Being Intentional With Our Life

Sooooo, as you know I've been doing A LOT of family history work.  Right now my mom and I are on a mission to clean up the records on my dad's side of the family.  We've never really had to do a lot on that side.  Pioneers.  Lots of people working on those lines over the years. We've been putting the histories and pictures of people that we have onto Family Search and its been fascinating!

As a result I've been reading a lot of biographies and obituaries.

A granddaughter wrote this of her grandmother, Elizabeth Mathews Campbell and an obituary of Elizabeth's granddaughter in law follows it,

Through my memory peers the face of a woman which portrays that character of which type is of most use to mankind.  To me it is a face which beams with devotion, portraying that most noble character, "Mother."  It is a face, perhaps a little tired of its hard struggles; a face full of thankfulness for her all, and which shows a willingness to give, to serve, and do all in her power for the benefit of mankind.  It is the face of my Grandmother, my ideal woman, and no living should could help but love and cherish her.  Although this noble character has not been placed into a worldly history, she will never be forgotten by those who knew her and who were fortunate to enjoy her presence.

Lucille ...(98) passed peacefully on ..., She married her lifelong sweetheart, ....in the Logan LDS Temple. They spent 75 wonderful years together until Theron's passing....

Lucille enjoyed her life very much. She loved her friends and loved the association she had with them. She loved her beautiful gardens especially her roses. Her vegetable garden was amazing and always plentiful. The fruit room proudly displayed all of her frugally preserved produce. She loved to work with her hands whether it be in her gardens, knitting, quilting or crocheting. She was a lifelong avid reader and particularly enjoyed biographies and historical fiction. As a child, in her fathers orchard, she would climb a favorite apple tree to read. She and her husband traveled to Europe and Canada visiting children.

She was educated in Cache Valley schools graduating from South Cache High School in... and graduated from the USU LDS Institute later in life.

She was a charter member of the Modern Mothers Club of ...., a captain of the Elizabeth Mathews Campbell camp of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, and a member of the Women's Literary Club. She was a devout member of the LDS church fulfilling many callings through the years--Gospel Doctrine teacher for 11 years, Relief Society President, and a Temple worker.

 
A little voice as been playing over and over in my head.  How do you want to be remembered?  When they write your obituary what are they going to say?  Is that what you want said?  These motivational quotes are going over in my mind:

"Ask yourself if what you are doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow?"
"Whatever you do, do it well."
"The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new."
"Do something today that your future self will thank you for."

And my favorite (for today):

"If you change nothing, nothing will change."

So my question to myself is if nothing changed in my life would I be where I want to be at the end of it? Would my obituary say what I want it to say?  Or do I have to change some things?  I took some time to write down what was really important to me, mainly character and skills(talents), and I was surprised with some realizations I had.

I invite you to make sure you are being intentional with your life. Are creating yourself into the person you are supposed to be?

Journey on my friends.

Family History Videos

I love family history!  It so important.  It will change your life.  Here are some videos to motivate you and your youth.  

This last video the youth may see this month with their Come Follow Me curriculum but I'm not smart enough to know how to copy it over.  Sorry.  It's straight off lds.org.  Here is the link: Elder Bednar 3 minute video.

Family History: Some Ideas to Get You Started

I love doing family history work!  I was very blessed to have my mom be "that aunt that does our family history work."  I grew up entering information into the computer, typing family histories and hearing stories of my ancestors.  It certainly created a love for my ancestors.

Not everyone has that experience.  For many, thinking about doing family history work is either scary or one more thing I have to do!  It doesn't have to be that way though.  I thought I would share four easy ways that might help you make family history work an easy and fulfilling part of your life.

1. INDEXING.  Have you ever tried to index?  Indexing is becoming very popular.  Probably because it's so easy to do and so rewarding.  Take time to watch this short video explaining what indexing is.

Here is another video, just out!, showcasing the blessings and happiness that indexing provides us.

Once you have done indexing you realize how easy it is.  Indexing is a great way to serve if you home bound because of young children or home bound because of illness or age.  It's a great activity to do on Sundays. You can index some records in as quickly as five minutes.  I marvel that how simple it all is and what a blessing it is. 

