Back to Basics

Whew! I finally got some time to post a few things tonight. I've been struggling a little bit lately. After coming home from my trip, which was a nice getaway, I just felt totally overwhelmed and bombarded with it all. Every time I work around the house, it seems to get trashed again within one hour of unleashing the beasts! Like all moms probably feel at times, there is just so much to do, and so much more I feel like I could be doing, I just can't seem to keep up. And there are so many distractions and diversions that continually tempt me away from focusing on what is really most important in this life. But I realized tonight that I need to remember to slow down and SIMPLIFY.

So I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving week for a week long initiative to focus on the family proclamation. This is an inspired and timely document put out by the leaders of our church based on our belief about the eternal family.

Here is the information about the special week from the family proclamation week website:

The Family Proclamation Awareness Week Initiative November 23-29, 2008
Putting Family First & Bringing Families Together

Purpose: A week long initiative to put families first and bring families together to raise our voices in support of the Family Proclamation issued by the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (September 23, 1995).

Plan: Invite each family to participate in a week long challenge where the family will dedicate their time, energy, talents, and resources to their family between the hours of 5pm to bedtime with the purpose of building, nurturing, and strengthening their family.

A Plan to 'Turn From': Families would turn away from the myriad of distractions that keep us from building family. They would turn off (unplug) TV, movies, internet, MP3 players, cell phones, outside commitments, play dates, clubs, activities, meeting, classes, sports, work, etc. and dedicate the time to family dinners, family activities, family lessons, family scriptures, family prayer, and family togetherness.

A Plan to 'Turn To': Families initiate a plan to turn to their family and “devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children…” (Dallin H. Oaks, Conference Oct. 2007) by planning 7 nights of strictly family time. Family participants would commit to eat dinner together, participate in a family night of their choice, read scriptures, and kneel in prayer as a family each night of the week.


The website also offers a list of ideas and activities to strengthen our families. What an inspired and edifying initiative. It couldn't come at a better time for me. It's such a great reminder to put first things first.