Merry Christmas!

First and foremost: 
Merry Christmas! 


Don't you just love this time of year?!


But...holy cow!? Where in the world did the month go?! Hopefully your month has been just as busy so you didn't notice me not posting. I have written some things to post, but I did that when I either didn't have internet service or didn't have my camera to upload the pictures with the post. So I'm sitting here, waiting for the ham to finish in the oven and the potato water to boil (since a watched pot never boils) I thought I'd finally start my catch-up posts.

Pause. That's the oven beeping.

Ok, I'm back.

Now, not that I'm into excuses. But week one I made some posts and was helping with the Nativity (more about that later) Week two we had something going on every night of the week and that was the weekend I didn't have internet. Week three, was this week, so shopping every night. This next week we're going to out of town. Then the following two weeks we're driving out west. So basically who knows what my posting situation will be like.

I hope you don't mind getting a bunch of posts tonight or possibly tomorrow about the past month. We'll see how much I feel like writin'...now on to new posts!

Thankful Tuesday

(sorry I'm a day behind...hopefully I'll check up tonight)


My task for the Nativity today was ironing. 

Yes ironing. Imagine a gymnasium lined with tables. Now imagine all of those tables covered with tablecloths. Probably 1/2 were done by me but I was ironing from 9 to 1 with a break to eat half a sandwich. Am I a wimp to say that I am kinda sore? Maybe I shouldn't say it was the ironing and it was all the crawling around plugging in Christmas lights that did it instead. I am happy to say that when I started one tablecloth took me 15 minutes and by the time I got to about 10:15, it was only taking me 7 minutes. But still that is about 9 tablecloths an hour and I think I did about 35 or so. Anyway, standing there ironing mostly by myself because apparently it blew a fuse when more than one were plugged in together, I had lots of time to think.

I first thought about those women in the olden days who had to use the hot oven to heat 4 or 5 irons at a time and they would use a cloth for the handle and switch them out once they stopped pressing the clothes. You know, these ones: 

Then I kept thinking and thanked Ben Franklin for discovering electricity so that we could have electric irons today.

Thank you Mr. Franklin.

Then I thought about my great-grandmother who had to hang dry all their clothes and she would press everything even my great-grandfather's underwear so that it wasn't all crunchy from being line-dried.

I'm not sure what kind of iron she had.

Then I wanted to thank whomever invented the electric iron, because now I could stand there, relatively comfortable and iron for hours but I didn't know who that was. So I thanked Heavenly Father because I'm sure He knew who it was and He probably gave them the idea.

Does this count as having an attitude of gratitude?

"Motivator Mode" Monday

This beautiful term "Motivator Mode" was coined by my dear friend and wonderful roommate whose name ironically starts with an M as well.

It perfectly describes my day today and while I have told you before that Monday is my favorite day, I like the alliteration.

I think the past few weeks, I have created more lists than things I have actually accomplished on them, but that is beside the point. Today I got things completed from filing my nails to starting to clean out our family storage unit.

The silly things feel good to check off of you list and honestly, sometimes I write things down after I have completed them just so I can check them off!

(There must be something wrong with me)

But boy do the big things feel good to check off! We have been wanting to work on the storage unit since last Christmas. Just organize and get rid of stuff. And let me tell you as soon as that garage door opens, I get into clean out mode. (I think it drives my family a bit crazy) Why my body and mind decided that today - seriously the coldest day of the year - would be the day, I have no idea. But needless to say, the unit is looking much better. 

A trip to the dump is always cleansing for the soul.

Next, I have to go through my closet. I always like taking a big load to goodwill. It feels like you accomplish more that way than a bunch of little trips.

Anyway, hopefully the rest of my week will be as successful.

The True Reason for the Season

This past Saturday I was in our town annual Christmas parade for the 

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 

for the Nativity that we put on every year. It is a beautiful event where hundreds of nativities from all over the world are displayed and there is music from groups from all over the community. 

http://www.christmasnativity.org/apex/

In the parade, we had a live nativity pulled by my dad's truck and the wise men were our church quartet who sang Christmas carols down the parade trail. Out of 100 floats, we were the only ones who focused on Christ. Many were happy that we were able to share the true meaning of the season.

