40 Days: Day 11

"Forty Days Closer to Christ"

We are a quarter of the way through. 

Day 11: "In any and every age of the world when God has called or commanded a man or a people to perform a certain work, they, through determination and perseverance, and faith in Him, have been enabled to accomplish it."-Wilford Woodruff

Today's reading: Words of Mormon- Mosiah 3

Extra Challenge: Go the extra mile this week in your church assignment. Find out how the people you visit teach are doing, and discover what you can do to make their lives easier. Find a way to magnify your other callings that you hadn't considered before. 

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Made it to Jacob by the end of yesterday.

Hahaha I did it!!! I have caught up! I am current :) I thought I traded productivity today for scripture time but I got both!

40 Days: Day 10

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 10: "Remember that we do not run alone in this great race of life; we are entitle to the hep of the Lord." -Thomas S. Monson

Reading for the day: Jacob 6-Omni
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 31:20

40 Days: Day 9

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 9: "Every sister in this Church who has made covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the women of the world , to strengthen the homes of Zion, and to build the kingdom of God." -Elder M. Russell Ballard

Reading for the day: Jacob 1-5
Mark and ponder" 2 Nephi 31:13

Shoveling counts

as exercise today. Totally.

I am so grateful for the two high schoolers who offered to help me shovel the driveway b/c the pile at the end where the snow plow pushed the snow was a daunting mound. Aaron thought it made a great mountain, but when you have to move it, it isn't such a great thing.

Shoveling wore me out and made me sore. It hurts to walk now :/

40 Days: Day 8

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ" 

Be still my heart, almost done with Isaiah. 

Day 8: "Obedience allows God's blessing to flow without constraint. He will bless His obedient children with freedom from bondage and misery. And He will bless them with more light." -Russell M. Nelson

Today's reading: 2 Nephi 22-33
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 28:-9

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yeah. Made it to chapter 6 today. But it felt good to be back in the scriptures.

40 Days: Day 7

"Forty Days Closer the Jesus Christ" 

Day 7: "The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life." -Julie B. Beck

Reading for the day: 2 Nephi 12-21
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 9:28-29

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Man I am so behind :P I just started chapter 2. Weekends are hard to spend a lot of time in the scriptures. Too many ppl around :/ (which is good in its own way, just not for the time needed for long scripture reading stints).

40 Days: Day 6

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 6: "I stress the deep need each woman has to study the scriptures. We want our homes to be blessed with sister scriptorians- whether you are single or married, young or old, widowed or living in a family. ...After all, who has any greater need to 'treasure up' the truths of the gospel (on which they may call in their moments of need) than do women and mothers who do so much nurturing and teaching?" -Spencer W. Kimball

Today's reading: 2 Nephi 7-11
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:27

40 Days: Day 5

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 5: "As you guard your virtue and purity, you will be given strength. As you keep the covenants you have made, the Holy Ghost will guide you and guard you. You will be surrounded by heavenly hosts of angels" -Elaine S. Dalton

Today's reading: 2 Nephi 3-6
Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:25

40 Days: Day 4

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 4: "When we qualify ourselves by our worthiness, when we strive with faith nothing wavering to fulfill the duties appointed to us, when we seek the inspiration of the Almighty in the performance of our responsibilities, we can achieve the miraculous." -Thomas S. Monson

Today's reading: 1 Nephi 19-2 Nephi 2

Mark and Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:11

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I have been behind a couple of days and have finally caught up to where I should be today though I still need to read today's assignment. I have been amazed at some of the things I've seen this time that I haven't before - mostly because of the ties I am seeing to the Old Testament that I was clueless about previous to our scripture class.

Some thoughts that came from the reading -

The Lord favors righteousness. Period. He doesn't favor one person over another, only their level of righteousness. You obey, you get blessed. You disobey, you don't. Nephi asks his brother, do you think the Canaanites would have been destroyed if they were righteous? Nope. They were wicked and ripe for destruction. The Israelites were righteous, so they got the choice land. Once they were no longer righteous, they too were ripe for destruction and suffered the consequence. This is one of God's laws and it applies to our land and people today.

