Establish a house of grace.

May was an absolutely beautiful and fun month! We had so much fun celebrating our 5th anniversary and visiting the Church sites in New York. I loved being able to learn about Joseph Smith's family life before, during, and after his experiences with translating The Book of Mormon. It was really humbling to see the small home that his family of 11 lived in, as well as to see the gravestone of his elder brother, Alvin. It is assumed that he suffered and died from appendicitis, and I am ever so grateful for modern medicine. We also had an amazing time visiting Ricky's parents and the beach! Florida was very warm and I loved being able to relax by the pool!

Now it’s June. Back to work for Ricky. Back to prepping for school for me. Originally, I intended to take a couple of courses this summer after our vacation. However, due to a misreading on my part, the scholarship I thought would cover the cost of my courses wouldn't cover them unless I was taking more credits, which wasn't possible. Due to this, my last semester will be the upcoming fall semester (only three classes plus my internship) and I’m so excited to be finishing up! Since I will no longer be taking classes in the summer, I will be able to focus on finding an internship (hopefully one that pays)--and possibly one that will lead to a job post-internship and school! I’m also trying to finish reorganizing and decluttering our house before I go back to school so that there’s less stress for us when we are doing our homework together!

The beauty of this small mistake will give me time for things I have been stressed about, including time for rest. I know, I know--I just had a vacation. However, due to the numerous things around the house that I would like to finish, I will need time to rest in between decluttering and reorganizing sessions. We want our house to be a home where we can feel the Spirit, and I know that there are several changes to be made to help us increase the feeling of the Spirit. I am looking forward to being able to do the work to help increase the Spirit in our home.

In a talk given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin in April 1993 entitled Spiritually Strong Homes and Families, Elder Wirthlin talks about how homes can provide security, as long as we create and build our homes to be secure and safe places for ourselves and our children.

"The place to cure most of the ills of society is in the homes of the people. Building our homes as fortresses of righteousness for protection from the world takes constant labor and diligence."

Just like building our testimonies on the rock that is our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, we need to remember to ensure the safety of our homes by building upon the correct principles of the Gospel, and ensuring that not only ourselves but our children know that, just like the way the temples are the house of God, our homes can be a place where God can reside, as long as we remember the way to build up our spiritual strength.

"The Lord’s standards for building a temple apply also to building spiritual strength in our homes: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119). Do we heed this counsel from the Lord? Do we do what He asks? We would do well to build our homes according to this plan or they are destined to fail."

I really love this scripture--I have for years since my family memorized it together as part of a family home evening one year. I hope that I can learn how to apply it better in my life this summer as I try to help create and establish our home.

Families do better when there is a set way to do things. When there is a place for everything to go. When there is a schedule for the day. I know that when I don't necessarily have anything on my calendar, I can sleep in too late, and the rest of my day feels less productive, even if I get a lot done. My goal for the summer is to figure out a schedule for me that helps me be productive, but also FEEL productive. Sometimes I am productive during the day, but at the end of the day, I feel like I got nothing done. I want to change that and create a better atmosphere where I can feel productive after working around the house.

I love Elder Wirthlin's promise at the end of his talk. He says, "My brothers and sisters, if you will make your home a house of prayer and fasting, faith, learning and glory, and order, it can become a house of God. If you build your homes on the foundation rock of our Redeemer and the gospel, they can be sanctuaries where your families can be sheltered from the raging storms of life."

I hope you have had a beautiful Sabbath Day and that this week is one full of adventure, love, and especially full of GRACE. Because I know I will fall short this week and will need His grace. I hope and pray that, as I try and follow the Lord's advice of establishing a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order, and of God this summer, that we will be able to see and feel a tangible change within not only our home, but our lives. And I hope that I can remember to also establish a house of GRACE.

Xoxo

Mattie