Come to my NEW BLOG!

Thank you for some great years at this blog! I have now merged my blog and my website together - so please come and visit me there! I'll share all about my speaking trips, books, CDs, and life at www.MegJohnsonSpeaks.com - the blog is the homepage! I'll also have a quote of the day because, well, I just really like short snippets of motivation like good quotes so I thought I'd share. Come and visit me and subscribe there because I won't be posting to this blog anymore!! :)Meg

If horses aren't in heaven, I ain't goin!

On the last day of class, I had my seminary students write down their grades (for home reading, participation and such) as well as respond to a few comments like telling me their favorite lesson, a time they felt the Spirit, and how they’ve been bettered by the class.

I love reading these, but I especially love reading any additional comments some of my students made!

One of these great comments came from one of my students who looked pained most days in class – I thought seminary must not be his thing, but as I got to know him more, I learned that most things are not his thing. Most things, that is, except horses.

Horses and anything that has to do with horses.

My first inkling that horses were his thing was when he got up during devotional to share a scripture. As he started to preface the scripture with a bold testimony, I was blown away. I didn’t realize he was such a scriptural powerhouse!

Confidently, he said, “If we all keep the commandments we will receive God’s greatest blessing.” At this point, I was sure he would share a scripture about eternal life, but he continued. “In D&C 62:7 we read about this greatest of all the blessings God gives: ‘I the Lord, am willing, if any among you desire to ride upon horses, or upon mules, or in chariots, he shall receive this blessing, if he receive it from the hand of the Lord, with a thankful heart in all things.’”

I was laughing so hard (in my mind) that I don’t remember how he finished. I just remember that I saw him smile as he sat down.

As the semester went on, I learned that he knew every horse scripture in any book of scripture! He was the ‘strong-but-silent’ type, so unless we were discussing horses or something that had to do with horses, he appeared to just endure me and my lessons.

I was sure that because I wasn’t his animal science teacher or ranching buddy I’d never make his top 5 favorite people, but I must rank SOMEWHERE because when he turned in his grading sheet, he added a short comment at the end - offering me one of the greatest things he could ever offer me in all the eternities!

On the bottom of his page, he wrote: 

And oh, I will.

Doodling

I spoke the other day at a single adult fireside, which means everyone there (all 450-500 people) was 30+ and single. It's a pretty fun group and I shared a lot about trials (this group has the worst ones, I think) and service - my favorite topic. 

Afterward there was the longest lineup of people to visit with me. It went from the stand all the way to the back of the pews. People came and thanked me and shared a little about themselves. I liked meeting so many people with unique circumstances and interesting personalities. Some of them were quirky and fun - I even got proposed to! 

One man came up and said how he doodled the whole time I spoke. I wasn't sure what to say to that, my first thought was that I had truly bored him. Then I wondered why he would have waited in the line to tell me how boring I was. 

Then he showed me WHAT he had doodled:

 

It was ME speaking! I was blown away, it was so cool. There were many people crowding around us wanting to see what new creation he did this time; apparently he doodles for every speaker. 

He showed me another cartoon he drew. It was of me, but more of one of the stories I shared. It was the story about getting into my car but falling into a rain puddle and how an old lady picked me up out of it. I loved it! 

 

The man's name is A.D. Whipple. And he can doodle during my talks anytime he wants!

Dirty, Dirty Dog

This is our super cute dog, Amp. 

He plays hard ad sleeps hard. 

This is him laying on the floor in the kitchen 

on his new favorite rope toy:

But sometimes he isn't so super cute. 

Sometimes he's a little twerp. 

Sometimes he plays a little too hard and this is what 

he looks like when he comes back inside:

Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) mentioned that 

poems came to mind when he watched his cats. 

I don't have any cats, but I assume it might work 

with pretty much any pet. So here goes my best haiku:

Dirty, dirty dog.

What the heck were you thinking?

Furry, little punk.

Seminary Teacher

Yesterday was my last day as a seminary teacher!

It has been a fun 2 years, beginning with a New Year's resolution to speak at EFY and ending with a few tears as I pulled out of the Fremont High School seminary parking lot.

I would have stayed longer, but after quite a few prayers, Whit and I felt like it was a good time to end. I feel strongly like I'm supposed to focus on writing. I've got another book being released in August and I am starting to write another one today!

I was super blessed the whole time I was teaching. I never (ever) got sick anytime I had to teach (I did a couple weekends and Christmas break, but I never missed class because I didn't feel well). And, the biggest blessing of all was that I never - ever - got cold. For those of you that don't know, spinal cord injuries like me can't control our temperature and so I am often, nay, always cold.But it was a crazy phenomena that I was NEVER cold when I taught and NEVER had to have a heater in my classroom. I was cold during my prep periods and during assemblies and such, but never in the classroom. It was awesome.

Crazy blessing, too, that I didn't realize, was that my wheelchair was always working. My cushion has been going flat for the last week, but it never went flat at school. Only after school would it deflate. This morning, my first day as a non seminary teacher, I could barely push my chair at all! It was nuts. Whit had to dismantle it and oil it up. I guess my magically working wheelchair blessing is no more because I don't need it.

I am going to miss my beautiful students and my beautiful faculty. It was such a fun time!