“Line upon Line”

The very first time I was asked to speak to a group of people about Teaching Self Government, I was in such a rush.  I tried to tell the audience everything they would need to make all the changes necessary to become the parents they wanted to be, and to have the learning environment for their children which they also wanted for family happiness. 

I remember talking so fast to try to squeeze in everything possible in the 50 minutes I had to speak.  It is funny to me that I even thought I could possibly squeeze my now one day seminar into 50 minutes 🙂 

I have learned a lot in these 9 years of presenting this material.  I have learned that presenting everything is always impossible.  (This is why I have this blog; to hopefully fill in some gaps.)  I have also learned that in a given day one person can only prepare to make a handful of changes in their current systems.  (This is why I have made the audio seminars for purchase; to review the new concepts.)  Making changes in our lives and our homes happens “line upon line”, little change after little change.  This is how it has to be in order make a change which we can all be happy with, that will last, and bring us closer to our family visions. 

I started out with a picture in my head of what I wanted my family to look like.  Then I measured the feeling in my home with that picture and the feelings associated with it each day.  After I made a habit of focusing on my vision, I was ready to start working on some of the skills I had learned from the Utah Youth Village.  After establishing our family vision, the teaching self government skills had a purpose for our family.  Learning how to follow instructions, accept no answers, accept consequences, and disagree appropriately were the way the Peck family was going to meet its goal of becoming our ideal family. 

Even though I teach self government skills and trainings all over the country, I still learn new things each day which make me a better parent.  I am so used to learning “line upon line” that I find myself looking each day for a new lesson if one hasn’t presented itself to me yet.  I am so grateful for these daily lessons.

There are many things I could put on a resume to impress people about me, but the only accomplishment that matters to ME is being the guide that God intended me to be for my family in these times.  There just isn’t much more important than this. 

Don’t get discouraged if some days blow up in your face.  They happen to me too sometimes.  Just learn your line for the day and move forward.  You can finish this race victorious too.