Junking

I love garage-sale-ing. When I was a kid, my family spent Saturday mornings driving around the neighborhoods looking for fun stuff - dad drove, mom was navigator, holding the classified section. Many times on the way to one advertised garage sale we'd see a posterboard sign for another one and we'd detour (surely we couldn't miss any junk!)

It put real meaning to the phrase, "One man's junk is another man's treasure."

We even called it "Junking."

I became so pro that when I had my own garage sale many years ago before I was paralyzed, I knew exactly what to do to get as many people there as humanly possible. I advertised in the paper and on KSL (a newer tool for avid garage salers) and of course, I put up signs. I put up so many signs that there wasn't a visitor to my garage sale who didn't comment on how easy it was to find.

So I had to laugh when we were recently in Wyoming and passed by this newer "bulk" method of garage sale advertising:

Whit and I laughed. This would have made it way fun if my little hometown growing up did this. But my hometown was maybe eight times bigger than this cute, little place. Still, it would have been cool.

I wanted to go junking, but Whit doesn't buy into the whole "One man's junk is another man's treasure" bit. His saying is more like, "If you want treasure, don't spend it on another man's junk."

Book Signing - Seagull Book in Riverdale

I was invited to come to Seagull Book in Riverdale for a book signing! It was super fun.

I was signing my book and CD, "When Life Gets Hard..."

They are the same theme, but the CD is a recorded live talk to a group of Relief Society sisters in West Bountiful and the book has more stories. People often ask if the CD is just me reading the book - it isn't. Covenant, my publisher, realized the problem and so they're going to title my future books and CDs different names even if they have the same theme (they're definitely different).

Best surprise ever was that Whit came! He's never been to one of my book signings (also why I've never had pictures to post of any book signings...) I loved seeing him!

Much to Whit's chagrin they positioned me right next to the clothing rack sale items - I was "shopping" the whole time...

This couple was awesome. They're expecting their first baby and have anticipated having one for a long time, so they were excited. The future dad is holding a "How to teach your children to read using the Book of Mormon" book in his hand. It was awesome.

I even saw some people who've heard me speak before. I love when I see people who've heard me speak before.

This was the crew who worked at Seagull this day - nicest bunch ever! They kept offering me bottles of water and chocolate and more chocolate. Thanks, Seagull Book in Riverdale!

Perfectly Carved Pumpkins

Whit proposed to me on October 13, 2007 - three years after I was paralyzed. We went up to USU where he was performing with a Brazillian Bossa Nova group. I fell asleep in the car o the drive home and woke up when he opened my car door to carry me inside.

But instead of carrying me inside to my room, he carried me in through the front door, past my room, and out through the back door. My grogginess wore off as I freaked out a little - what was he doing? I told him he'd better go back inside and I was even more persistent when I saw what looked to be a bonfire in my backyard. I didn't want to interrupt my brothers on their date or anything!

But once back by the bonfire, I saw no one there - just us. Well, just us and some carefully carved pumpkins that said: MEG WILL YOU MARRY ME ?

I burst out laughing/crying! He set me on a camp chair and pulled out the ring. I cried and laughed even more.

Saying yes was the best decision I've ever made!

Oreos

Mmmmmm, Oreos.

Who can resist the chocolaty, crunchy, creamy goodness of an Oreo? I'm not a big fan of packaged supermarket bakery goods, but even I love Oreos. So I took this crunchy cookie and made it an object lesson for Mathew 6 when Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount and teaching how to not be hypocritical.

With hypocrites, they look good on the outside, but their heart isn't in the right place. So I brought some hypocrites to class. Some crunchy, creamy, chocolatey hypocrites:

Like hypocrites, they appear good on the outside, but their heart isn't quite what it should be... That's because first, I hollowed it out:

...and found the most vile (but edible) substance I could:

 

...and filled the sweet Oreos with horseradish.

Muwahahahaha! 

They looked good on the outside, but inside they were nasty.

Here's a picture of the Oreos I made - one stack are the horseradish-filled hypocrites, the other is yummy, delicious Oreo goodness. 

Can you tell which is which?

The stack on the left is the good ones - I opened them and squished the filling a little so they'd look handled. The stack on the right is more perfect looking, but the heart is bad. Really bad. 

I had volunteers come up and choose one Oreo from a plate - there were 4 volunteers and they had to each choose one Oreo (two from one plate of good Oreos, two from the other plate of hypocritical Oreos). They could examine them as long as they wanted. None of the students could tell by looking at them which was which. Once they'd decided who was going to choose from which plate, I said "go" and they grabbed their Oreo and shoved it in their mouth (the rules to be a volunteer were that you had to be able to put a whole Oreo in your mouth and you couldn't be allergic to anything - it'd be terrible if your seminary teacher killed you...)

Several students went running from the classroom for the water fountain!

It was fun. The best part was finding something to do with all the good Oreo hearts I carved out...

Get revelation this weekend!

