Opportunities in Differences...

Have you ever had to work with someone either at your place of employment, church calling, PTA, etc... that just rubbed you the wrong way? I have. I try to always find the positive in a person but occasionally it can be difficult. This quote was a good reminder for me. Plus I am sure you are all sick of seeing the "Healthcare petition" post. :)

"God will help us see a difference in someone else not as a source of irritation but as a contribution. The Lord can help you see and value what another person brings which you lack. More than once the Lord has helped me see His kindness in giving me association with someone whose difference from me was just the help I needed. That has been the Lord’s way of adding something I lacked to serve Him better."


Henry B. Eyring, “Our Hearts Knit as One,” Ensign, Nov. 2008, 70–71

Stay tuned...I have many good ideas but have been traveling a lot in July. Most recently for business in California. Don't feel too bad I did have Brad fly out for the weekend so it wasn't all work and no play.

Choosing the Right Way...

Happy Pioneer day for those of us in Utah!





And a quote to ponder on a Friday...

"If we choose the right way, we are sustained in our actions by the principles of righteousness, in the which there is power from the heavens. If we choose the wrong way and act on that choice, there is no such heavenly promise or power, and we are alone and are destined to fail."

William R. Bradford, "Righteousness, Ensign," Nov. 1999, 85

Love this!

I ran across this quote today and had to share it...hope you have a fantastic day!

"Hope . . . is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism, confusion, and of fear."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Infinite Power of Hope, Ensign", Nov. 2008, 22

Little things...

I ran across this quote today...

"Each one of us can make a contribution. Too frequently we think we have to do spectacular things. Yet if we remember that the sea is actually made up of drops of water and each drop counts, each one of us can do our little bit where we are. Those little bits can come together and almost overwhelm the world. Each one of us can be an oasis of peace." - Desmond Tutu

I love the idea that we can all make a contribution whether it is within our families, our communities, our church, our work environment or just for ourselves. I learned from a dear friend this past weekend that we can all make a difference and create abundance in our lives while doing the normal everyday things we always do --just by thinking bigger.

A little over a year ago we heard from this same friend about a young man in our ward that was struggling. He was failing at school, didn't have a lot of friends and his life at home was not going well either, there was no regular homework schedule or dinner as a family. My friend decided to find a way to help. After discussing with many friends and our Bishop, she decided to have this young man come to 4 families homes for dinner and receive help with homework Monday through Thursday. She thought, if this young man had a regular environment of sitting down for dinner with another family and working on homework every night it would help him improve his grades and see how other families enjoy dinner together.

When we first moved into the ward Brad and I were Garett's Sunday school teachers. We just loved him immediately and he reminded me so much of my little brother Lance. He also reminded Brad of when he was younger and the struggles he faced as a youth. So when Emily told us about her plan, we jumped at the chance to help Garett and he started coming to our home every Thursday night. We would eat dinner together, discuss his day, family life, etc... then help him with his homework. We learned a great deal from Garett and have grown to love him even more. He has so much potential and by seeing that other people cared about him, he was able to do better in school, enjoy being with his family more, and gain some valuable friendships as well. Our ward split about 4 months ago and the new ward found a family to replace us on Thursday nights. We still keep in touch with him and Brad takes him fishing, which they both love!

It was such a blessing for us to take part in this. We found that by just adding another person to our regular routine of dinner, it was not as overwhelming. (Now helping with homework was a struggle at first... it has been a LONG time since either Brad or I were in school but we learned together!) There are many things we can all do as a part of our regular routines to help someone else. I am grateful we were available to help as long as we could.

The true meaning of Christmas...

This Christmas season, Brad and I have been trying to focus more on the opportunities to serve around us, and have been amazed by the many others we have seen doing the same. I am extremely grateful for a wonderful mother who taught me about the importance of service and to think of others needs before my own. As I look back at my most memorable Christmases, they are when I have focused on others needs. I am so grateful I have a loving husband that feels the same way I do and will always support me.

