Traditions

Usually we decorate the tree the weekend of Thanksgiving but life was so crazy that we just got it done tonight...with the now, annual trumpet on top of the tree and the added guest of Monica!

We always end it with drinking egg nog but when I found out that Monica had never had any, I had to make a big deal out of it, of course.

AND SHE'S A FAN!

Earlier that day, Daddy and the boys made gingerbread houses.

It was stake conference today but we never got the link sent to us to watch so I decided to have our own little lesson on the difference between being religious and being spiritual.  You can be religious and not spiritual in that you follow the rules of your religion but not have personal experiences with a greater power.  I added that I felt the biggest difference between the two was personal revelation.  For me, personal revelation seems to come gradually.  Sometimes I'll have this defining moment come out of nowhere, or so it seems, but usually it is a gradual process.  And I can't help but think that is what Heavenly Father intends so that we can learn from experiences (adversity) and gain knowledge (strength).  This will lead to teachings having different meanings to us over time.  I then ended it with Elder Dallin H. Oaks quote, “The scriptures do not change, but what we can see changes in them because we have changed.  The same thing happens with the teachings of the Church leaders and with personal experiences that mean nothing to the “natural man” but are of eternal significance to the person by whom they are “spiritually discerned.”