Fast and Thank-imony meeting

Today I rejoiced that church started at 11!! And for one whole year!!! And then I realized it was Fast and Thank-imony meeting. (yes i know the proper name is fast and testimony meeting) however, hardly anyone gives testimonies. They all say what they are thankful for and thank their families for loving them and while that is all well and good, they aren't testimonies of the Lord.

Testimonies are that you know in your heart of hearts that something is true. For example, I know that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God. That is a testimony because I can (key word here..) testify that it I know it to be true. Thanking God and Christ and our families for what we have and have been blessed with is for prayers. The presidency of our church even put out a letter to every meeting house we have that tells us that Fast and Testimony meetings are not health-logs, prayers, sermons, family updates or story time. (among other things.) And it seems that it fell on deaf ears all over the country. So far the only real "testimony-like" testimonies are from the little kids, and all they are doing is repeating what facts are taught to them!

The few people who go up and actually bear witness to the truths that they know of our Lord, I love to listen to. I love to know that they know they are cared for by our Saviour. The rest, well I feel for you, and Im glad you are so thankful that you start weeping, however give me substance! Let me know that you know the Saviour! Let me know that you are convicted of Christ! Show me that Christ has made such an impact on your life that you need to share His truths! Build my strength up by letting me know that the truths I know are shared by you!

Otherwise I might end up like the few youth who were sitting in front of me texting on their phones all meeting long and getting nothing out going to Sacrament Meeting.

I must share.

We sang this in church today, the words are so simple and so truthful, I am compelled to post them. 

I Am a Child of God

I am a child of God,

And he has sent me here,

Has given me an earthly home

With parents kind and dear.

Chorus

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

Help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do

To live with him someday.

I am a child of God,

And so my needs are great;

Help me to understand his words

Before it grows too late.

Chorus

I am a child of God.

Rich blessings are in store;

If I but learn to do his will

I'll live with him once more.

Chorus

I am a child of God.

His promises are sure;

Celestial glory shall be mine

If I can but endure.

Chorus

What goes through the mind of a 9 year old?

When she grows up, she "hopes she is just as skinny as I am". These are the words of an adorable little 9 year old girl that I teach in Sunday School. My, what aspirations. To grow up to be skinny.

When I was 9 years old I was just worried about whether my sister was into my barbies, or making sure my homework was done or what dad was going to make for dinner and how much of it I would be able to stuff down and whether he had made dessert or not. Everyone looked the same to me and I could have cared less if anyone thought I was ugly or fat or whatever.

What a generational gap!! I was appalled that a sweet little child, yes that's what she is.. a child.. would even think something like that. Usually when kids tell you they want to grow up to be like you, it is regarding your profession or you being a mom or something of that nature. But a 9 year old who hopes that she grows up to be as skinny as her Sunday School teacher??? I haven't met her mom yet, but I am betting that she is at the forefront of this problem. Kids dont naturally gravitate towards outward appearances unless their role models, ie: mom is so concerned about their looks and thier "diets".

What a sad thing. A child needs to be a child. So moms, I beseech you... I dont care how fat you think you are or how much you need your make up or what diet you need to do... keep it away from your kids! You are the greatest influence they will get while they are still elementary age and especially when they really get into the age group of worrying about what they look like.

Help me pray for this little girl.

Not farming material.

***Before I start, I must say a quick "thank you" to my best bud Cecelia for letting me talk her ear off about my stresses and for her willingness to listen. I feel much better!***

So we went and thinned our part of the church orchard last night. Let me desribe it for you: It was cold, itchy, windy, LOUD, and painful! Why did it hurt? Because all of the kids, and even some adults decided to continue the longstanding tradition of hurling those little unripe peaches at just about anyone. I'll tell ya, those things are about as soft as rocks. I got pelted in the face a few times, many times in the rear, the back of the head and my lovely husband, who was on a ladder getting the tops of the peach trees decided to try launching as many as he could into the hood of my sweatshirt. He got quite a few in, but mostly I had little fuzzy rocks sliding down the back of my shirt. Fun.

All the kids from 5 years old to seniors in high school were busy grabbing peaches from anywhere they could find them and hurl them everywhere and run around and scream at the top of their lungs. Personally, I am not worried about ever running out of ammo in this "recession". We can just throw unripe peaches at the infidels. Feels just about the same.

So I've decided to never run away and join an orchard. Still haven't decided whether or not I prefer having little rocks thrown at me or too-ripe peaches in peach picking season. I can now say I have been subject to both instances... and they both suck but the latter is alot more sticky and gross, but they dont hurt as bad. Maybe I'm just being a weenie. :)

The Focus of Faith

I read this in this months Ensign, and had to share. It puts it in great context.

THE FOCUS OF OUR FAITH

We know not all that lies ahead of us. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know. But one thing we do know. Like the Polar Star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith.
In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us.
He is the central focus of our worship. He is the Son of the living God, the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh. He is “risen from the dead, … the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). He is the Lord who shall come again “to reign on the earth over his people” (D&C 76:63; see also Micah 4:7; Revelation 11:15).
None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak the name of Jesus Christ in reverence and wonder. He is our King, our Lord, our Master, the living Christ, who stands on the right hand of His Father. He lives! He lives, resplendent and wonderful, the living Son of the living God.
He Is Risen, by Greg K. Olsen; border © Dover Publications

Going to the Temple!!!!

I am so excited and I'll tell you why: my husband and I are eligible to go to the Temple!!

So how does this work since my husband and I are already considered married?? Here's an explanation that may make more sense:


Our church views our marriage as a civil union, appointed under the federal government, not God. By being worthy to enter the Temple, our church sees it as being officially married in the name of the Lord.


