My life with purpose...

A few weeks ago while preparing for my RS lesson I was reading in 'Daughters in my Kingdom" the introduction - after all this was what I was basing my lesson on!! Anyway one of the paragraph's reads "The history of Relief Society teaches the divine identity and infinite worth of daughters of God. It is a Spirit-filled story of strong, faithful, purposeful women who have served with little public recognition." It goes on to talk about the love of heavenly Father for His daughters. sister Belle S. Spafford (9th RS General Pres.) said "The average woman today, I believe would do well t appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of less rewarding activities."
I have thought about this a lot over the past few weeks. As a women raised LDS, I know that my family and my responsibility as a mother is most important. I have struggled for a long time with the necessity to work outside of the home. I know that my kids have 'suffered' for not having me home, their grades, reading abilities, their lack of desire or maybe ability to work and who knows what else that I could sit and feel guilty for. However, as I have thought about this, I also realize that the last thing the Lord wants for me is to carry the heavy burden of guilt for things that I really cannot change. For the moment it is a necessity for me to work outside of the home both in the restaurant and the dental office. I have faith that this will not always be the case and I truly pray that it will be sooner than later. But for now it is what it is and I have to make the best of it. In reflecting on how to live a more purposeful life... I have made the decision to truly go back to making sure I am doing the simple things and by simple - I in no way mean easy... getting everyone together everyday for scripture study and prayer is no easy feat. Making sure we have dinner together with all our crazy schedules is not an easy thing, taking time to read to my girls before bed and tuck them in is sometimes that last thing that makes me want to cry uncle - I just want time to myself... but I realize they are all growing so fast and I will soon have all the alone time I can stand!
There are many other simple changes that need to occur and I am working on incorporating them into our daily lives. Teaching my kids how to cook and work along side them so they know how to clean etc. In all of this I have also realized that I really need to take better care of myself! I need to sleep more, stay up late less, exercise more, sleep in less, and definitely eat better and healthier. I have been promised that if I take care of my body, it will last for me through out this life, I need to do a better job of that as I need to be here for my family.
When I look at it as a whole it seems like to much, but if I just take that moment to start it and complete the tasks each day they are doable and will hopefully be come a welcome habit. I truly intend to live a more purposeful life, so that I can be prepared for whatever the Lord has in mind for me and my family. I am thankful for the examples I see around me and hope I can find the strength through the Lord to be that kind of example to my family and others. To be the me I should be!