Yes, book club.
It's a big deal. You don't miss book club, unless you're in the hospital or, at the very least, your baby is. I think that's the last time I missed, at least. Tonight we talked about the book, of course, and remodeling, pros/cons of sitting versus standing while peeing (husbands and sons, of course--we all sit), lack of privacy in the bathroom, and a house somewhere in the area (maybe Hooper?) that, in the transition area between the dining room and the family room, has a bathtub sunk into the floor. Not in a separate room; just right there in the middle of your living/entertaining area. A bathtub. Can you see why book club is so great?
So, I'll catch up on my blogging. I plan out lots of things to blog about, and then it never translates to my keyboard. It's hard to sit down and think something out, let alone type, when I have two monkeys who think mom sitting still is a jungle gym.
Last month I stepped in and taught the March presidency message for our second counselor. I needed a place to take notes and pulled out an old notebook I've had for a long time, and it was full of notes from Institute classes, general conferences, etc. Also a cringe-worthy few pages about an unfortunate crush I had once. Why couldn't he just see that we should be together?
For the record, I am now very glad that he couldn't.
Anyway.
I found this quote from Joseph F. Smith. I read it, once upon a time, when I had time to think, and I wrote it in a notebook so I could find it in a spare few minutes, years down the road.
After we have done all we could for the cause of truth, and withstood the evil that men have brought upon us, and we have been overwhelmed by their wrongs, it is still our duty to stand. We cannot give up; we must not lie down. To stand firm in the face of overwhelming opposition, when you have done all you can, is the courage of faith. The courage of faith is the courage of progress. Men who possess that divine quality go on; they are not permitted to stand still if they would. They are not simply the creatures of their own power and wisdom, they are instrumentalities of a higher law and a divine purpose.
Gospel Doctrine, p. 119
My senior year in high school I took a conditioning class. It was full of sports people and such. My friend Joee convinced me it would be fun. Running and weight lifting: whee! This was out of my comfort zone; it's only been the last couple of years that I've been able to maintain any sort of modest running regime. One day we had to run a mile and a half. I'd never run that far before, and I was sure I couldn't do it. It was too far. I was too tired.
And lovely athletic soccer-playing Joee stayed with me. "Once you stop, it's harder to start. It's easier to just keep going." And I finished. Very slowly, but. I didn't stop.
Sometimes I think it would be nice to stop. "Stop the world--I want to get off." I think that's a quote from somewhere. (Google tells me it's the title of a 1962 Broadway musical, of all things.) I'm good here, I'd like to just stop and catch my breath.
Too bad it doesn't work that way. Before one thing is quite finished, it's on to the next. I guess that's what President Smith called the courage of progress. Faith is progress. Your lungs may be burning, but it's easier if you don't stop. Maybe you can grab a drink at the next plateau. I guess Heavenly Father probably knows what he's doing.
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