Our Game Plan

I know that most of you are already really great at having family prayer and scripture study (I can just tell), but it has been something that John and I have both struggled with since we've been married. We've done it off and on, but never very consistently, and it's something that's been on my mind ALOT lately. So our FHE lesson this week (which we have ALWAYS done consistently) was on living the gospel in our daily lives. We had already had previous lessons on prayer and family scripture study, so this lesson was meant to get us to develop a plan to implement them more regularly. We decided to print a calendar for this month and hang it up on the fridge. For everyday that we have family prayer and read the scriptures together, we put two stars on the corresponding day on the calendar. If we fill up the calendar with stars on every day, then we get to have a family treat (John and Steven decided that we should go to Pump It Up, Jr). So far, so good. I decided to do it this way, because it also got Steven more excited about doing it everyday, and he has started to remind us about prayer and scripture study too! He is very aware of those stars. If this continues to work for us, then hopefully, after a few months we will have developed this righteous pattern in our home.

In the ward that we just moved from, the bishop was very keen on each family developing patterns of righteousness in their lives by seeking daily doses of the spirit. While we certainly believed his teachings and admonishings, we didn't have any real changes in our family that occurred. Something was lacking, on our side. I don't know why, but ever since we have been in our new ward, I have felt a constant desire to improve myself and really take to heart his teachings. Maybe it has something to do with the opportunity to start over; I don't know. All I know is that we still have the ward goals from our last ward hanging on our fridge and that I have a greater desire than ever to really follow through with them. Things like keeping a journal for at least a quarter, making a personal goal regarding my temple attendance and faithfully fulfilling home and visiting teaching assignments. But as a foundation to all of these, our family MUST pray and study the scriptures together, as well as me doing these things personally. I have seen people who grew up doing these things with their families since they were young, and most of them are amazing people whom I try to emmulate. Having NOT grown up with these patterns of righteousness, it is a struggle for John and myself to try to establish them for our family (not that it isn't a struggle for those that have, but you know what I mean.) I want, more than anything, for my children to be like those amazing people that I know. To have them grow up with these patterns in their home so that they can take them and use them with their families when they are older. To not have to struggle over the basics like I do. But I know that alot of that begins with me.... I have alot of work to do...