As Nephi has his vision, he talks about the Church of God and the Great and Abominable Church (or the whore of all the earth/harlot). This caught my attention from a scripture class reference when the Lord begins to symbolize the church as his bride. He makes the statement that when they follow after other gods, they play the harlot. I realized this analogy was carried over with Nephi's vision of the two churches, or forces on the earth. As Nephi describes the history of the world as it unfolds, it looks obvious that the church would be the Catholic church, but it is said that really it represents all who fight against Zion. With the discussion we had about 'playing the harlot' and what that means regarding our faithfulness to our Father in Heaven, it made more sense that Satan's side would be referred to as the harlot - selling yourself for that which does not last.

Also, in reading at such a fast pace, I get an even better picture of Nephi and realized that his faith comes from looking for the Lord's blessings until he is so sure of the Lord's power that he has absolute faith and trust in His father. There is no room for doubt. And I believe it is because of this love that he feels from the Lord that his lament about letting his weaknesses get the best of him is so strong. We look at him and think, man he's so good. What is he talking about? But Nephi sees his shortcomings as missing the mark and disappointing His father after He's been given so much. And I believe it is those same feelings that enable to push passed his depression and keep trying. I haven't actual read "Nephi's psalm" yet, so maybe I am mis-remembering, but I was impressed at how sure his faith in the Lord was and I believe it comes down to him recognizing the hand of the Lord in his life.

Getting a little thick in the middle

Alright, since I've been talking about posting a picture I decided to post the ones from two weeks ago along with an update from today. Not really a lot of difference, but hey it's pics. In other news, I am quite sore today from yesterday's workout. I woke up a little after 5 this morning but opted to go back to bed. Although this should be disappointing, I have been extremely productive. It snowed last night, so I shoveled all the sidewalks and driveway this morning plus I cleaned the house! It helps to have company come over ;) I finally sorted through my big paper mess on the kitchen counter as well as on the computer desk, vacuumed, dusted, did my morning kitchen duties, ran a couple loads of laundry and put away all the laundry that's been sitting around since Saturday night. So, even though I haven't exercises, I have certainly been active today. I'll consider today a tie with the bed.

Valerie 2 - Bed 2

Jan 16 vs Jan 29th

40 Days: Day 3

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 3: "Regardless of your particular circumstances, as you become more and more familiar with the truths of the scriptures, you will be more and more effective in keeping the second great commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself. Become scholars of the scriptures-not to put others down, but to lift them up!"-Spencer W. Kimball

Reading: 1 Nephi 16-18
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 19:23

This week - Valerie 1: Bed 1

I did it! I am so proud of myself! I fought the bed, and I won!

I woke up at 4:30 to go to the bathroom and lay back in bed realizing I couldn't go back to sleep. I laid there thinking about getting up to exercise. I thought about my beloved P90x and longed to feel so limber and stretched out, but as I went through the routine in my head I just couldn't bring myself to do jumping jacks. I thought about my other beloved 20 minute video. I thought about how last night I was so sick and dizzy and still a felt a little bit like that and wondered if being vertical was really that great of an idea. In the end, I decided to try. I got up, got dressed, took Aaron's laundry basket downstairs, grabbed an apple, water bottles, and my shoes and headed to the basement. I switched out the laundry and turned on the Wii. I weighed in (183 - still not bad for two months of random exercising) and thought about doing some Wii Fit exercises but decided I didn't get enough bang for my buck. I bit the bullet and put in CardioX video and put on my shoes while I waited for it to cycle to the beginning. Um, disc error. Score? I turned it off and headed to the main floor and the computer and found a 30 minute exercise video on YouTube. Perfecto!