A Light Unto All: A Christmas Gift

I know this is a super busy time of year, but I invite all to come to the 

Christmas Nativity 

display. It is a come and go as you please event and will truly set the proper tone for the true Christmas spirit.

Motivation

Our testimony meeting today was simply wonderful. The spirit was so strong and there were so many tender mercies today. Mostly, the meeting was "sweet." But a young woman in the ward bore a beautiful testimony that really put my feelings about my late grandmother into words that make sense.

She lost a little brother a few months ago and she said that her young brother "motivates her to be better so that she can one day live with him again."

That is exactly how I felt after my grandmother's passing.

In my head I knew that families can be together forever and that we can and will live with them again, but after she left this earth I knew it in my heart.

I will live with "my Grandee" again if I can be righteous.

She has become my motivation to follow the Lord and to complete all the things I was sent here to do.

Three Healers

The date was September 11 and what better way to reverence the day than saving lives?

Our precious cat, Tawsha, died a few weeks before and our family decided this was the day to go find a new spirit (or possibly two) to bring into our lives.

Little did we know that we would bring home three.

We knew that we wanted to get kittens. Girl tabbies to be exact.

We looked on petfinder.com and always looked in the pet store's windows to find the perfect kitty. We had lists and filled out multiple applications for animal shelters. They'd done background checks and tried to fit us with the girls they thought would match with us best.

We drove all over within a 30 minute radius of our home to quite a few "no-kill shelters."

My mom decided that a "no-kill shelter" was great, but wasn't there somewhere that was a kill shelter? We wanted to save an animal that was close to being put to sleep.

That is when we ended up at the county shelter.

We then saw (well not me, I had to work, but my family tells me) four pairs of blue, blue eyes looking through the bars, hoping for a family to rescue them.

Three girls and one boy. Tabby. Four weeks old.

Instantly my mother, brother, and sister fell in love.

Because of their young age, we had to wait until the following week to take them home because they couldn't be adopted until they were five weeks old.

While they were there someone showed interest in one of the girls so we picked out our two and during the weekend we decided that if the boy was still there then we would take him too.

In the check-out line, my mother was signing the paperwork and getting everything in line to take the kitties home the following week, when our real opportunity to save an animal took place.

In walked a callous mother and her soon-to-be college freshman daughter. The daughter was holding a blanket that was clearly wrapped around a cat. While the shelter volunteers did whatever they do to get the information when a new animal comes into the shelter, my mom heard bits and pieces of the story...

Apparently, the daughter was going into college in a few weeks and the mother did not want to take care of the 15 year old cat because "she is too old." The girl was crying and it was clear that they had a special connection. If the cat was 15 years old, it makes sense that the girl had her since she 3 or 4 years old.

All Saturday and Sunday, my own mother could not get this horrible woman out of her head. She didn't understand how someone could be so heartless to their own daughter, let alone a cat. Monday morning she decided to call the shelter and find out if this cat was still there. The woman on the phone was the same one who helped her the previous Saturday and both her and my mom shared fury over the story. Apparently everyone at the shelter was furious. They must see tons of stories and situations, so for them to be upset, it must really be serious.

Anyway, the phone call went something like this, "Hi, I was in last Saturday and adopted two kittens and I was wondering what happened with the other cat."

"Hold on, I will go find out."

"Ok, thank you."

(waiting...*insert hold music*)

"I found her, due to her age and the situation, she was going to be put down this afternoon."

"I want her. Our family will take her."

"You have a heart of gold."

We had been so particular in the breed, age, gender, and personality of the cats we researched and here we were adopting a cat that all we knew was that she was a girl and obviously very loved by the college student.

On Tuesday, we rushed home from school and work to get the cat carriers and drive the half hour to the animal shelter before they closed at 5.

