Saturday, February 28, 2009

Sister Nelson ~ Notes (Long)

So, today I had the opportunity to hear Wendy Watson Nelson speak! She was IN. Credible! I enjoyed it so much that I am going to post my notes in hopes that you too might glean something from her words and thoughts.

"Spiritual Preparation for Times of Tribulation"

I am not the teacher today, the Holy Ghost is, so I invite you to have the Spirit with you regardless of what I say. She then told a story about when she was 24 and engaged. She said she has made it a goal and challenged us to also make it a goal to not "waste General Conference" to go with a question in our hearts. She was wondering if it was the right thing to do to marry this man she was engaged to. She said that EVERY talk was on marriage and that when Conference was over she knew she was NOT to marry this man. She went straight to the phone and broke the engagement. She said that years later she was asked to speak on marriage and she KNEW exactly where to go to get direction ~ the Conference talks of April 1974! So, she looked it up and NOT ONE talk was on marriage. Again, she reiterated the fact that if you decide to listen to conference this way.... "What is the one question I need most to have answered at General Conference" HE will answer you. Again, the Spirit is what teaches... like she said at the beginning of her talk, the Spirit is what teaches regardless of what she says.

She went on to say that the Lord's time is not our time.... it wasn't until 32 years later (to the month) that she got married ~ To Elder Nelson!!!

She said if you can't think of a specific question to watch for at Conference, to Pray to know what to pray for! THEN (loved this) she said you must do it... You don't say, "Lead me, guide me", and then say "Just kidding"!

She told a story of a lady that was called to be the Stake Camp Director. The lady that WAS the camp director was moving and they called someone else to replace her and she had to bow out (can't remember why) and so she was then called. She went to this stake meeting with all the stake YW leaders and ward YW leaders and she sat in the back thinking, "I shouldn't even be here, I was really 3rd choice" (etc, etc) and the Stake Pres. was speaking... he stopped, walked 1/2 way down the isle, called her by name and said you are right where the Lord wants you, He wants YOU and needs you where you are serving. He then turned, went back to the pulpit and continued his talk as if nothing had happened. She said, the Lord was speaking to ME ~ he let every body else listen in ~ but he was speaking to me!

Sister Nelson continued to tell us that the Lord hears our prayers and He WILL answer us!

She told us to search Alma 5 ~ the 40 questions there and see which of the questions stirs our soul...

Quote: "As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough."

Thought question: "How can I increase my ability to hear the voice of the Lord?"

1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"

Be Sober = take it seriously! YIKES!!! BEWARE!

Sister Nelson went on to tell us of a recent trip to South Africa. They were in an open hummer going through the wild. She told of what an awesome experience it was but they were warned to make sure they did not stand up or put their arms outside the vehicle. She said that the guide had told them that they animals are used to the shape of the vehicles but if they put their arms out or stood up they would surely attack. She said a leopard walked right by the hummer and she got a picture. She put the picture up on Power Point. (None of these pictures are hers, sorry) She said he was so close she could reach out and touch it! She told us that the very next day it was reported that a tour guide was attacked by a leopard and killed!

Sometimes we don't even realize how dangerous of a situation we are in!

She said, "The Power of a Question... Do they INVITE the Spirit or do they OFFEND the Spirit?"
Then she showed a picture of a locked gate.

When we are faced with a problem do we ask, "Why me?", "Why do I always have to_____", or "Why does she always get to _____?"

This only leads to Doubt, Discouragement, Depression, and/or Despair.

She said that Jeffery Holland, in a CES Broadcast, said that when we have self pity (a pity party) the Holy Ghost cannot come...
She said, "If the Lord could of made it more difficult for Abraham, He would have."

Sister Nelson said that some questions open up our minds.

"What can I do to learn from this trial?" "What can I do so that I will be MORE of my true self through this trial?"

She said she wishes there was some way that we could watch just 10 minutes of our Premortal DVD so we could remember who we were, who we stood by, and what we did!

What IS on my (or your) DVD?

What is on my "Things to do while on earth" list?

She challenged us to pray, fast and go to the temple over these questions! (LOVE that idea!)

MAKE TIME to get to your "Things to do on earth list"!!!!

Look at 1 Nephi 15:27 "And I said unto them that the water which my father saw as filthiness: and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water"!!!!

