“In a world filled with much laboring and striving in parliaments, congresses, agencies and corporate offices, God’s extraordinary work is most often done by ordinary people in the seeming obscurity of a home and family.” ~ Neal A. Maxwell
I think I may have stumbled upon a possible new tagline for my blog.
What a powerful statement, which if properly observed, would have an enormous impact on our world today. Think of the potential the next generation of this earth could have if everyone realized the true power that lies within the walls of our homes. As Neal A. Maxwell states, “Every year should be the Year of the Family.”
Last week my new SMART habit was to learn how to better enjoy the little things in life, especially those things which pertained to being the mother in my family. I aimed to do better at this by remembering to put on my gratitude filled and optimistic face before I left my room in the morning to greet the craziness of the day.
I must admit I was pretty pleased with my mothering attitude these past seven days. Granted I wasn’t perfect, after all there were still definite times where I got frustrated, but progress was made. Cooking dinner, washing laundry, playing repeated games of Go Fish, running errands with little ones in tow, visiting the park and getting the kids ready for bed didn’t seem quite so burdensome as they used to be. In fact I was more grateful for the opportunities I had to be with my children.
I still want to keep working on the goal of enjoying the little things in my family this week, but I do want to add another baby step to this particular habit. So what will the baby step be? Making sure to take the time to have a family prayer every morning.
We do really well in our house at individual prayers, couple prayers and family prayers in the evening, but for whatever reason family prayer in the morning hours is a hit and miss thing. What better way is there for all of us to enjoy the little things in life more than to pray together as a family?
Having daily morning and nightly family prayer will also bring abundant blessings into our lives. It will also help us on our quest to raise respectful and responsible children, children who are full of integrity and who possess a strong, moral character.
“I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle.
“A generation or two ago, family prayer in the homes of Christian people throughout the world was as much a part of the day’s activity as was eating. As that practice has diminished … moral decay … has ensued.” ~ Gordon B. Hinckley