If you haven't tried indexing I'd invite you to try it out and realize what a blessing it will be.  Even just one hour a week is fantastic.  

2. Family Tree. Go to Family Search and set up an account.  Click the Family Tree tag.  At this point you need to enter your self, your parents, and your grandparents.  You just need to add your living family members of your direct line.  Then 'find' your first generation of deceased family members and link them to your living family members.  From there you should be linked up.  You should be able to view all the work that your aunt as done.  You will be amazed and excited!  Start playing around with family tree and understand how it works.  Notice where you are from. Read the names of your ancestors and think about them. Let their names and dates and places become part of you.  Easy and very fun.  

3. Pick A Name.  After you have played around for a while and are familiar with Family Tree pick an ancestor that stands out. (Even if she has her temple work done). Does that ancestor have all of their information? Is there a death date? Marriage date? Is there a birth place?  If not on the same website (I always open up a couple of Family Search pages) go to the search page and start searching.  New records are constantly being added.  Information may be available now that wasn't when her name was originally done.  Along the way you may find that you learn about some children that died that have not been recorded or about a first marriage where the spouse died young.  There are lots of surprises out there waiting to be discovered!

4.  Upload Histories and Pictures.  For you more tech savvy individuals you might enjoy the new features on Family Tree.  You can now upload pictures and family histories.  Many of you have wonderful books of your family history that your aunt put together.  Pull them off the shelf, dust them off and type/scan the information into your Family Tree.  Your aunt will love you for it.  As you do they will start to come alive to you. I believe this is one great way to honor our ancestors.  To show them that their lives are important to us.

My recent experiences.  This past week while working on some family history I felt impressed to try to find some more of a great, great, great mother's children.  On the 1900 census record one question is how many children a women as had and how many are still alive.  This provides great clues.  Now this women's work was done 15 years ago, but for years I've been unable to find all her children.  I had found  11 of her 13.  I was getting close.  As I was praying I felt impressed to pursue a cemetery record on FIND A GRAVE.  (Another great resource!) As I studied the record, long story short, I felt impressed that the record was wrong.  I emailed the compiler of the information and asked her to recheck.  Sure enough it wasn't the cemetery record of the father, but of a missing daughter! Here is the picture I received:

I was so excited to meet baby Goldia! One hour of my life was so worth getting her information so that she could be sealed to her mommy and daddy!

Also a shout out to my wonderful husband.  As I mentioned in a previous post he has had some massive health set backs.  When he's been confined to the bed or a chair for the last six plus months he has spent his time doing family history work.  I know that is one reason the Lord as blessed us so much.  He is using his time the best way he can.

Favorite Quote. Elder Bednar and many other leaders have been championing the youth doing family history work.  This is a BIG work and we need lots of help.  What greater help that the youth of the rising generation.  I love finding my daughter working on her own family history projects.  This is a quote from Elder Bednar. 

"I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary.  As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives." 

A couple of weeks ago while doing family history work the Spirit testified to me that because I was doing family history work that those I worked on would protect my family in every way they could.  As my children have gone back to public school this promise as great meaning and gives me great hope!  Remember also that as we do temple work (after having done family history work) we are growing the army of God on the other side of the veil.  We learn from Zenos that in the last days the laborers would be few.  We need all hands on deck right now and there are so many that want to help us they just need to be put in the game and only we can do that.

I love family history work.  I have a testimony that it is one of the "best" activities we can pursue.

What blessings have come into your life from doing family history work?

The Oral Story Telling Tradition

This summer I have increased my story telling to the children.  Children love to hear stories.  Today I really realized the power of the Oral Tradition of telling stories.

