Saturday, September 26, 2009

General Relief Society Broadcast Fall 2009

There were GREAT things that took place both in the meeting as well as in my own heart. My mind has just been flooded with thoughts about this Relief Society meeting that I am anxious to get them in writing.

The General President, Sister Beck, made an announcement about the name of activities in the Relief Society. In my lifetime it has been Homemaking Meeting, Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment, and Enrichment Night. They have now changed it to the name, "Relief Society Meeting" with an emphasis of what you are focusing on that night! I love that! Go back to the basics, simplify, don't make it sound so foreign. I love how the church leaders really look into what is happening even in an "un required" activity in the Relief Society and then they bring that vision to us.

All the teachings were heartfelt, inspired, and touching to me but in this blog I am going to concentrate of the talk that stuck out the most with me and then end with a quote by President Eyring.

I bet you can't guess the one I am going to talk about? I will give you a hint...it was given by a sister that COMPLETELY understands the stage of life that I am now in, Sister Barbara Thompson, who has Enjoyed her Journey a lot longer than I have and has stayed POSITIVE in the midst of being single! I love seeing woman who are older than me and still practicing that positive, hopeful attitude. That is the way I hope I will be.
Sister Thompson, taught about a really neat principle "Mind The Gap". I really connected with this strongly. This caution, "Mind The Gap" is found in London subways. She taught that this helps people realize that there is "danger", a gap between the train and the loading dock and the sign "Mind The Gap" reminds people not to let their foot get caught in the gap or not to drop anything in gap cause it will go under the train and be lost. I loved that she taught this. Isn't there so many "gaps" in our lives that if we don't heed or are not worthy of the promptings of the Spirit we too may find ourselves in danger or under that train lost without realizing how it happened or how we got to that point.
She taught us, " that sometimes it is the difference between what we know, and what we actually do. Or the gap between our goals and what we actually accomplish. These gaps can be reminders of ways that we can actually improve or if ignored can be used as stumbling blocks in our lives."

She gave some great examples as to what some of those gaps can be. I have seen some others in my own life or in lives of people that I truly love and hope that this talk can help us to improve and narrow the gap so that we can be safe from letting ourselves fall under the train.

We are in a time where it is getting more and more confusing. The voices of opposition are becoming louder and louder. The world welcomes things in which I know are not right, in fact, I find them really wrong and yet so many of us who "know" seem to get caught up in them without even remembering what our main objective is in this life, our goal. Before you know it you have a gap that is getting further away from eternal things and closer to things of the world. I am not immune from the gap and neither is anyone else. But if I listen the caution given to "Mind The Gap" in all the choices that I make, I will be a lot closer to making choices with eternal value, then making choices that can ultimately lead me to danger or even worse being lost without direction.

She reminds us that the "IF'S" sometimes get in the way. Oh do they ever! If God loved me than why would he ____? If God loved me, wouldn't I get the chance to ______? She taught, "There is NOTHING that can separate you from love of God. We are all children of God and we should never doubt it and be assured that he loves us dearly and we are his precious children."

I am going to stand a little taller. I am going to proceed with caution the gaps that may come into my life and remember that I have a legacy to live up to, a legacy to fulfill. That I don't just have the responsibility to mind my gaps solely that I have the responsibility to remind those I love, to caution them when I see them heading toward that gap. We need each other to make it through these times, we need each other accomplish our goals, we need each other to keep this great legacy going!

"Just remember that the legacy is past from heart to heart. Charity, the pure love a Christ, is part of the mighty change of heart which the Lord promises to his faithful disciples so it is not hard to see what simple things you can and must do to pass the legacy along." -President Henry B. Eyring-

I am going to try everything in my power to keep the faith, to spread the love, and to be an example of the believers by showing that I believe and listen to the cautions myself!

My heart has been changed and my mind has been spiritually fed. I am so thankful for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the leaders that have been called of God to caution me and counsel me in the things that need to be focused on in my day. We live in a world that is loud with opposing voices, and because of the teachings of Men and Women of God, I still hear!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

"The Two Shall Become One": Meet the Peterson's!

I am still rejoicing over this eternal union! I have been a fan of this couple since before they were even a couple! Some people are just supposed to be together and these two are a PERFECT example of that!This is Kevin and Natalie. I was blessed to meet them both at EFY (are you all surprised?!) . I have always been SUPER impressed by them both and just wanted to be around them as much as I could manage because there was ALWAYS good conversation and lots of fun when they were around(together or separate).

