Pure White

So this work week was already short due to the holiday and then Thursday morning we woke up to snow on the ground. I gave myself a few hour delay going into work so the roads wouldn't be so hard to drive on. The next day it snowed in the afternoon and our boss closed the office early.  Thank you, snow, for a short, short work week. Just like Lorelai Gilmore, I felt like the snow was a present just for me. 

Also this week I had a mini existential crisis. I was pondering what books I would want to put in the guest room, and telling the hubby that I wouldn't want any books that might embarrass me, and he asked if I should even have those books at all. It was a very good question. So  I went through and cleaned out my bookshelf a bit. Now, I am a reader, and I love books. I love words. So parting with my books was hard, and there was sighing and moaning and even some tears. And I wondered, shouldn't doing the right thing feel better? Eldon pointed out, it could just be the grieving process. I left a few books in a maybe pile and left the project for the night. 

I came back the next morning and made decisions on my maybe pile. I was able to confidently put books in a give away pile with much less mourning. Now: to make cuts in my T.V. show viewing habits to match my cuts in books. 

I actually began this process of weeding through my media intake last March when I gave a lesson on defending the family at a Thursday night activity for my Young Women. The impetus came from a paragraph in the New Era article I was teaching from:  "Much in the media today does not support God’s definition of marriage and families. It might endorse or glorify alternatives to wholesome family life that are contrary to God’s plan. The counsel in For the Strength of Youth can apply to teachings about the family: 'Satan uses media to deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. … Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit' ([2011], 11).

When you choose media that support the principles of an eternal family, it will be easier to strengthen the family and also prepare for a future temple marriage." (Be A Defender of the Family, New Era, March 2012)

This crisis just seemed to be a continuation of that earlier weeding out. Another quote that is helping me in all of this is one from a LDS general conference talk that we discussed in Relief Society (women's organization and class) today at church. Elder Robert D Hales taught: "As Christians today, we have the opportunity to act straightway, immediately, and decisively, just as Peter and Andrew did: 'they forsook their nets, and followed him.'² We too are called upon to leave our nets, to reject worldly habits, customs, and traditions." (Being a More Christian Christian, Robert D. Hales, General Conference Oct. 2012) I want to give up my worldly habits, including viewing and reading habits, that might detract from the Spirit and draw me away from my Father in Heaven and my Savior. So I will continue to review what I read and watch and choose to get rid of what is not good for me.