OK - So I'm Not Bored Anymore!

Yesterday I was called to meet with the President of the Snowflake Temple. I have been called and set apart to be a Temple worker again - and I am so excited! It shouldn't take me long to get back up to speed with all that I have to memorize. I will work on Friday mornings. Clark and Susan Halls also work on that shift, so I will at least know someone when I go - and I guess I know who submitted my name, too.

The temple is so small! The Mesa Temple has 4 Initiatory booths - the Snowflake Temple has one. The Mesa Temple has 4 sets of Ordinance Rooms, The Snowflake Temple has one set. You have to make appointments to attend the Snowflake Temple most of the time, although a few sessions don't require an appointment. It is going to be very different, but I can't wait to get started again. When I was set apart, I was told that my family would be greatly blessed and my health would be better because of my service in the Temple. I have such a strong testimony of temple work and attendance and have had some of my most spiritual experiences while there. I know how busy all of you are, but try to take one day a month to go with your spouse. I know it is a sacrifice because you are all so busy, but you have been promised that angels will attend and guard your family if you go. I still have tons of family names that need endowment work done. Maybe I can leave some names with one member of the family and you can get a family name when you go to the temple. It's always so much more meaningful to me to take a family name through. Any volunteers to be the "keeper of the names"?

Importance of Attending the Temple in the Last Days

I found this quote and want to share it with everyone:

One of the best explanations about the importance of temples in the last days was given by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, of the first Quorum of Seventy, when he was Pres. of the Utah, South Area, April 1987:

“The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Satan has unleashed every evil, every scheme, every blatant vile perversion ever known to man in any generation… We and our wives and husbands, our children and our members must find safety.

As the evil night darkens upon this generation, we must come to the temple for light and safety. In our temples we find quiet, sacred havens where the storm cannot penetrate to us. There are hosts of unseen sentinels watching over and guarding our temples. Angels attend every door.

Before the Savior comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls. The saints will come here not only to do vicarious work, but to find a haven of peace. They will long to bring their children for safety sake.

There will be greater hosts of unseen beings in the temple. Prophets of old as well as those in this dispensation will visit the temples. Those who attend will feel their strength and feel their companionship. We will not be alone in our temples.

Our garments worn as instructed will clothe us in a manner as protective as temple walls. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of the trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm, we will mount up as on eagles wings, we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world.

The Savior will come and honor His people, those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials ever known to man. His bowels will be filled with compassion and His heart will swell wide as Eternity and He will love them. He will bring peace that will last a thousand years and they will receive their reward to dwell with Him.

Let us prepare them with the faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples. Come, come, oh come to the temples of the Lord and abide in His presence.”

Second Coming

I'm sorry...again...that I haven't posted more often. I am so stressed!! I am working on an Enrichment night lesson for the entire ward - the Bishop decided he wanted husbands there, too - on the Second Coming. It has been so much harder than I thought because there is so much information available and I only have 40 minutes. There is so much I want to say and yet I don't want this to be an "alarmist" type of talk. Please keep me in your prayers! This will happen Thursday night and I do need the Spirit with me. I'll let you know how it goes!

New Family Bloggers

OK - I know it's been awhile since I've even posted, but I kinda felt like no one really cared if I did or not. So, now that we all have blogs, I'll get back to it on a regular basis. Ami has really been so good about her blog and it looks so great! I have visited all the kids' blogs and they look awesome, too! It will be a fun way to keep everyone up to date. I am doing another Halls Family blog - not sure what I'll call it yet, but it will be for Lisa, Stephanie, and Mark and anyone else in our family who may want to contribute or put their family blog on it so they can access it. It's your choice.

A New Calling

I've just returned from talking with our Bishop and I have a new calling: Enrichment Counselor in Relief Society. When I was told yesterday that I had an appointment to meet with him, I felt that my calling would be in Relief Society, but I thought maybe Visiting Teaching Supervisor or teacher. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I'd get called to be a counselor. Now I know why the Lord has been making my back better. I guess we won't be spending as many weekends in the valley now, we'll just have to cut it short and come home on Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Our ward doesn't meet until 11:00, so that would be possible. I told all of you that I was getting bored up here - I think all that is about to change! Wish me luck and PLEASE pray for me!