I don't usually stop and take the time to get my picture in front of something cool. I like pictures of people with people mostly. But I couldn't not take a picture when we went to SLC for a meeting in the Church Office Building and got to park in the Special Parking lot that they regulate so severely. In there, we saw one of the "secret" tunnels that connects SLC underground! These tunnels make it so that the Church General Authorities can travel between buildings like the Church office Building, the Temple, and the Conference Center without having to travel on the sidewalks and crossing the streets. It was cool.

I know these tunnels will get used a lot this weekend during General Conference! I am so excited for this weekend! Yesterday, I taught my seminary students how to have revelation during Conference. I've gotten revelations during Conference ever since I learned the special "trick" to it, which really isn't a trick at all, it's just, well, I don't know what it is. I just know it works.

To get revelations, all I have to do (or you have to do) is think of questions you want to know the answers to, write them down, and watch or listen to Conference with those questions in front of you while you hold a pencil. You will get the answers and then you write them down.

It's not enough to just pray and tell Heavenly Father what your questions are. I mean, I know that works also, seeing as how God answers all prayers. But for those of us who need a little help hearing revelations, this formula works:

written questions + pencil in hand = answers

 Last saturday in the RS General broadcast (which, by the way, rocked) I did this. Only I only had one questions, which was: What should my questions be for General Conference next weekend? Even though the Chapel I was in was almost pitch black, I had my journal open with the question written at the top and I received revelations! Five questions Heavenly Father wants me to ponder this week and get revelation for this weekend and three other revelatory happenings. Two which made sense and the third I just though I wrote it down because it sounded cool, thinking of it as more of a note I was taking instead of a revelation I was receiving (I don't concern myself too much with taking notes on the talks too much, I mean, I do a little bit, writing down cool stuff, but I am more interested - and keep separate - the revelations I get). But that little "note" I wrote was an actual revelation also, not having to do with my question, but rather it was counsel and direction for me and my church calling I received the very next day.

If we ponder and WRITE DOWN questions we have for God, not just yes /no questions but good questions, ones we really want t know the answers to, and LISTEN to Conference with a PENCIL in our hand (or reeeeally, reeeelly close by), then we will receive REVELATIONS. Not just a few, but as many as we ask for.

We don't have to be a Bishop or a Stake President's wife to get revelations. When I was in my early teens, I read about Nephi and Lehi (the brothers not the sons) in Helamen 11:

But it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi, and many of their brethren who knew concerning the true points of doctrine, having many revelations daily, therefore they did preach unto the people, insomuch that they did put an end to their strife in that same year.

  

When I read that, I thought, "Well why not me, too?" So I work at it because I want those "many revelations daily." I know we all can have them and General Conference is the very best way I have found to get answers to every complex and not-so-complex question that I have - even if the answer is (as it has been sometimes) "I'll tell you later."

Regarding revelations that can happen during Conference, Elder Holland said, "If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you."

 

Makin' Babies...

Whit and I have been wanting to have some babies for a long time but felt like we shouldn’t…until now! Today I have an appointment with a doctor to remove the birth control (IUD) that I’ve had since we were married. I made the appointment with a new OBGYN at the Circle of Life Women’s Center in South Ogden. His name is Wes Davis – he's a doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies like mine will be, so I’m doing a little multitasking with this appointment and using it to “shop” for a good doctor. I chose him from a list of pictures on their website because he’s a high-risk specialty doctor, but also because he looks like he has “Light” in his eyes. I want a doctor with the same beliefs I have. It’s crazy, I have had many doctors for many things since I was paralyzed 8 ½ years ago and I haven’t had any doctor with the same religion as me (at least not practicing anyway). There’s nothing wrong with any of my other doctors, in fact, they’re all very, very good and leaders in their field. But this baby-making endeavor has already been such a spiritual experience for me and I need someone I can share things like that with and he (or she) will be on the same page (and I won't sound like I'm crazy).

mildly hu-Myrrh-ous

In my seminary classes yesterday and the day before, I taught Mathew 1 and Luke 2 about the Savior's birth. My mom has lots of essential oils and things like that so she brought me two bottles, one with Frankincense and one with myrrh.

We discussed the gifts the wise men brought (gold, frankincense, myrrh) and how they were symbolic of the Savior and His life - gold because He's a king, frankincense because it was used in the sacrificial ordinances at the temple back in that day (burned to symbolize prayer), and myrrh because Jesus atoned and died and was resurrected and myrrh was used for embalming. Pretty cool. We talked about how we can give Jesus gifts still and we found the gifts the Savior wants fro different scriptures. Then everyone came to the front and wrote down a gift they'd give the Savior that day and put it into a gift bag. Next to the gift bag I had the two bottles of myrrh and frankincense and the students smelled them.

I taught the first couple classes and then i came in my office and ate my entire lunch. this was weird because I usually eat one part of it - the sandwich or the apple or the string cheese or... - but I ate it all. Even weirder was that I was still super hungry! I had to pray that I'd be able to make it until I got home.

It was bizarre.

Later, I was reading more into the properties of frankincense and myrrh - the two bottles that had been open in my classroom all day long - and I read  myrrh is not just form embalming, but also is really good at increasing appetites.