Sunday, January 12, 2014

Patience and Other Lessons On A Sunday.

I love the scriptures.
My very favorite thing is uncovering hidden treasures from their pages.
However, I often struggle with a method for studying them.
I get a little crazy trying to figure out how I should study.
Certainly it is easiest to just read cover to cover and I have done that many times. However, I also like changing it up.
And so, sometimes I study by topic, or by a question, or by a Sunday School lesson schedule.
You name it, I have probably attempted it.
But somehow I always seem to lose focus on why I am reading that way...or I change my mind a few weeks in.
Anyways, all that to say that one day it occurred to me that there is probably no better way to study the scriptures, than the way the missionaries do.
So I bought myself a Preach My Gospel book and began.
For some reason it has been liberating for me.
It makes me feel focused and purposeful.
I love it.
Right now I am smack in the middle of studying about Christ's attributes.
Patience has been my topic for several days and I have learned some pretty amazing things. One of which is that  I have been approaching the acquisition of patience with some incomplete ideas...
I am grateful for several "light bulb" moments.
And today I read this talk on patience by Elder Maxwell.
(Does anyone else get a little homesick for Elder Maxwell?)
Such a great talk.

Anyways, Sunday was also filled with a great homecoming talk by a returned missionary from Ghana.
Not to mention a wonderful talk by a brother in our ward who works at the MTC and shared some sweet experiences he has had with MTC missionaries.
I love Sundays that just fill you up to the brim with God and His love.
Today was one of those.

After church, we met at the Cooks for Sunday dinner. There, we learned some not-so-life-changing lessons:



 First of all, we learned that Taco Salad, though ridiculed by the Labit kids as their least favorite Sunday dinner, is absolutely gobbled up by the plateful. 
Seriously, who doesn't love a good Taco Salad?



Secondly, we learned that Will is putty in the hands of the Cook girls :)  
And though he may look grumpy, he loves the attention he 
gets from those cute girls.




Next, we learned that Hannah has very pretty eyelashes.
 (Can you tell I am struggling for a caption?)

We then learned that if we all play the game of Fact or Cr--,


Zack is the King of it.

Though I would venture to say that in real life, this boy wins hands down :)
"Eees joke Lijah..."


Hope your Sabbath was full of lessons-
Gospel and otherwise.

Shabbat Shalom.