I shared with them the story of 9/11.  My boys were little when it happened and so they don't remember "that fateful day."  Unfortunately I have assumed that if an event happened in their their lifetime they will remember it and understand it.  Today was the day I realized they didn't know about 9/11.  So the story telling began.  I told them about my experiences that day as well as my feelings as I watched the Twin Towers crash to the ground.  I told them (as I cried) about the plane in Pennsylvania and in the Pentagon.  I then shared with them what terrorism is and how it is impacting us today.  This naturally led into a discussion about the Gadianton Robbers.  They do know what the Gadianton Robbers are and so they could make the connection.  We then went on You Tube and watched some coverage from 9/11.  It was a holy experience.

Perhaps sometimes we think that we can't tell stories because we think we need a book.  Perhaps we choose not to share stories because we are unsure that we know enough about the subject  Perhaps we simply don't think some stories matter to our children.  Perhaps we even think that story telling is what the elderly and our grandparents are suppose to do, not us.

Story Telling as been around since time began.  Tales of courage, faith, hope and love abound in every culture.  The Australian Aborigines, the Native American cultures, and Ancient Greece shared tales of the heroic with their people.  It is a way we connect with each other, a way we feel human.  We link our selves with the past as we realize that we are all really a part of a large family and those who went before us are like us.  We can began to see into the future and how our tales ought to shape those after us.

Even though the oral story telling is a wonderful link to past and present it is a declining tradition in America.  I suppose it is because we don't talk to our children as much as past generations.  (TV, radios, game boxes, sporting events, various other entertainment options compete and win our time) I think the reasons are different with in each family.  My reasons are because I'm busy, I would rather read them a great piece of literature (it is possible to do both), I don't remember too, and sadly I'm more selfish and I'd rather do something I want to do.

Oliver DeMille identifies the importance of the oral story telling tradition in Ingredient #13-Winters.    He said,

"{Winters are} the time to tell the old stories, sing the old songs, and for the younger generation to learn the wisdom of the elder."

I don't think that we need to be limited to winters in our story telling time.  I have found traveling in the car, eating meals together, snuggling in bed together, and times around the campfire to be excellent times to weave a story.  Here is a post about a tale I told one day.

Some of the things you can tell a story about include:

• American Revolutionary War tales (Paul Reverie, Patrick Henry, Valley Forge, Henry Knox, etc)
• Any other war in American History (Fort McHenry and the Star Spangled Banner, Andrew Jackson, Joshua Chamberlain, etc)
• Family History Stories (immigration patterns and reasons, pioneer stories, conversion stories, etc)
• Bible/Scripture Stories
• Church History Stories
• Stories from your childhood
• Literature stories (you condense and share the stories of Heroism)
• Fairy Tales
• History of the founding of your town and area, also include your state
• Biographical retelling of famous people
• Faith building experiences from your life

There are limitless events that we can pull from.  Retelling these stories in your own words makes them personal to you and your children.  All of these things have shaped you, your family, your community, your country and your religious beliefs and our children deserve to hear these tales.

I believe our children will need to take all these great tales of courage, faith, hope and love in order to spiritually and emotionally arm them for their battles they were sent to Earth for.  I have made a commitment to myself to tell more stories and give of myself more.

Positive Journaling

When I was 12 or 13 years old I remember being taught a lesson in Sunday School about the importance of journal writing. I was told that it was a commandment. I recall the lesson had several quotes by Spencer W. Kimball. Here is a quote that is similar to the thoughts I remember from that Sunday lesson:

"I have encouraged the Saints to keep personal journals and family records. I renew that admonition...From time immemorial the Lord has counseled us to be a record-keeping people...We hope you will begin as of this date. If you have not already commenced this important duty in your lives, get a good notebook, a good book that will last through time and into eternity for the angels to look upon. Begin today and write in it your goings and your comings, your deeper thoughts, your achievements, and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. We hope you will do this, our brothers and sisters, for this is what the Lord has commanded, and those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives." President Kimball Speaks Out on Personal Journals, New Era, December 1980.

Several years ago when I was rereading some of my old journal entries I realized that I always put down how sick and tired I was. I did always feel sick and tired didn't I? I had the thought come to me that maybe I should stop writing about how sick and tired I always felt. So I did. I changed my posts to be more about looking at the positives of the day. It wasn't long before I realized that I wasn't sick and tired any more. I had become grateful and happy. Suddenly I seemed cured of all my fatigue and blazee attitudes.

