Brigham Young's Family Room

In the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, a row of Pioneer-era dwellings stand preserved. In addition to being family homes, these were the Official Residence of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Executive Offices of the Territory of Utah. Several prophets occupied the office and a few the home. 

The house on the left is the Lion House, which was the private home of Brigham Young's family. The house to the far right is the Beehive House, which was the state home to use for guests and dignitaries. Many years later these buildings became boarding homes for young working women in the city to safely dwell in, as well as social gathering centers for college co-eds. The Lion House is so named because Brigham Young had the nickname "Lion of the Lord." The Beehive House is named after the early settling Saints' industry. They first called their colony in Utah Territory Deseret, which means "honeybee" in The Book of Mormon. The beehive was adopted as their official emblem, representing industry, and is still a state symbol.

Standing in this historical oasis in the midst of downtown traffic, sirens, and bustle, I wished to go back in time and visit before the skyscrapers and traffic lights. I did find a photo of when these buildings were fairly new and I still marvel at all that's changed since then.

Still, there was serenity in the gardens...

...and a wise and good example inside.  These photos are of Brigham Young's family room.

I took these photos to remind myself of the lesson I learned on my tour that impressed me very much. 

Brigham Young was a very busy man. Not only did he have a large family, he was a prophet of the Lord, President of the Church, the Governor of Utah, and a businessman among other things. And yet with all that, he never failed to gather his family in the family room each and every night for a hymn, some counsel, prayer, and connection. Even if he was in the middle of a meeting or had guests, at the same time every evening he stopped whatever he was doing, invited any guests to join him, and gathered his family together at the end of each day. And if, perchance, a family member failed to show up, he sent him or her a formal letter "inviting" the missing member to join them. 

I love the faithful sticking to principles and the consistent attention to his role as a husband, father, and head of a family even in the midst of all the other demands on him. What an example! Many times it seems that just missing a day here or there of an established family routine isn't that big of a deal. We think "consistent" means 85% to 90% of the time. We allow all sorts of things to interfere with important family time and/or important gospel time and let our roles as whatever else crowd our roles as spouses and parents. What a mistake! I want to be like Brigham!

Things to Get Excited About!

I've run into a few things while traveling this summer that I liked so much I just had to get them for the upcoming school year.

Coloring books are of course everywhere these days. The market is inundated with them and much of the time if you've seen one you've seen them all. But, at a truck stop in the middle of Idaho of all places, I came across this Inspirational Coloring Book for Girls that I really, really like. Each page has a scriptures verse and nice coloring page. It's perfect for my daughter. She is excited about it. I've challenged her to look up every scripture and mark them as well as memorize them. I haven't decided if this will be a daily thing or a weekly thing.

The Book of Coloring Art is something I picked up for myself. (Also at the truck stop!) Inspirational quotes and scripture with really lovely pictures to color, this book flows with serenity and wisdom. I will probably copy some of the pages to give to my kids at different times when I feel they connect with our learning or when a particular principal needs some focus.

A wait for the championship game and an unexpected rainstorm during a baseball tournament drove me inside to a bookstore where I found this Complete the Story journal on a bargain shelf. I love, love, love the tantalizing possibilities of all the unique story starters in this book! We'll be using this for creative writing this next school year and I can't wait to see the stories it leads to. I'm even excited to join my kids and write stories myself with this!

From "Someday" to "Seize the Day" - The Power of Splashing in Your Bucket List

We're almost halfway through this year. As usual, I'm a few months behind mentally, wondering how in the heck it is summer already when I swear we just had New Years. But this year, aside from the fact that I'm sad my kids are that much older and another one is "done" and about to move on, I'm not feeling like the past six months have just passed me by, leaving me stunned and eating dust. This year, more than any other year, I have seized the day(s) and lived on purpose. I have done some things on my bucket list and it has been a powerful shift in how I feel about my life.

Before I go any further, I just want to clarify what a bucket list is, in case there is someone reading who doesn't know. A bucket list is a person's list of wishes and dreams of things she wants to see or do or be or become before she "kicks the bucket," or in other words, dies.  That's the general idea. Some people make "Summer Bucket Lists" or lists for any season, of things they want to do before that season is over. But when most people talk bucket lists, they're talking about things they want to do before their lives are over.

You might be thinking, "Oh, you're just talking about goals." Not necessarily. I mean, I have a sincere goal to reclaim certain rooms of my house from clutter, but if I died and that wasn't done yet, I wouldn't feel badly about not having done it. But I will feel regret if I never see New York in person or hike in the Alps or take pictures in pure awe in Iceland. Neither is a bucket list a to do list. While bucket list items may be things you need to do, they're also things you want to do. I need my garage cleaned out, and I even want the finished product, but in no way do I actually want to clean the garage; cleaning the garage is a to do list item, not a bucket list item. The other thing about bucket lists is that many of the things people would put on their bucket list are things that can't just be easily done whenever--so they often get left as wishes and dreams because of the resources or effort required to make them happen. To be sure, goal setting is required to do things on your bucket list--but so is the attitude adjustment of going from "someday" to seizing the day.

Now, I haven't been able to go to any distant destinations on my bucket list this year, but I have taken the opportunity to enjoy "local" locales every chance I got. (By local I mean within a few hours' drive. I normally consider places within a 200-mile radius candidates for day trips.) These have included places I've heard about and wanted to go to for years and places I've driven by numerous times and wished I had time to stop and investigate. For the most part all it's taken is slowing down long enough to plan ahead, recognizing that I'm heading in the direction of ____, so why not leave early so I can stop there, too. It's also taken a "let it go" attitude on some days when I decided to make time by seizing a few opportunities in the now, knowing laundry and weeding and those things can wait one more day. 

From exploring Ice Castles to holding still on an island perch and purposely watching the sun set over the Great Salt Lake, I've found some rewarding ways to take charge of my time and do some things I've long wanted to do. It's not every day, of course, but by carving out that time on purpose and continuing to look for and seize opportunities, the busy-ness of day-to-day life with a family and especially the sometimes hopeless feel of my crowded and over-scheduled calendar of time that flies by aren't getting me down like before. It's also helping me be more conscious of who I spend my time with and helping me become the kind of person I want to be by making time for other people. And even little things, like watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (which I've always meant to do but have somehow never done until this week) and reading Uncle Tom's Cabin (another "someday" item) have helped me feel like I am acting rather than being acted upon.

Splashing in my bucket list has made me more aware of time and choices and helped me to not only enjoy myself and my time, but manage my time and self better also. So, go ahead and make a splash yourself!