This past Sunday in young women's we as a presidency each picked a special message we wanted to share with the girls about remembering the "true" meaning of Christmas. It is wonderful how through the spirit we each had a different message and yet after each was shared, they built upon the previous one. I am so grateful for the wonderful women I serve with and the inspired leaders that they are. I appreciate your friendship and support! Thank you! thank you!

As I was preparing my thoughts for Sunday, I came across this First Presidency message from December 1988 by President Ezra Taft Benson. I picked a few nuggets that touched me and thought I would share. Click here to read more.

"As we commence this Christmas season, a season of giving and receiving, I would like to discuss a few of the many gifts we have received from our Lord, Jesus Christ, and what we in turn might give to Him.

First, He gave us the perfect model—Himself—after which we are to pattern our lives. He said “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13.) Not only did He set for us the perfect example of earthly living, but for our sake He willingly gave His life. He went through agony both in body and spirit, which we cannot comprehend, to give to us the glorious blessings of the Atonement and the Resurrection. (See D&C 19:15–19.)

Some men are willing to die for their faith, but they are not willing to fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. Through His atonement and by walking in His steps, we can gain the greatest gift of all—eternal life, which is that kind of life of the great Eternal One—our Father in Heaven.

Second, in addition to the gift of the life of Christ, is the gift of His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—“the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” (D&C 1:30.) The Church is the organized means which God uses to establish and expand His work. We must work with it and in it, build it up, and move it forward.

Third, in addition to the gifts of the life of Christ and His Church, is the gift of scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon was written for our day. Mormon, who compiled it, saw us in vision and was directed to put into the book those things God felt we would especially need in our time. We therefore should know the Book of Mormon better than any other book. Not only should we know what history and faith-promoting stories it contains, but we should understand its teachings. If we really do our homework and approach the Book of Mormon doctrinally, we can expose the errors and find the truths to combat many of the current false theories and philosophies of men.

“So I ask you, what can we possibly give to the Lord this Christmastime? Considering all that He has done and is doing for us, there is something that we might give Him in return.

Christ’s great gift to us was His life and sacrifice. Should that not then be our small gift to Him—our lives and sacrifices, not only now but in the future?...Yes, men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.”

Try as you may, you cannot put the Lord in your debt. For every time you try to do His will, He simply pours out more blessings upon you. Sometimes the blessings may seem to be a little slow in coming—perhaps this tests your faith—but come they will, and abundantly. It has been said, “Cast your bread upon the waters and after a while it shall come back to you toasted and buttered.”

"But just as when one loses his life in the service of God, he really finds the abundant life, so also when one sacrifices all to God, then God in return shares all that He has with him." - President Ezra Taft Benson - Ensign 1988 - page 2.


I could truly share experience after experience of wonderful Christmases past... but not enough time in the day to do so. Enjoy your final preparations for Christmas and may we all be reminded of the "true" meaning this year!!

"Spiritual home storage..."

I have felt spiritually exhausted the last couple weeks. I have been thinking of ways to fill my lamp in addition to the regular "basics" we all do. And I came to the realization that I have been filling my lamp all along! I just need to tap into my spiritual reservoir when I feel empty and He will carry me through.

I just received this quote from our stake leadership via the weekly newsletter. Which was great reminder for me!




Click here for the link to the entire talk.

“Brothers and sisters, we each have moments of spiritual power, moments of inspiration and revelation. We must sink them deep into the chambers of our souls. As we do, we prepare our spiritual home storage for moments of personal difficulty. Jesus said, ‘Settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you.’

…Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’”

—Elder Neil L. Andersen Of the Presidency of the Seventy

New post ....kind of

Here is a link to my post on Maui 5th day.. http://angandbrad.blogspot.com/2008/07/maui-5th-day.html I know you are thinking really? You are not finished yet? The answer is NOPE! still one more day to blog about. I want to keep them in order so I backdated! I know I am slow but now that summer is over I have hope to update more often.. we shall see.

Quote for the day...

“The Lord has said, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers’ (D&C 112:10).

