Officially Promoted

I guess in terms of church callings there aren't really promotions, there is just you doing the Lord's work in whatever capacity he deems you ready to do it. But there are some callings that we receive that are more work and time than others. I have now taken on one of those callings and though I am ready for the challenge I am still very scared that I am just going to mess everything up.

In the past when I have been called to be a teacher it was never a surprise, well that much of a surprise. For whatever reason teaching comes easily to me. Even before I was called to teach in Relief Society, back when I was doing martial arts, I had a great time teaching others all the forms and self defense that they needed to learn for their rank. I loved it then and I love what I get to teach now.

I have recently been teaching my regular lessons on the 3rd Sunday of every month but also volunteering to teach once in a while for Sunday School since there is currently only one teacher called. I have always wanted to teach Sunday School and when I first started doing it I was scared to death, but now I feel very comfortable with it. And by taking the extra time to prepare the lessons for Sunday School I am learning to understand the scriptures much quicker than I ever have before. It has been a real blessing in my life.

But now all that will change as I have taken on this promotion of sorts. I will still get to teach every once and again but I will now be responsible for the well being of all the women of the branch. I am so nervous that I will let them down, that even though I know I have the ability to be a leader, I don't quite have all the skills necessary to achieve this at the moment. I know how this works though, I know that the Lord will give me all the abilities that I require to accomplish this calling if I have the faith and the willingness to get things done. I am reminded of my favorite scripture that refers to missionary work but I like to apply it to all opportunities the Lord gives us to serve him.

"And they shall ^ago forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded them."

- Doctrine and Covenants 1:5

Light vs. Dark

We often hope that things can be black and white so that our choices will be easier. Many times in life things are just gray. Tonight we talked about something that is very much black and white, being reborn. Not an actual childbirth but a spiritual rebirth. Or in other words a baptism.

As we read in St. John tonight, we found out Jesus talks to Nicodemus about baptism and how baptism is the first step into gaining access to the kingdoms of God. It takes more that just baptism to get to the kingdoms of God, we do that by our works and faith and obedience in this world. When talking about how we can get to that point, Jesus talks about light vs. darkness. And how men love darkness rather than light.

We can think of the darkness in terms of acts or things that go against the words of the Lord and the light as just the opposite, those things that bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. I am just as guilty as any man of enjoying the darkness more than I should, but it is a great gift that we are given to be able to change and walk towards the light at any time, just like Alma the younger did in his time.

But I also had the thought tonight about thinking in literal terms on light vs. dark and times in the scriptures or in our lives when that happens.  Sis. Dorff brought up how we talk about childbirth as being a darkness and we come into the little when we are born. I thought about how when I was baptized I closed my eyes to go under the water and was in the darkness and when I arose out of the water I opened my eyes and it was light. Even in terms of death people often talk about walking towards a bright light which means that the person is in some sort of darkness. And having just recently read Joseph Smith's account in the sacred grove, I thought about how he was engulfed by a darkness before he saw the light and the two personages standing before him.

If I sit down and really think about it I am sure that even in my own life I could come up with a large number of instances when I have had to experience a darkness before I could reach the light. Bishop Dorff really said it best when tonight he said that in darkness there is no contrast but as the light comes, as we get closer to the Lord, we may find those dark spots and that is what we need to work on. Such great advice, and so very true.

It's Tuesday Night, Do You Know Where Your Children Are?

Tuesday nights are currently becoming my favorite night of the week. A couple of weeks ago before the school year was underway, I decided to make another great effort to take an Institute class this semester. It didn't work out the best last year but considering the craziness that I have felt in my life recently I decided that just going to church on Sundays and Family Home Evening on Mondays was not enough, so I decided to make sure that my friends and I get to go to Institute together.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go to class in the area because at the time they hadn't called a new teacher. Little did I know they would do just that shortly after my decision to make this extra effort. But just in case, to make sure I was going to get this extra learning that I needed, I knew about the Tuesday night class they offer in Saratoga. I had gone a couple of times the previous school year with a couple of friends in my branch and it was just an amazing experience, so I knew that if this was going to be the only way to take this class I was going to do it and I was going to take my friends with me.

Together with two of my best friends, we travel the 45 minutes each Tuesday and attend this class. Though we have only been going for three weeks it has been a great experience for me and hopefully for them as well. In the car ride there we get to talk about random things and sing all kinds of songs together. Once in the class we get to learn and grow spiritually. When the class is over we can stay and play volleyball with other young single adults in the area or we go eat dinner. We have currently taken to eating in different places each week and finding great food in the surrounding area. Eating together gives us a chance to talk about ideas and concepts that we learned in class that evening or even different topics that come to mind. Then we head home where we get to enjoy the warm evening air with the windows down and the radio up.

By the time I am home I am so happy. I love this time that I got to spend with my friends as well as the new concepts of the gospel that I have been able to learn. And even more so, as mentioned in and earlier post, I enjoy the Spirit that I get to share with my best friends. Their answers and questions are just a joy to hear and though we now have an Institute teacher in the area for Thursday night classes and I want to attend those as well, I hope that together the three of us can keep going on our Tuesday night adventures.

Remembering

Like many people today I spent some time thinking about how ten years ago today was the attack of 9/11. Like many people, I find it hard to believe that it has been ten years already. I think about all the things that have happened since then and where I am in my life and I am amazed by everything that has happened.

But like every year on this day I take a minute to think about how that day was through my eyes. What will I tell my grandchildren when they learn about that event in their history books and ask me how I felt while it was happening. I still remember that day very clearly in my memories.

