Take time to record LIFE

Do you ever have times when you wish you could remember certain things? Last night I was making some scrapbook pages of Hannah on her 2nd birthday. And perhaps I have a few random details about her life on a calendar somewhere hidden in a brown box, but I was trying to recall what she was like...a few tidbits of our life then. I'm grateful for photos because they help me REMEMBER.

But it got me thinking and thinking and thinking about some of the things I wish I could remember and that I wish I would have documented better. There are some things I will never have photos of... like my feelings, conversations, thoughts, spiritual moments, life lessons.

A few nights ago when Maxwell got up in the middle of the night (yeah - not very consistent with his sleeping through the night - plus he has a slight cold - poor guy... anyhoo...), I watched a talk on ByuTv by Richard G. Scott. He talked about the importance of recording our life. Here are some of my favorite parts:

He said to write this down & live by it: "Throughout the remainder of my life, I will seek to learn by what I hear, see, and feel. I will write down the important things I learn, and I will do them."

You can learn vitally important things by what you hear and see and, even more, by what you feel, as prompted by the Holy Ghost....

Consciously and consistently seek to learn by what you feel. Your capacity to do so will expand through repeated practice. Significant faith and effort are required to learn by what you feel from the Spirit. Ask in faith for such help. Live to be worthy of such guidance.

Write down in a secure place the important things you learn from the Spirit. You will find that as you record a precious impression, often others will come that you would not have otherwise received. Also, the spiritual knowledge you gain will be available throughout your life. Always, day or night, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, seek to recognize and respond to the direction of the Spirit. Have available a piece of paper or a card to record such guidance.

Express gratitude to the Lord for the spiritual guidance you receive and obey it. This practice will reinforce your capacity to learn by the Spirit. It will enhance the guidance of the Lord in your life. You will learn more as you act upon the knowledge, experience, and inspiration communicated to you by the Holy Ghost.

Spiritual guidance is direction, enlightenment, knowledge, and motivation you receive from Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is personalized instruction adapted to your individual needs by One who understands them perfectly. Spiritual guidance is a gift of incomparable worth bestowed upon those who seek it, live worthy of it, and express gratitude for it.

Have you learned the enduring value of keeping a journal of the very important spiritual experiences or sacred impressions that the Lord has communicated to you?" Richard G. Scott August 2007 @ BYU

His talk reminded me of President Eyring's 'Remember, Remember' talk from October Conference. The idea of recording significant events, feelings, and thoughts - especially spiritual ones is an important thing to me.

I want to remember and learn from moments in my life... which is why I think I enjoy scrapbooking (to remember the happy moments - plus it's just plain fun to me as a hobby)... and why I like blogging (for some reason it is so easy to sit and type a quick memory of the day rather than hand write in a journal or try to catch up on weeks of family life).

So if you've gotten this far... here's the challenge... think of the things you wish you could remember... and then start now to record those type of important everyday moments in your life - the good things, the hard trials, and what you learned from them. ... I know I'm going to work on that.