Sometimes being a mom is really, really hard. Not for the reason you automatically think though. Its not because my kids are hard – I’m actually very fortunate to have two good, very well mannered boys. I’m lucky. Its hard because I make it hard. Its taken me a while to admit that I’m the reason I feel the way I do sometimes. Its not always hard, but lately its hard a lot of the time. I know without a doubt that its because I AM SO DANG HARD ON MYSELF. I expect myself to be strong and tough and perfect and flexible and able to function while spreading myself thin. I have this vision of a ‘perfect’ mother and for some reason I get caught up in expecting myself to be that mom. That mom that 100% does not exist.

Am I the only one like this? I sure hope not. I tell myself I’m not. Thats why I’m doing this post. In case there are other moms who get stuck in this rut of mom guilt and being really, really, really hard on yourself and you need a boost. Maybe I can be a small little boost for you.

When I’m needing my own boost I typically turn to words. In writing and venting it out, yes, but also reading other peoples words. I’m all about inspirational, uplifting quotes and scriptures that instill hope. Over the last couple weeks of battling my mom-demons I’ve compiled my own list of moral boosting quotes and I’ll be sharing them here today with you guys. I hope at least one can make you feel a little lighter and more confident in yourself. Because ladies, we as moms are freaking awesome. There is no reason for us to be so hard on ourselves. As long as we love our children, ourselves and are doing the best we can – then we are being good mamas. Promise. Easier said than done, I get it. But for real. We are good and we are strong and amazing and everything our children need.

“God will be as close to us as we will have him.”

-Marvin J. Ashton-

“Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren the Laminates and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.”

-Alma 26:27-

“We learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass.”

-President Thomas S. Monson-

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

-Jeremiah 29:13-

“She woke up every morning with the option of being anyone she wished. How beautiful it was that she always chose herself.”

-Tyler Kent White-

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

-Isaiah 4:10-

“Your prayers for those in need are heard and answered by a loving God. He neither slumbers nor does he sleep.”

-Henry B. Eyring-

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

Great news. General Conference is right around the corner. September 30-October 1st, to be exact.

As I’ve been preparing for the upcoming Conference I was trying to decide what my current favorite talk has been. Obviously they’re all amazing and inspired, but some just hit you in a stronger, more powerful way. Quite a few have done this for me but I can’t help but think of one in particular.

It was a talk by Elder Holland in October of 2015. It was titled, “Behold Thy Mother.” When this talk was given I was 8 months pregnant with my first child so I remember listening so intently because I wanted all the council I could get in hopes of becoming a good mom to my son. The talk not only inspired me and made me cry my eyes out, but it has planted itself in my brain so much that I have found myself going back and reading it at least once a month, if not more, to check in on myself and see if I’m being the mom I want to be.

Today I’m just going to share a few of my favorite snips of this talk. Really, I should just share the whole thing because its all incredible. But I’m going to shorten it a little to my favorite, most inspiring quotes. But if you want to read the whole talk (you do, i promise) then you can find it here.

“No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.”

“It is not only that they bear us, but they continue bearing with us.”

“Maternal love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is an essential element in Christ’s work.”

“To all mothers everywhere, past, present or future, I say, “Thank you. Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.””

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

Its been too long since I have done a Spiritual Sunday post. Sometimes I feel like these posts are kind of annoying, but recently I’ve reminded myself that I can be a force for good and I can spread a little joy on my tiny corner of the internet that maybe, even for a second can make someone feel happiness – and I feel like a good way I can do this is through my Sunday posts.

Because I am a Pinterest-addict and also pin a lot of LDS stuff, I come across a lot of neat LDS quotes. The other night I found this one and I literally felt my heart burst with warmth. It was a quote from my favorite primary song – my all time favorite church song. The song is called, A Childs Prayer and the lyrics are:

“Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer every childs prayer? Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray. Heavenly Father, I remember now, something that Jesus told disciples long ago – ‘suffer the children to come to me’, Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

Pray, he is there. Speak, he is listening. You are His child, His love now surrounds you. He hears your prayers. He loves the children. Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven.”

