It's a Girl

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a baby on December 4. We just found out a few weeks ago that we will be having a girl. Brooklyn is very excited to have a baby sister because “she already has a baby brother why would she want another one."

The AWESOME message of the Gospel

As I sit here pondering on world events and life in general, I can’t help but be extremely grateful for the blessings I have been given to live in the time that I do. I know I have written some difficult blogs in the past stating some of the things that our Nation is about to go through and we as church members, but I must admit that at least when I am doing what I should be doing, rather than being worried or frustrated, I am actually very excited.

I don’t know why I have been blessed with the testimony that I have been given, but even from my childhood I could never deny that the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is once again on the earth. I love it. I love living it. I love everything about it. It is the answer to the problems of our day. Lately it has come at me stronger and stronger as I study the difficulties that our generation faces. Our country is about to go through some of the most difficult times it has ever experienced, and yet what awesome days are in front of us because we will be able to see the Glory of God revealed as these trials come upon our land.

When I see people struggling, I can’t help but think and even tell them, “Do you realize we have a modern day Prophet of God on the earth today?” There is nothing more glorious on the earth than that message. Armies can come against us, our own government can turn against us, and as Joseph Smith once stated, even the very pits of hell can open up before us, but if we realize this simple little fact that God is in charge, then we need not fear.

This land belongs to the covenant followers of Jesus Christ, those willing to keep the commandments, do his will, and defend their freedom. To these people, the Lord will reveal his will and show his power in the face of danger. We do not need to fear any government that acts as an enemy to the people, rather we need to keep the commandments and listen to the sweet words of a Prophet of God in our day and take action in doing what is right.

I can’t help but feel sorry for those who are not attending church or who are not partaking of the blessings that are to be had by church membership and attendance. I cannot by any means say I am perfect in this respect, but what I can say is that this is not a time to be casual in our relationship with divinity. We are not alone in our struggles and we do not have to fight our battles alone. The purpose of a prophet is to give us hope in times of trouble and to act as instruments in God’s hands to prepare his people against times of trouble. What a tragedy for someone to miss out on these blessings because of either not being aware of a modern day prophet or not listening to him when he does speak. We see things as they are in the present, but prophets are entitled to see things as they are and as they will be, therefore their insight is critical in these days.

When it comes to the church itself, there are three possibilities. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is either all true, all false, or part true and part false. If it were false, then we would not need to give much heed to it. Even if it were part true and part false, then we would not need to give very much heed to it. If it really is true however, which I bear witness of it being, then we need to give all that we have to be as active in the church as possible since this is the only way to safety, security, and eternal life. We can have our Father in Heaven fight our battles for us, but we must first be willing to do our part so that he can intervene and help us maintain our liberty and freedom. I still do not understand people who will say they know the church is true, and yet will not live the gospel to its fullest. In my mind it is kind of like knowing there is a flood coming your way and yet not moving to higher ground to avoid its effects. What good does it do that person to know the flood is coming, if in the end they are still drowned in the rush of water! If you know the church is true, then live it.

I know that Thomas Monson is a prophet on the earth today and is entitled to speak as the Lord’s mouthpiece the words we need to hear at this time. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Heavenly Father’s church on the earth today to give us direction, keep us on the right path, and lead us into the paths of safety. I invite all who are reading this who are members of the LDS church to strive to live the gospel with all of their hearts so that we can be worthy of his divine help. To those who are not members of the LDS church, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon, listen to our modern day Prophet, and study the message of the restored gospel. I promise as you do this you will find direction in a troubled world and peace will come into your life.

For more information, please visit one of the church websites:
www.mormon.org
www.lds.org

Parable of the Chickens and the Fox's

Their once lived a bunch of chickens out in the far yonder who were in need of security to keep them safe and secure. So, one day the head chicken went into town and went to a contractor who dealt with security work. Mr. Chicken walked all proud into the contractor's office, and said, "We need some security guards to protect us and keep us safe. Do you have any who would be willing to protect our residence and keep us safe? We will pay them with some of the eggs we produce." The Security Contractor said to Mr. Chicken, "We do have some who would be willing to do this for you, but you will need to give up some of your liberties for us to do this." Mr. Chicken thought this was kind of odd, but a deal was worked out and a security contract signed wherein the Chickens would have security around the clock.

The security contractor happened to be friends with some in town who did security work and who did it at a reasonable price. Since he needed security guards for this new contract, he went to this group and asked if they would be willing to protect the chickens. This group, who happened to be foxes, told the Security Contractor, "Why yes we would be more than willing to protect the chickens because they live right in the same vicinity as our favorite fast food restaurant." The Security Contractor thought that to be an ideal situation so a deal was struck wherein the Foxes would guard the Chickens.

The work started and the Foxes started guarding the chickens. There were some stipulations on the agreement though; one of these was that the Chickens could never see who it was that was really guarding them.

Well some time went by, and the Chickens lives starting CHANGING for the worse. Chickens started disappearing, and the Foxes started placing heavy restrictions on the chickens’ lives. Foxes started breaking in through the supposed Fox security presence and wreaking havoc. To compensate for this, the Security team decided they needed more eggs from the chickens to continue to keep them safe. The Chickens gladly agreed and they began to pay more and more, but the only problem is that it seemed their problems only seemed to get worse. Their were more and more attacks and with each attack, the Security team would come back and tell the chickens they were going to have to give up more and more of their rights and pay more so that they would be protected. Each time the Chickens reluctantly agreed to do so and yet their problems continued to get worse and the restrictions placed on the chickens began to make less and less sense.

A year later, after the contract was signed, there were no more Chickens left at the farm. They had "mysteriously" all disappeared. The fast food restaurant frequented by the foxes however was doing very well with lots of food for all.

(By the way, we are not the foxes, we are the chickens)

Daddy's In Charge

A few weeks ago Forrest was so nice to take care of the kids while I had a girls day out at the spa with some work friends! I was able to get a massage, manicure and pedicure. Then we finished up by having dinner. Needless to say it was very refreshing to have a small break in my week and be able to treat myself to something I wouldn’t normally do. The best part was returning home to my kids who were so happy to see me. The time to recharge was even worth the hours following where I got to put my house back in order and clean up the tornado that always hits when Dad's in charge!