There is a BIG difference in saying "no" to a calling and saying "no" to other things. If you always say "yes" I guarantee your most important priorities are going to suffer. Looking back, sometimes I wish I had said no more often. Your family is your #1 priority and you don't want to look back after they are grown and realize you spent too much time trying to please others and not enough with your children.
David HallFebruary 28, 2014
I always like Geoff Steurer's articles, and this one has a lot of helpful advice. I would just add this. It's a very different thing to say no to a friend or a service project from saying no to a calling, which in my mind is the same as saying no to the Lord. Having said that, there are times when I have felt that the demands of a calling were excessive on either me or my wife, but in each case, the Lord's servant was very understanding when the circumstances were fully explained. I have made it a rule for my life never to turn down a calling or demand to be released. Instead, I explain my circumstances and let the bishopric or other authority decide. It's a subtle point in the minds of some people, but it leaves you feeling absolutely free of guilt when they come back and say, "No, we've re-thought this and we're not going to ask you to do this," or, "Given what you have said, we're going to release you." And that has always been what has happened.
A Happy HubbyFebruary 28, 2014
That quote by Ann Morrow Lindbergh is great and then to hear it was 60 years old. Great quote and great advice
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MaryannMarch 6, 2014
There is a BIG difference in saying "no" to a calling and saying "no" to other things. If you always say "yes" I guarantee your most important priorities are going to suffer. Looking back, sometimes I wish I had said no more often. Your family is your #1 priority and you don't want to look back after they are grown and realize you spent too much time trying to please others and not enough with your children.
David HallFebruary 28, 2014
I always like Geoff Steurer's articles, and this one has a lot of helpful advice. I would just add this. It's a very different thing to say no to a friend or a service project from saying no to a calling, which in my mind is the same as saying no to the Lord. Having said that, there are times when I have felt that the demands of a calling were excessive on either me or my wife, but in each case, the Lord's servant was very understanding when the circumstances were fully explained. I have made it a rule for my life never to turn down a calling or demand to be released. Instead, I explain my circumstances and let the bishopric or other authority decide. It's a subtle point in the minds of some people, but it leaves you feeling absolutely free of guilt when they come back and say, "No, we've re-thought this and we're not going to ask you to do this," or, "Given what you have said, we're going to release you." And that has always been what has happened.
A Happy HubbyFebruary 28, 2014
That quote by Ann Morrow Lindbergh is great and then to hear it was 60 years old. Great quote and great advice
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