Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice....

T-Minus 15 minutes until conference starts.

I'm ready!

Bring on the personal revelation!

12.22.11-12.26.11

I didn't take my laptop down to Utah with me because I wanted to spend every second with friends and family. I knew I would be too tempted to blog every day about the festivities. Anyway, I had a great Christmas and had such a blast having Chris with me. Last year we were separated by approximately 2179.28 miles. Not fun! Our first Christmas married was a success and I can't wait for the next eternity of Christmases.

12.22.11
We drove down to Utah...very tired from work. We left as soon as we got off. About 1.5 hours into the drive I was done. I couldn't keep my eyes open! Chris relieved me of driving duty and was kind enough to let me sleep the rest of the way there. What a sweetie.
We (the Jenkins clan and our Elcock cousins) went to Chuck-a-Rama that night for dinner (which brought back Choir Tour 2010 memories...anyone?) then we were off to Zoo Lights....it was far too cold. The poor kids were trying to enjoy themselves, but were done after about 45 minutes. I was too, haha. Then it was back to our house for hot chocolate. Douglas got ahold of our iPad and I found some treasures I have to share. :)

Keep in mind there are about 30+ more. These were just my favorites.

Megan, Betsy, & Henry. Aren't those the cutest Christmas PJ's?

12.23.11
Chris and I did a little shopping on our own. Chris went to 4 pawn shops and 1 gun shop...just for fun. He loves that kind of stuff. I do my best to be a good sport. :)
That night we had a spaghetti dinner and decorated gingerbread (graham cracker) houses. It was really fun to watch Chris get all into it. His house was very elaborate....it even had Santa out front shoveling snow. Regrettably, I didn't take any pictures of our masterpieces.
We then watched some Donny Osmond youtube clips (courtesy of mom) and then watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas....a tradition.
That night Chris and I went on a double date with Megan & Quinn/Thomas (a boy with 2 names, not 2 boys hahaha) to see In Time. A good movie- I really enjoyed it.

12.24.11
Christmas Eve is a big deal in my family. We have a big family party in the party barn. It goes for most of the day- we eat, play games, open presents, and play wii. Its pure chaos....I love it.

Cute Sister

Grandpa ready to pass out presents

Grandkids all lined up

We have a tradition that every year we get to open one present on Christmas Eve. Chris and I were assigned to give gifts to my brothers. We decided to play a little joke on them.... inspired by this video. We filmed ours too...but its not as exciting because my brothers aren't brats like most of those kids.

For their "real" present we bought them both slingshots and amo. For their fake present we found some Disney themed underwear. We hid the real ones and had them open the fake ones first. Jackson tried to act excited and Douglas was to disappointed to say anything. When I couldn't stand it anymore we pulled out their real presents and got to watch them be excited for real.

Haha, my poor brothers. I wouldn't have been happy either. Luckily, they were very pleased with their sling shots.  

12.25.11
Christmas Day was probably my favorite day. We had a phenomenal sacrament meeting service, I absolutely loved it. I had a blast watching my little sister and brothers open presents. Then Chris and I got to Skype with his brother who is currently serving a mission in the Dominican Republic. We visited Grandparents, ate leftovers, and played more games.

We played some "Just Dance" as well...I have videos, but unfortunately one of me is saved on an online locker ready for blackmail if needed.

12.26.11
Our last day in Utah. :( We went to lunch at Zupas and a $3 movie with the family. It was a good last activity. Then we were on our way...not looking forward to the end of the workless part of the break. We arrived in Rexburg at 11pm and collapsed into bed.

Great Christmas Break? Check!

