plastic plants.

It was one of those afternoons we would lay in the hall on that ocean blue carpet for hours.  The swamp cooler just wasn’t cool enough.  After too many games of Uno, we decided to brave the elements and take a trip to the local convenience store.  Our hopes rested in being able to devour our ice cream cones before the sun stole them. 

Silently traipsing up a hill we took a miserable break that wasn’t much of a break at all but rather a realization of how much water we were losing by the second. I was surprised to look to my right and see a middle-aged woman gardening, believing at once she was a little too enthusiastically dedicated to the state of her plants.  “No one in their right mind should be gardening in this heat,” I muttered to myself.   But alas, she was there in her gardening knee pads and sun hat, happily pouring drop after drop of water onto each plant from her lime green watering can.  A can like I’d remembered from reading Peter Rabbit.  The kind he hid behind when he was trying to escape from Mr. McGregor. 

 From where we were standing, the garden was flawless: rich brown dirt, zero weeds, perfectly green plants with beautifully bloomed flowers in every color imaginable, all in ideally straight lines.  Thoughts of how much work she must spend flooded my mind, followed shortly after with thoughts about how much I hated weeding. 

Then, at the end of one row of petunias something grabbed my attention.  A large plant lay uprooted and turned on its side, but still in its flawless form.  It was supported with the tip of a stiff leaf.  The plant did not touch the ground anywhere but this tip and the very bottom of the root.  Odd.  We casually inched closer to take a better look.  Plastic plant.  It was a plastic plant.  I muffled my laughter so the gardener extraordinaire wouldn’t hear.  My eyes darted down each row.  It couldn’t be, no, but it is!  A whole garden of plastic plants!  My friend didn’t even notice what was going on, too caught up in the heat of the day to care about an old lady’s garden.  So I smile to myself, chuckle a little bit, and continue my way to the convenience store. 

Don’t worry, lady, your secret is safe with me. . .  

to the mother of the screaming child at the scholastic book fair...

to the mother of the screaming child at the scholastic book fair,

i see you in the library of the elementary school i teach at.  and... your 4-year-old child is screaming at you.  he is blood-curdling screaming right in your face.  that's why i'm looking at you.  that's why everyone is looking at you.  he's so mad that you won't buy him that brand new $39.99 lego star wars book with the included lego guys that he "need need neeeeeeds" to have.  he's putting up a really big scene.  i heard him all the way down the hall.  he's yelling and punching your legs as he writhes in emotional pain on the floor.  he's crying and crying, screaming how mean you are and how rude that you won't give him what he wants.  his world is caving in.  he just told you you're the worst mom ever.  more people are looking at you now.  the lady at the register is frozen, not sure how to react.  everyone is watching.  just waiting and wondering how you're going to handle him.  he's making a scene, and that scene is getting louder and more uncomfortable to watch.

i see a tear welling up in your eye.  but i also see the face of courage and strength you're forcing to stick on your face.  you are calm and collected, seemingly unfazed by his tantrum.  you continue your business at the register, then place the books in your bag, quietly take your daughter by the hand, scoop up the screaming toddler, and walk out of the library.  he continues to squirm and punch you.  he just clawed your face, leaving a large scratch down your cheek.  yet you calmly walk on.  

as you walk to your car (and i can't help but follow and watch in awe at your magical parenting techniques), i hear him scream, "YOU PROMISED I COULD GET A BOOK TODAY!"  in between sobs and trying helplessly to catch his breath. to which you calmly reply, "i gave you $5 to spend on a book today.  you picked a book that was more than $5.  then you chose to spend your time in the book fair crying and screaming instead of looking for another book that was $5.  i'm sorry you made that choice, that must be very sad for you to leave the book fair with no book today."  

