What are you willing to do to invite the Spirit into your home?

This week I've had the opportunity to attend multiple sessions of our Stake Conference and while I've been greatly fed with inspired thoughts and messages, there is one thought that has implanted itself in the forefront of my mind:

What are YOU willing to do to invite the Spirit into your home?

Not, "what are you doing to encourage or teach or compel others to invite the Spirit?" Not even, "what are you currently doing?" If you're home isn't as Christ-centered as it could be, if a spirit of contention keeps rearing it's ugly face, if happiness doesn't fill your walls, WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO DO TO CHANGE IT? 

Imagine for a moment a place full of tranquility, peace, kindness and love.



If you're home is anything like ours, tranquility can seem an almost impossible destination. With two teenagers, a tween-ager, and a energetic ten year old, a moment of peace can often be hard to find. We juggle busy schedules, stacks of homework, household chores, and family time among other things. I trip over backpacks, pick up discarded candy wrappers, and search frequently for misplaced shoes. On top of it all, we seem to be under the constant influence of  the TV, computer, or iPods. And, as much as I'd like to believe that other's are living in the blissful state of Utopia, I can't help but wonder if we are more normal than not.

More than once I've been accused of setting the bar high for myself and my household, but I think it's safe to say that most of us desire a happy, clean, chaos free environment to one degree or another.  Peace cannot coexist with contention. It is impossible for light and dark to fill the same space. In short, Satan cannot bare his influence where the Spirit of the Lord dwells.

"One of our greatest goals as parents should be to enjoy the power and influence of the Holy Ghost in our homes."  (Joseph B. Wirthlin)

I invite you to ponder, as I have, the degree to which you have the Spirit in your life. Are you happy? Are you doing anything in your life or in your home that might offend the Spirit? Are you spending your time in pursuit of pleasure at the cost of more important things? Do the programs you watch and the music you listen to overpower the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost? Are you kind? Forgiving? Patient?

Each of us holds the power to change. As parents I think we sometimes forget that it is not our right to change our children. We can't force change upon anyone. Even the best laid intentions to force someone to do something beyond their will is in fact contrary to the agency our Heavenly Father desired for us. The only person we can change is ourself! We can look for "teaching moments" and carefully try to influence our children towards good decisions, but ultimately they need to be allowed to exercise their independence. Thus, I can encourage my children to solve their conflicts constructively and with kindness, but I also need to recognize the possibility that I could (unintentionally) be part of the problem. The influence of one can have immeasurable impact on many.

Which brings me back to my original question, but this time I pose it in a more personal prose:

What am I willing to do to invite the Spirit into my home?
What am I willing to change? What am I willing to sacrifice? What am I willing to let slide, to forgive, to repent of, or to do differently in order to be personally worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

It really is a question of choice... we can choose to direct our path towards true happiness or we can choose to continue down the dead-end road to despair. Either way, the choice is ours. Choose wisely, however, for we will reap what we sow.

Tag, I'm It: THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you’ve never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags five other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by two authors: A.L. Sowards and Karey White. 

You can learn more about Sowards and her book Espionage from her website (http://alsowards.com), facebook page (http://facebook.com/alsowards) or through twitter (@ALSowards). Espionage is available for purchase in most LDS bookstores and on Amazon.

You can learn more about Karey White via her blog (kareywhite.blogspot.com). You can read my interview with Karey as well as a review of Gifted here. And don't miss out on her much anticipated new release (Dec 2012) For What It's Worth! 

This blog hop includes a few questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:

1: What is the working title of your book?  All the Finer Things 

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?  The entire story-line unfolded to me one night in a dream. I saw the characters,  

3: What genre does your book fall under?  Fictional Suspense (with maybe a touch of Romance!) 

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  Ooh, tough call. I'm gonna have to go with Trevor Donovan as the rugged Ammon Carter, Bradley Cooper in the dark role of steely-eyed Dr. Matthew Hamilton, and maybe Amber Heard for my heroine, Megan. 

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Megan Hamilton, the young trophy wife of a highly desired, irresistibly handsome, smooth talking, wealthy plastic surgeon, has the perfect life.... or, does she? 

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Undecided.... leaning towards self-pub.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I'm a slow writer: about 9 months.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Off the top of my head I can't think of any books that deal with the realities of domestic abuse quite as realistically as All the Finer Things. - Movies wise, however, think Sleeping With the Enemy. 

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book? Unfortunately domestic violence is far too rampant today. There are many women in my life whose personal stories inspired All the Finer Things. I think the biggest thing that inspired me was the desire for women/young girls to know that they deserve to be treated with respect and that there is not a man on the planet worth sacrificing your self worth and safety for. 

Here is a list of authors who will be joining the hop. I hope you’ll visit their blogs and learn more about their books. Maybe one of them will become your new favorite author!

1. Mandi Tucker Slack  ( http://www.mandituckerslack.com )

2. Sherri Mills  (http://www.sherrimillsauthor.com/)

3. Misty Moncur (http://www.mistymoncur.blogspot.com/)

4. Jill Vanderwood (http://www.jillvanderwood.com/)

The last chapter of 2012

Better late than never, right? Not a super clever pitch, but it's the best I've got, so I'm sticking with it! 