Fasting

"Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation. Fasting and prayer can help develop within us courage and confidence. They can strengthen our character and build self-restraint and discipline. Often when we fast, our righteous prayers and petitions have greater power. Testimonies grow. We mature spiritually and emotionally sanctify our souls. Each time we fast, we gain a little more control over our worldly appetites and passions...Fasting in the proper spirit and in the Lord's way will energize us spiritually. It will strengthen our self-discipline, fill our homes with peace, lighten our hearts with joy, fortify us against temptation, prepare us for times of adversity, and open the windows of heaven."
-Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

I am not a huge fan of fasting...it is really hard for me. I get headaches and am really grumpy. But, reading that quote helps me to have the desire to fast the right way in order to receive the blessings that come from it. Happy Fast Sunday!

Cancer of the Mind

 "Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call a brain. The brain won't vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing you away from the wholesome things in life."
It seems to me that, lately, I have heard a lot of depressing pornography statistics. Did you know that 82% of college age men admitted to viewing pornography regularly (that's admitted...). In a BYU-Idaho study 62% of male students admitted to having/had pornography problems. Those odds are terrible! Ladies- we are not immune! 32% of college age women admitted having a pornography problem. This epidemic is growing on all planes. No one is immune.
Pornography is such a scary thing. It is terrifyingly accessible and literally impossible to avoid-- even unintentional contact.
For an assignment in my Family Foundations class we were asked to read several talks regarding the issue. The most influential talk (for me) was Pornography given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in the April 2005 General conference. I received a lot of comfort from this talk and thought I'd share. I hope that you can find some hope in Elder Oaks' words like I did.
The body/mind analogy can be somewhat depressing, but I saw it as a defense mechanism. The first step to protection is prevention. I take comfort in knowing that I can prevent pornography by staying away from all filth, not just that found on the internet. I know I can improve in the areas of the music I listen to, the movies and TV I watch, and the media I read. Elder Oaks says "the test of what is evil is not the degree but its effect." By eliminating the "smaller" evils in life, the "bigger" ones become less of an issue.
My biggest source of comfort came from this statement; "an endowed priesthood bearer's fall into pornography never occurs during periods of regular worship in the temple; it happens when he has become casual in his temple worship." What a great promise! As long as we are renewing our covenants and diligently attending the temple...we cannot fall into pornography. No wonder we have been counseled to have a photo of the temple in every room. The spirit will make us strong and we will be able to resist temptation and our Heavenly Father will bless us.

That's enough from me! I hope that someone, somewhere will benefit from reading this and that we can all protect ourselves from this cancerous addiction.

Effective Prayer

We had a lesson in Book of Mormon about effective prayer. I think a topic like this is such a great refresher. I can definitely improve the sincerity and the overall quality of my prayers. Our teacher made a list of 24 scriptures for us to look up that would teach us about effective prayer. The lesson hit me so hard, so I jotted down the list and typed it up.

{for those of you interested in reading them}

I'm working on marking all of them in my scriptures. Its been a really good experience for me.

Happy Weekend!

Things As They Really Are

My Family Foundations class is divided into 6 two week units. Every two weeks we make a new "Provident Living Plan" to follow that coincides with the unit. The PLP for this unit is Media Management. I have to track all my usage of media outside of homework and work (all time spent listening to my iPod, watching TV or movies, or using my cell phone). In addition I am currently on a "Facebook Fast."
I had Chris change my Facebook password and log me out so that I am unable to log in. I have already noticed a change in my productivity. Instead of checking Facebook in between classes, I worked on some homework. There isn't really much for me to waste time on when I can't get on Facebook (except for blog stalking...but no new posts yet today). I have been kind of amazed how many times I usually get on Facebook during the day.
The above video was shown in class before we formulated our plans. It really made me think about my media usage and how it affects me, my relationship, and the companionship of the spirit. It is really scary how dependent we are on media and technology.
My hope is that at the end of the two weeks I won't really have a desire to get back into my Facebook habits. I haven't missed it so far...
Chris is also in the class with me. He doesn't really like Facebook and doesn't get on much, so he is on a "YouTube Fast" and is limiting time he watches TV. I have a feeling there are a lot of Battleship Tournaments in our future. :)
Wish us luck!

