My Cause

For quite a while now, I have been really trying to find my cause. I know that we are all here for a lot of the same reasons, but I personally believe that since we are all individuals, we also have special individual things the Lord wants us to be doing. Using our talents and passions to help others, to make the world a better place.

I have always been a person that falls in love with just about anything I am doing whether it's gardening, cooking, crafting, sports, health, reading, music, art, relationships, service, whatever. You name it, I almost always love it. This makes for a very fun and joyful life for me, but at times a little confusing. What is my personal cause? What are my special talents? What does the Lord want me to do during my time here on earth?

Then I began working with the Power of Moms, and I received the conformation and may have been coming for awhile: my biggest passion in my life is the people I love. My family. Since becoming a wife and mother I have always delved into countless parenting and marriage books and information of all sorts, always trying so hard to be the very best wife and mother I can be. I want so desperately to give my husband and kids the best life experience possible. I want countless happy memories. I want to be a good example of a strong value system and testimony, a good marriage and parent, a good friend, good health, humility, service, etc. I feel so blessed to have the parents I did....I had such a happy, fulfilling childhood that truly gave me what I felt like was the best start possible. I want so much to give that and so much more to my own sweet little angels that Heavenly Father has entrusted me to raise and care for and love.

This world we live in is so completely beautiful. There are so many wonderful things at our fingertips. So much information and opportunity to learn and connect with others. So much opportunity for growth.

But this world is also very daunting. It seems that lurking just around every good corner, are so many evil, scary, confusing things that some seem to face and conquer without a hitch, and others seem to cower to and fall away into despair. There are so many bad choices a person can make that are so full of so many scary and negative consequences that cause so much heartache and grief.

How do you protect your children? How do you teach them to know for themselves what's right? More importantly, how do you teach them to want to do what's right? How do you give them the strength of character, conviction and courage to truly be all they can be?

Then I realized, this is my cause.

My family.

These people whom I care so deeply for, whom I so passionately desire to teach and raise and love the right way. The way my Heavenly Father wants me to.

Maybe that's why he made me an oldest child as well as a mother. I don't doubt all that experience as "big sister" has helped me immensely as a mom. Who knows?

Then I began to pray. I prayed more than I ever have in my life. I prayed for guidance, direction, and humility. I prayed that I would be led to do things that would help my family, and possibly someone else's family too. I prayed to know how I could use my cause to follow the Lord's will.

Shortly after this prayer I received an email from the Power of Moms website inviting moms everywhere to apply to join the board of moms contributing to the website.  I had never done anything like this before, but felt so strongly about the purpose and direction of the website.  I felt so compelled to apply that I did despite my inexperience.  I wanted so badly to contribute to the cause somehow and also rub shoulders with women around the world that shared my same passion for family.  My mom called a couple hours later telling me about the same opportunity and wouldn't you know? She applied too, for the same position!  We immediately emailed the board and asked to but put in together if either of us were picked. A few weeks later, we were asked to be the Family Values Co-Managers for Power of Moms.  Total dream come true (even though it wasn't a dream I realized I had at the time.). 

This year has been an exceptionally busy year for us, so I wish I could say I've taken the ball and run everywhere I wanted with it, but I haven't quite yet.  I feel like I'm getting there though.  It's very challenging and intimidating for me to do something and feel so completely clueless as to how to do it.  But I feel the ball starting to roll now and suddenly I am bursting with new ideas and even stronger conviction that this is where I am meant to be.

Just a week ago, I received an email from the Power of Moms ambassador.  She also happens to be in charge of a pilot program for the LDS church.  She has been loving what my mom and I have been doing and asked us if we could help her compile a book and a course study for the missionaries to begin teaching "Family Skills".  She has also gotten permission to reference/use anything from Power of Moms and Values Parenting(one of my other favorite websites). I guess the church feels like there is a real need for a program to aid families, especially in certain areas of the world were media is especially harmful.  This lady in charge of it sounds like such an amazing person.  She is running the church's pilot program in Japan and once it's ready it will be taken worldwide.  I am SO excited to see/help it all come together!  One amazing opportunity after another.  I don't know too much yet.  My mom and I tried Skype with Melanie last week but we had some connection problems and she had her sixth baby the next day.  In the meantime I am furiously trying to collect my thoughts and information from any source I can while still struggling to get this month's value updates.  So busy, but SO fulfilling!

This has made so many things I have been struggling to make sense of come together more in my mind.  I won't go into the details now, but I will say I know for a fact that the Lord has been preparing me to work on these things for a long time(both the website and the course, I mean).  I am hoping and working on slowing my life down a little more so I will have the time I need to work on both things more.  I think blogging will help me get some more/better writing juices going on in my brain, in addition to helping me plan for that time.  Any suggestions for fitting in computer time with small children would be helpful.  So far I only seem to steal a little time late at night while everyone is sleeping, which makes for a very tired mommy.  Tired but happy and excited.

I feel so blessed to finally reach a little moment of clarity.  And extremely excited to see this program come together and Power of Moms grow.  Wish me luck on my new endeavor.  And feel free to support me by paying a few visits Power of Moms over the next few months (and I'm sure after that you'll be hooked in this website like I am) and give me LOTS of feedback and suggestions of your own.  Two heads is better than one, and more is even better right?