Years ago I nicknamed Nat "Princess Buttercup" because anyone that knows her wants to do "as you wish" for her because she is so sweet and doesn't expect anything of you but to just be yourself! Kev was nicknamed "Ken" cause doesn't he just fit the part?! Practically perfect in every way!

I was so blessed and thankful to be involved in all of their wedding activities! They had such a fun dinner the night before at The Joseph Smith Memorial Building complete with a quiz we all had to do to figure out how well we knew them individually and as a couple!

A lot of neat things were said about them at their sealing. The sealer kept referring to the light that they possess as a couple that they just "twinkle". He even said that he was worried that they were going to be translated before they even made it to get sealed! They did look so beautiful and he was right the radiated true love!

Outside those temple walls it was no less beautiful! The weather was picture perfect! It was cool and breezy yet clear and sunny! There was some GREAT people who also were celebrating with me today! As you know these THREE are some of my fav gals.. they are NO STRANGERS to this blog! Wow they are glowing too! hahaha see Kev and Nat rub off on us all!

I don't know if I have ever seen a couple have more fun at their after wedding photo shoots! They were skipping, growling, Tarzan calls, and letting their true FUN values come out! Here is one such moment! The reception didn't disappoint either. It was just as gorgeous, just as exciting with so many fun people attending and I hear the chocolate bar was a HIT! Be proud of me, I stayed away with only a half of mint cookie eaten :) (It was the chocolate mint Schmidt's Bakery cookies, I just had to indulge!)

I was able to get to set up the centerpieces and chairs and decorate the cake with fresh flowers (my first time ever!) I had a blast helping them out a little bit. It was fun for once to not "be in charge" during the reception, especially with so many friends there! I have taken a TON of pictures at ALL the events so I am going to end with a collage of the reception. (to see bigger views click on it!) Kev and Nat, you will have a full life filled with love, the gospel of Jesus Christ and FUN! What more could ANYONE ever want?!
Love you both SOO much!

Eldredge Manor: A class act!

Wanna know of an EXCELLENT Reception Center in the Bountiful area?! You will find it at Eldredge Manor! This is gorgeous inside and out! It has several large rooms and fun Brides and Grooms rooms upstairs! Beautiful gardens out back where you can have the bride and groom situated and guests greeted before coming in for their deliciously catered food!
They have a first class staff that really ENJOYS there jobs and are eager to help with anything that you ask them to do.
You are assigned a hostess that is around all night making sure everything is running safely and also assures that the bride and groom get goodies packed up from the reception and all the cake gets boxed up to take home!
I have now been to this center for a few weddings and each one has all the elements that I would recommend to a bride to have! Way to go Willam's family for running such a CLASS ACT place that anyone would happy to include in their most anticipated day of their life!

To contact the Eldredge Manor you can go to http://www.eldredgemanor.com/

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Dear Elliott

This is such a sweet story of a Dad who writes letters to his baby everyday he was alive! This is so touching and I wanted to share it with all my readers. Life is a gift!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

And the world has never been the same.. Happy Birthday Andrea!

Have you ever had a friend that you can't wait to get a hug from? Has anyone made you laugh so hard you fought to catch your breathe again? This person for me is Ms Andrea Aguiar!! She is the life of the party, the friend to all, has more talent in one hand than most have in their whole body and with all this said, she is still willing to be my friend!!

I met Andrea at EFY (of course!) and she was like a breath of laughing gas for me. She just has a way to put things that make you go into gut laughter!

A few quick snipets of the things that I admire about this girl...
  • She can laugh at herself
  • Although she has had many trials, she can joke through her pain
  • She has a good eye for fashion and decor
  • She is faithful even as a nursery leader ;0
  • She is so tall that she straddles you when she hugs you!
  • She is loyal to the core
  • She follows the spirit, does things even when she doesn't understand why
  • She is a family gal
  • Adventurous and spontaneous
  • Smart and organized
  • Thoughtful and serviceable
  • A good listen
  • Gives good advice
  • Stands for something
There aren't enough words to express my love and respect for this sweet girl! Drea, I love you and I celebrate your birth and love what you have brought to all who love you!
HAPPY 29th Birthday my dear!