Resolutions...again

The past two years have seen me making resolutions from the 101 in 1001 project.  For two years running I've been really excited about it all and then eventually forgot about the goals.  A big part of that last year came from the goal to "multiply and replenish a second time".  That one was accomplished, so I'm calling it good.

A single resolution for this year came to mind a week or so ago and it's been tumbling around ever since.  "Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness" is one of my favorite sentences I've read in the Bible Dictionary.  In thinking about that I've decided that my goal is to make my home more like the temple.

That thought and goal have been on the back burner in my mind.  I've known that I need to have more specific markers of what the goal means to me and I hadn't gotten very far with it.  While I was folding laundry last night I was hit with a burst of inspiration and ran to get my scriptures before I could forget.  The beginnings of breaking down my goal into useful, manageable pieces is in Doctrine and Covenants, section 88 and verses 119-120.

119^aOrganize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a ^bhouse, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;

 120That your ^aincomings may be in the name of the Lord; that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord; that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with ^buplifted hands unto the Most High.

I want my house to be a house of prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order, and God and I want the things that come into our home to be things that will bring the Spirit with them.  I want to establish this house now and carry it with us wherever we go.  As a help to myself I'm going to break each idea down into what it means to me.

House of prayer:  True personal and family prayer.  Rather than going through the motions, I need to pray "with real intent."  I need to teach my children to do the same.

House of fasting:  Because I'm nursing I am still not participating in the monthly fast by skipping meals.  However, I can still keep the spirit of the fast and  be mindful of others.  In the scriptures fasting was also a way to show gratitude for blessings from Heavenly Father.  I can always show more gratitude and I want to do that.

House of faith:  We need to study the scriptures more and build our faith.  I want that to be very important to the girls as they grow.  Faith cannot be cultivated or cared for if the seed is never planted.  Gospel learning was important in both of our homes growing up and I know that is essential for our girls.

House of learning:  I want my home to be a place where my girls can learn and where Eric and I can teach them.  The teaching I want to do covers all facets of life, but at this stage in their development I want to make sure their little minds are getting proper stimulation.  That means cutting way back on the amount of movies we watch to play and read together more.


House of glory:  My home should be a place where the things we watch and the things we do show our devotion to the Father.  That doesn't mean that our books, movies or artwork are solely scriptural, but it does mean that all of those things are uplifting and welcome the Spirit.


House of order:  A clean and orderly house is one in which the Spirit can be more easily felt.  I really need to work on this.  It may not be perfect because I have two kids, but I can do better.


House of God:  This comes back to the home being like the temple in sacredness.  I want my home to be a place where the Spirit is found in rich abundance and to truly be a house of the Lord where He would be comfortable.

I really feel like this goal was an inspired one.  I want to implement it now and continue to grow in it as the years go on.  I want my home to be as sacred as the temple.   I'm excited to make it that way.