Freedom To Worship

Dear Gabriel,

This week is Thanksgiving. I can't believe it... tomorrow! Of course I need to tell you everything that I am grateful for. But for this post, I want to focus on something very specific. I am so grateful for the freedom to worship God how I decide to worship Him.

It is amazing to think back to the pilgrims and hear their stories. They believed so strongly in being able to worship God as they saw fit that they uprooted from their homes, risked their reputations and fortunes, to come over to the new land. All because of their passion for the freedom to choose to worship God according to this dictates of their conscious.

I ask myself today, "Would I risk everything, uproot from my home, move away from my family, risk death, famine and disease JUST to worship the Lord and have the freedom to worship Him according to the dictates of my own conscious?". I want to courageously say, 'YES!'- I believe I would.

Freedom to worship to me is as sweet as the air I breath. I am nothing without my Heavenly Father and my Savior. Nothing. I can't do anything with out them. I would risk everything FOR YOU to have that same privilege of worshiping them. Everything else I am grateful for stems from the peace and confidence they give my soul, from my relationship with them.

Keep your freedom to worship the Lord. Keep the Savior's name on your lips. Keep standing up for them and saying proudly, "I am a Christian and I love God"... NO MATTER how politically 'incorrect' people may say it is. Be brave for them and they will always be brave for you.

I love you,

Your Mom

My Men

Dear Gabriel,

I am so grateful for such good men in my life. This weekend your grandpa and uncle came down from Idaho to spend the weekend with us. I have been able to hang out with you, your dad, your grandpa and uncle all weekend! How refreshing to be around my men.

It makes me so sad when I think about women who don't have this regularly in their lives. I have always known the support of a good father... which in turn has coached and trained me to love and be supportive of men in my life. There are so many women who don't have this and have never had this. My heart aches for them.

When I am around my men I am reminded of the kind of man I am trying my hardest to train you to be: kind, respectful, spiritual, supportive, smart, courageous, hard working and fun. The best way for you to have these traits is to make sure you are around your grandpa, your uncle(s), great friends and especially a strong relationship with your dad. Good men make all the difference. Don't forget it.

I love you,

Your Mom

Friends

Dear Gabriel,

This weekend was very busy for us... we moved back to St. George! Thank heavens, I am so glad to be back down here. This same weekend one of my very best friends (and old mission comp) Lynne was in town to run a race. She was supposed to stay with us originally, but then it ended up being the same weekend we moved, so I missed her. Yet again.

Lynne and I have tried to see each other for months and months now. Each time we have arranged to meet one of us has had something BIG come up and we have missed each other. We haven't seen each other for over a year and she hasn't seen you yet, which makes me so sad! I was thinking about missing her YET again this weekend while I was driving with a trailer full of stuff. The Lord told me, "Andrea, be so grateful you have such a wonderful friend in your life that you WANT to see so badly."

It is so true. I have AMAZING friends. Lynne is one of many amazing friends and women in my life. I have had so many friends who have shaped who I am and what I am about because of their love and example. A child, teenager and woman is truly shaped by the people she hangs out with (and it will be the same for you, but from the guy perspective!).

Choose good friends. One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life is to surround myself with people I love and enjoy... and they also PUSH me to be better. Lynne is one of those people, which is why I want to see her so badly. But there are many friends in my life who are like that... they PUSH me to better, to be stronger, to be happier, to be courageous, just to be better. Surround yourself with friends who PUSH you to be better and you will have one of the greatest gifts in the world.

I love you,

Your Mom

Time Passing... Lessons Learned

Dear Gabriel,

How are the holidays just around the corner again? I have no idea how that happened. Time keeps getting faster and faster and faster and faster! You are already a YEAR old. Your cute personality is coming out more rapidly each day. It just reminds me to soak in every moment with you at this stage in your life because it is going to be gone in a blink of an eye.

I wonder how you are going to remember the moments of your life... Your time passing? Every family and every parent has quirks. It is just how it is. There are going to be things about me that drive you crazy as your mom. There are going to be things about your dad that inevitably you are going to want to be like (hopefully :-). It is just amazing to think that as time is passing... you are developing into YOU... into your person.

How humbling it is to be a parent. You are going to be part me, part your dad and part of everything else you allow to influence you in your life, including the natural gifts you came to this world with. Every time a minute passes, it is a minute that will be gone forever, and hopefully means that you and I have learned valuable lessons from one another.

I love you,

Your Mom