Monthly Archives: April 2012

A Yay!, Ahem., Please?, and LOL.

Posted in Uncategorized by

See? I can blog.

Yay!  Some of you know I’ve been working on a book (for much longer than it should take to write a book). Well, I finished it on Saturday!  Just the writing it part.  Twelve chapters, done. Now I have to edit it like a crazy woman, in about 1/348th of the time it took me to write it, because my goal is to submit it to an editor by the end of this month. If it gets accepted for publication, this blog will wake up and have a party to long be remembered. In case you’re curious, the book is basically a 150-page research paper about the different roles that the Savior played in His ministry, and how motherhood is a reflection of each of those roles.  I promise it’s more exciting than it sounds.

Ahem.  Continuing with the book theme, if you’re looking for a great gift purchase for a friend or family member, consider this one:

I really like it, but I’m biased because I wrote a part of it.  However, a friend at church today told me she loved it because it was uplifting without making her feel guilty at all.  High praise indeed.  If you go to this link, you can find out how to buy a cool Mother’s Day gift package that includes the book, a fancy bookmark, and chocolate truffles for a new discounted price of $20.  You’ll have to order it by May 8th to get it shipped on time, so hustle. If I had any blog button skills, you could order it right here, but alas, nope. If you want to just plain ol’ order it from Amazon, go here. (Also, in light of all the Mormons in the media, this book would be a really nice, non-threatening way to introduce your friends to what it’s like to live life as a Mormon.)

Please?  I just want to give a shout out to a great family I know.  My friend Yolanda and her husband are looking to adopt. They have an adorable son (adoption success story #1 for them) who I taught in nursery, and I can’t think of a more deserving family. If you know of anyone who is considering placing a child for adoption, would you please spread the word about my friends?  Here is a link to their adoption profile.  Thank you kindly.

LOL.  My funny video is in 2nd place right now at that Pretty Darn Funny contest. If you have 5 seconds, will you go right on over here and click on the little orange “thumbs up” icon to vote for me? Matt and I get to go on a cruise (!!!) if I win.  You can vote once a day until May 31st, so, you know, don’t hold back.  🙂 (The video is called “Don’t Tell the Health Department.”)

P.S. I chopped my hair off.  My kids don’t like it, but I think it looks just fine. And it’s easy.  Photographic evidence (before and after):

One more thing.  Tomorrow I start teaching my class at BYU.  I’m excited, but nervous.  Say a prayer for me; I might need it.

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Marriage

Posted in Divinity by

I came across this quote today.  I like it.  I acknowledge that there are exceptions for abuse or other extremes, but it is a sound principle we can all do better at.

“When people are married, instead of trying to get rid of each other, reflect that you have made your choice, and strive to honor and keep it, do not manifest that you have acted unwisely and say that you have made a bad choice,nor let any body know you think you have.  You made your own choice, stick to it, and strive to comfort and assist each other.”  Brigham Young, Deseret News, 29 May 1861, 98.

Tribute to Sister Julie B. Beck

Posted in Divinity by

Sister Julie B. Beck has served as the general president of the Relief Society, the largest women’s organization in the world, for five years.  While I look forward to learning from the new president, Sister Linda K. Burton, I couldn’t go without honoring what Sister Beck has done for me personally.

There are so many things I could say about the powerful influence that Sister Beck has had on my testimony, but I think the best evidence is this list of posts where I have quoted her or referred to some of her teachings and counsel:

pornography-satans-power-tool/

personal-revelation-and-testimony

the-lioness-at-the-gate/

dear-not-feeling-it/

the-anti-mom/

small-victories-and-normal-failures-a-few-days-in-the-life-of-a-supermom/

time-to-come-clean-lets-talk-about-internet-addiction/

gcbc-week-2-priesthood-and-handmaidens/

sunday-leftovers/

my-favorite-comma/

confession-and-clarity/

so-heres-the-thing-about-resolutions-or-how-children-ruin-everything/

guilt-the-motherload/

im-not-done-yet-or-continuation-on-a-theme/

sometimes-they-get-it/

womens-conference-final-chapter-intentional-parenting/

shut-up/

Thank you so much Sister Beck for helping me to better understand doctrines of Jesus Christ and better understand my role in His kingdom.  You have made me a better woman, mother, wife and disciple.  I’ll forever be grateful for that.

GCBC Week 1 and contest winners

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

[image credit: ksl.com]

Wasn’t general conference absolutely wonderful?  So much to love and feel.  The first week of General Conference Book Club is now up and running over at Becca’s blog, My Soul Delighteth (<– Just click right there.).  Don’t be shy.  Head on over and share your favorite conference moments.  I’m headed there next.

Here are the answers and winners of the questions for the general conference guessing game.  Answers are in red, followed by the winner for each question.  If there was more than one winner, then I shuffled them up and picked a winner using random.org.

General Conference Guessing Game

1.  How many new temples do you think will be announced?  None were announced.  😦  The winner with the closest number was Heidi.

2.  What’s your guess for any auxiliaries to be reorganized? (RS, YW, YM, SS, none)  Both RS and presiding bishopric were reorganized.  Oh, how I will miss Sister Beck!  Eight of you guessed right, but the winner was Becky.

3.  Take a guess at one location of a new temple.  Name a state in the US or a country outside of the US.  Again, none, so no winner for this question.

4.  Barring any absence, 11 of the 12 apostles speak in the four Saturday and Sunday sessions. Who’s your guess for the one apostle that only speaks in Priesthood session?  Elder Bednar.  Allyall was the only one who guessed this right.

5.  Who will conduct the first session of conference (Sat. AM)?  President Uchtdorf.  Twelve of you were spot on, and the winner was Mel.

6.  How many members of the church will be announced in the statistical report?  14,441,346 members worldwide.  Becky’s guess came closest.

7.  What color dresses will the women of the Tabernacle Choir wear on Sunday morning?  They wore purple/lavender dresses.  None of us guessed that right, so no winner to that question.

8.  Who will be the first woman to speak in this session of conference?  Sister Cheryl Esplin spoke first.  Shari won this one.

9.  What color tie will President Monson wear on Sunday?  Well, it looked to me like periwinkle :), so I took the three closest answers.  The winner was Lisa.

10.  Make a guess for a congregational hymn that might be sung at any of the four sessions.  There were four congregational hymns:  How Firm a Foundation, Called to Serve, Rejoice the Lord is King, and Hope of Israel.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but no one got this one right.

Okay, so there ended up being SEVEN question winners.  When they were all entered into a separate drawing, the grand prize winner was:  Mel.  Congratulations!  Send me an email (look up by my profile picture to get the address) and I’ll send you a copy of this great book that includes a couple of my very own essays:

Okay, what are you waiting for?  Head on over to GCBC.  Have a great week, everyone!