Month of Gratitude - November 12

Things I am grateful for today: Family Home Evening, Arctic Circle, repentance and the Atonement.

I received in my weekly email from Wil a request for a specific DVD that they use in teaching investigators about Christ - Finding Faith in Christ.  He explained that all the copies available to him and his companion were pretty beat up and it would be faster, since I was sending a box anyway, if I could pick up a copy and include it with the box than for him to try and get a replacement ordered.  Determined to fulfill this request, Rick and I decided that our Family Home Evening would be a trip to St George and the local Deseret Book to pick up the DVD with dinner afterwards at Arctic Circle so the girls could use their ice cream cone certificates that were about to expire.

The tricky part was making connection with Jon who normally does not get home until after 5 PM on Mondays.  Luckily, he made it home on schedule and we all piled in the car and headed to St. George.  Of course the piling in the car involved much wailing and gnashing of teeth when we ruled that this was a FHE Activity and no electronics would be allowed.  You would have thought we were condemning them to a fate worse than death instead of just a twenty minute car ride.

Of course the traffic was horrible.  Every driver seemed determined to go at least 5 miles an hour below the posted speed limit and they all needed to travel side by side.  I could see Rick getting a little tense and I have to admit that so was I as I watched the clock creep towards 6, the time we figured the store would be closing.  Luckily we made it with five minutes to spare.  We were able to get the things we needed, plus a couple of other things and were out the door by five minutes after.  Yeah for power shopping!!

At Arctic Circle, we sat in a booth together and talked about all the things we have upcoming this week and the next; science fair, volleyball games, choir, band and orchestra concerts, church dinners, Thanksgiving, Eagle Court of Honor, trips to Northern Utah, etc.  So often it seems we are all going in so many different directions that we need this scheduled time to stay connected.

The restaurant was playing music from the 60s and 70s.  The type of music that you can't help but sing along with.  At one point Rick and I were doing a little dance in the booth and Lela leaned over to Emily, "Do they ever embarrass you?"  Emily nodded.  Jon responded with, "I see nothing wrong in breaking out in song at random moments."  The next song was The Temptations "My Girl".  We all sang along, including two giggling girls.

During the drive from Deseret Book to Arctic Circle, we talked about the DVD that we had picked up for Wil.  The final conclusion of that discussion: When you do something wrong, you will feel bad until you repent.  When you repent you will feel happy.  Through the Atonement, Christ made it possible for us to repent.  Christ wants us to be happy.  It is as simple as that:  Christ wants us to be happy.