The things that go on in the Temple are sacred, and therefore before we go in, we know nothing other than what they tell us in the prepratory classes (which is nothing), and then after we go through the ceremony, we rarely if ever speak of it to anyone but our spouse. It is a sacred thing to go through the ceremony with your spouse and it is also something that is important between just the two of you. It is considered the strongest foundation you can have within a marriage, and I wholeheartedly believe it.


To be worthy and elegible for a Temple Reccomend (a pass), in our case meaning after being civilly married, means having:

a belief in God the Father, Jesus as the Savior and redeemer of mankind, and the Holy Spirit;
belief in the role of Jesus as the Savior;
belief in the Restoration;
support for the President of the Church and other general authorities and local church leaders;
obedience to the "Law of Chastity" (ie: sex/flirting/relations between husband and wife only no ifs, ands or butts);
refraining from the abuse of family members;
ABSOLUTLEY NO AFFILIATION OR AGREEMENT with polygamists or other people whom the church considers apostates;
making a good faith effort to attend church meetings and obey other church rules;
honesty in dealings with others;
payment of tithing;
following the church's interpretation of the Word of Wisdom;
payment of child support (if applicable);
keeping the solemn oaths one has previously made in the temple;
wearing the temple garment "night and day"; and
confession of all serious sins to Church leaders.
we both had to be members for 1 year, have a testimony, attend church regularly, my husband must have all the proper Priesthood ordinances and we must be in general, decent people in the eyes of the church. So technically we are shoe-ins. Right now we are just waiting for my husband to get his last Priesthood ordinance and then we will be ready to receive our Temple reccomends.

I am excited to go through this and excited to be able to share it with the most wonderful man in the world.

Family Home Evenings

As LDS people, we practice Family Home Evening. Now for those of you non-LDS people, it is basically being with your family at home in the evening. The church standard is every Monday night, we set aside for a definate family dinner, and then a lesson and (if you have kids) an activity. For just that evening there is no TV watching, no computer playing, no video games or friends over. This is a time set aside to be with your family (in our case its just my husband and I) and talk about your day, be together and learn. Family members take turns presenting lessons on specific topics or chapters out of the church Family Home Evening book.

Even though it is just the two of us, we have both found that it sets the mood for the week. We try to keep in mind that lesson and try to apply it to our lives throughout the week.

For instance, one topic I had chosen was the covenants of Abraham in Genesis. The reason I chose that one was because in our Sunday School classes, we had been breifly skimming over it, and we didnt know enough about Abraham to even understand the lesson. So I decided to do some Bible study research and present it as a topic for FHE. Not only did it clue us in to being able to understand our Sunday School lessons, but throughout the week when reading the Book of Mormon, it illuminated points that we would not have necessarily seen or even understood.

Even if you are not LDS, I would encourage this once a week practice to anyone. If you have kids, make it interesting by maybe taking them ice skating and relate how the world we live in is like ice and it is easy to slip up, but the stronger your legs are in Christ, the more balance he brings to your life and the more upright you will stay until you can perform perfectly under Christ. It is a good way to get the family together if anything, especially in these days when all kids are glued to something electronic. If you don't even have a scriptual lesson prepared, even just being with your family is just as important.

The Pearly Gates has received a Saint

For all of you who havent heard, our dear Prophet and President, Gordon B. Hinkley has passed on to see his Lord. I am saddend by this, mainly because I really enjoyed hearing him speak. He seemed like such a grandfatherly old man, just a sweet guy. My heart goes out to his family, however at 97, I think he was looking forward to seeing his wife again. Here is link to the LDS homepage for information on President Hinkley http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/
It looks as though Thomas Monson will succeed him, and I will sustain him as church leader provided he was as good of a soul as Mr. Hinkley.

My prayers are with him and his kin, and I thank the Lord that I was able to be blessed by his words.

My Dear, Modesty Becomes You

Being a convert to my church, I never went through the Young Womens part of Sunday School. I have come to believe that it has been to my severe disadvantage to not have, but apparently at that point in my life it wasn't meant for me. Now however, delving back into the immersion of all things spiritual, I have been researching/studying my eyes out and have just gotten through the principles taught in Young Womens. Had I known them back then, would it have made a difference? I dont know. I like to think that it would have and maybe some of my regrets would cease to be. One of the key things we practice in church is modesty in dress. It took me up until October of 2007 to figure this one out and why. I never understood what in the world you needed to cover up for. I grew up in short shorts, mini skirts and tube tops (which were always annoying...always hiking them back up.) All my friends competed on who could get the most cleavage out of a roll of duct tape. (yes...thats two big OUCHES!!) Even in the world of highschool danceteam, our workout and dance fashions followed those of Hollywood's chick-flicks (ie: Honey, Bring it on....etc..) So what was the big deal?Since going back to church, Sundays had become "modest-day". I still dressed fairly professional for work, but it still was tanks and minis every other day. And then while purusing LDS.org, I came across an article posed at the Young Women of the church http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=0c996169b62fe010VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1, and it struck a chord. We all are children of God and so we must think of how we are representing him. The other thing that made sense to me after thinking about it for awhile was, how am I honoring my husband by dressing like this and making an object of myself? Well, I wasnt. There is no honor to either him or HIM in letting everyone in the world oogle over you when you are the sole property of your husband. After all, he doesnt go parading around for the women of the world to see. 1 Corinthians 7:4 - The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. After the covenant of marriage is made, two become one and therefore you must honor and respect one another. So by objectifying yourself, you are dishonoring not only the Lord, but your husband too and that is stated by the Lord to be an abhorment. By dressing yourself in a way that people will respect you, you gain respect in the eyes of the Lord. Think of it this way: if you wear something that would embarass your biological father, how do you think your Father in Heaven would see it?