This was my first experience seeing the kittens, I couldn't believe how little they were! Just under half a pound each and with adorable kitten cries. We asked a volunteer where "Karin" was and she said she hadn't seen her come in, so this poor cat was still a mystery to us. They eventually found her and we brought all three cats home. Two 5 week old tabby kittens and one 15 year old tuxedo.

They immediately held our hearts and despite the many sicknesses they had gotten from the shelter (3 cats, 6 medicines, and twice a day prescriptions for two weeks was quite stressful).

We almost lost both of the kittens to the sicknesses because they were so little.

Now all three of them are thriving and have brought so much life and love back into our home.

Meet Karin:

Meet Ella:

Meet Macie:

I'm sure you'll hear more about these three bundles of joy but for now here is their story.

Endure to the End

Last Sunday I was asked to be the speaking companion with a high councilmen in my stake and I was also asked to speak in my own ward. Here is my talk in case you're interested:

 Doctrine and Covenants 14:7 reads, “And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Endure to the End. In Latin it means “within”, “to be firm or solid,” In Hebrew endure means “to render firm” “to be faithful, to trust,” and in Greek it means “to remain,” “stay” or “continue.” Therefore “to endure” means commitment within one’s soul.

Often when we hear a sermon on the subject “enduring to the end” it focuses on the people who endured great trials and remained steadfast but today I would like to take a slightly different approach. I’d like to address the subject of perspective and knowledge.

For perspective Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught “Some think of enduring to the end as simply suffering through challenges. It is so much more than that – it is the process of coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

Elder Wirthlin then goes on to share three attributes we can foster in our daily lives in order to endure despite our trials.

The first he lists is testimony, saying, “Testimony gives us the eternal perspective necessary to see past the trials or challenges we will inevitably face.”

The second attribute is humility, “Humility is the recognition and attitude that one must rely on the Lord’s assistance to make it through this life. We cannot endure to the end on our own strength. Without Him, we are nothing.”

The third attribute is repentance. He says, “The glorious gift of repentance allows us to return to the path with a new heart, giving us the strength to endure on the path leading to eternal life.”

Now for knowledge I’d like to share the story Sister Elaine S. Dalton read in the past April conference about the son of King Louis XVI of France. “As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men who had dethroned his father, the king. These men knew that if they could destroy him morally, he would not be heir to the throne. For six months they subjected him to every vile thing life had to offer, and yet he never yielded under pressure. This puzzled his captors, and after doing everything they could think of, they asked him why he had such great moral strength. His reply was simple. He said, “I cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a king.”

The young prince understood who he was and who he was born to become. In Sister Sheri Dew’s book “No Doubt About It,” she says, “our spirits long for us to remember the truth about who we are, because the way we see ourselves, or our sense of identity, affects everything we do. It affects the way we behave, the way we respond to uncertainty, the way we feel about ourselves, and the way we make choices. In short, it determines how we live our lives.”

Elder Truman G. Madsen said, “The cruelest thing you can do to a human being is to make him forget that he or she is the son or daughter of a king.”

In the book of Moses, we learn about when “he saw God face to face, and talked with him.” The Lord first announces Himself and secondly tells Moses, “behold, thou art my son.” Only a few verses later after the Lord teaches Moses, Satan comes to him and once again tries to deceive him by saying, Moses thou art a son of man. Moses understood his divine birthright and that knowledge gave him great strength to stand against Satan.

Elder Neil A. Maxwell declares that, “When priorities are proper, the power to endure is increased.” The young prince knew his priorities, Moses had his priorities in proper order, both of them and many others have had the power to endure increased because of their faith in the Lord.

However as Elder Wirthlin admonishes, “No one is immune from Satan’s influence and temptations. Do not be so proud to think that you are beyond the adversary’s influence. Be watchful that you do not fall prey to his deceptions. Stay close to the Lord through daily scripture study and daily prayer. We cannot afford to sit back and take our salvation for granted. We must be anxiously engaged our whole lives.” He then tells the story of President Heber J. Grant “a few weeks before [he] passed away he prayed “O God, bless me that I shall not lose my testimony and keep faithful to the end! Can you imagine President Grant, one of the great prophets of the Restoration, the President of the Church for nearly 27 years, praying that he would keep faithful to the end?”

