Personal Revelation. . .

Saturday, I attended a Music Workshop put on by the Bloomington Stake. It was kind of like education week in that there were classes offered at the same time and we had to pick and choose which we would attend. I was torn between my choices, and wished I had a clone!

I learned a lot, but the thing that registered most with me didn't have anything to do with music!! The opening speaker (Merilee Webb) related how she had been called as the Activities Committee Chairman after returning from teaching at BYU-Hawaii for a few years with her Masters of Music degree. She was a bit surprised at the calling and asked, "REALLY! Are you kidding?!?!" She then told the bishop she would have to "get back with him," that she needed to get her own answer.

Well, she went home and prayed, saying, "REALLY?!?! Are you kidding!!!" And she received the answer that this WAS what she was supposed to do. So she accepted the calling. And then she prayed for inspiration to know what to do in her calling. On the surface it would seem her job was to plan four activities for the ward that year. However, she prayed to the Lord to find out what HE wanted her to do.

Merilee then went on to relate many remarkable experiences she had as she LISTENED to what the Lord wanted her to do. We were reminded that no matter WHAT our calling in our ward is, we should be praying to know what the Lord wants us to do in that calling.

And so what I learned -- what I was reminded of, and want to share with each of you kids -- is that we should INQUIRE OF THE LORD what HE would like us to do!! This applies to our callings, but it also applies to each day of our life. Do we start out each day telling the Lord what WE are going to do, or do we ASK what He would like?

Just this morning I prayed to know what He would like me to do as the Ward music chairman. I was given insight very quickly about implementing one thing I've never thought of doing before. It should be relatively easy to start, and has great potential for blessing many lives!! And all I had to do was ASK and then LISTEN!!

Wow! I hope we will each remember this simple, yet VITALLY important thing to do in our lives.

Dad and I miss seeing each of you every day!! We are so glad that Dal and Kristy are here, and we look forward to the times we get to spend with the rest of you. We pray for you, for your success, for your happiness, for your well-being, and for your testimonies to be strengthened.

Have a great week!!

Love,
Mom

MIN TAI LEARNS TO RIDE!!

Min Tai did GREAT! By the time we were heading back he was much more relaxed and had fun. He told me later that he thought we were just going to go somewhere and ride around in a circle a few times...boy, was he ever surprised!! And he loved Snow Canyon, too!! This was the first time I've ever been up there with SNOW on the ground!

Kristy's Art Portrayal

Kristy was asked to choreograph and perform a dance solo representing a contemporary piece of art exhibited at the Sears Art Gallery at Dixie State College. Beautiful dance, Kristy!!

Kim, Min Tai

Sooooo, you kids may or may not know that we have a Korean young man living with us for a couple of months! You guessed it...Kristy is SO pleased to have someone to speak Korean with!! However, we had to pull a trick on him first!!

We did not let Min Tai know that Kristy spoke any Korean, which was VERY hard for Kristy to do. But she was gone most of the day on Monday, so it worked out. At dinner we were visiting and, of course, I got the camera out to "document" our first dinner together. Little did Min Tai know I had gotten the camera out to capture his reaction on video!!!

So, Min Tai was teaching us how to say "hello" etc., and then I got him to teach Kristy a short sentence, to see if she could say it back correctly. With a lot of "work" she managed to repeat his sentence. Then, she decided to "just see" if she could string a bunch of words together...and voile!! She totally AMAZED Min Tai!!! He couldn't believe what he heard!!

It was pretty funny!! Thank goodness Min Tai was such a good sport!! We are enjoying having him here!!!

PRE-Christmas Eve with the FAM!!. . .

(SORRY THE PICS ARE SO BLURRY...I'M GETTING A NEW CAMERA!)
Since it was easier for nearly everyone (minus the Texas clan) to get together up in Layton (thanks to Linda's and Monty's hospitality AND the use of their home!) we had a FUN pre-Christmas gathering. We were glad that Wyatt could be there, too!!

Enjoy the pictures!!
Love,
Mom

Yup, this is Santa Clara!!

Our family sure knows how to have a good time without much planning. . . Dallin spotted the canoe on the "rain-made" lake by the dike you kids used to cross going to the middle school.

Kristy, Mil and I couldn't pass up the opportunity...(Dallin had to go to volleyball practice!) So hi-jacked the canoe and paddled all over the lake. It was great!! Dad shot some of the pictures even though he was VERY concerned that we'd tip over...and we almost did!! But it was a blast!!

FLOODING. . . AGAIN!!

Random pics from the flooding in Santa Clara, down by Mark Walter's ranch, and by Green Valley

Remembering Buck...

ENOUGH STUFF. . .

In the December issue of The Era, there are many excellent articles! One, in particular, was a good reminder about “stuff,” and how to make sure our lives aren’t defined by our stuff.

1. Know Who You Are. One of the most subtle and dangerous aspects of materialism is the false identity it can give us.” Does what we “have” make us better than someone else? Or does what we don’t have make us miserable and feel inferior? There is a constant onslaught of advertising messages trying to sell us an image of who we ought to be based on what we ought to buy. This is a distortion of our true identity; we our children of our Heavenly Father and we have a divine identity and potential.

2. Know Where You’re Going. The bumper sticker that says, “He who dies with the most toys wins” may be funny only because there are some people who really do believe it. The prophet Alma taught, “Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you.” The stuff we can buy in this world is nothing compared to the gift of eternal life, “which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God”

3. Be Grateful. People who develop a sense of thankfulness are able to reduce the negative effects of the materialism that surrounds them. “We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we … cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.” (Pres. Monson)

4. Think Outside Yourself. Material things, along with the ways they are marketed, move our focus onto ourselves rather than others. In this way, materialism can cause us to quietly reject the Lord’s commandment to “love thy neighbour as thyself.” Focus on self, and the stuff of this world, is not part of living “after the manner of happiness” In fact, modern research seems to have verified that (1) you can’t buy happiness and (2) a focus on others can bring greater personal satisfaction. “We are happiest when our lives are connected to others through unselfish love and service.” (Elder Withlin)

5. Be Wise. The Savior told His Apostles, “I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” In other words, we should be innocent but not naïve; we should understand the ways of the world without being worldly. We can avoid developing materialistic attitudes if we are more aware of the selling intent of advertising and marketing. Remember, the ads we see are just trying to get us to buy stuff. For what do we exchange our dollars? We need to be careful that the incessant drone of materialism doesn’t influence our attitudes and thoughts and cause us to forget the Lord and His commandments, as well as our true selves
“The tugs and pulls of the world are powerful. Worldly lifestyles are cleverly reinforced by the rationalization, ‘Everybody is doing it,’ thus fanning or feigning a majority. Products are promoted and attitudes engendered by clever niche marketing.” DON’T GET TRAPPED!!