Absent-But Where I Need To Be

I've been absent for a few days. The weekend has been jam-packed with family time. A large and delightful baby shower for Alicia on Friday. Jonah's last soccer game, Sabrina's fun on the driving range, a family movie at the theaters to see Meet The Mormons, and a date with my hubby, on Saturday. Stake Conference, a family dinner with Neil's family, followed by visiting and root beer floats with my family last night. It really was my favorite way to spend a weekend. No house or yard projects! By the way, if you look ever-so-closely, you can see tiny blades of grass coming up in the backyard. There may still be hope for a yard next summer. I'm not sure how well I can say I've done with my whole blogging for thirty days in a row goal. But as I sat in Stake Conference yesterday, with the Spirit working on me, as He usually does during such meetings, which is why I go, I felt a deep desire to place the Lord and His work first in my life. That just hasn't been happening as of late. 

I felt myself putting the people I love most first this weekend, and it was fulfilling. If I can put the Lord right up there with my family, I am convinced that I will find myself content with life. I think of the words of my dying father over twenty years ago as he counseled a discouraged daughter. "Immerse yourself in the gospel, and everything else will fall into place." The truthfulness of that statement reached to my very core and has lingered with me ever since. I have experimented with this philosophy over the years and have been blessed every time. Why I can't seem to keep the proper priorities in place on a consistent basis is beyond me. I suppose I can chalk it up to the very mortalness of my nature. That's why I go to church every week. So that the Lord can work on me through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. So that I can be motivated once again to shake off these mortal tendencies and to become as God would have me be. I live far below my privileges far too often. 

I am really loving this consistent blogging. I plan to continue it. But if I only have time for blogging or scripture study, or blogging or temple attendance, or blogging or serving those around me, I hope I might choose the better part. And as I put the Lord first, this little hobby that I enjoy so much will fall into its proper place. I'm quite sure of it:)