Meetings, meetings, meetings......

I have been feeling that meetings are going to be the death of me. I have a meeting at least once a week for my callings or something else that I am involved in. Most of these meetings are what I call fluff meetings. There really is no reason to have them except that the organizers feel for some odd reason that it is necessary. I find it annoying because a 2 minute phone call or better yet a 1 page email would accomplish the same thing. As the athletic director, most of my conversing is done via email. I love it. It wastes no ones time with stupid questions that have already been answered. If I get such an email I simply respond by forwarding the answer that was already sent. As far as church meetings go, we were counselled about 5 years ago to not have unnecessary meetings, but to especially eliminate most of our Sunday meetings. I must admit that I personally abstain from most of those meetings that I am supposed to go to on Sunday. I believe that my time is better spent with my family. Steve has 2 days off a week and one of them is Sunday. I am happy to go to meetings when he is at work or when it doesn't take away from my family plans. I have always been taught that family comes first in this religion and sad to say, there are people who believe that their callings come before their family. I am not one of those and for some reason not even the prophet feels that the church comes before his family, so I am in good company.

My cup runneth over!

Today was a good day, despite the cold weather. It has been one of those days were I reflect on the things that I have received. Sidnee was baptized yesterday. We are fortunate to have much family and many good friends around us who came to help us celebrate the occasion with her. I can hardly believe how fast she and my other children are growing up. Somedays I do feel like they are making me lose my mind, but what parent doesn't feel that way occasionally? It is strange to me to think that Steve and I have been married for almost 12 1/2 years. We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood with great neighbors and many friends. Steve has a good job, our vehicles run, we are all healthy and sassy! We love our ward, our town and our hobbies. We have food in our fridge, freezer and food storage. We have clothes to keep us warm and a furnace that works to heat our home. I am really enjoying my warm slippers right now. I have Internet and phone to help me keep in touch with those who don't live close. I live in country where I am free to worship my God and vote for whom ever I please. My children are able to go to school and receive a good education. There is gas in my van so I can go wherever I want at least until I have to buy more gas. I get to play volleyball, basketball and softball with women in my ward. I had a bounteous tomato harvest. There is just so much that I have to be grateful for. What more could a person want besides a Chrysler 300? Seriously though, it really humbles me to think about all that I have. I may not be rich in the eyes of the world, but in my eyes, I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.

count your blessings

The idea that really struck during conference was gratitude. There were several talks that touched on that topic. It made me stop and think about the things that I have to be grateful for. There are so many little things that I tend to take for granted or chalk them up to luck, that really are blessings. Steve and I have been working pretty consistently on our food storage since before we moved to Eagle Mountain just over 3 years ago. I have been couponing and canning things. I didn't can too much last year, but this year I was determined to. I bought 2 bushels of peaches that we put up as a family. Even the kids helped without complaining too much. After finishing the peaches, I really was feeling that we didn't have enough put away. I was wanting to can more, but as is with everyone right now, money was not in the budget for that. The next day one of my neighbors gave me a box full of pectin for freezer jam. I almost didn't take it because I didn't have any fruit left to jam, but I just couldn't say no. So here I was Saturday with a box of pectin, but no fruit. Monday I went to run an errand. While on that errand a friend called to tell me that the Church cannery had a surplus of peaches and could I please grab her some on my way home. I told her that I would. I grabbed a box on the way and then stopped at the cannery. I ended coming home with about 5 - 6 bushels of peaches. Now I was feeling grateful that I had taken the pectin because here was fruit to use it on. I called a friend and the next day she and I spent 4 hours making jam. We still hadn't made a dent in the peaches. We decided to have a canning party during priesthood session and invite whoever wanted to come. We ended up with 5 ladies. We made jam for 1 1/2 hours and still had about 1 1/2 bushels left and a ton of pectin. We decided that since we had used all of our containers that we would let someone else have the rest of the peaches and pectin. Just as we were finishing cleaning up we had 3 late comers show up, so we sent them home with the rest of the pectin and peaches. Everyone was happy and feeling blessed. Yesterday I was wishing that I had more tomatoes so that I could make and can some salsa. Today I got an email from a freecycler saying that they had a lot of green tomatoes. I was the first to respond. I came home with 2 bushels of green tomatoes. The man threw in some hot peppers and onions when he found out that I was going to make green tomato salsa. Once again I am feeling very blessed. These things have come to me when I have a lot of other things going on, but how could I not feel blessed when the Lord is giving me what I have asked for. I feel very blessed that I can put food storage up for my family and be able to do it on our budget. It makes me realize that the Lord is mindful of every righteous desire of our hearts. It is as President Eyring has said, the more you look for blessings that have come to you, the more you see that you have been blessed with. May we all look for what we have been given instead of focusing on what we don't. Even in this time of uncertainty, we can be grateful for what we have now and live in the moment as President Monson has counseled.