I’m sure that President Grant’s priorities were in proper order, but he realized the powerful influence and temptations of Satan. President Uchdorf explains, “To endure to the end, we need to trust our Father in Heaven and make wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our temple covenants, and serving the Lord and one another willingly and faithfully in our Church callings and responsibilities. It means strength of character, selflessness, and humility; it means integrity and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means making our homes strong places of defense and a refuge against worldly evils; it means loving and honoring our spouses and children. By doing our best to endure to the end a beautiful refinement will come into our lives.”

We are tried because of our divine heritage. God’s plan is the plan of happiness. Nephi teaches that there “must be opposition in all things.” And without trials, we would not know of happiness. Our Heavenly Father knows that we will have the power to endure if we rely on His Son, even our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son.” He promises that “if [we] keep [His] commandments and endure to the end [we] shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

Just as carbon under pressure and heat becomes a diamond, prized for its strength and beauty, we too must be tested in the fire of faith.

May we never forget that we are sons and daughters of the most high King. And as the 13^th Article of Faith states: “we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things”

I hope and pray that we all will be able to endure all things. For “if we keep the Lord’s commandments and endure to the end we shall have eternal life – which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.” 

The beginning, a target, and mission papers

Theses might seem like unconnected words, but let me explain.

WARNING: This is not going to be a happy-go-lucky post like my last one. 

Its actually quite frightening and for someone who is afraid of everything its proof that I have really been thinking about it a lot lately.

Imagine a target. 

Well here's a picture so you don't have to imagine:

This is a truth that my Book of Mormon teacher taught and my mom and I have developed the idea.

Liken the target to our life starting from the outside going in:

1. Imagine all of the people that God created

(that's a lot!)

2. Imagine the people that used their agency to follow Satan

(1/3 of all God's children)

3. Now imagine the children who decided to follow Heavenly Father and to come to earth.

(2/3 of all of God's children)

4. Now imagine those who where chosen to come to this earth.

(Chapter heading to Moses 1: Moses sees many inhabited worlds—Worlds without number were created by the Son)

5. Now think of the 7 dispensations of the earth.

(A gospel dispensation is a period of time in which the Lord has at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the keys of the holy priesthood.

Starters of each dispensation: 

Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith)

6. Imagine all of those chosen to come down in this the final and last dispensation.

(The dispensation begun by Joseph Smith is known as the “dispensation of the fulness of times.”

All keys of past dispensations have been restored.)

7. Now imagine the percentage of people who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

(13,824,854 members/6,885,310,222 world population=0.1%)

8. Now think of those who are active members of the Church.

9. Now think of those who (currently/soon to) serve missions for the Lord.

(51,736 missionaries/13,824,854 members=0.3%)

10. This is me.

(and all of my friends who are serving missions)

Yes, now that I have made the decision to turn in my mission papers, I am definitely feeling the effects of being Satan's target.

And its only going to get worse until I leave.

The next post will be happier.

Mason Jars

Perhaps this is a bit of my yearning for a country life, but I found out just a few days ago that few things bring as much joy to me as flowers in Mason Jars. 

They have such a sturdy-ness about the jar and the dainty-ness of the flowers - a perfect combination! 

So need for vases - just use the cleaned out homemade applesauce jars!

Life is full of simple pleasures. Take time to notice and thank Heavenly Father for them.

Broken ice maker

Our ice breaker broke. Just flat out, stop making ice. So luckily, we can call and someone from the maintenance staff will come fix it. As soon as my head hit the pillow for my afternoon nap on Wednesday, I heard a knock at the door. I then remember that we had scheduled someone to come fix the ice maker. I led him into the kitchen and explained the situation and he began tinkering away. Then he got to talking (as he was waiting to see if the machine would make ice) and told me a little bit about himself. 

