Our First Blog

Blogging is something new to us. We write letters.  We phone.  We email.  We even text now.  But after following Julie's adventures in India through her masterful blog we feel that blogging is the next step we can use to keep our family united and informed.  We thank Julie for teaching us how this new communications tool works. We are grateful to her for her encouragement. 
It is our hope to send out a monthly blog to family and close friends.  It will have family news items, a little humor and council we have gleaned over the month.  These are tough times for individuals and families.  We hope this blog will help unite and sustain us in all conditions. 
It seems appropriate that we begin this adventure in January, the start of a new year.  Now is when we review the last year and try to make plans for the future year.  We call this planning "resolutions".  We have all made resolutions, and even had some success in fulfilling them. 
A friend of ours recently gave us a long list of things that every family should use as priorities when we consider resolutions for the new year.  We present them here with the hope everyone will see the eternal value in them and do everything to make them all a part of our lives. 

1. Personal and Family Prayer
2. Personal and Family Scripture Reading
3. Temple Preparation and Temple Attendance
4. Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching
5. Payment of Tithes and Offerings
6. Visiting the Sick and Elderly
7. Missionary Service
8. Family History and Family Search
9. Subscribe to and Read to Church Magazines 
10. Date-Night
11. Overcoming Bad Habits
12. Strengthening Our Testimonies
13. Give Service to Others
14. Be More Forgiving
15. Love Our Neighbors
16. Become More Humble
17. Have More Faith
18. Enduring Trials When Placed Upon Us
19. Magnify Our Callings
20. Serving with Diligence
21. Listen to and Follow the Council of our Church Leaders

This is a very long list of things to do.  But we should not look at them as individual items. We can and should mix them together where we can and let each contribute to the whole of a happy life.  Look to 1 Nephi 17:3 for the Lord's promise if we will do these things, "And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them."

Now on the lighter side:

Brother Smith: My home teachers are so good they come on the first day of the every month.
Brother Jones: Oh yeah?  My home teachers are so good, they come the day before that .

Here are a couple of posting we received at the Family History Library:
"I would like to find out if I have any living or dead relatives or ancestors in my family."
"We lost our Grandmother.  Will you please send us a copy?"
"Will you send me a list of all the Drips in your library?"
"My grandfather died at age 3."