he of course didn't like this reply.  in fact, he's screaming louder now.  he's squirming so much that he practically falls from your arms.  you set him calmly on the ground and firmly, but lovingly grab his wrist so he doesn't run away.  in your calmest, most patient motherly tone, you say, "(name), i love you.  i love you so much.  i can see that you're sad right now and i feel sad that you are so sad.  let's get in the car and find your special blankie, that always makes you feel better."  he replies, "but, but, but... you didn't get me my book..." you again repeat what you said earlier that you were sad he made the choice to waste his time crying instead of finding another book that was $5.  then, without another word, you give him a big hug (which he resists), scoop him up (only to be again scratched in the face), and put him into his carseat.  you close his door and lean up against the car for a brief moment.  you breath out a sigh of frustration before you climb in the car and drive away.

you didn't give in today.  you never gave in.  
and for that, i want to say thank you.  

thank you for being a mother that sets boundaries for your child.  thank you for being a mother that doesn't give in to social embarrassment to appease the wants of your crying 4-year-old.  thank you for choosing to not give him everything he wants.  thank you for having the maturity to scoop him up in your arms as he flails and screams, and calmly explain to him the reasons why you wouldn't be purchasing the lego book for him today.  thank you for having the maturity to talk to your child like an adult and allow him to see the consequences for his actions.  thank you for taking the time to explain to him that this wasn't your problem; it was a mess he created for himself based on a choice he made.  thank you for setting an example to all the other mothers there that being a firm parent that sticks to her word is much more important than giving in to sooth the screams.  thank you for being a mother that your children can rely on because you are consistent and firm.  thank you for being a mother that your children feel safe with, because they know their boundaries and expectations.  thank you for loving your children enough to step away from being their friend, and assume the role of being their parent.
as a teacher, i experience everyday a wide variety of parents and see the full spectrum of parenting styles and approaches.  and as a teacher, i can see the dire need the world has for more mothers like you.  the scholastic book fair was 3 months ago, and i'm still thinking about you and the way you handled your child's tantrum that day.  you left an impression in my mind, and the minds of everyone that watched you like i did in february.

thank you for being the kind of mother that raises respectful, humble children.  your influence is far greater than you will ever realize.

sincerely,
a grateful first grade teacher

here is hope

My heart is full this morning as I reflect on the true beauty of the gospel: our opportunity to be healed. 

It's been a unique weekend full of gratitude and hope. It began on Friday night as I attended the Lamb of God production. It continued as I attended the temple last night with the man I love most. And today's church meeting has been full of testimony and lovely stories of the effects of the atonement in profound and real ways. I love weekends like this: weekends where my heart could explode with the peace, gratitude, love, and adoration I feel. 

I'm reading in 3 Nephi 9 this morning and it's caused me to think about the healing power that the Savior offers us. In verse 13, Christ speaks about the conditions of being healed: RETURN to the Savior, REPENT of sins, and BE CONVERTED. 

In this verse, Christ pleads, "Will ye not (do those things) that I may heal you?" He is waiting. 

Receiving Christ into our lives is an active pursuit. To come means to move toward or near. I show my willingness to come unto Christ by my small, daily actions. Through consistent, correct choices, as Elder Richard G Scott teaches. 

In verse 21, Christ tells us His purpose for being in this world: "I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin."  

To me, to be saved means to be healed. When we seek relief, we seek healing from something--> a physical ailment, an emotional pain, a weakness, an answer to a question. I'm convinced all the commandments are really exactly the same.. Just different ways to say the same thing.. "Come unto Christ!" He came to save us from sin. To save us from heartache. To save us from hurt. To save us from evil and wickedness. From the natural man. From ourselves. 

"If ye will come unto me, ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive, and blessed are those who come unto me." (Vs. 14)

Did you catch that promise? "Whosoever will come, him will I receive."  He says it again in verse 22: "Whoso repent with and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive... For such I have laid down my life and taken it up again." He invites everyone. And will accept anyone who makes the effort. 

He wraps it up by saying, "Therefore, repent, and come unto me, and be saved." Simple as that. 