Did you read that??? His mind was on OTHER things... NOT the filth of the water...

Are our minds on OTHER things... are we consuming the filth of the world?

(One cute thing... she said we as women have a GREAT influence on our husband... on our children... and NO it is NOT nagging! It is "repetitive encouragement"!!!)

Things that we do on a daily basis.... Whose agenda is "THIS" supporting? (video, dress, music)

She said to pray to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion and THEN picture Him right by your side all day long! "When I pray for and picture the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, being right by my side, what am I naturally drawn to say or do, or NOT say and do?"

(Do not have one conversations with ANYONE without the Holy Ghost)

She challenged some women to do this for a time (I can't remember how long, I want to say 21 days???) and they said the 1st thing they wanted to do was to clean their homes...)

She told of a conversation she once had with a Patriarch. She asked him, "How do you prepare to give a blessing?" He told her that he starts by vacuuming the room.

She said that a stake pres. once told her that when they have a disciplinary council they make sure there is not one extra chair in the room, not one extra piece of paper... they CLEAN the room first!
She then showed us a picture of a barn...She drove by a barn once that had THREE words on the side of it... She asked us to think, what would these 3 words be for US?

The barn had in large letters across the roof.... NOT EVEN ONCE.

She has ONE nephew. She asked herself what she could do to make sure that he had a good life. She decided (he was 6) that she would promise him 100 silver dollars if he would keep the Word of Wisdom. She told him that she would check with him every year and if he did NOT partake ~ NOT EVEN ONCE by the time he was 18 years old she would pay him. Every year on his Birthday she would ask him, "Brad, have you ever smoked a cigarette?" (he was 7) He said no. The following year she asked him, "Brad, have you drank a cup of coffee?" He said no. And on it went... When he turned 18, she once again asked him and he said, "No. Not even once." So, she wrote "Word of Wisdom" with the silver dollars and took his picture with it and gave him the picture and the money. (I loved this!!!)

What am I willing to commit to the Lord ~ NOT EVEN ONCE?

She challenged us to take ONE question to the scriptures DAILY every 30 days.

Kneel down, thank our Father for the scriptures, ask your question, and then open them and READ. Journal your question and the date and when you get your question write down where you found it. Do this every 30 days. She did warn, that it might be interesting... when you go back and look, the scripture angels might change the scripture you found it in, they always do! (like her conference when she was told not to marry ~ remember... ALL of the talks were on marriage ~ NOT.)

The scriptures are an answer book! Wear your scripture lenses.Sister Nelson then put up a picture of her niece (I THINK it was her niece, I didn't write down what relative, sorry!!! This is NOT her niece, just a pic I found on Flickr!)

She told of this sweet little girl that is 3 year and 10 month old. She can NOT read. BUT, she always gets her scriptures out and "reads" them. And she marks them. And she writes about them. Sister Nelson asked her what she wrote and this is what she "read" to her that she "wrote" (I copied this from her power point)

"And he spoke unto me, and he talked to me
And his apostles returned and he died.
And he listens to me and he loves me
And he was the truth of God
And he gave me everything I needed
And he was done."
When we gaze into Heaven...
When we ask...
When we truly want to know...
We will be answered.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Dear Derek...

Today is my oldest son's Birthday! Derek. He is 26 today!!! Incredible. Yes, I was 13 when I had him, LOL!!! Standing still at 39 over here!!!


Derek, you are such a wonderful son! I love you SO SO SO much!
Let me tell you a little bit about Derek. Derek was premature, born 5 1/2 weeks early, weighed in at 5 lb. 7 oz. His first word was ball. He played a lot of sports his whole life and still LOVES them! Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Football, and Golf. He played baseball and was very good but did it ONLY for me... he never really enjoyed it. He had 2 College coaches contact him to play for them, one was Southern Virginia University, but he decided to go to BYU Idaho. He still loves and plays basketball and golf at every opportunity! We think he should be a sports announcer!

Anybody remember when bleaching your hair was in? (High School)

He would be great and would love it! He served his mission in Sao Paulo Brasil. His 1st baptism...

With the Mission Pres. and his wife... (he is standing next to Sister B.)
After the mission.... Family Vacation... Devin, Dallin, Derek, Blake, and Chad.

