Just a short post to say how proud I am of my children and some of the choices they’ve made lately. Sometimes I take their behavior and responsible attitudes for granted, but today I’ve been reflecting on the wise choices that all three have made in just the last 24 hours. Though it took a monumental effort to feed and dress four young children and take them to church, Carrie did it yesterday…just as she does every Sunday. Though tired and weary from a quick trip to Savannah and back, Elizabeth worked hard to finish a project that was due by midnight yesterday. Though it would have made a difference in his salary and provide insurance benefits, Paul turned down a job today that required working on Sundays. As he and I were talking about his decision, I remembered the quote from my morning’s reading and shared it with him. He listened politely.
I like to start my day by reading something inspirational, and this morning, I picked up Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice, a compilation of short passages by LDS prophets. I had intended to read a little more in my sister’s book about dysfunctional families of the Bible, but my hand seemed to have a will of its own and landed on this small volume of daily counsel. Right away I knew that’s what I needed to read because of a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley on the back cover: “The course of our lives is seldom determined by great, life-altering decisions. Our direction is often set by the small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run. This is the substance of our lives–making choices.”
I got a little carried away and read about ten passages, all good. All worth pondering. Here’s another one from President Hinckley that originally appeared in Stand a Little Taller. “The small, daily decisions we make each day determine our happiness here and our destiny hereafter. They accumulate to influence for good or ill the great, life-altering decisions we make. Indeed wrong decisions are rarely made about those big issues when righteous decisions are made in daily living.”
Kind of makes you think, huh? Carrie, Elizabeth, and Paul might think those little decisions were nothing special, but I know better.
mom's musings 
“The course of our lives is seldom determined by great, life-altering decisions. Our direction is often set by the small, day-to-day choices that chart the track on which we run. This is the substance of our lives–making choices.” AMEN!!! Love this post, Jayne
Thanks! But really, the words are those of President Hinckley. Although we KNOW the importance of small decisions, he said it in a way that really grabs your attention.The BEST thing (to mer) in this post is that a husband and daddy made his wife and children THE PRIORITY instead of his career!
WAY TO GO DADDY!!!
I love that picture, especially Emma’s crazy posing; she is one of a kind!