...a guide to motherhood...

So I'm a teensy bit jealous of 19 year old LDS young women who are preparing to leave on missions. Ok. Truthfully, I'm super duper jealous. I absolutely hated 19-- seriously the most trying and difficult year of my life. And I wish so badly that I could have gone on a mission instead of facing my living nightmare. But since I can't live life wishing of what could have been, I have made a plan to go forward.

The plan is called Mission Mommyhood. (Sidenote: if you have not read my call to "Mission Mommyhood" make sure you click the previous link. That is seriously one of my favorite posts!) And Devin is my dear little investigator. I have a responsibility to teach him. To prepare him. To help him become a worthy full time missionary in 17 years and 4 months.

I keep thinking of a quote by Sis. Julie B. Beck. "Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre-missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation." 

I have no idea what goes on in the MTC. I never served a mission. How am I supposed to make my home a pre-MTC if I don't know what they teach there? (See... another reason to be jealous of the 19 year old girls. When they come home from their missions and someday become mothers, think of the influence they will have on their own families!)

But really, it can't be that complicated. The MTC is a place to prepare people to teach the gospel. Well, I have a testimony. Surely I can build on that to help prepare my little investigator. And then I realized that missionaries have a secret weapon. It is call Preach My Gospel. (Ok... I guess it is really not so secret. But it is to me because I haven't studied it.)

*Light bulb turns on* That is my game plan. I can learn about what goes on in the MTC by studying the manual they use there. Brilliant.

As I am studying this, I will replace the word "missionary" with "mommy" and "mission" with "motherhood." If you look at the actual cover of Preach My Gospel, the caption above says "a guide to missionary service." But really, that caption should read, "a guide to mommyhood motherhood."

I made a study journal. I have never quite figured out how to keep a study journal before. So the journal in and of itself will be a learning experience. I am going to use a binder so I can move pages as needed. And the only way for this to be functional is to keep it organized. I printed a blank table of contents page that I can fill in as I go. I am going to make a dividing page for each chapter and then start over at numbering pages for each chapter (for example-- Chapter 1, Page 1 or 1-1, Chapter 1, Page 2 or 1-2)

This is the cover for my study journal.
Not perfect because it is hand drawn.
But most (if not all) of my journal will be hand written
so it will fit in perfectly.
And... the quote at the bottom is the one above by Sis. Beck.

I'm excited to prepare myself so I can later prepare Baby Bunny. And I hope you will join me in studying Preach My Gospel from a mother's perspective. Then my district meetings blogging will make more sense. :)