Quiet!

It is much quieter around our house this week.  We were invited to party with some friends in the ward for New Year's Eve.  They had invited several couples, but we were the only ones there for the first hour or so, and then one other couple showed up.  We were planning on games, but we ended up just visiting and getting to know each other.  We also got invited to Nick's but since we had prior plans we had to excuse ourselves.  Caitlyn and Jennie went and played games with Nick and Sara.  

The rest of the week was spent putting Christmas away, ice skating, and recovering from Christmas.  

We are excited for the new Come Follow Me program that was implemented today.  Our church (at noon) was cancelled due to the snow, but the wards in our stake that met earlier all had church.  Roy and I spent more than an hour studying and discussing the Come Follow Me program, the scriptures, and what is being asked of us by our prophet.  We are truly being asked to step it up.  For example, the Ministering article in the January Ensign: The-purpose-that-will-change-our-ministering?lang=eng encourages us to "minister as the Savior ministered"  He healed people physically, but he went beyond that and healed them spiritually.  The article enlarges on these ideas:

1) To connect our service with the Savior

2) To focus on the Covenant Path

3) To invite and encourage

It is a little overwhelming to see that not only are we to serve, but we are to try to insert ourselves in each other's lives to help each other come closer to the Savior.  As Nephi says, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  

Philip must be starting over in the Book of Mormon also because in his letter last week he said that one scripture hit him that he hadn't paid attention to before.  In his words:

" 'And my father dwelt in a tent' hit me like a ton of bricks.  Lehi was prosperous.  He could have lived a comfortable life, at least until the Babylonians disrupted it, but he chose obedience--left behind all that he had, and dwelt in a tent.  I'm not sure I could do that and I hope I'm never asked to (I guess you could say Nan and Bruce accepted that call.  They aren't living in a tent, but they're living in the Congo in circumstances starkly different than what they are used to.  They're a lot for faithful than I am.)"

I've thought about this a lot because I know that Roy and I will want to serve mission sometime after Roy retires.  I also think about where I would want to go.  I guess I need to think in terms of "what would I be willing to do for the Lord?"

There aren't many pictures this week.  

Handsome Dojin

We tried to go to the Temple, but when we saw
all the cars parked along the street and in the parking
lot we decided to visit family instead.  The Green boys
are seeing us off.  We also attempted to visit Nick and Sara
but they were out to dinner for Ori's birthday.

Our creek is frozen and Caitlyn couldn't resist trying it out.  It's a little hard to ice skate without blades.  She was a little afraid that her blades would cut right through the ice.  Also, she just got them sharpened.  I am taking the picture from the comfort of my warm bedroom.