed to the next world will help us if we ask in faith. 

From Sister Beck's talk, "Mothers Who Know": 

Who will prepare this righteous generation of sons and daughters? Latter-day Saint women will do this—women who know and love the Lord and bear testimony of Him, women who are strong and immovable and who do not give up during difficult and discouraging times. We are led by an inspired prophet of God who has called upon the women of the Church to “stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.”⁶ He has asked us to “begin in [our] own homes”⁷ to teach children the ways of truth.

I would add to this that women/wives/mothers can teach the adult men in their life as well. Elder Nelson, after the death of his first wife, said, "Dantzel was not only a loved and loving companion. She was a teacher: by her noble example, she taught faith, virtue, obedience, and mercy. She taught me how to listen and to love. Because of her, I know all the blessings that can come to a husband, father, and grandfather.”

Hey, if an apostle of the Lord can and needs to be taught by his wife, I say go for it.

 I digress.

Stand as a sentinel; be strong and immoveable. Keep those spiritual doors at the ready.  Never ever give up.

Courage day one

"Courage" is my OLW or "one little word" for 2015. My goal is to be more courageous by the end of this year.

More courageous  in speaking up when I have something to say.
 More courageous in being true to my emotions; honoring how I feel and expressing it honestly in the moment.

 More courageous in obeying the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Eternal life seems far away from my life....day one

Today I was cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and organizing. I thought to myself, "How can this possibly get me closer to eternal life?", which was the prompt from @BofM365. Just now I saw a church video titled "Always remember Him".  A question is posted at the end of the video: "How will you remember Him?" It dawned on me that I can remember Him, even when cleaning and organizing. He cleaned the temple; He organized the world from chaos (which is what my basement looks like right now).  Remembering Him in all things, all day long, will help me get closer to eternal life.