Yesterday (Easter Sunday) I substitute taught in Relief Society. My lesson assignment was on Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk Why the Church. The talk is pretty straight forward, which I love. I tried to prepare for this lesson for two weeks, but struggled most of that time to figure out the correct approach to take when teaching. I had a hard time creating my outline, picking out wisdom nuggets to build on, discussion topics, etc. I prayed often for help and inspiration. Experience has taught me that the inspiration does eventually come, especially if I am prayerful and continue to study and try to figure it out. I think the lesson went well. There was a good amount of participation, we had a little fun in the lesson, and I know at least a few of us felt the spirit. And I gave out Easter candy. Candy is always good. I created a little handout to go along with my lesson. I enjoy creating little handouts. ...
The days leading up to Mother's Day pack an intense punch some years. As a momma with no babies of her own, it's almost always a struggle every second Sunday in May for me. From the pulpit on Mother's Day, we *always* hear there is nothing a woman can do in this life that is greater than becoming a mother. Sigh. Yes, I know. But what I also hear, using that logic, is "Candace, there is nothing you can do in this life that will matter as much as that woman, or that woman, or your mom, or your sister, or your best friend..." That dad-gum Satan will whisper whatever stings the most, won't he? I'm working on building up so that narrative won't have the same impact anymore. And honestly, it doesn't have the same impact that it used to. The sting has lessened dramatically, and that is a very good thing. In my work to overcome those feelings of "less than," I turn to my Savior. He is such a champion of women! I LOVE reminders from the scriptur...
And then I made bread with it. For a lot of years I was intimidated by the thought of making homemade yeast-risen bread. I wanted to beat this one though. And I have! Hooray! I've had plenty of failures along the way... like fallen bread, dense funky bread, dry bread, etc. But I finally made some good loaves, and these loaves are perfect for sandwiches, with dinner, for toast, sacrament bread, french toast... you name it. And I've done it more with repeated success, so I think I've got it... for now. I got a Kitchen-Aid mixer this past year, and I vowed to use that sucker for bread-making. I know it's not the real earthy and snobbishly proper way to knead one's dough, but so what?! I like the one-bowl contained mess of kneading the dough, and I'm more likely to flip a switch than make sure I have an entire counter cleared off for the kneading of dough. Just sayin'. Inevitably, I will somehow miss a stuck little chunk ...
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