Choose to be saved.  Choose to make the Savior an integral part of your life.  Choose to be healed.

There are countless examples in the scriptures where the Savior's call to come unto Him has been heeded and people have experienced the joy and healing He promised. 

In chapter 10 of 3 Nephi, the Savior's voice comes to the people. The earth is mourning on the death of Christ, then goes still. Christ's voice comes to remind them that He has gathered them, that He's nourished them. As the days went on and the darkness wore off, the earth ceased to tremble, "the tumultuous noises did pass away". Verse 10: "Their mourning was turned into joy, and their Lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer." 

I myself have experienced the process of mourning turning to joy, lamentations turned to praise. It is real, it is beautiful, and it is necessary for our journey in this life to experience these things. The principles of the gospel have the unique characteristic of applying to everyone as a whole, yet being so specific and unique to each of us.  I love this. I love that I have a Father in Heaven that loves me enough to give me relief and healing through the process of coming unto Him in the very individual way that makes sense to me. 

My favorite song in The Lamb of God is called "Here is Hope". "Hope did not die here, but here was given. Here is hope!" 

Particularly at this time of the year, when we celebrate the resurrection of the Savior, I feel an extreme amount of gratitude for the hope that comes because of the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is real. He is love. His love is eternal. His healing is a gift to us. We can and will be saved because of Him, through Him. 

He is hope. 

love is...

with valentines day coming up in a few days, i thought I would illicit the help of my 6-year-old friends in defining love. here's what they say... 

so there ya have it. happy love day!!

we taught each other

one of my favorite things about belonging to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the first Sunday of the month when i have the chance to sit and listen to pure testimony and feelings from my peers. 

gems this day: 

- "the Lord sustains me in everything i do." 

- "this problem will be solved through trusting God and the grace of Jesus Christ." 

- "always think 'what can i learn from this?'" 

- "whenever you decide to act on promptings, things fall into place."

 

- "i know it not only up here (points to head), but also in here (taps heart)"

- "it brings me comfort to know that God will manage the decisions i make in a loving way, with confirmation that i am on the right path." 

- "heaven is not for perfect people, it's for people willing to be perfected through the gospel of Jesus Christ."

- "we can go to our God and tell Him how big our problem is, or we can go o our problem and tell it how big our God is." 

- "the Lord takes care of us. He always takes care of us." 

the gospel of Jesus Christ is real and it is true. 

"this is My house"

"i think there is no place in the world where i feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples."  - president thomas s. monson

i agree!  i love the temple.  i always have and i always will.  there is an unmatched peace that floods into my heart when i walk through those doors.  i love light.  i love thinking about and studying about light.  whenever i am in the temple, i read the same chapter of scripture every time: doctrine and covenants section 93.  it teaches me a lot about light.  a lot about the Savior and His expectations for us.  it begins, "every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that i am. and that i am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

it goes on to speak about the fulness of the Father that is distilled on us as we seek Him.  in verse 28, it says, "he that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."  there are so many gems in this chapter.  which is why i read it and re-read it every time i'm in the temple.

that verse, in its simplest form, is why i go to the temple.  to be instructed and receive his truth and light.  to feel of His peace and love.  i believe that the fulness of the gospel and the fulness the Father has to offer will be revealed to us as we spend time serving in the temple with an open and questioning heart.  being focused on the temple so much this past year has been the greatest blessing to my life.  in a real way, i've experienced a focus in intentions, a greater increase of light and truth, and the resurrection of my once pondering heart.  i've received many peaceful answers to prayers as i've listened to the beautiful words spoken there and felt the spirit of the place.

when i go with a prepared heart, it is filled.  

i've often thought about how wonderful it would be to take a utah temple tour and visit all the operating temples in this great state of ut-hah.  so, in 2014, i made it a goal for real and made it happen.  "14 in '14" i called it.