It was a school day, I was a Senior in high school, and I woke up at the normal time in the morning to go to seminary. When I got out of bed to go through my morning routine, my dad called me into my parents room where they were already watching the towers burn. The first one was hit about 15 minutes before I woke up and the second one just as I was coming to find out what was going on. They filled me in on the information that they knew and as interested as I was I knew that I had to keep getting ready for my day even though I didn't really know how the day would go.

I remembering going to seminary but not what we were learning that day. By the time that I was out of seminary another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and Flight 93 had crashed somewhere random due to the valiant acts of the passengers aboard. Also the second tower hit had collapsed. We listened on the radio as my brother, sister, cousin and I drove to school. And then the first tower hit began to collapse.

When school started there was definitely a level of panic and shock that was blanketed all over the campus. No one could think to talk about anything else and the teachers gave us the opportunity to listen to the radio and watch the news on TV if we could get the TV to show the news. Mostly school TV's aren't able to show anything but the VHS that the teacher wants to show in class, but we had a couple of tech savvy students who were able to hook it up.

We watched the news coverage and speculated about if it was over or where they might hit next. What was going to happen to the country, the principal even gave us time out of class to sit and be with our friends. We couldn't believe how people were being effected but we did know that they must be hurting and our hearts and prayers went out to them and their families. We did have some student's family members that were part of California Search and Rescue that were called out to New York to help in the efforts of finding any survivors and that was scary, we worried for them and their loved ones. We prayed that they would come home safely.

But the day eventually passed and we grew together as a nation, our sorrow was as one and as they say we all mourned together. The stories of the people involved came in over the next few weeks and months and we listened, and we helped any way that we could. But we never forgot the feelings we had and the stories that generated from that tragedy.

A memorial at Ground Zero has been erected and we have experienced a war over this event. Finally it seems that after all this time things are settling down and we have been able to move forward from that day but never move on. We are at a point in the world where my friend, who is a grade school teacher, has only two students in her class that have actually heard of the event. But for those of us that experienced that day we will remember, just as our parents remember the day they watched man walk on the moon and as our grandparents remember the start of World War II.

Dogs are People Too

I feel like even though I didn't give birth to my little Guido, he is just as much my child as anyone who has a kid of their own. Granted he has been able to stay at home by himself since he was 1 year old and he doesn't need clothing but he does need food and water, plus attention and walks at least twice a day. I will say this, one thing that having my little man around has taught me is that single parents are amazing people.

It is quite a bit of work to take care of Guido by myself and sometimes I think that I gave up some things to make it happen. There are times that I wonder if he would of been better off in a different family, one with two parents and maybe some kids, but then I take sometime to really look at him and realize that I can't imagine ever living without him.

I am so proud of how well he has been able to adjust to the many changes that we have made as a family in the last three years. He has lived with dogs and cats, roommates and annoying neighbor children. I sometimes think that there is nothing that he can't handle. It is quite inspiring when I really think about it. And now he has a new little friend, Macy.

 

 I never know how he is going to react to new dogs or people or places, but I had a great feeling that he was going to love Macy. It has been awhile since he has had another dog to play with and tonight's play date turned out really well. At first Macy didn't know what to expect but just a short while later they were weaving in and out of people's legs and the furniture. She was jumping on him and rolling around like crazy, it was the cutest thing ever. And he was so good with her, he just played with her and didn't hurt her at all. He just let her do what she wanted, he even shared some of his food. I bet this is what it feels like to have an honor student now if only I had a bumper sticker for my car.

Institute

What an amazing Institute class we had tonight. I am so in love with the institute teacher Sister Dorff. She is amazingly talented and brings in an unbelievable spirit to the lesson. Going to her class is so worth the 45 minute drive that it will take every week to get to Saratoga to hear her words of inspiration.

But tonight it was more than just getting to listen to a great lesson from Sis. Dorff. Tonight I heard the voice of the spirit come from two of my greatest friends. Listening to the words that they had to say in response to the lesson we were being taught about what it is to know Christ, I really was touched by their words and could feel their love and understanding of the gospel parallel to my own testimony. It was the greatest feeling.

I know that we are not the quietest people and that we aren't perfect, no one is, but I was so glad that we were able to share this experience tonight. I think that is why I enjoy having them at church with me on Sundays because it feels exactly like that is where we are suppose to be together. And tonight was an even stronger bond, I have never felt as close to my friends as I did tonight when they were being sincere and sharing their thoughts and feelings about knowing Christ. My spiritual cup for the night has been filled and I have my two best guy friends to thank for that. I don't feel as bad for forcing them to attend class with me tonight.

From: Gospel Art Book

The Approaching Holidays

Everywhere I go it is apparently clear that the fall season is fast approaching. It is not necessarily the crazy weather because let's face it the weather hasn't been reliable for telling the seasons in quite sometime. It is not even the fact that every morning when I walk my dog there are kids waiting for the school bus. What really reminds me that fall is here is the fact that Halloween candy and decorations are already on the shelves.

I am not the biggest fan of Halloween, although I am learning how to enjoy it more each year that I get older. I even have decorations, garland, light up ghosts and a door hanger that unfortunately no one will be able to see because of where my front door is currently located. At least I know that I don't have to buy candy this year because there are no children to visit me.

But what it all really means is that as Halloween gets closer so does the other holidays that come very quickly after. I have always very much enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas, they were some of the best memories I have of growing up. However I am realizing how much I kind of want to forget the holidays this year. It is not so much that I dislike them, it is more that I dislike how different they are in my family now that my grandfather has passed away.

It feels so different and not like the holidays at all and it was really hard for me to adjust last year. In fact I don't think that I was able to adjust at all and that is why I am having this small dilemma. I worry that I don't even want to take the time to go home this Thanksgiving. I am eagerly awaiting for the time when my holiday traditions change and are more like they used to be only just two years ago.