Go and Do- 2010

I have decided to do my resolutions a little differently this year. I am going to attempt to explain why and how, but be warned that it might make no sense at all.

Ross and I started the year by starting the Book of Mormon with our girls. For family scripture study, we have usually taught the girls (mostly Emma) a specific gospel term- like covenant or reveleation, or we have told a scripture story using pictures. After this, we would repeat an Article of Faith a few times to help Emma memorize them. We decided this year that we should start reading the actual scriptures, and just explain as we go if Emma got bored or uninterested.

So it was, that close to the first day of the year I read that old familiar chant from Nephi- "I will go and do the things with the Lord hath commanded me." I have read the Book of Mormon well over 40 times in my lifetime, and I have read that verse at least twice that many times, but this time it stuck. I have found myself using it to motivate me on slow days. "I will Go and Do the things which the Lord hath commanded me." Whenever I felt too tired or too grumpy or too pregnant to do things that I knew needed to be done, that line would reverberate in my mind again.

"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded me."

It helps. It helps a lot. It might be simplistic, but it is meaningful and concise, and it gets me on my feet and doing the things that need to be done.

So- that has become my theme for this year. That is my resolution this year. I want to go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded me. I want to make my home a more loving place. I want to be a better mother. I want to be a better Servant of the Lord. I want to be a better and more deserving wife (because honestly- my husband is incredible, and he deserves a better help-meet!). If I were to make a list of all the specific things that would help me to achieve those things, it would basically be a big long list of things that the Lord has already commanded me to do. Scripture study, prayer, temple worship, gospel teaching, cultivating patience, being frugal, etc. All those things are good and will bring me closer to the person I want to be.

This year, instead of making a list of tasks to complete I am just going to repeat to myself over and over, every day- I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded me. I think it will be hard to be idle and impatient (two of my biggest obstacles right now) when I am trying to do only those things that the Lord has commanded me. I hope that this theme will continue to stay at motivational to me as it has been for these first few weeks.

Who knows, maybe I will get tired of that soon and decide to make a big list. I do love my lists!