Slippery Sabbath

Oh what a day! Thursday night we had somewhere between 6-10 inches of snow fall so school and work was cancelled. Yesterday was clear but the temps were low so this morning all the snow and water still on the road turned to ice. I was supposed to be at the church at 7:45 am for Ward Council. I was running a little behind anyway, and then I had to scrape ice off the truck. Matthew came out and helped which was nice. But it was starting to rain too. When I finally got on my way it was slow going. We'd had snow plows going through the neighborhood every night since Thurs except for yesterday. As people had shoveled their driveways and then drove out, the snow crept back into the streets and iced over. This was my first experience driving on really icy roads and it was nerve wracking - especially since I was in Matthew's truck which tends to make me nervous anyway. I was grateful the roads were pretty empty as I left my neighborhood because I slid right through the stop sign. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make the turn on to the next street, but I did. Once I got on the main highway the roads were just fine though it took me half the trip to feel secure in believing it.

I was concerned about all the curvy roads that I'd have to take when I exited to get to the church so I drove another way thinking it would be straighter and thereby safer. Well, it was a nice thought. Sure it was straighter, but it was less traveled so the tendency was more snow and ice. It was pretty slick and slid a few times, but eventually I pulled into the church parking lot. Then I had to make it from the truck to the door without slipping on ice which was worrisome too. I made it though without falling. Just as I entered the doors my phone started ringing. It was the Bishop. His first comment was 'I hope you are at home.' Nope, I just walked through the door. Since alerts had started coming in from the townships of the dangerous road conditions, they decided to cancel church. I decided to get back in the truck and head home while the truck was still warm.

Coming home was easier than the going until I got to our neighborhood. It seemed even more slippery than before!! I was afraid I was going to slide into the cars parked along the curbs even though I was only going 10 - 15 mph if that. I was grateful to pull into the driveway and be home for the day.

I came home to boys who were ready to walk out the door for church and a slightly frazzled Matthew. I suggested we have our own church service and after some discussion, we set up a time for church to start and a program. The only problem was that our house was a mess and needed to be transformed to a suitable worship center. All the stuff I had on my to-do list yesterday that didn't get done.... I was so impressed with the boys because they willingly and cheerfully helped clean up the living room. It was a much better experience than I could have had yesterday. I think the fact it was Sunday and the computer is not a variable in the day made the requests easier. Anyway, a little bit before everything was done Matthew checked his phone msgs and realized that homes with a Priesthood holder could administer the Sacrament - that would be us! So Matthew prepared a Sacrament table and set up the bread and water. It was kind of cool. Different, but cool :)

Matthew conducted the meeting, Jared conducted the music, and I played the piano. We had an opening hymn (Our Saviour's Love), a prayer, brief announcements, then a Sacrament hymn (God Loved Us so He Sent His Son) and the administration of the Sacrament. Following the Sacrament Aaron shared a scripture story he read and liked: the Passover and the children of Israel fleeing Egypt. After Aaron, Matthew gave a talk on the Savior, the Passover and the Sacrament. How the Passover was symbolic of the sacrifice Jesus would make on our behalf to save us, and now we take the Sacrament for the same reason. The Jews had the Passover feast once a year, but we have our "Passover feast" every week. Then we sang Redeemer of Israel for a closing song and had a prayer. All the topics flowed really nicely together though it wasn't planned that way.

Following Sacrament mtg we had Primary and I gave the lesson I was supposed to do today on how we are a child of God and can be like him someday. I started with showing pictures of baby animals and asking what they will look like when they grow up. Of course, they'd look like the adult version of themselves. A pony will be a horse, a cub is a bear, an elephant is an elephant, etc. Then I showed them a picture of babies and we talked about how although babies grow up to be adult humans, they are different because they are a child of God. We have earthly parents that we look like and traits and characteristics that are passed on to us, but we also have Heavenly parents that we can be like. We read Psalm 82:6

 6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are ^achildren of the most High.

Then we talked about how our earthly parents love us and asked the boys what ways they feel their parents' love. Jared talked about making sure our needs were met with food and shelter. Aaron mentioned hugs and kisses. Matthew talked about how parents show their love by helping us make good choices and saying no to things that aren't good for us. Then we talked about how we can feel Heavenly Father's love for us and when I asked if anyone had any ideas or experiences, Jared shared about a time his prayer was answered (his eyes got all teary as he mentioned it), and Aaron shared a story of a time his prayer was answered too. We sang I Know my Father Lives and I testified that the Holy Ghost helps us feel Heavenly Father's love and that we really are a child of God and that He loves us.

After my lesson, we prayed and kind of stuck around the living room and talked. Matthew mentioned a discussion he had with the boys yesterday about the word 'damn'. He explained how cursing someone is passing a judgment on someone but that it is Jesus' place to judge not ours. I offered the explanation that just like a dam keeps water from moving to its final destination, when someone is 'damned' they can not progress to return to live with Heavenly Father. And to not be able to return to Father is hell. Since we are all children of God, this is the opposite of what we want. We want all of our brothers and sisters to make it back home.

Last night they started reading Jacob 5 while I was gone to a mtg. This chapter is the allegory of the olive tree and  I was impressed with how much Aaron remembered from the 6 verses they read. We watched the seminary video about the allegory and the boys seemed to really understand the concepts that were being taught because later as we read the next set of verses tonight Jared kept asking about grafting and they were quite responsive to the questions and points brought up.

By this point it was almost noon so we took a lunch break. I was feeling really tired and not all that great, so I went to lay down. I told Matthew I'd come help clear the table when everyone was done, but I fell asleep and he did it without me. I ended up taking a 3 hour nap. Matthew told me later that I looked really sick when I woke up though by the end of the night I was looking much better. While I was asleep Matthew made butter mints with the boys. The process is pretty easy and the boys really enjoy helping shape and cut the dough. When I finally woke up (though I could have slept longer) we played some board games. Jared chose the Missionary game and Aaron chose Careers. We were only supposed to play the Missionary game for 45 minutes but ended up enjoying it enough we played for an hour and a half!! By the time we were finished with our games it was 7:30 pm! Bedtime.

We finished the night off with scriptures and family prayer. It really was an amazing day. I loved the spirit we had in our home and the time together. In some ways I think it was more of a Sabbath and full of worship than when we actually attend church. The only thing I wish we would have done different is have a testimony meeting as part of our service since it is Fast & Testimony Sunday.