What has gone out my door this week
a cute freckled face girl with braids and bows
a card (on Good things Stationery) to President Bush letting him know my 3 little girls pray for him every night. This was prompted after a very disturbing news story today - what is up with not supporting leaders in our country? this is a rhetorical question - no need to answerWhat has come in my door this week.
My visiting teachers. I don't think I have ever looked so forward to them coming over. You just never know how bad someone may love having their visiting teachers come. My visiting teachers are great and always ask me about me, what I am doing, how I am feeling, something exciting about my life and then they even seem interested too. The lesson they gave had a few things that stuck out that I want to remember so I typed them up.The lesson this month theme was one heart and one mind
“Spiritual submissiveness means … community and communion as the mind and the heart become settled. We then spend much less time deciding, and much more time serving. …
We talked about how this quote could go at the top of every meeting agenda - less time planning and more time doing! i am not a big fan of long meetings.
We must begin by becoming one within ourselves. We are dual beings of flesh and spirit, and we sometimes feel out of harmony or in conflict. … As we endeavor day by day and week by week to follow the path of Christ, our spirit asserts its preeminence, the battle within subsides, and temptations cease to trouble. There is greater and greater harmony between the spiritual and the physical until our physical bodies are transformed … to ‘instruments of righteousness unto God’
This reaffirmed to me the importance of taking care of my body just as much as my spirit. I have often underestimated the importance of taking care of myself.We also talked about being one as a family makes us a stronger neighborhood, church congregation, class at school, unit at work - when we are confident in ourselves and feel whole at home we won't be so needy and can get out there and do some good in the world.
22 comments:
1st to comment! so happy to see you are posting these days. You inspire me.
love the picture of annie.. and so nice to send our president a card.. great example of doing..
I went visiting teaching last week and wasn't in charge of giving this lesson, but read it several times to make sure I could contribute. I thought it was interesting (though not as obviously so as other lessons are) and is a concept that's hard for us even when we believe the same thing. If we are really united then why is there lack of support for callings, less than 100% visiting teaching and home teaching and so on? We can make excuses all we want, but ultimately our actions reveal our beliefs don't they?
Also, you're so right about not knowing how much someone needs to be visited. Two of our three visits this month acted semi-indifferent to us coming, but both cried at different points during the visit because they so desperately needed to talk! I think sometimes we don't understand what we need ourselves, but the Lord does so he has designed a program that helps if people will actually do it!
P.S. I hope my comment wasn't over the top, apparently I have a testimony of visiting teaching!
I swing left but I totally agree with you. Your with a president for 4 years, deal with it. Complaining isn't going to anything.
It drives me insane especially when people aren't even voting!
I didn't see the news story but I have so many bumper sticker ideas about supporting the president.
This VT message is good, and the letter to Pres. Bush is a good example of it. This is a good message for anyone who is a visiting teacher. It's one of the most important, and probably most overlooked, callings.
It always does my heart good to see my products being used, but Kristi, you have know idea how it makes me feel to know that you have sent it to President Bush.
As you know, I have very strong beliefs when it comes to politics and for that very reason, I cannot bear to listen to the mainstream media. The sad part about it, is that most of the people in this country take everything they see on tv at face value as the honest truth when it rarely is.
Thank you for demonstrating to your girls that it is important to be respectful of our leaders.
Ok, I'm finally commenting (it's me, Christina, the crazy who sent you the visiting teaching email a few days ago) :) Thanks for expanding on the vt message. Mine dropped a treat this month, and my partner taught the lesson, and I really wasn't catching the vision of the mind/body part when I read it until you just pointed out that it's really more about taking care of ourselves. And the light bulb went on :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I enjoyed this month's message too. In Ward Council the Bishop gave a message about looking for an answer and said, "when my soul was still" he heard the answer. I thought this month's message was so much like that comment. When your soul is still. I think that applies so much to being a community, church, family etc and tying into your letter to the President. Attacking the President is not going to bring us in unity as a country.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. They are always nice to read.
We pray for our leaders as well. I heard the most elloquent,beautiful prayer in Sacrament Meeting in Maui. I wish I could've written it down,just to remember each word (by and 'older' brother) Nice to send a note and great VT message.
(I lost my gals & companion to the new ward created, so sad! But I'll get new ones soon) ciao, Janae
Loved the "dual beings" quote as well and felt a profound impact when I read it. V.T. is most definitely an inspired calling in the church!
Cute braids and bows.
Thanks for sharing the message, my VT's don't visit me so this was great! Thanks for being my VT this month:)
I went visiting teaching today and loved the message. I love your view on it. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you had such a nice visit. :D
Annie Kate's braids and bows are totally cute. I love it.
LOve the polka dot bows in AK hair! She is so darling! I hear ya on the nonsupportive americans! Come on people, lets stay united!
Yeah for good VT (had my fair share of good and not so good).....awesome that you wrote this stuff down.
FYI I finally posted about my word on my blog.
Hey Kristi--got my pink envelope today, thank you! Could you post a picture of what the ornament/keybhain looks like? I didn't get one (you don't have to send one) I just want to know what it looks like! Thanks for being so awesome! Did you sun-bleach those polka dots onto the envelopes??
I was intrigued by your comment about the news article and have tried to track it down. Where did you find it? I am very interested in reading it. I never thought of sending Bush a card, I think that it's a wonderful idea and am going to do it with my girls. My VT does hers with her husband because they are also our Hometeachers - it would be nice to have that contact as sisters, so I see how you were excited to have them come over. I love the mesage. Very inpsiring.
Whenever you write about VT it truly inspires me to be a better VT and be better about having my VT visit me! Thanks!
Oh, and what an adorable picture of your Annie Kate. I love polka dot ribbon.
And I know what you mean about the leaders thing. Pretty sad. : (
xoxo
KT
come check out the winners of at my blog this week!
kristi favor...I wrote pres. bush a letter like one year ago...but never found out the address...and I can't quite tell from your post...can you facilitate me the address? I feel silly, I've been meaning to do this.
thank you.
Her hair is so adorable with the ribbons. Man, that makes me want a daughter. ;) (I have 3 boys) I think that the visiting teaching message is such an important and powerful tool. I know that for myself when I've got things together in my life, I feel more connected with my family, and therefore I'm able to serve others as well.
I really enjoyed Jills comment and think that she's right on. Ya'll Rock. ;)
I went visiting teaching last week and I just loved this month's message. Less time deciding and more time serving! Yes. I am intrigued by the idea of our bodies and spirits becoming more and more united, that as we practice obedience our spirits become more dominant and our physical bodies are transformed. Beautiful. I also loved the part at the very end about not trying to instruct He whom we are trying to be instruments for!
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