i learned a lot from my excursions.  it was cool to compare and contrast the architecture of the different temples, as well as the cities where they are housed.  but probably my favorite part about the experience besides the learning aforementioned was the friendships i strengthened and built as i went adventuring around utah with some great friends.

jen johnson is the most faithful visiting teacher i've ever had.  during one of our visits last year, we were chatting about temples and i told her about my goal.  she instantly became my temple buddy.  it was a blast getting to know her better during the longer excursions we went on.  my "rule" was i had to do an endowment session and get a picture in front of every temple in order for it to "count", and that's exactly what i did.  sadly, i lost the logan temple picture with melissa k. condie, but here are the rest (in no particular order).  

st. george with deb ireland 

took a day trip to the old st. geezy.  drove down, did a temple session, met up with a friend for lunch, then visited our dear president and sister archibald before making the journey home in the same day.  

manti with jen johnson and christiana pinborough

the manti temple is full of beautiful murals.  the architecture is so unique.  i was blown away by the beauty and authenticity of the paintings from floor to ceiling.  

salt lake with myself (thus no pic)

i've always loved the salt lake temple.  the live session allows me to hear different things in different ways every time i attend.  the salt lake temple will always be close to my heart.  and honestly, it was nice to come "home" after many months of visiting other temples.  

newly dedicated ogden with jen johnson 

ben croshaw took me to walk around the outside of the ogden temple during the open house, but i didn't get the chance to go through it, so it was wonderful to finally see this inside of this beautifully 

re-done temple.  it was impressed with the grounds and just how extra clean and new it felt. 

jordan river with coleman ence 

my parents were there too, but they weren't in our picture for some reason.  no one i'd rather be in the temple with than my dearly beloved family.  the sweetest feelings of my heart are felt when surrounded by those i love the most in the place that seals us together for eternity.  

bountiful with madelyn ence

my sweet cousin hermana madelyn ence currently serves in the new york, new york 

south mission speaking spanish like a boss.  i totally miss her!  but it was a great experience to 

attend the temple with her shortly after she was endowed and before she left. 

 she's killin' it out there but i can't wait till she's back...

mount timpanogos with camille smith 

the first time i went to this temple for the open house, i was more concerned with the little cloth booties on my shoes than anything else.  this time, decades later, i was totally blown away by the beauty of this place.  it literally took my breath away.  camille smith has the greatest insights; it was so cool to be in the temple with her and hear a piece of what she was thinking about it all. 

provo with deb ireland 
my final stop in the tour.

vernal with jen johnson 

vernal is one of those temples that i'll be satisfied having gone just once in my life... haa.  it felt more like a church building and was hard to see because of a stone wall all the way around.  

highlight of the trip was people watching at the diner we went to for lunch. 

monticello with jen johnson, deb ireland, and lacy smith 

after the session, a man came up to me and said he didn't recognize us and where were we from, etc.  turns out monticello is a small enough town that they don't get visitors too often, and they know everyone.  i was impressed with his desire to know the people serving in the temple he presided over.    this overnight trip was a blast, experiencing all the small town experiences and a few short sight-seeing stops on the way home (including a speeding ticket in moab.. boo...)

draper with whitney england, whitney ward, and jen jones 

i love the way draper temple is situated on the hill.  there is no better view than walking out of draper temple on a gorgeous summer sunset.  mmm.  

oquirrh mountain with jen johnson 

ever since my first experience here during the open house a few years ago, oquirrh mountain takes the cake as my favorite utah temple.  i will be married here; a fact that was solidified when i witnessed the sealing of my beautiful penny sue wallace to her sweetheart this past summer.  

brigham city with jen johnson

brigham city was our first stop on the utah temple tour 2014.  for future reference, you need an appointment to go there ;)  always been impressed with the art in this temple.. it's different than you usually see, and i love that.  peaches for days.  

i can' t decide if a new goal of visiting every temple in the US is too ambitious or not... anyone care to join?  :)