He is from Haiti and owned his own convenience store there. He opened the doors in December 2009. Only to have the building tumble to the ground in January 2010 from the earthquake. From a man who currently wakes up at 3 AM to be at work by 3:30 and then works until 7 PM, with one uniform on top of another, he had quite remarkable perspective. He told me that his friend was working that night and had the building come down around him then said, 

"I can rebuild the building but I could never restore a life, I know God blesses us and I am grateful that my friend is ok."

Who would have thought that the ice maker magician would open up and tell me his life story? Who would have thought that I would by chance come in contact with someone that survived the Haitian earthquake?

It just goes to show that we don't know people's lives. We don't know their backgrounds or their life story. Who am I to judge another? I could have stuck my nose up to someone like that - the maintenance guy, the cleaning lady, the lunchroom staff, the cashier - but they are people too. Everyone has a story, it just takes someone to be willing to listen.

FYI, our ice maker is fixed.

"Recommendation has been submitted"

I can't believe its finally here! After 20 years, I have completed 2 of 3 steps to getting my mission papers in. I am so excited and will keep everyone updated. Hopefully I'll know by Christmas or at least New Year's where I'm going :)

Smile when you feel like frowning and give thanks in the gift of the Atonement. It is only through and because of Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven for all of our mistakes, healed from all the hurt we experience, and cleansed of our imperfections.

Sweet Spirits

I had possibly one of the best experiences of my life today at work...


The day started like any other Monday - after all Monday is my second favorite day of the week. I spilled a couple of things, sang "Farmer's Daughter" for the first hour of my shift, and thanked my Heavenly Father for the many blessings He bestows upon me each and every day.


Before I knew it, it was lunch time and I was trying to ignore my sore throat as the first lunch customers came through the door. Most of them I know and have their orders memorized due to repetition.


Then my heart changed as a group I have not seen since high school came through the doors. Each one was unique and special but they all fit together somehow. From all shapes and sizes, brown hair, blonde hair, glasses, braces, I'm not sure their circumstances or exactly their conditions, but I recognized them and saw them as real people today. They took a little longer than the typical fast-paced customer to tell me their orders but we made it through.


I helped one girl open her milk. I helped another carry her tray to her table. One gave me a handshake and thanked me by name. They all were so kind and it was as if my spirit was speaking directly to theirs. I could see past their physical disabilities. They have such sweet spirits, such an innocence about them. Seeing them puts everything into perspective. The fast-paced world of cell phones, computers, games, etc can all be erased in a minute, but the time we take to learn about and love those around us is the little piece of Heaven that I think most of us forget. It takes a special Child of God to help us remember Him and the real importance of life. 


Did I mention that Monday is my favorite day?


May we step back a little more today. Slow down. Take time to look someone in the eye and ask about their day. Meaningfully smile at a stranger. These might seem like small and simple things but they will bring us the greatest joy and most likely brighten someone else's day too.

Family Night Phantom

Sunday is my favorite day. It has been for as long as I can remember and no matter how crazy my 12 lovely Nursery kids are, Sunday is still my favorite day.


By the way, yes, they were quite a handful today but I still love them dearly. I'm just re-thinking the whole Michelle Duggar - 19 kids thing...


Anyway, before all of that, I heard one of the sweetest talks from a young man in my ward. He turned 12 not too long ago and could barely see over the podium. He taught the spirit of service with such innocence and humility that it inspired me to once again be a better servant of the Lord.


He told a story from the Friend in the 2004 edition. Here is that story now, I hope that it will touch you as deeply as its touched me:

Let … thine alms [service] … be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly (Matt. 6:3–4).

As I came into the kitchen, my big brother Matt was saying to Mom, “I think just you, Dad, me, and Abby should be in on it. I don’t think he can keep a secret.” He was talking about me! “I can too keep a secret!” I said.

Mom smiled. “On Monday nights, the Family Night Phantom secretly leaves treats on people’s doorsteps. How would you like us to become the Phantom?”

“What a great idea!” I wanted to go right then, but Mom said that we had to wait until Monday.