“What a tremendous promise is given in this statement. If we are without conceit and pride and arrogance, if we are humble and obedient, then the Lord will lead us by the hand and answer our prayers. What greater thing could we ask for? There is nothing to compare with this.”
Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” Ensign, Jan. 2001, 10

I have had one of those weeks that at the end of it - you are so glad it is over! I find comfort in knowing that God will lead me by the hand and give me answers to my prayers. I have such a wonderful husband that loves me no matter what and supportive friends that know how to make me laugh or just know the right thing to say. I am truly blessed!

Clumsy??

Well, last week was girl's camp in our ward. We had such a great time and I hope to blog about it later this week. All the girls got a long great and the leaders had a blast!

But first I want to tell you about my fun Monday! Ok.. not really fun, but eventful. I have mentioned before my need to be efficient and so as luck would have it - I was walking out of our house on Monday for work. I had a protein shake in one hand, my work bag over one shoulder, my lunch bag in my other hand, and another bag with some decor items I needed to return that day in the same hand as my lunch. Anyway, as I was trying to close the door behind me, because why make 2 trips when you can carry everything and try to close the door in one trip? I have completed this task several times before but Monday was different. I had a thought as I was stepping into the darkness that I should make 2 trips but I am stubborn and said to myself, self I can do this! Well, I couldn't -not this time.

So I proceeded out the door and ended up somehow turning the heal of my shoe and falling down our concrete stairs in the garage. Yes...protein shake ALL over the place, bags flying, oh and I forgot I was holding my iPOD which luckily survived the fall. You may think.. that sounds horrible, well I am ok but my ankle was not to happy! I was in a lot of pain and again am stubborn so I told Brad that I would just sit for a while and see how I felt, but after 20min and some ice I still couldn't put pressure on my foot. Brad talked me into visiting a doctor, (we have a foot Dr. in our ward) so he called the office and they got me in right away. After several x-rays and discussion with the good Dr. it was determined that I have a stress fracture on my ankle. (Picture below)
I have the pleasure of wearing a boot on my foot/leg for the next 4 weeks. I was supposed to travel to LA for business in a couple weeks but with not being able to walk very far the airport is the last place I want to be. I also have an activity with our youth involving water skiing and floating the Provo River in a couple weeks. Hopefully, I can at least float the river with a brace. Cross your fingers! I have been trying to see God's hand more in my life and I am struggling to see the blessing in this. Maybe it was the lesson to listen to the spirit when he says to make 2 trips or maybe there is a greater one. I will have to wait and see! Anyone have any thoughts?

I also found this quote today. "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain!" It fit perfect in my week and I hope you all enjoy the new perspective!

It isn’t defeat, but rather your mental attitude toward it, that whips you.

Quote for the day.... I ran across this recently and thought it would be a perfect post for today!

"There are many things in life that you cannot control, but you can always control your attitude toward them. Defeat is never permanent unless you allow it to be so. When you have a positive attitude, you will recognize failure for the impostor that it is and realize that it is really a learning experience, a valuable lesson that will help you succeed with the next attempt. Ask yourself: What could I have done differently that would have altered the outcome? What can I do in the future to minimize problems and mistakes? What did I learn from this experience that I can put to good use next time? If you approach obstacles and setbacks with a positive attitude, you will be surprised how quickly you can turn defeat into victory. " -Napoleon Hill

I have been trying to have a more positive attitude lately and have noticed a big difference in how I react to even the smallest issues. It is not easy always looking at the positive side of things but it definitely takes less energy!

I have started asking myself... what am I supposed to learn from this experience? Sometimes it frustrates me not knowing what I should be learning right at that moment.. but occasionally you have to get through it first and yet the lesson still may not come for a while after that.

Most of you know we have been trying to start our family for close to 4 yrs now. We still have no idea what we are supposed to learn from this experience, but we sure have enjoyed the journey! Brad and I have had the opportunity to serve in various callings in our church that involve the youth and have been very blessed to develop the relationships we have with the other leaders and youth we have served. I am confident the Lord has a plan for us and he will allow us to grow emotionally and spiritually from this experience. I know after all we can do the Lord will provide a way!

Anyone else have times like this?