I'm Losing It!

I can't tell you how excited I am! I started a new diet, along with my Reliv, and I have lost 9 pounds this past week. I am never hungry and definitely don't feel deprived. It's called "eating for your body type" or the six week body makeover. You actually take a test to determine your body type. The questions are not to determine the shape of your body, but what your body has been like throughout your life. There is an infomercial about it on TV, but if anyone is interested, I have the website and phone number.
What I have changed is substantial. I haven't had a soda in over 2 weeks now and I'm trying not to eat much white sugar. I have really been watching what I eat by reading labels. I am avoiding "hydrogenated fats". I didn't realize how bad they are for you. Hydrogenated fats are any oils that have been heated. Once heated, they are one molecule away from plastic and when consumed, your body doesn't know what to do with it, so it stores it - usually right around the mid section. It also coats every cell with this "plastic", thus making it very difficult for your cells to absorb nutrients. Good fats, like Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and naturally occurring fats in avacados, etc. do not coat the cells. Make sense? It did to me. And I have been feeling so much better! When I was at the grocery store buying veggies, fruits, and good meats, it just felt right. An interesting fact here - one that you may have heard before. Did you know that you should shop the perimeter of the grocery store? The outside aisles have all the good stuff - veggies, fruits, etc. The inside aisles have all the sugar and hydrogenated fats. Check it out - you'll be amazed! When I shopped on Saturday, I only went to the inside aisles for tomato sauce, chicken broth, and brown rice. We ate so good all weekend and I even had a piece of pie (yeah, some hydrogenated fat in the crust), and I still lost 3 pounds. But I am not eating nearly the fats and sugars that I was before. Proof that just changing some eating habits can really help.
I am still taking my Reliv, but I don't have to take as much because my body is absorbing more than I was before. I am doing the Reliv Slimplicty plan which I am sure is helping, too. The accelerator tablets have some incredible herbs in them that help keep blood sugars where they should be and reduce the bad cholesterol plus help with the weight loss process as well. I am eating every 2 hours (6 meals or snacks a day) and I am not hungry at all. One thing I have found is that eating too much white sugar makes the pain in my back and joints worse.
So, the next time we are down in the valley - you'll see the "skinny me"! (Or at least a skinnier me!) WOOHOO!

Traditions

What can we do to create more family traditions? Ten, twenty, thirty years from now, all that remains are the memories we have created for our families. It seems that the in-law side of the family have great traditions that no one ever wants to miss. Does anyone have any ideas about what we can do - fun things no one wants to miss? I wish we had more "toys" up here on our property so it would be more enticing to come up for family visits. What about trips to other places, if planned well in advance? Places like Nauvoo or Salt Lake City, San Diego (Sea World and the beach), or Disneyland. I'm open to suggestions. Does anyone else think this is important? Jerry and Kaye are in Hawaii with some of their kids right now. Is there any interest in something like that? Please let me know what you think.

Footprints

So much has happened in the last few days. I suppose when life takes one of it's tragic turns, it makes you realize just how grateful you are. I know life can be taken away in an instant and I want my family to know just how much I love and appreciate them. I am grateful for my Mom and I think about her every single day. We were so close and she was called home at such an early age - 61. I'm only now 4 years away from that time line and I realize just how young she was. I guess she was needed far greater in her heavenly home than I needed her here. I'm grateful that I still have my Dad here and want him to know how much I love him. He still walks a few miles every day and has pretty good health. My Dad has always said "send flowers to me while I'm alive, because I won't even see them if I'm gone." I have really tried to live that principle and express my love to my family at every opportunity.
I am so blessed with wonderful children and grandchildren who make me prouder every day. I want you all to know that when I say "children" - that includes all their spouses - I have always considered them to be totally and completely part of this family and I love as much as my own.
My Mom's favorite poem said:
"Some people come into our lives, stay for awhile, and leave footprints on our hearts,
and we are never the same."
You have all left footprints on my heart and changed my life in such a positive way. I feel so sorry for those people who choose not to have a family because they will never know the happiness and joy that comes with sharing your life with children and grandchildren. I love you all! Thank you for being such a vital part of my life!