Take a stand

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked once again for its members to take a stand for marriage. This time for those in California to vote for Prop 8 which will repeal the current marriage law and make it so that a marriage will only be between a man and a woman. If you live outside of California you are to get a hold of family and friends there and encourage them to vote for it. I will support that and email my family in California. This is an issue where no man can sit on the fence any longer. The local news had an interview with a family here in Utah who is LDS and has gay children. They feel they are being torn by this issue. I don't understand this. Although more extreme, how is it different than how a parent should react if their child gets caught stealing, or decides to live with someone out of wedlock? As a parent you should reprimand the child, but still love them. How is that hard? If my child decides to live with her boyfriend, I will let her know how I feel, I would be worried that she is not living the principles that she has been taught therefore not be able to have the full benefits of membership, but I would still love her. In my mind you can love a wayward child, while still living the gospel of Jesus Christ to the fullest. There is no one forcing me to choose between my church and my child. I hear so many people say that the church should change it's rules. I say no! Very much NO!!! God will not change the rules just because he has a child who is having problems passing his test here on earth. I am sure He is more heart broken than we can imagine. I say this as a parent who loves her children with all that she is and knows that what I feel for my children is a minute fraction of what our Father in Heaven feels for us. I know that this is a difficult situation for many, but we need to remember that gender is essential to our premortal, mortal and post mortal lives. I hope that the Lord will bless those whose lives this personally affects will rely on Him and be granted the peace of mind that they need at this time.

Sloppy Joes!

I was talking with a friend and we agreed that when we find a recipe that we like, we should just put it on our blog so that all can see. So here is the recipe for Sloppy Joes that I just discovered. I wanted to find a recipe that my family would like as I have never made them for my family due to the fact that Steve doesn't really care for them. I also wanted to find one that I could make from things that I already have in my food storage. Anyway, here it is:

Sloppy Joe Sandwiches

1 lb ground beef 1 Cup ketchup
1/4 C water 2 Tbls brown sugar
2 tsp worcestershire sauce 2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no
longer pink: drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring
to a boil. Reduce heat: cover and simmer 30 - 40 minutes.
Serve on buns. Yields 4 servings. Taste of Home cookbook.

Politics is like religion!

With the upcoming election there are many people who are talking about politics and I have witnessed some very heated discussions. Here in Utah the majority of people are Republican with of course the minority being Democratic supporters. It doesn't do any good to harass others about their beliefs, just like we don't harass people about their religious beliefs. It is perfectly fine to as questions and try to see the others' point of views, but when it comes to arguing that only gets people's backs up and causes hard feelings. I may not agree with some of the reasons that other people back their prefered candidate, but I will not make fun of them. Just as I will not make fun of those who are not of the religion that I believe in. I really think that it is interesting that some people pay more attention to politics than they do their religion. It amazes me and at the same time makes me sad to think how much effort goes into something they do every four years compared to something that they do every day. I think that the same council that my ecclesiastical leader gives me about interacting with people of other faiths can apply to interacting with people of other political views. Treat them as human beings, answer their questions, but never argue with them. You will never convert someone to your point of view by belittling theirs. Arguing never leads to anything but pain and misery. Anyway, enough from my soap box for now. Whatever side you stand on this election, my request to you is this, please vote in this upcoming election for the candidate that you feel is the best for what you beleive after you have gotten down on your knees and counciled with your maker.