Road Trip

So, on Thursday my husband met me at the Crossroads (BYU-I cafeteria) for lunch. He sits down across from me and says: "Do you want to go to The Pie this weekend?"
[For those of you who aren't aware....The Pie is a pizza joint in Salt Lake City. It has the best pizza and these amazing cheese pull-a-parts. Chris and I went on many a date there when I was at Westminster and we still harbor a deep love for the restaurant]
Slightly confused I said: "I always want to go to The Pie." He then proceeded to tell me that he needed some Chemistry help and that he had set up a 5-hour tutoring session with his sister, Teresa (who is a PA), for Saturday. I was so excited. I had been missing my family and Utah a lot, so of course I agreed to the trip.
So, we worked tirelessly the rest of Thursday and Friday morning to get our homework done and we headed out on Friday afternoon. It was so nice to have no homework and a weekend full of friends and family ahead of us. We talked, listened to music, and ate yummy yogurt on the way down. We made a pit stop in SLC and had our favorite meal: cheese pull-a-parts and soda, and made our way down to Pleasant Grove. We checked in with my family and then met Teresa and her husband Jonathon for Baskin Robbins. She also shared her good news: she got a job working at the clinic at University of Utah. :) We were so happy for her.
After visiting with them for awhile (until about 12:30am) we went back to my parent's house and crashed. The next morning we woke up early and took Megan with us to breakfast at Kneaders with my two best friends Kara and Rachel. We had a good catch up and ate yummy french toast.
Then, Chris rushed off to do his Chemistry and I went to the wards women's conference. They had a few speakers talking about emotional health, marriage and family relations, and just all around good stuff. The talks were great and I got to hang out with my mom and other home-ward friends.
That night Chris and I doubled with my parents. We went to Brick Oven. I forget how awesome that place is. Then, Megs and Chris and I went to a movie at the $3 movie. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't so great...but it was good to be out to the movies and eat some popcorn and blue slushee.
[Don't watch "Crazy Stupid Love" with Steve Carrell. Its a big suck of a movie.]
Once again we got home after midnight and crashed....then we were up again for 9:00 church. We went to church, came home and had a power nap; and off we were to Grandma and Grandpa John's for Sunday dinner. After completely stuffing ourselves with rolls, roast, potatoes, and brownie sundaes it was time to hit the road and get home.
I was sad to leave my fam and all, but the ride home might have been one of the highlights for me. Chris and I talked almost constantly. We talked about our school plans, house plans, children plans...all of it. I was so grateful for this little reminder that Chris is perfect for me. He is my very best friend, and makes me so happy. I can't wait to live the rest of my life with him and to reach all of our goals together. There's no words to describe how happy I am.
Chris, who drove the whole time (both ways), has completely conked out. But I'm too happy to sleep. :) I hope everybody had a weekend as great as I did. :)

The Tongue of Angels

So, I was recently assigned to read Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled The Tongue of Angels.
In reading it, I realized that this is something that I (and in my opinion everyone else in the world) can always be working on.

"The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones." I don't think we can count the times someone has said something hurtful to us; nor can we erase the effect its had on us. I still remember in 7th grade TLC class when this boy (who will remain nameless, although I do remember his name) told me I was fat and had "kindergarten teacher hair." Now, know that I have forgiven this individual and have since moved on- but thinking back on it, it still stings.

How many times have I said something hurtful or mean, without even realizing it? This, to me, is a scary thought. I don't think anyone enjoys hurting peoples feelings or being blatantly mean, but often we are all insensitive without even realizing it. We have all heard the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" countless times. Maybe its time to revisit this and think about what comes out of our mouths. I hope I'm not coming off as self righteous or like I'm attempting to passive-aggressively tell someone they've hurt my feelings. I'm really not. :)

Part two of the talk was my favorite, and also very applicable. "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse." My default to many unpleasant or inconvenient situations is just this (complaining/whining/being negative), just ask my husband. We are so accustomed to luxury and convenience that when something slightly unpleasant comes our way its the end of the world. Then we make it worse by complaining. Somehow this doesn't make sense to me.