Another item I have found helpful in my journal writing is not writing about inappropriate or sensitive things. I haven't written things that would shock my children should they find it and read it today. My journal won't incriminate someone else either. If I have a pressing trial that would be unnecessary for my posterity to know I simply relate to it as "a trial." Remember Paul refers to his weakness as a "thorn in his side." Paul does not go into details about his weakness(es). If it is someone else who is struggling I simply say, "someone close to be has been struggling." I then bear my testimony about what I am learning from the experience and look for the blessings and the positive aspects of it. There have always been positives in any negative experience I have had. Really. Sometimes I've had to look super hard though!

When I have passed on I don't want to have my journals edited and destroyed because it contained inappropriate things. I am certain a part of who I was would be edited out. It is enough for them and myself to know that Christ is indeed merciful and forgiving of all our weaknesses. That is who I really am. I daughter of God who believes in Jesus Christ, and hopefully my life, reflected in my journals, is showcased that way. I want my life to be about the faith I had and not about all the trials I had.

Once upon a time in my life of 35 years I was helping a friend with her genealogy work. (I have helped several people through the years).  I stumbled upon some information about my friend's ancestor who had made some bad choices. I didn't know what those choices were, I only knew that I held in my hand a piece of paper for "restoration of blessings" for this person who had been excommunicated. I quickly put it back, never told a soul and reflected. I reviewed what I knew about this man whom I had actually known. He had been a GREAT man. He was honored. If the deeds of this one transgression had been known to the world would he have been remembered for the transgression or the great life he lived? President Kimball said in the above talk,

 "Even a long life full of inspiring experiences can be brought to the dust by one ugly story. Why dwell on that one ugly truth about someone whose life has been largely circumspect?"

I have found that I have received great emotional strength from writing in my journal. In many ways it has been therapeutic in understanding some of my adventures in mortality. Journal writing as also been a way to recognize my blessings and to bear my testimony.

Connecting with the Past

I love doing family history. I remember as a young girl helping my mom transfer all of her hand or typed pedigree and family records to the new PAF program on the computer. I remember thinking about the families that I typed. Some had a lot of children, some had a lot of children that had died and some lost multiple spouses.

I remember my mom telling me stories about them. I remember her teaching me how to research and how to look for clues. I learned to love those who came before me and to honor them. I felt a sacred charge to carry on in that great work of redeeming the dead.

When I married Mr. Patriot I learned that his family history work on some sides of his family had not been done. I enjoyed the challenge of discovering his family history so he and our children could know what their roots were. Fast forward ten years and I'm still working and still learning about them.

Teaching our children about those who came before them as been as important. Unfortunately we don't have many stories and few pictures to discover Mr. Patriot's family, but we know their names and dates and we share with our children what we do know. Each time we go back to my husband's family in Pennsylvania we go up to New York and spend half a day walking the cemeteries of his ancestors.

On my side of the family we have pages and pages of journal entries, life sketches, pictures and treasures. Our children's favorite tales are of their great grandfather serving as a Flying Tiger in China during World War 2. They loves reading his stories of his bombing raids and the pictures of all the air planes.

To teach our children about their family history my mother created a binder for each of our children. It contains pedigrees, group sheets, pictures and some biographies. The kids regularly read this and study the information. We have them down with their story books. For it is their story.We have regularly read them the biographies and stories multiples times exposing them to the courage of their forefathers. We look at their pictures and we talk about them. We have also studied maps of their immigration and the history occurring through the world while they lived.

One particular treasure we have is Heber C Kimball's "Address to His Children." Shortly before his death he outlined key points he wanted his posterity to know and do. He also states that he would stand with Father Adam and judge us at the last days in regards to how well we kept his charge. We refer to this often as we strive to come unto Christ.

Connecting with our roots is a powerful part of home education. It helps each one of us see perspective and understand we have a part to play in the grand scheme of mortality. What do you do to connect with your roots as a family?