My Fam

You know, I've been having a lot of those familial feelings lately--you know, where you just feel super close to your family?  It's not that I'm necessarily homesick or that I cry myself to sleep every night or anything, it's just that I've been feeling a particular closeness to them, even though I'm so far away.  I know that probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's how I feel right now.

I know I've mentioned this before, but as a missionary I've seen a lot of families that have been broken by various things.  I am so grateful for a good, solid family built on the foundation of Christ and His teachings.  We are working closely with a small family who is trying to do what's right, get married, and build themselves on that foundation right now;  they are finding increased peace, direction, and understanding as they give their lives over to the Savior and try to do what He has asked them to do.  Maybe that's why I've got family on the brain?

Makes me think--have you ever felt those longings for our Heavenly home?  our Heavenly family?  I know I have.  I think that's why families are so deeply important to us as a human race (a "human family", as it were);  we are all God's family!  Our pictures are all on God's refrigerator!  We need to realize that God loves each one of us, no matter how badly we mess up.  That's why He sent our Big Brother, Jesus Christ, to suffer for all of His other children--so we can feel better when we mess up and get back to Him someday.

Our families are there to help us out.  Sure they come in different shapes and sizes, but that's what makes them uniquely ours.  But I know that more than that, we are all a big family.  So do something nice for one of your brothers or sisters you've forgotten.  People aren't "strangers".  They're our brothers and sisters.  My fam.

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

PS Check out what the Mormon Church has to say about the family!  Let me know what you think!

Give Thanks!

The story is told in our family, that during the first winter in the New World, the pilgrims' food supply was so scant that the rationing of corn came down to 5 kernels a day for each person.  They relied on God to carry them through that terrible first year, and were eventually blessed with an abundance.  In memory of their state, each Thanksgiving our family takes 5 kernels of candy corn and enumerates our 5 most cherished blessings.  Indulge me, if you will, as I carry on that tradition here on my blog.

1. Legs and arms that work--I run and do push-ups every day.  My arms and legs get tired.  But you know what?  At least I have legs and arms that have the possibility of getting tired!  I am so thankful for my limbs!  They grant me so many freedoms that I take for granted every day! Thanks, Father, for legs and arms!
2. Food--I know this one is at the top of every world hunger activist's list, but for me, it is a big deal because I LOVE FOOD.  I don't know what I would do without it.  And here I am stuffing my face everyday when there are seriously people right here in Northern California, even who don't have enough to last one day.  I am thankful for food!
3. Clothes--for those of you who know me personally, you know I'm kind of metro when it comes to my clothes.  What can I say?  I like to look good!  I am so grateful to have a closet full of shirts, a dresser full of socks, and more than one pair of good, solid shoes.  Especially now it's getting on into winter, it's nice to be able to wear clothes that keep me warm (and stylish). **note** Hair also falls into this category.  Someone very dear to me has recently had to lose all of her hair because of cancer.  I am thankful for my hair!
4. My family--I've posted about them before, but I want everyone within the sound of my voice (so to speak) to know that I am grateful for such a great family.  On my mission I've seen a lot of families that are broken, dysfunctional, and downright destroyed.  I am overwhelmingly thankful, beyond words really, for parents who thought more about me and my 3 brothers and 1 darling sister than themselves, who didn't do drugs or waste their money on frivolous pursuits; for brothers who help me realize my true potential and strive for my personal best; for a sister who helps me learn tenderness and gentility; for my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and so on, who pass on the great legacy of faith that I cherish, which helps me build my solid foundation on the rock of Jesus Christ.
5. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ--I cannot put into words what He means to me each day.  All I can do is live how He wants me to live and serve my fellow man.  I am forever indebted to Him for His love and selfless sacrifice on my behalf.

I am one of the most blessed people I know.  I have so much to be thankful for (this list is inexhaustive--I have simply named some of my choicest blessings) and so much to live for.  Thank you for being a part of my life and sharing these moments with me. 

Much Love,

Elder Spendlove

P.S. Comment with some of your choicest blessings!  It will surprise you what the Lord has done! 

Image from: http://theformofmoney.blogharbor.com/ThanksgivingFirst.jpg

The Gospel Blesses MY Family

If you've been watching my facebook page, you'll see that I've linked a few family-oriented TV commercials produced by our Church.  I love watching these, especially the ones where the kids are pretending to be pirates or space explorers or something, because they remind me of my own childhood, filled with laughter, adventure, and plenty of swashbuckling action!

 My brothers and I would always run off into the woods near our house in south Texas, looking for and certainly finding adventure around every corner.  I'm sure my mom had a fit a couple times when we came home muddy or with our jeans torn or with some sort of fun-induced injury; to us it was more than just playtime, it was life or death!  We had a chance we had to become someone else--whether that be a pirate, a wizard, Indiana Jones, or just superhuman forms of ourselves (I always liked to have super strength...I guess it just seemed like the coolest power to have).  I don't think I will ever forget that feeling of playing with my brothers (I'm in the middle of three boys, then there's a gap of 6 years and then follows my sister and youngest brother--you can imagine what three little boys might get into on an endless summer day!) and feeling like the whole world was at our fingertips. 

Heavenly Father understands that perfectly.  He knows how much joy and happiness can be found in our familial relationships.  That's why He created a plan for us, His children, to live forever with Him and with our families.  Because God restored the priesthood, or the power to act in God's name, upon the earth through Joseph Smith, our families don't have to be "til death do us part".  Our marriages and families can be "bound on Earth and bound in Heaven" (see Matthew 16:19).  The principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ will bless your family if you follow them.  They teach us to love and serve one another, to focus on the Savior's love and to radiate and reflect that back to those whom we love most (see also Mosiah 4:12-15 in the Book of Mormon, pp. 155-156)

Here is an official statement by the Church on the importance of the family.  I hope that you all continue to show love to your families and seek to improve your relationship with them and with the Savior.  You might ask your Mormon friends why they love their families so much and why they are so important to them.  You will find that the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped them cope with many challenges that now face families everywhere.

I am thankful for my family not just because of those endless summer days and countless sword fights atop various overly-dangerous dry riverbeds and dams;  I am thankful because they taught me how to love God and Jesus, how to serve and obey the commandments of God, and to prepare for raising my family on the principles of Jesus Christ's teachings.  Those things are what I really won't forget!  :)



My family circa 2006 

Much Love,
Elder Spendlove