Week One

Tonight we decided to deliver cookies and notes from the “Phantom” to two new families in our ward, the Kennedys and the Jensens. With Mom at the wheel to make a quick getaway, Dad and Abby did the ringing and running at the Kennedys’. Then it was my turn. Matt and I walked quietly up to the Jensens’ porch, laid the cookies down, rang the doorbell, and ran. The Phantom was a success!

Week Two

For this week’s adventure, Mom said, “Why don’t you each choose a family?” I wanted to phantom my best friend, Kyle Stephens.

During the family home evening lesson, Abby talked about how Jesus helps lonely people. That made me think.

“Mom, do you think Sister Hart would like chocolate cupcakes?” She was an older lady in the ward who lived alone.

“I’m sure that she would, Jeremy. Why?”

“I changed my mind. Let’s leave the treat at her house instead.”

We had a great time phantoming. Sister Hart almost caught me! I was at the edge of her driveway when I heard the door open, so I dove behind the hedge. I heard her say, “How nice! What a wonderful treat.”

Later that week, Matt said that his friends thought that the Phantom was the Bennetts.

“Well,” Dad said, “I think that puts the Bennetts on the top of our list to phantom next week!”

Week Three

I came home from school on Monday to the wonderful smell of homemade bread, our Phantom treat for the week. “Who should we phantom tonight, besides the Bennetts?” Mom asked me.

I had been thinking about it all day. “The Barneses are moving and are probably busy packing. And Sister Bradley has been sick, so her family could use a treat.”

Mom gave me a kiss and said, “You’re really something. Tonight it’ll be bread for the three Bs!”

A few days later, Dad came home from a meeting at church. He had seen a note on the ward bulletin board marked FAMILY NIGHT PHANTOM. It read: “Thanks for the bread. We didn’t have a family home evening dessert planned, so it came in handy. Keep up the good work. From the Barneses.” Mom said that we had to secretly remove the note and put it in our family scrapbook.

Week Four

During dinner on Sunday, Mom told us that after church Sister Simpson and Sister Bennett had discussed the Phantom. They wanted to get “revenge,” but on whom?

On Monday, I had news of my own. “Tyler Bennett asked me who I thought the Phantom was. It was hard not to smile! Then he said his family is going out tonight armed with 10 loaves of banana bread.”

“We can’t match that, but I do think it’s time to phantom ourselves,” Mom said.

“Great idea,” Matt agreed. “If the Phantom visits us, no one will suspect us!”

That night I delivered popcorn balls to my own door. We were sitting in the kitchen munching away when the doorbell rang. Matt opened the door to find a plate of cookies on the porch and not a person in sight! “Are you sure Tyler said that his family was delivering banana bread?” Mom asked.

We decided to hurry and finish phantoming before we ran into other Phantoms. We chose Bishop Stephens’s family (including Kyle!) and the Garcias.

Back at home, we began our family home evening lesson. Mom asked us to name activities that draw a family closer. Dad said, “Family prayer.” Abby thought of scripture reading. Matt mentioned camping together during the summer. “Don’t forget the Family Night Phantom,” I said. “That has brought us closer.”

“I think you’re right, Jeremy,” Dad agreed.

“So serving together brings a family closer,” Mom concluded.

Our night wasn’t over. When we were almost settled into bed, the doorbell rang—for the third time! We all ran for the door. On the porch was a loaf of banana bread. What a night!

Week Five

No one has accused us of being the Phantom, so I think our secret is still safe. Tonight we have brownies, ready for delivery to three more unsuspecting ward families. The Family Night Phantom rides again!

[Loving Service]

“Loving service anonymously given may be unknown to man—but the gift and the giver are known to God.”
President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “ ‘Anonymous,’ ” Ensign, May 1983, 57.

Service can change our hearts and lives forever. It is one of the few things that truly bring fulfillment and reassurance in God and His Love for us and for all of His children.

So I challenge you and myself to ask, "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad or made someone feel glad?...Has anyone's burden been lighter today because I was willing to share?"

There are opportunities all around to serve, may we be willing to open our eyes to notice them and decide today to live a more Christlike life.