in which my prayers are answered ...

isn't it great when you find yourself in a funk and/or rut that all you need to do is say a little prayer! Heavenly Father really does care about my ruts and funks and especially my happiness!! in an effort to rid myself of said funk/rut ... i decided to 'stomp it out' on the treadmill at the Y (Ymca ... not bYu). i took my zune, having already uploaded the most recent General Conference, cued up Elder Ballard (i remembered that his was a good one) and started to walk. 3.0 ... then 3.5 ... then pumped it up to 3.8 (which may or may not mean anything to you - but it's a pretty good clip in my estimation). by this time i had started to sweat (perspire/glisten/shoot who are we kidding?), and he was at the part of his talk where he's explaining that his wife was watching him from the stand because she was singing in the choir and Elder Ballard was dealing with 6 young kids - and the cheerios, crayons and finger puppets were not doing their job. i was smiling and chuckling to myself ... and then - i was bawling, well not really, more like tears were mixing in with the sweat running down my face.

it's a great talk and you should definitely read/listen to it. go ahead ... i'll wait.

the part that i want to share is this:

"As a Church, we have enormous respect and gratitude to you mothers of young children. We want you to be happy and successful in your families and to have the validation and support you need and deserve. So today, let me ask and briefly answer four questions. While my answers may seem extremely simple, if the simple things are being tended to, a mother’s life can be most rewarding.
The first question: What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?
First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction...
Second, don’t overschedule yourselves or your children...
Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests...
Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel..."

honestly, could it be simpler? (is that a word? maybe 'more simple' is proper english? ... you know what i mean) Elder Ballard has given me a road map to avoid the ruts and funks in my life. he laid it all out ... and all i need to do is follow the directions.

now ... we all have moments (some of us longer moments than others) when we see that pot hole coming ... i see the rut and it's gonna be a doozie and i 'choose' not to avoid it. i say choose because a mile back when i caught a glimpse of it, i didn't change course ... and in so doing made a choice. that's not to say that i can't slam on my breaks and miss it by an inch ... but sometimes they are unavoidable at such short distances. i need to figure out for myself how, when i see those funky stretches of road, to act now ... be proactive ... choose to act instead of react.

so ... for the next few days, weeks, and maybe months, i'm going to be working on my course of action ... taking "defensive driving" so that i can operate my vehicle in a manner pleasing to my Heavenly Father ... and myself.

wish me luck ... keep me in your prayers ... i'll be remembering you all in mine. may we all remember that though we are 'small and simple, we are bringing great things to pass!' (alma 37:6)