Time

In The Church of Jesus christ, twice a year the Prophet, President Thomas Monson and the Twelve Apostles speak to the world. The messages they share are about a variety of different subjects that effect us today. They range from life, going through challenges, dealing with teenagers, learning how to pray more intently and many more. I wanted to share some of the messages that spoke to my heart. Most of them related to my children and what I can do to be the best Mom I could be.

 There was a talk about devoting our time to the things that matter most from Ian S. Ardern.

He said that to master time management, we must become the master manager of our time. TIme is a commodity that cannot be bought. Time flies on the wings of lightning, we cannot call it back.

In family relationships, love is spelled TIME. He also talked about being busy vs. being productive. Sometimes I feel so busy but when I really think about the things that I am filling my time with, they are not important.

I loved this last statement from him, "Let us always be as quick to kneel as we are to text."

Times are changing, and with the availibility of media, there are so many ways to waste away our time. I think about my boys, will they even pick up a phone and call a friend or me for that matter to talk or will it always have to be an exchange of a text, email or facebook? All I can do is give them my undivided attention while I have them so hopefully I can get the same respect when they get older.

Neil Andersen of the Twelve Apostles had a great talk about having children. here are a few of the highlights:

"Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother with five children. She commented: “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”


Having young children is not easy. Many days are just difficult. A young mother got on a bus with seven children. The bus driver asked, “Are these all yours, lady? Or is it a picnic?” She replied, "These are all mine and it is no picnic."

I also loved Elaine Dalton's talk about how to raise a little girl in today's world. She said,


—“The most important thing a father can do for his [daughter] is to love [her] mother.” By the way you love her mother, you will teach your daughter about tenderness, loyalty, respect, compassion, and devotion. She will learn from your example what to expect from young men and what qualities to seek in a future spouse. You can show your daughter by the way you love and honor your wife that she should never settle for less. Your example will teach your daughter to value womanhood. You are showing her that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father, who loves her.
You are your daughter’s guardian in more than the legal sense. Be present in your daughter’s life. Let her know your standards, your expectations, your hopes and dreams for her success and happiness. Interview her, get to know her friends and, when the time comes, her boyfriends. Help her understand the importance of education. Help her understand that the principle of modesty is a protection. Help her choose music and media that invite the Spirit and are consistent with her divine identity. Be an active part of her life. And if in her teenage years she should not come home from a date on time, go get her. She will resist and tell you that you have ruined her social life, but she will inwardly know that you love her and that you care enough to be her guardian.


I think this talk spoke to me because I have such a special place in my heart for my Dad. I always looked up to him and wanted to make him proud. I would listen to The Beatles for hours to develop a shared interest we could talk about. I knew he saw me as having great potential and I always wanted to live up to that and make good choices. I wanted to follow his rules and feel his love and protection. I think this is something that Dad's greatly underestimate, your girls want to feel like you are protective of them, it helps them feel like you love them. My Father is a great man with great faith and I am thankful for the way he served me while I was young.