If you're much of a Kreating Krazy follower, you know that I was pretty much MIA for the entire month of December. However, that doesn't mean I wasn't busy. The holidays have come and gone, the celebrations are over, and its time to revisit reality.... but before I do, let me give you an idea of what December in the Worlton house was like:  

We added a third canine (and subsequently seventh child) to our fold...  

Sir Kodiak Cooper - 10 weeks old. So smart and curious! 

 We baked mass amounts of cinnamon swirl bread.

Decorated 3 Christmas trees, hung 6 stockings, and listened to at least 4 hours of Christmas music every day! . 

Braved the WILD - aka retail scene - for lots of shopping fun! Survived by the skin of our teeth and the youth of our feet. And yes, American economy, you're welcome! We did our best to contribute. 

Gained 5 lbs during the consumption of all the sugary goodness that arrived at my door! 

Disclaimer: this is NOT my picture - I "borrowed" it off the web . Who can keep cookies long enough to take a photo? 

Made oodles of gifts including a dozen cute snowmen for my cute young women. 

Gathered TONS of photos of our ancestors, assembled a fun collection of eclectic frames (lets be honest, this took many, many months! But it finally got finished in Dec.), and arranged them on the wall beside our nine-generation family tree.  

The secret to hanging your layout perfectly THE FIRST TIME? (Because who wants bazillions of holes?)
Finalizing the layout, then tracing it on butcher paper. 

Perhaps when I have a few minutes I'll pull the 1000+ pictures off my camera and share some more. Not likely, but its always good to hang the option out there, right? :) 

And now on to 2013! 

Chocolate Cheesecake

A few years ago I went on a quest to make the perfect chocolate cheesecake. I learned a lot on my  journey and after many failed recipes, I took what I'd learned, combined some recipes, and came up with this fantastic, tempting, delicious recipe. No, it's not healthy, but every now and then its okay to splurge... and this, well, this is worth every decadent calorie.   

Crust: 
24 Oreo Cookies, crushed
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling: 
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 (14 oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
4 large eggs
2 tea vanilla extract

Topping: 
Whipped Cream
Chocolate Sauce


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and 1" up side of a 10" springform pan.

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in Sweetened Condensed Milk. Mix until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Pour into prepared crust. Bake 60 minutes in a water bath. When time is up, turn off heat but leave cake in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven, cover, and refrigerate.

(Tip: two premade chocolate crusts can be used as a short cut instead of making an oreo one from scratch.)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 30 - Conversations with Diety

There are few things I cherish as much as the beautiful opportunity to converse with my Father in Heaven. I can't imagine trying to fumble my way through this life without His help. There is a comfort and a power in knowing that I can turn to Him for anything and that He wants to help me find joy and peace. I know what it's like to make decisions without Him. I also know the uncertainty and indecision that dissolve as I involve Him in my life. I am grateful to know that I am the daughter of deity and that He really does love and care about me. I am grateful for a personal relationship with our Eternal Father that allows me to find joy, peace, comfort, and purpose in my life. I am grateful for the knowledge that I can turn to Him and that He is ALWAYS there.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 29 - The Power of Paint

As individual as we are at our house, so are our rooms. Each of our children gets to reflect their personality in the decor of their personal space, and I think it is safe to say that we like color. White walls are for hospitals; your home should reflect the warmth and depth of your personality. All my years of interior designing and decorating have taught me that the cheapest and most effective way to change any space is with a nice little bucket of paint and a few hours of sweat labor. And the best thing about it? If you don't like it, its easy to change! 

I am so grateful for the ease at which I can change any space in my home. I love fresh paint and I love color.

 

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 28 - Good Food

Though I haven't always believed it, good food is about more than taste, presentation, and texture. In fact, the last few years have been quite a 'food' journey for me.There was a time that my day was a play from one sugary, processed snack to another. I'd start my day with a delicious bowl of Lucky Charms or Cocoa Puffs (w/ half and half, of course!) and end it with a bowl (ok, who are we kidding? It was more like half of a carton) of ice cream. Luckily, good genetics and a forgiving metabolism have saved me from some of the serious complications that are typical of that diet. Even more luckily, however, was the discovery that the way I feel - physically and mentally - is directly linked to the foods I put in my mouth! 

Surprise! Turns out our bodies aren't designed to be chemistry labs. I know, crazy, right? 

About 4 years ago our family began a journey to re-align our diet with the Word of Wisdom. We started by cutting out additives like hydrogenated oils, artificial dies, and high fructose corn syrups. Slowly we've almost completely eliminated all processed foods from our pantry. Other than whole grain pastas, we pretty much skip over any packaged items at the grocery store. We consume lean poultry and meats in appropriate (4 - 6 oz) proportions, and instead load up on fruits and vegetables.

This fall, I decided to take my personal diet a step further, eliminating all refined sugar (including white flour) except for on special occasions. I'm not going to lie, it has its difficult moments! But the rewards have been worth the sacrifice. I feel better now than I can remember ever feeling. My chronic body pains and headaches have all but stopped. My body feels (and looks!) strong and healthy! And, slowly but surely, I find myself craving healthy choices over desserts. I am grateful for healthy, natural foods that taste good and more importantly make me feel good.