One of my goals for this "season" of my life is to nurture my faith. I was raised LDS, have relatives who crossed the plains, and share a polygamous several greats-grandfather with every white person from my hometown, so many of my beliefs are grounded in and shaped by that religion. So much of it makes sense and resonates with me, but I am also open to other ideas. There are so many good people and so many good religious ideas out there. Try as I might, I can't bring myself to actually believe in my heart that my religion is the ONLY true and correct religion out there, that my way of life is the ONLY one that brings happiness. I just can't do it. But I am comfortable with my religion, so I stay. I like the rules. I like the structure. I like knowing that whether I am in Commerce, TX, Reading, PA, Laie, HI, or Zihuatenejo, Morelos, Mexico my church-going experience will be the same. Same prayers, same rituals, same hymns, same poofy-haired-skin-tight-modest-layered-shirt-wearing women, same got-this-suit-on-my-mission-so-I'll-wear-it-'til-I'm-40 men. I like the Word of Wisdom (basically a health code- no alcohol, coffee, tea, etc). I like the fact that we have a lay ministry. I love the emphasis on families. But as much as I love and enjoy it, I also know that the sum on my spiritual existence is not defined by the religion I choose. I also must nurture my personal relationship with Jesus Christ and with God.

This is where my latest and greatest and most original new idea ever (Read: Lots of people do this and I think it's cool) comes into play. We are officially a memory verse learning family. We chose our first verse on Monday, and practiced it and practiced it, and practiced it some more. I think we all have it down pat. My idea is to learn a new verse every week. Over the years, I've noticed that I remember and recall songs and memory verses when the going gets tough, so I'm hoping to help my children have a jump start on their memorization. Perhaps all this memorization will help them in their schooling as well. That would be a great bonus, but if it just helps them become better people, that's ok, too :)

Since we're LDS and raising our children in that religion, we have 4 books of scripture to choose from (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). I hope to utilize verses from each book. Here's to diving back into the scriptures!