 I didn't break a sweat, but I worked my muscles and got my heart rate up. I feel energized and good. This particular producer has three different videos so I will either rotate them every day or do three a week as I hoped with my goals. Well, who am I kidding? If I do all three in a week whether it is every day or every other day will be a miracle :) But I really do need to quit being lazy about this b/c my body is paying for it. I took a picture to post last week or the week before and I haven't posted it yet (Obviously).

Matthew came down as I was finishing the last of my workout a little before 6. It was nice having a little bit of quiet coherent time with him.

It did feel really good to exercise though. What finally got me out of bed was thinking that I could always take a nap later. I am starting to feel the crash, but a nap will have to wait at this point.

40 Days: Day 2

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ" 

Day 2: Thought for the day: "Faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does not come to us by our command but is the result of doing the will of our Heavenly Father." -George A. Smith 

Today we are reading 1 Nephi 11-15
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 15:34

Special Challenge: Do you have a current temple recommend? Even un-endowed members can carry a limited use recommend. 

40 Days Closer to Jesus Christ

"Forty Days Closer to Jesus Christ"

Day 1: Thought for the day: "Followers of Christ pattern their lives after the Savior to walk in the light. Two characteristics can help us recognize to what extent we follow Him. First, followers of Christ are loving people. Second, followers of Christ make and keep covenants." -Elder Walter F. Gonzales

We are reading 1 Nephi 1-10 
Mark and Ponder: 1 Nephi 3:7

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Yesterday as I taught my Primary lesson, I thought of a reference to a story in the Book of Mormon, but my memory was foggy enough that I couldn't recall exactly what I wanted to (which I can usually do pretty well when it comes to the BOM stories). This morning I spent a good deal of time reading for my Old Testament class and though I am learning SO much, the days I am not reading from the OT to prepare for class I end up not reading at all. As I thought about my brain lapse yesterday, I thought that maybe I need to re-read the BOM and perhaps it would help in some other things that I am having difficulty with.

As I was catching up on Facebook, I noticed that the Relief Society in my TX ward were doing a challenge to read the BOM in 40 days. I recalled my earlier thought and wondered if I could accomplish it. A little bit later the above popped up. Apparently there is an actual 'study guide' to go along with the challenge. I think I need to take up the challenge. The thoughts go right along with our Stake and family goal to "love someone back" and be more Christlike.

hmm

I am not sure if I am grateful or insulted that Aaron prayed this morning that the house would be clean today. When he ended the prayer I asked him for clarification and he said something about getting the house clean because it's kind of messy and that he'd even let me vacuum even though he likes to do that job. Huh.

Where did it go, George?

Has anyone seen my motivation?

This has been a very weird week. No school Monday for MLK day, early release on Tues, snow day on Wed and here we are on Thurs. It feels like a Monday yet here we are at the end of the week.

I haven't exercised since last Thurs :/ My sewing umph has even seemed to run out of steam. I have done well keeping up with the dishes in the kitchen though :) I think it mostly habit at this point. *fingers crossed* I haven't been very good at sweeping after breakfast and dinner, but it does get swept at least once a day which is something. Aaron even enjoys that task so if nothing else I can get him to do it :)

A local friend invited me to join a private FB group for health accountability. It isn't working for me. The constant posts are kind of annoying me actually, and I've only been a member for about 12 hours. Not a good sign.

Monday the boys had dentist appts and Aaron picked a little notepad from the treasure box. I was intrigued when before we headed to bed he started making a list of his "P's" (things that need done to be ready for bed: potty, pray, pjs, paste, pillow) so he could check them off. Last night he lost his notepad and was a bit distraught. This morning Matthew found it in the bathroom where he must have left it after checking off paste. It occurred to me that this falls right into his 'routine kid' personality. He likes the checklist on the fridge with the daily tasks, we use a to-do list on Saturdays or other days off when we have things that need accomplished, and now he has created his own checklist for getting ready for bed. It also kind of reminds me that the things I do really does influence my kids - for better or worse.

