The meaning of Presidio...

Chelsee and Ben - top

Jessica - below



As we were choosing an address for this blog (Chelsee helped me get started) Bob came up with Presidio Garden.  It sounded good in light of the fact that we live on Presidio and I love to garden.  We looked it up and found that Presidio means "Fortress".  I began thinking of the fortresses we build to protect our families and ourselves.  Then I began thinking about the one I personally built for my family...  It had soft yellow walls, bright florals or fruit...hmmm...yes, I think it was fruit wallpaper in the kitchen, music always playing something soothing, flowers in the front, flowers in the back and laundry always going.  Then there are the holidays!  The sounds and smells of Christmas start around the beginning of October.  Our daughter Jessica once put her tree up in late October.   She gets that from me.  So my fortress wasn't built with bricks and mortar...it was pretty soft actually.  It was built on love.  This made me think of a letter I got for mothers day several years ago from Chelsee.  Yes, I keep everything people write to me because my "love language" is definately words of affirmation.  Here is a little excerpt from it.:

..."One of the things that I have carried most with me is that there aren't very many problems that can't be solved when a couple of candles are burning, the house is clean and soft beautiful music is playing.  The spirit resides there...THAT IS MY HAPPY PLACE!!!!!  You have inspired me to pass this on to my children...a new generation of Christi's I'm afraid.

For your sake I hope a candle is always burning in yourhome.  Because I know that is when you are happiest..."

I feel as though I have out smarted Satan in a most gentle way.   I tried to maintain a home of peace.  To all you young mothers out there... I say " I tried to maintain" because with six children things were not always orderly and clean.  It was a daily challenge!  One day off and you paid for days to get back back to order.  I knew that if our home was a sanctuary I could send them out fortified to fight the battles outside of it.  My inspiration...D&C 109:8

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."

But not all walls are built to protect.  There are some them imprison us.  The best scriptural example of this was how Capt. Moroni dealt with all the Lamanite prisoners.  Alma 53:5 Now Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor...  so Teancum, by order of Moroni puts them to work digging and placing "breastwork of timber" around the city of Bountiful.  Alma 53:4 ...thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful... and in verse 5...This city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands.

This wall imprisoned the Lamanites:

The root cause of much of what we struggle with is because we have built "prisons" for ourselves.  Consider pornography, debt, health, dishonesty, idleness, pride.  

This wall protected the Nephites:

We are encouraged to live within the bounds the Lord has set.  One foot outside God's law exposes us to dangers that could tear us down.  One foot...  

Today I would encourage anyone reading this to check your fortress for weak spots and then get busy repairing them.  There is so much at risk.  To my children, I need you to build a fortress for my grandchildren.  Being one generation removed I can only have so much influence.  Be the parents God needs you to be and bring those little ones home to him.

You know I love you...