Then Derek headed up to BYU Idaho. And, look at what he landed!
Brittany and Derek were married March 22, 2008. They are fixin' to have their 1st anniversary! She is wearing her Valentine's gift... Yep, a Laker's T-shirt, TOLD you he is obsessed with sports! (and about as romantic as his daddy, LOL) Derek has been very blessed, Brittany is the light of his, or should I say OUR life?!!!Derek is a wonderful son, I am so very proud of him! He is a wonderful big brother! Thank you Derek for being who you are! Happy, Happy Birthday! I wish I was there to take you to dinner!


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Eagle & King?

Last night was the Eagle Court of Honor. Dallin and 3 other YM in our ward were presented their Eagle award! Congratulations Dallin! You worked hard to earn this! To see his project pics, go HERE.


Chad doing the flag ceremony...
Chad getting his award...
The Mother's pin...
Hugging dad!
His 7th grade math teacher came! Thank you Mr. R...

Their Seminary teacher, thank you Br. K...

With their Scout leaders...

FRIENDS!



AND... Dallin was nominated for Mid-Winter King! Here is a pic of him headed to school this morning. I wanted a pic of him with his shirt and tie on... he wouldn't do it for me! :( He is wearing a black shirt and purple tie for the assembly. Good Luck Dallin! Win or not... you are still a King to us! We love you!



Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Question!

Most of you know by now that I teach a religion class on Tuesday nights. I teach the New Testament to 18-30 year olds. Tonight we are studying 1st Timothy - Titus.

In Titus, chapter 1, verse 2 we read:




"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began."



If you turn to me to Jeremiah in the Old Testament, chapter 1 verse 5 we read:



"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."



We, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, believe that we lived with God before we came to Earth and got a physical body. I feel that both of these scriptures support that belief. I THINK that we are the only religion on the Earth that teaches that, I might be wrong... if I am please inform me!



So, my question to you (I know I have some readers that are not LDS) is this....



1) Do you believe that we lived with God before we came to Earth?



and



2) Why or why not?

I would sincerely like to hear your views on this...

THANK YOU! Have a great day!



Monday, February 23, 2009

Congrats Sweet Diana!

Our sweet Diana had her interview on Saturday to the Utah College of Dental Hygiene. She was accepted! We knew she would be, she is quite the girl! VERY smart and just a sweetheart! Congratulations Diana! We are SO proud of you!!!Love,
Mama B

Friday, February 20, 2009

Once Upon A Time...

Okay, Pamie Wamie... you are in BIG trouble! I AM changing my password, what possessed me to EVER give it to you anyway??? I didn't know whether to title this "The REAL Story" or "The TRUE Story" but she is pretty dang close on it all! Do NOT ever tell Pam anything that you want her to FORGET She doesn't!

Once upon a time... there was a fair maiden at BYU...
I was a freshman at BYU, started school in the summer... my daddy wanted me to get away from all of those "Texas" boys while I could, LOL... Anyway, it was summer of 1979, oh so long ago! The FIRST time we met... was yes, Pam, at the BRICK OVEN!

Two of my roommates and I went to dinner, we were waiting to be seated when the hostess walked up and asked us "How many?" Brad said, "6". We turned and looked, oh, baby... yeah, okay, 6! Now, remember he is an RM and had been home for almost two years! He was almost 23 and I was 18! I giggled the whole night (just a tad bit nervous! My momma warned me about boys like him! "RM's"!) I think that first night we both thought each other was really cute but... that was it. For then.

My roommate ran into him on campus and talked to him... telling him I thought he was cute, etc. So, he called and asked me out. I giggled and said, "okay". Well, when the big night came... I stood him up! Yep, just too nervous!!! Being the BIG SCARY GUY THAT HE WAS! (hence the what did Pam call them??? Paver arms??? He did/does have Popeye arms!!! LOVE that about him.... GREAT legs too... in fact he won the "sexiest leg" contest in high school)

Check out those arms of his!!!

Okay, to be fair to Brad... the funny thing is... when we actually DID go out 2 YEARS later, I found out that not only did I stand him up that night... but he stood ME up!!! HOW DARE HIM??!!!

So, that was that... for 2 years.

I had a good friend that was from Vegas too, he kept telling me he had this guy he was going to line me up with, we would make the perfect couple but... I didn't have time and he kept forgetting...