Bootcamp Days 3 & 4

So I ended up skipping day 3, but then on day 4 (I think that was Thurs) I did both videos. For 7 minute videos, they sure pack a punch! I was sore yesterday :) It is isn't a debilitating kind of sore, but an 'oh, you used me yesterday' kind of sore. Unfortunately I skipped yesterday too. So much for consistency. I will attempt to double up again today to make up for it.

In other things, I didn't do any of my weekly cleanings though I did try to keep up with my daily kitchen ones. Wed I didn't feel very good but did manage to put away all the cans and such that I had bought over the weekend and finally brought inside. I set up my can rotating system and loaded them up in the sun room. Having the clutter out of the kitchen definitely helped keep me on track with daily kitchen clean up. My goals for my bedroom and the boys' room has not been accomplished yet, but there's still today ;)

I have been in a sewing kick so a lot of my time has been spent looking at patterns online and actually doing them. What are short projects for one person ends up being an all day affair for me. When I eventually pull out the SD card from the camera I'll have a bunch of pics to upload :)

Bootcamp Day 2: Lower body

Bootcamp Day 2

Check. I could even do it despite having showered :) It feels good to work my legs again!

28 Day Boot camp Day 1

I didn't get to shower before the boys left for school, so I had no excuse for not exercising. I decided to ease my way back in with a program I did this summer. It is a 28 day bootcamp through Sparkpeople.com. It is a 10 minute video every day. Today's was a cardio workout and man am I out of shape!! It always amazes me how quickly our muscles deteriorate when they aren't used. It's only been two months but geesh! I think it is good that I am taking the 'easy' way back. With a 10 minute workout, I can't use the excuse that it takes more time than I'm willing to give. I was going to snap a picture for a 'before' but didn't get it done. Tomorrow.

The thing I like about this program is that it is only 10 minutes and every day works a different muscle group. And the amazing things is that 10 minutes is enough! I saw real results this summer. I figure once I get some of my muscles back into shape and as well as my exercise habit, then I can branch out to my other videos.

Week in Review

So overall I think my week went pretty well and was very productive. Having the checklist on the fridge has really helped me keep on top of kitchen duties. I am a little wary of falling out of this habit, but I am hoping that we can get to a point as a family that when I start getting lazy the rest of the family will pick up the slack. It will be a slow process as everyone learns new habits, but I think it can happen.

This week I focused on getting the kitchen into shape, laundry under control, started on my room and cleaning the living room (which the boys and I did together on Saturday). They were supposed to do their rooms as well, but by the time we were done with the LR they were done. I told them I would do it for them during the week but they may lose things they value b/c I they have no value to me (like all the programs they take on Sundays to make paper airplanes). They said it would be ok, but we'll see. I have been wanting to do this for awhile but haven't had the energy or disposition to do it. Now that I am in cleaning mode it is much more likely to get done.

The "I'm proud I got this done list":

• dusted the kitchen walls, cabinets and fan that have been bothering me
• wiped off all the food splatters on the walls (also been bothering but not done anything with)
• watered the plants in the living room
• bought and put together an additional shoe shelf so all the shoes can actually fit now instead of being spread through the entry area
• mopped my bathroom
• washed my sheets and blankets
• tackled the paper stack in the kitchen (much smaller but not completely gone)
• vacuumed the couch
• cleared out the floor area around our bed

So major tasks for this week are to clean the boys' room and mine. I want to be able to vacuum all the floors :) That is the ultimate goal so everything else leads up to it ;) I also need to get a better handle on meal planning.

Today my right knee has been bothering me to a point that it was really uncomfortable to walk. I am hoping it is a fluke and not related to any 'exercise' I've done recently. I am thinking of reaching out to acquire an exercise buddy otherwise it may never become a habit again soon. But I am almost to the point of desperation so I might get motivated on my own. It seems that my knees always feel better when my muscles get stronger.