Pearls & Perfection Pending

Sometimes I feel like my calling at church is lame.  I sit in Sacrament quietly like always, then I move to the primary room and sit at the piano bench for two hours quietly .  I don't even really get a chance to interact with the kids much, let alone other adults.  I feel somewhat socially isolated and like I don't really contribute very much.   But sometimes... Today during sharing time, they talked about how Heavenly Father answers prayers.  They kids learned that Heavenly Father can answer our prayers in our heart or in our mind through the Holy Ghost, through other people who help us or prophets who teach us, or through the scriptures.  I was asked to share an example of a time when I prayed and received an answer to my prayer.  As I thought about it, one memory came to my mind.  That was the only one for awhile.  I planned to share that particular experience.  But as I sat there thinking, numerous memories flooded my mind and I...

Truth is a topic that seems to become more and more cloudy in our society today.  I feel like we that believe in any form of absolute truth are becoming more strange to the world.  People who stand up for values or maintain that there is a right way and a wrong way to look at things or do things are considered more often than not, intolerant and close-minded.  I remember how shocked I was the first time I tried to take a political stance on an issue when I was eighteen.  There was a controversial ballot measure relating to marriage that I was interested in.  I researched a little bit and found out all I could about how to write to our local representatives regarding the issue.  I sent a quick Facebook message to all of my friends telling them how I felt about the measure and giving them the information I had found in case they wanted to write a letter as well.  It was short and simple and what I considered to be friendly, unoffensive and nothing more ...

Today I was impressed by a statement made by Carl B. Cook as I read his recent conference address .  He spoke of a particularly overwhelming day he had in which he was staring blankly at the floor of the elevator he was on, when President Monson entered and somewhat humorously encouraged him that it was better to look up. "Experience" Brother Cook says, "has taught me that if we, like President Monson, exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life.  We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do.  We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy.   We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance--and if it is, the Lord will help us.  But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow his direction. " He goes on to talk about our difficulty in consistently looking up in life.  He asks, "Why is it ...

Highlights To read, listen, or watch the full talks, click here . I love General Conference.  I love sleeping in and eating delicious breakfast and then watching it in my PJs.  I also love the excitement and grandeur of attending sessions in person.  This conference, David and I traveled down to Utah with my brother, Garet.  We spent the weekend at David's parents' house watching each session while Garet scampered off to Salt Lake.  I printed this cute conference notebook I found on Pinterest , which actually helped a lot.  I feel like my note-taking skills improved. The talks that I liked or stuck out to me the most were: Children by Neil. L Andersen The Divine Gift of Repentance by D. Todd Christofferson A Time to Prepare by Ian S. Ardern It is Better to Look Up by Carl B. Cook Teaching After the Manner of the Spirit  by Matthew O. Richardson You Matter to Him by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It seems that staying at home is much too exciting for me.  I should never be left unattended.  I start finding things to fix and improve and make pretty.  While it is not always the best for my bank account, it makes my surroundings more lovely.  I have two weeks off of school right now for potato harvest, which I think is just a tradition at this point.  I don't think many of the kids really are out there working.  I appreciate, however, the time to get things done that I normally overlook.  Who knew that having clean baseboards could make you feel like an entirely new person?  Here is what I have been up to: Living Room & Kitchen Make-over I traced each frame and taped the paper to the wall before hanging anything up.  It was the easiest way to hang things I have ever used!  And...I only put one hole in the wall for each frame instead of five, like I usually do. :) Laundry Roo...