I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers. But for whatever reason as I read this quote I was reminded of just how incredible that is. I have a Father in heaven who loves me, cares for me, wants the best for me, has an incredible plan of happiness for me and who genuinely listens to my prayers – no matter how repetitive, obnoxious, anxiety-filled, depressing or worldly they are — and He answers them (in his own time and way of course)! I am so blessed. The Gospel is so good and I am so, so very thankful for my Heavenly Father who does hear everyones prayers, who is close to me especially as I pray and who loves me.

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

I don’t know if its this way for everyone, but for me at least, its easy to get discouraged when it comes to progressing spiritually. There are times where I am rocking it. I’m not just reading my scriptures, I’m studying them, I’m not saying simple prayers, I’m putting my heart, soul and lots of faith into them, I read General Conference talks, daily, I enforce Family Home Evening in my home once a week, I encourage family prayer and scripture study and just feel like I’m doing everything right. But then there are times where I’m so spiritually lazy. It isn’t because my testimony has faltered at all, I have ill feelings towards the church or don’t agree with something the church has said or asked me to do… Its just that I can truly be lazy. I go days without reading my scriptures, my prayers are short and routine. I know I can do better — so much better, in these instances.

Lately whenever I feel as if I’m not doing the 10,000 things I need to do in order to be a good member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-Day Saints, I have found the quote from Larry R. Lawrence to be incredibly helpful and assist in putting things back into perspective for me and giving me hope and a boost I need. The quote says, “To Him, our direction is more important than our speed.” I am so thankful Elder Lawrence was inspired to say this phrase in General Conference because it has lifted me up on so many occasions since then. Maybe I am not progressing at lightning speed or as fast as whoever I am currently comparing myself to or even half as fast as them, but as long as I am not standing still or doing nothing at all, I’m still headed the right direction! And that is enough for Heavenly Father.

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

“I have work enough to do, ere the sun goes down. For myself and kindred too, ere the sun goes down. Ev’ry idle whisper stilling with a purpose firm and willing, all my daily tasks fulfilling, ere the sun goes down.

I must speak the loving word, ere the sun goes down. I must let my voice be heard, ere the sun goes down. Ev’ry cry of pity heeding for the injured interceding, to the light and lost ones leading, ere the sun goes down.

As I journey on my way, ere the sun goes down. God’s commands I must obey, ere the sun goes down. There are sins that need confessing, there are wrongs that need redressing. If I would obtain the blessing, ere the sun goes. down.”

-I Have Work Enough to Do (Hymn #224 in the LDS Hymnal)

Several weeks ago in Relief Society this song was our closing hymn. I don’t feel like this is a widely well-known church hymn, yet I know I’ve sang it so many times before. But this day as I sang it, it really struck something in me. I’ve never paid attention to the words before like I did this time, and guys? This is a really good song.

Particular lines that really stood out to me:

“I have work enough to do…for myself and kindred too…”

“I must speak the loving word”

“As I journey on my way…God’s commands I must obey…”

“There are sins that need confessing, there are wrongs that need redressing”

I love when you’re singing a hymn and the words really mean something to you. I felt like as I listened to these words I was able to set a few new goals for myself. I need to spend my days working for me and my family and spend a lot less time in front of the tv or mindlessly doing things that really don’t matter. I need to make sure I am speaking kindly and lovingly to everyone – not just those who are easy to speak that way to. I need to obey the council we are given and always be mindful of heeding to the Commandments. Every night I want to use the atonement in my life and repent of the sins I’ve committed no matter how big or small and strive to be a better person.

This is a short post here, but I strongly encourage you to read through some hymns or really pay attention next time hymns are sung – those words are powerful and pack some powerful messages.

Have a  happy Sunday!

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

I love my Primary calling. Working with kids and helping them understand the gospel is so much fun, but this week when I was told I could have the week off from Primary and go to Relief Society, instead, I was way more excited than I thought I would be to go back. Its fun to sit in a room full of women who are friends, who are fun to talk to and who tell you what a cute pregnant lady you are 😉 Oh, except this cute girl who has a one-month old baby wet her pants during the lesson and now I have a legitimate fear of doing the same thing sometime after Baby Boy is born. But if it does, I hope I can handle it as classily as she did – seriously I’m impressed. And also terrified of my future control over my bladder.

