Finding Our Center

This week has been a week of reflection, prayer, scripture reading and some in depth conference talk reading. Whew!  I have brainstormed and have made lists.  I have cried and I have repented.  I think I'm emerging out of the darkness now to find our center.

We like the idea of having a center.  A center where Christ "lives" and where we "live" with Him.  I have thought about everything I've ever learned in Thomas Jefferson Education, Charlotte Mason, Headgates, blogging friends, "real" friends, family, society, the scriptures and our living prophets.  I have been blessed with so many ideas and so much truth.  I am so grateful for it.  So what is truth for us though? How do we stay centered in Christ and be who Christ wants us to be?  Lots of ideas and lots of thoughts.

I really thought I had it last night.  Then this morning I took my game plan to my husband.  He said it was good, but he said it was too much, scale back he said.  He said I had too many compulsory things going on.  To say I was mildly displeased would be an understatement.  However, I'm submissive and trust him completely and so I went back to the Lord.  Then the idea came to ask my children what they wanted and how they thought being centered looked to them. Duh.

So we chatted.  We had to have a couple of sessions of discussion today because of timing.  (My sweet husband's not home much at all on Sundays-1 1/2 hours total today- so we were winging it without him with his permission).  Their ideas were interesting.  We discussed long and hard some issues.  Some of my kids just said, "Mom, whatever you want to do is great."  That's good. However,  I have two kids that don't like being told what to do, and so I had to talk a lot with them until we all were able to compromise. My favorite phrase of "teach them correct principles" came in to play.  After I had gone over the principles they were able to understand and they were will to submit and act in faith. (I'm talking about things like requiring math here just so you know).

(On a side note that doesn't have anything to do with anything...Today in Sacrament Meeting they were talking about something with the children/youth being prepared and how strong they were.  Imagination tugged my sleeve and whispered in my ear, "We 'know' in our family mom because we have been raised by a mother that knows."  That made me feel good.  Maybe I haven't ruined them).

Anyway....we made some decisions.  It was a beautiful experience.  They are now prepared to submit to our new plan and our quest to stay centered with the living Christ.  Perhaps we will change more later, in fact I'm sure we will.  I think all plans are made based on personalities and different levels of understanding. I think that it looks different in every family.  I have spent too much time doing what everybody else said looked good in their family.  It looked good in ours too, but it just wasn't the best for us, it wasn't us.  Every family is so unique. This time I feel just plain "centered."  I feel as if I'm finally doing it right for the first time.  Not that the other ideas weren't great, they were, but we have a mesh of all the great things out there now and we have a purpose and plan.  A plan that the Lord approves and one that we are suppose to do.

It's freeing really.  I'll post some details over the next couple of days only to give you ideas.