"...God is the ruler yet."

I love this quote by President Monson. It gives me comfort when something goes differently than I had planned out in my mind. I need to have the faith that Heavenly Father is in charge and knows what is best for me.

"Often doors have closed before you that seemed to lead to opportunities you thought you had to have. You may have assumed that the closed door was a reflection of some inadequacy in yourself; but perhaps the closed door had nothing to do with whether you were good or bad or capable or incompetent. Rather, even now a loving Father shapes your path according to a prearranged, premortal covenant; the opening or the closing of these various doors is dependent on the Lord's perfect perception of your developmental needs... He says that he does nothing save it be for the benefit of the world. He has promised that, if you will be faithful, all things will work together for your good in order that you may be conformed to the image of His Son."

Kids say the darndest things...

I'm currently working in the school district here in Lexington. I had the following conversation last week with a little 7 year old boy in the first grade.

J (the boy): When we get married we can move to Florida.
Me: When who gets married?
J: You and me.
Me: Well, I don't think I can marry you.
J: Yeah, you can. When we get married I can also kiss you.
Me: Stunned silence *and laughing inside my head.*

I sometimes wonder where kids get their ideas. He would probably want to go to Walt Disney world everyday, and I just don't have the money for that!

Today, I found out that he now has a "girlfriend" in the class. But sadly, for him, she whispered in my ear that she doesn't like him. Ahh, the trials of young love. Just imagine what he will be like when he's older...already so focused on marriage and girls.

This same little boy said to me yesterday, when I asked him to put the crayons back in their container and he refused, "you can't change my mind, because I have the wizard power." No, I can't change your mind, but I have the teacher power...

I Dreamed a Dream

It's not very often that I watch shows such as America's Got Talent or Britian's Got Talent, but I do enjoy the results and stories that come from these shows. Susan Boyle is one such lady. The reaction of the audience and judges is priceless. It seemed they were almost expecting her to fail, based on her appearance. She just blew them away. It goes to show that dreams can come true. Also, check out Paul Potts. I really hope these two make your day.

P.S. I found this blog post (yes, I admit it. I blog stalk) that is really wonderful. Please read it! Please. I think you will more fully understand how great this is.

He is Risen...

"Because He lives, we too shall live."



Happy Easter!

Although I may appear to be harmless, I've been trained in the ancient martial arts of the Orient

Have you ever had those times where you lack confidence? Or do you ever have trouble encouraging yourself to do something? Specifically, asking someone out for a date? Well, don't fear, you can take comfort from this boy and learn karate. Apparently it helps. "Just do it. Tell yourself you can do it and do it."

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

Today I had the opportunity, for about three hours, to help campus contact with the elders here in the branch. We (several others in the branch, the elders, and myself) passed out invitations to General Conference to students on the University of Kentucky campus. I had a lot of fun, but realized how rusty I was as far as talking with people about the church. Several of the people I talked with seemed genuinely interested in coming. I would ask them "How would you feel if you knew there was a prophet of God on earth today?" Often their answer was, "Wow, that would be so cool" or "awesome." Then I would invite them to come and listen to a modern day prophet's counsel. The warm feeling and happiness was worth standing out in the cold and windy weather inviting others to come. It definitely caused me to miss my mission.



I am so excited for General Conference. What a wonderful blessing it is to have a modern day prophet. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the true prophet here on earth today. I know that the direction and guidance we receive from President Monson and the other General Authorities is specifically for us. They tell us what we need to hear. To get ready for conference, I often read the previous conference issue of the Ensign and prepare specific questions I have which I hope to receive an answer for during the conference sessions. Do you do anything to specifically prepare for conference? Only one more day!!

You can find more information here. (Thanks, Sam, for letting me know how to add a link!)

Water Closet

It seems that a little old English lady was looking for some rooms in Switzerland. She asked the local village school master to help her. A place that suited her was finally found and the lady returned to London for her luggage. She remembered then that she had not noticed a bathroom, or as she called it, a "water closet". So, she wrote to the school master. He was puzzled by the initials "W.C.", never dreaming, of course, that she was asking about a bathroom. He finally asked the help of the parish priest who decided that W.C. stood for Wesleyan Church. This was his reply:

Dear Madam,
The W.C. is situated nine miles from the house in the center of a beautiful grove of trees. It is capable of holding 350 people at a time and is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday each week. A large number of folks attend during the summer months, so it is suggested you go early, although there is plenty of standing room. Some folk like to take their lunch and make a day of it, especially on Thursday when there is organ accompaniment. The accoustics are very good and everyone can hear the slightest sound.

It may be of interest to you to know that my daughter was married in our W.C. and it was there she met her husband.

We hope you will be there in time for our bazaar to be held very soon. The proceeds will go towards the purchase of plush seats which the folks agree are a long-felt need, as the present seats all have holes in them.

My wife is rather delicate, therefore she cannot attend regularly. It has been six months since the last time she went. Naturally, it pains her very much to not to be able to go more often.

I shall close now with the desire to accommodate you in every way possible and I will be happy to save you a seat down front or near the door, which ever you prefer.

School Master

(Courtsey of Barbara Barrington Jones)

Mormon Messages

I am really impressed with the new YouTube site, Mormon Messages. Each week they share new videos about the basic beliefs of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Some of them have focused on temples, the Savior, New Era Messages, Mormon Ads, and wonderful videos from conference talks. One video that I really enjoy is by Elder Holland entitled "How Do I Love Thee?". Check the site out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

More trouble than it's worth...

When I first bought the car that I currently have, back in August, I was hoping I would have it for a good while, despite the fact that it's a 20 year old car. I'm tending to rethink that hope. Since living in Lexington, I have had to put about $300 worth of repairs on it. Which brings me to yesterday.

As I was pulling up to make a left hand turn onto my street my car made this startling clanking/grinding sound. My first thought was that the person behind me had hit my car. My second thought was a flat tire. I made the turn, stopped the car, and got out to look at it. No flat tire, no hit from behind. Geez. So I put my warning/emergency lights on and slowly made my way to the apartment. When I pulled into my spot, I got out and looked underneath the car, thinking that something was scraping underneath. I couldn't see anything. Remembering the problems that my mom and sister had with my sister's car, Himbert, I decided to check the oil. The oil was a tad low but not below the mark. I had my roommate come out and look under the hood as I started the car and tried to drive it. We couldn't see anything loose or any thing that would be making such a loud noise. I was supposed to work today, but had to cancel since I didn't think it would be safe to drive it.

Last night I called a friend who repairs cars and asked if he could look at it. He said he would be able to come, but not until today (Friday). Well, he just finished looking at it and it's the front axle that exploded (I'm pretty sure that's the word he used). The thing is, I just had new front axles put on in November. We drove over to the place where I purchased the axels to begin with and thankfully they are still under warranty. Phew! Right now, I'm very grateful for a friend who can repair cars!

This is not a picture of my car, but looks very similar to it.

Wonderful counsel

I love this video by Elder F. Enzio Busche of the Seventy. He gives such good wisdom. Sometimes we, or at least I know I do, get very caught up in our day to day lives that we forget what we are really here to be doing and learning. I also posted this video on Facebook - sorry to the three of you who read my blog, if you've already seen it on there, but I think it's good enough to watch several times. :)

A Giveaway...

If you go to this website: http://thecreativemama.com/?p=322 she is giving away cute bags and you will be entered to win if you leave a comment with your best move-in tip. It ends on Saturday, February 28th though. Hope you win!