THEN....

ONE day...

or should I say night...

My roommates and I were at Star Palace... (anyone old enough to remember that place???) dancing our little hearts out when I looked up and beheld... O. MY. GOSH. The best looking guy EVER. EVER. I headed straight over to my friend (that one that kept saying he was going to line me up with some guy) and I said, "Do you happen to know who THAT is?" (drooling) And, he told me, "Yeah, that is Brad, the guy I kept telling you I was going to line you up with!" I squealed, "Well work your magic!"

I mean, who could resist THIS??!!!

SEE! Look at those arms! I told you!!! ...I still drool!

I did not recognize him as the same guy I had met 2 years before at Brick Oven. At Brick Oven he weighed in at about 200 lbs (been carrying hod all summer) and had a hairy face, LOL... NOW, 2 years later, he was down to 155 lbs. and clean shaven... Brad thought it was funny that I didn't realize... he says he saw me at dances, football games, etc... he says he was just waiting on me to "grow up", LOL...

We started dating pretty steady in July... got engaged New Year's Eve.... and this is where the Basketball court comes into play...

Brad had called his dad and asked him to pick up the engagement ring on his way home from work. He did. Brad was down at the church playing a little Bball (as ALWAYS) and his dad just couldn't resist, guess he was just a little excited.... so, he casually took the ring box out of his suit jacket and "discretely" started showing each family member with me sitting right there.... Like THAT wasn't obvious! So, he just couldn't stand it any longer and he gave it to me! (yeah, pretty romantic, don't ya think??!!!) So, Brad's sister Annie and I went over to the church to "show Brad what his dad had given me". He barely even nodded. Yep, that was it.

That night at the family dinner (mind you Brad is the oldest of 8 kids) Brad's dad asked him if he had proposed yet (YES I had the ring on) and he said, "Well, not really". Dad told him, well... Ask Her! So, he did, he looked at me, and said, "Will you marry me?" I said, "yes".

Not much romance there ~ luckily he has made up for it over the years!!!

My brother in law (thank you Lane) picked the date for us... he simply put a hear around the date on the calendar and we said okay. It was 6 weeks later! We were married in the St. George temple for time and all eternity!

Brad is a great guy. He has always been there for me and supported me in anything I wanted to do. He is a great father, the boys all look up to him. I am very blessed to have him, he is my everything! Here is a little pic of us having dinner last night ~ Love you Bradly Boy!


Thursday, February 19, 2009

All Because Two People Fell in Love


Hello, blog hacker here. I wanted to wish and have you ALL join with me in wishing


Shaila and Brad HAPPY 27th ANNIVERSARY!

Well. lets have some fun in learning about the happy couple, shall we? I mean I never know how long we have this post up before she gets up and sees what we have done! Notice I said WE cause if you are reading this, you are now part of hacking this blog. Come on, don't get all goody two shoes keep on reading! You know you want to!

It all started 27 years ago, in the St George Temple.

Actually it started long before that, in a disco, called the STAR PLACE...

.. but I am going to get back to that... That is ONE COOL Story!

Ever wonder what Shaila and Brad looked like 27 years ago.....

This is a picture of their wedding announcement. Aren't they just too cute! Don't you think Brad looks like Blake? (Look on the side bar to see what Blake looks like)


So lets play a game getting to know the Happy Couple....Pick a topic about Brad and Shaila and ask her in the comments to tell you about this particular moment! (Each topic has to do with their courtship)

Here are the topics to choose from.....

PAVER arms.....

A DISCO..... (Star Palace) In case you are wondering, that's not Shaila in the picture below. That's her roommate, Lucy, yeah I'll go with that story. WORK IT GIRL!

A hairy MAN (Yeah- OK -no pictures of that, isn't just saying a hairy man enough? Geeze what more do you people want)

A pizza place (Brick Oven) Just how many at this table?

A Basket Ball court


A car.... wait, better not ask that one!

I will stop there ............. In your comments, ask Shaila to tell any or ALL of these stories! I am sure come Friday she will be more than happy to dish it out ..


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to a couple that really demonstrates what marriage is all about. You are his queen and he is your prince! May your dreams come true!

PS thanks for NOT changing your password!! Love you Both!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!