So! I am trying to counteract my negativity with a gratitude section in my journal. Every day I'm going to write about 3 (specific) things I am grateful for. I did this over the summer when I was away from home and constantly struggling with homesickness and it worked wonders. Here is my gratitude list for today:

1. I am grateful for making productive use of my time. Being in the library and crossing off my To Do list items like mad is such a great feeling. So is knowing I will have more free time tonight.

2. I am grateful for Reese's Pumpkins (like Reese's Eggs). It was a perfect "pre-test" pick-me-up. Chocolate has that effect on me. :)

3. I am grateful for my husband. He drove me to yoga last night even when he had a lot of homework to do. He always makes time for me and for us even when he's crazy busy. 

What are you grateful for? 

A really, really great day....

Today has been "one of those days...." but in a good way- its been a really great day.

First of all...last night I slept very well (that always helps), and I got to sleep in until about 9am this morning. In my opinion 9am is the prime time to sleep into...you didn't sleep the day away but you get enough extra sleep to feel the effects. Anyway....we made waffles and went to a temple session. We went at a great time...not too crowded but there were enough people there to fill a session. We spent some time talking about our plans for future education and careers. It was cool to look forward and have the input of the spirit involved.
Next we went to Cragio's (actually called PizzaPieCafe but no one calls it that), an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffet. This is my favorite place to eat in Rexburg. We also brought our homework with us so we were there awhile which means we ate a lot of pizza.
Then it was time for me to get ready to go to the Relief Society Broadcast. It was such a good meeting. The talks were great, the music was great, my company was great. Here are some of the highlights (for me) from the meeting:
1. Daughters in My Kingdom was mentioned in each of the RS 1st Presidency's talks. So I think you should read it.
2. Visiting teaching was also stressed in 3 of the 4 talks. I think this is important and the church as a whole needs to do better.
3. EVERYTHING that comes out of President Uchtdorf's talk is genius. I was barely able to watch the screen because I was taking notes so furiously. He really knows how to make talks seem personal to the individual. Here are some of the points from his talk:

"Forget Me Not"
Forget not...
-...to be patient with yourself: God knows we are not perfect...no one is. We tend to compare our weaknesses with the strengths of others. Weakness is part of mortality. Strengthening weakness is a long term goal.
-...the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish one: A good sacrifice is to sacrifice something good for something better.
-...to be happy now. "Remember the simple joy of the candy bar instead of only focusing on the "golden ticket." Be happy with where your life is now. We cannot put our happiness on hold and wait for "better" things to come our way. Appreciate the blessings you do have.
-...the "why" of the gospel: Routines cause us to overlook simple aspects of the gospel and of life. The gospel is not an obligation...it is a pathway. It is a light...illuminating our path. The how and what spring from the why.
-...the Lord loves you: We sometimes feel insignificant and overshadowed. We must remember that our Father in Heaven- the creator of all the earth- knows your name, listens to your prayers, and watches over you. He loves us because we are His children. Allow his love to heal you and soften your sorrow. We are closer to heaven than we realize.
Your future is as bright as your faith.

Such a great talk! I loved every second of it.

And to top it all off.....I was walking out to my car after the broadcast with my friends Merrie and Amberly, and their roommate Amanda, and we found that my car had fruitsnacks, a box of milk duds, and a box of cookie dough was taped on my car. Also, there was a note on my door that said "Love you the most." MY HUSBAND IS SO CUTE. It made me really happy. I am kicking myself that I didn't take a picture, but here is a picture of the bowl of treats I had after we got it all off my car...

48 Bags of Fruitsnacks, 1 Movie Theater-Sized Box of Milkduds, 1 Movie Theater-Sized Box of Cookie Dough

Life is good! :)