I really enjoyed our Come Follow Me lesson this week, and I wanted to share with you from the Follow Him podcast a short story from Hank Smith.  I think some of us push ourselves to do everything for everyone, every time.  We think we need to be perfect - but we don't (need to be perfect that is).  Let me know your thoughts!

Stephen E. Robinson, a devotional given at BYU called Believing Christ, he wrote a book with the same title, I think maybe an Ensign article, the same title. He tells this story about he and his wife. He says, "Sometimes the weight of the demand for perfection drives us to despair. Sometimes we fail to believe the most choice portion of the gospel that says he can change us and bring us into his kingdom. Let me share an experience that happened about 10 years ago." So now we're going back to the 1980s. "My wife and I were living in Pennsylvania. Things were going pretty well. I'd been promoted. It was a good year for us, though a trying year for Janet." His wife. "That year, she had our fourth child, graduated from college, passed the CPA exam and was made Relief Society president."  "We had temple recommends. We had Family Home Evening. I was in the bishopric. I thought we were headed for LDS yuppiehood. Then one night the lights went out. Something happened in my wife that I can only describe as dying spiritually. She wouldn't talk about it. She wouldn't tell me what was wrong. That was the worst part. For a couple of weeks, she did not wish to participate in spiritual things. She asked to be released from her callings and she would not open up and tell me what was wrong. Finally, after about two weeks, one night I made her mad and it came out. She said, 'All right, you want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. I can't do it anymore. I can't lift it. I can't get up at 5:30 in the morning and bake bread and sew clothes and help my kids with their homework and do my own homework and do my Relief Society stuff and get my genealogy done and write my congressman and go to PTA meetings and write the missionaries.' She just started naming one brick after another that had been laid on her explaining all the things she could not do. "She said, 'I don't have the talent that Sister Morell does. I can't do what Sister Childs does. I try not to yell at the kids, but I lose control and I do. I'm just not perfect and I'm never going to be perfect. I'm not going to make it the Celestial Kingdom, and I've finally admitted that to myself. You and the kids can go, but I can't lift it. I'm not Molly Mormon. I'm not ever going to be perfect. So I've given up. Why break my back?' We started to talk and it was a long night." He goes on later to say, "She knew why Jesus is a coach, a cheerleader, an advisor, and a teacher. She knew why he is an example, the head of the church, the elder brother or even God. She knew all of that, but she did not understand why he is called the Savior. Janet was trying to save herself with Jesus as an advisor." She said, "I'm going to do this."  

Brothers and Sisters. We can't. No one can. No one is perfect." He said, "Of course we fail at the celestial level. That's why we need a savior. And we are commanded to approach God and call upon him that we may receive according to our desires."  "Perfection comes through the atonement of Christ. We become one with him, with a perfect being. And as we become one, there is a merger."  "This is why the Savior says in Matthew 11:28, 'Come onto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.' What heavier load is there than the demand for perfection, that you must do it all and that you must make yourself perfect in this life before you can have any hope in the next? What heavier burden is there than that? That is the yoke of the law." 

He kind of said at the beginning, I think a lot of us believe in Christ, we believe he exists, but we don't believe him when he says he can save us.  "A lot of us are asking the question, 'Am I going to make it?'" And his thesis was Section 25 of the Doctrine & Covenants, "If you've been baptized, you are sons and daughters in my kingdom. The question is not, are you going to make it? The question is, do you want to stay?” It's kind of a relief of, "No, you're in. You're in the kingdom. Do you want to stay?" And we keep coming back to the sacrament table and making the covenants and we keep trying. And I think that's the thing. But the burden part that she felt there, I think all of us can relate to that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KIM AND BEN!

We get to celebrate Kim on Tuesday, March 21st 

A fun daughter, wife, mom, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend who will take on any adventure she is handed - girls camp cook, shopping with Blythe at Target, Primary President, Spencer, Camping with Ji-Chan, Grant, France with Chris, Japan with Chris, Max, visiting Colorado, best friend to Gracie, homework queen, relative of Betty Crocker (she is such a good cook!),

Temple Worker, Chicago tour guide, Cath Kidston connisseur, 

Hawaii with Chris, Death in Paradise (or Murder Island according to Blythe) Fan, MissionaryMom, elementary school secretary, driver's training mom, and a million other things 💗

She always can smile, even when she really, deep down doesn't want to.  

                                                   

                                        AND Ben on Friday, March  24th 

Ben will turn 5 year-old this coming Friday.  He just got registered and will start Kindergarten in the Fall - I can hardly believe he has grown so quickly!  Ben loves trucks, trains, his Mom, playing outside, trains, Becca (Eilis), Chick-fil-A french fries, brownies, peanut butter M & M's, trains, his Dad, Amos, Hollie, trains, Gatorade, legos, water bottles, trains, apple juice, stuffed animals, trains, robots, chocolate candy bars, Emma, trains . . . .

We love you Ben!  Thanks for all of the smiles you share 💙

I'm not sure where this place is, but it looks like so much fun!

Other fun things this week - 

Sayre celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style and also became the owner of the Scheels escalator in Iowa City because he learned he could go up and come down all by himself - Way to go Sayre!

Sendai and I ate breakfast outside on Wednesday because we could - It was a balmy 61°. 😎

Two close calls this week - Kate was in Denver for a work conference, and Chris had a lay-over at DIA, but sadly we didn't get to see either one. PLEASE COME BACK  😊

Apparently, Hollie took her mini waffle maker to school this week and fixed her own breakfast -

Love it!  😂

Photos that make me smile -

Paul, when he became a Deacon

Sammi and her scowl

I think I only see 8 candles so I'm not sure 
whose birthday we are celebrating 😃

I'm not sure what Spencer is eating, but it looks
really good - We miss you Spence!!!

We love you all so, so much!  Please have a wonderful week and remember how much we care about you 💜