Our lesson in Relief Society was one of those where as soon as I heard the title I was like, oh this is no coincidence that I’m here and not in Primary for this lesson. It was a lesson I needed to hear and I’m thankful I did.

Beware of Pride.

We started the lesson with writing characteristics of a prideful person on the board. Some of which were:

• Selfish
• Egotistical
• Compares self to others
• Not open to criticism
• Disobedient
• Impatient
• Judgemental
• Greedy
• Not happy for others
• etc, etc, etc

I immediately and unfortunately identified with a few of these.

Compares self to others. Not open to criticism. Impatient.

I’m sure I have plenty of other characteristics of a prideful person because I am far from perfect and becoming a humble, wonderful person is still a work in progress for me. However I’m also thankful to know I do also possess some characteristics of a humble person, too (does that make me even more prideful in saying that??) But as per usual in this gospel, there is always, always, always room for improvement and growth.

I compare myself to others. Sometimes I do it in a way thats only hurtful for me and brings my self esteem down, but I’m also very good at comparing myself to others to build myself up. Its not like I make these rude comparisons to others faces, but I know Heavenly Father can hear my thoughts – so its only hurting myself when I compare myself to others in any way.

I am not open to criticism. I like to think I’m doing the very best I can (usually). I like to think I’m almost perfect (ha!) and I like to think if there are changes I need to make in myself, then I will be the one to address them. So when people decide to ‘criticize’ me and give me their opinions/suggestions, etc, I can get a little bugged by it.

I am impatient. Pregnancy has especially reminded me of this prideful characteristic I have. I don’t like waiting for things. I want time to pass so much quicker than it typically does (I know one day i’ll regret saying that) or I want things to move according to my own timeline. Especially now with two weeks left until my due date, I’m feeling extra impatient. This is probably my worst struggle.

We then discussed how having these attributes can really halt your spiritual progression, keep you from blessings, keep you from blessing others and cause the gospel to not work fully in your life. Instant guilt. So of course as I sat there in my seat trying to silently eat a snack I’d brought myself, I began setting a long list of goals for myself so I can be better.

After talking about that more discouraging topic, the teacher asked us to change the words on the board from characteristics of a prideful person to characteristics of a humble person. The changes were made to words such as:

• Selfless
• Complimentary
• Boosts others up
• Takes advice/instruction openly without getting offended
• Obedient
• Patient
• Long suffering
• Giving
• Service-oriented
• Empathetic
• Can be happy for others successes, promotions, good news..
• Etc, etc, etc

Then the lesson took a change and you could tell all the women were eager and excited to take these attributes and apply them into their daily lives. I for one, was very eager to work on my patience, taking advice from others without getting offended and boosting others up. It got me all excited. I know I don’t have to master all these humble characteristics in this one week, but they can all be a work in progress and I really hope I can hold myself accountable to really striving to be a humble, more Christ-like person.

Our teacher then ended the lesson by encouraging us to approach our spouse, parents, siblings, someone close to you and asking them to honestly tell you what they think you could work on when it comes to being prideful. She said its very eye opening to see yourself from the point of view from someone close to you, who’s opinion you value. I’ll admit, when I first heard this challenge, I thought NO WAY, because surely whatever Wild Man or my family told me would upset me and then I’d defend myself.. But then I realized its giving me the perfect opportunity to work on not being offended easily and taking criticism openly. Just like that I have the chance to start on these goals. Now I just need to get in the right mindset to ask.. So wish me luck on that, please.

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

We are going to be short today and I plan on letting my quote I chose for todays Spiritual Sunday do most of the talking:

Just be nice. Give service. Love one another. Lets all help each other out. We all have the same goal to be the best people we can be and we have the power to help others as they strive towards that goal. Be as Christ-like as you can and always be on the lookout for someone in need – then help them. I’m trying to be better at this. I want to be known for the service I give and the helping hand I offer. Try it with me?

xoxo

ceeceesparkles

“In the service of the Lord, its not where you serve, but how.” -Elder Edward Dube