And All His Hail and Mighty Storm Shall Beat Upon You...

Helaman 5:12, right?

Well, a few days ago my mom, siblings, and I all went and enjoyed a beautiful day at the beach! There were some reports of rain, but we still risked it. Though it was slightly overcast when we arrived, the sun soon came out and it was AMAZING!!! (Almost too amazing--we all came home with crazy sunburns!) But anyway...

On the drive home, we started hearing some claps of thunder in the distance. Before we knew it, it was raining hard and then--it started hailing! It was certainly something to be described as "hail and mighty storm"! Soon, it got so crazy that we couldn't see anything but rain and the taillights of the school bus in front of us. My mom was understandably nervous driving through this, but it was still amazing (in a terrifying way!) so she asked my brother to take a picture.

When he held the phone up to take it, he noticed that he could see more clearly through the phone's camera than he could through the windshield! After he snapped a picture, he continued to hold up the phone with the camera on for my mom to see through the rain! And miracle of miracles: we didn't crash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And yes, there's a lesson to be learned in all this! Let's pull out the scriptures and read the fullness of Helaman 5:12: And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

The hail and mighty storm definitely came along! But it couldn't drag us down because my mom is a good driver and our van windows are strong, right? And another element that isn't mentioned in the verse but I think is important: when my brother held up the camera for my mom to see through, I think that was like the Spirit that guides us through our tough times and problems, and if we weren't built upon the rock of Christ, we would never have the Spirit. Does this make sense? Feel free to share your thoughts/help clarify this for me! :) Enjoy your weekend!

#HisDay

The Church is really cool! Today they launched a new initiative called #HisDay. The purpose of this is to help members appreciate the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. The webpage shares ideas for Sunday, as well as the ways others used the #HisDay hashtag! So, here's mine!

Sunday is a day for me to renew myself, as well as my covenants. Today the words of our sacrament hymn, Father in Heaven We Do Believe, really touched me and reminded me why I take the sacrament and what it does for me. I also remembered Elder Bednar's talk from this last conference and thought that this hymn goes very well with it. I'm so grateful for the cleansing of the Spirit as we renew our baptismal covenants through the sacrament! #HisDay

Share your experience in the comments and on social media!

Special Edition: Girls' Camp Day Three!!!

It was REALLY hard to get out of bed Friday morning!!! Pure torture! The last two nights of very little sleep were catching up with me. We had forty-five minutes to get ready before flag. I think I used about the last ten of those minutes to get ready...and the first thirty-five to try and wake up. 

That last day, my Secret Sister gift was a caramel brownie Lindt chocolate bar--best. Chocolate Bar. Ever.

After flag we had a delicious 'Auntie Em's Country Breakfast with sausage, biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs, and a potato slice. Our ward had 'Kitchen Patrol' duty that meal, so when everyone else had left the Mess Hall, we attacked with cleaner, rags, brooms, and mops. We sang camp songs while we wiped tables and chairs, swept/mopped floors, and pretty much had a great time!

Then it was off to Crafts for the second time, where we found another two projects waiting. Again I was only able to start one, but at least I got out with my own level!

Next we returned to the Mess Hall and decorated brown paper bags for soldiers. The bags are going to be filled with hygiene items and other essentials that our armed forces need. 

Outside in the warm sun for level certification, we learned how to stop excessive bleeding and tie a cravat bandage with a bandanna.

Self defense was next, and the climax of the morning. It was fun and very informative. We learned basic ways to defend ourself and what to do in a dangerous situation that might require self defense. 

Last before lunch was service. More working on the pathway, which, after three more 'shifts' in between ours, had gained some significant improvement. We mostly just filled in more dirt and leveled it out. We put a few more beams in place near the end, but we weren't able to finish it while we were at camp.

Lunch was 'Kansas Haystacks'. They were amazing!!!!!! Fritos piled with sweet pulled pork, sour cream, corn, cheese, lettuce, jalapenos, tomatoes, and a ton of other stuff--totally delicious! 

Just one last hour of level certification in the Rec Room, where we got our camp manuals signed and played 'Poison Dart Frog' with the second levels before setting up five large racks of chairs for the testimony meeting later that night.

After that, we had two and a half hours of FREE TIME!!!!! The first hour and a half was spent at the pool playing 'Tunnel Tag' after grabbing some snacks at the camp store. After a long, exciting game, we finally decided to head back. But it was suspiciously painful to walk up the hill. I looked down at my white flip flops and saw a large spot of red where my big toe rested. Oh dear.

Turns out that, while playing Tunnel Tag, our toes had been scraped repeatedly on the rough floor of the pool and eventually got worn down to the point of bleeding. Needless to say, the long walk back to the cabin was excruciating.

We finally made it back and, horrified at the prospect of hot shower water burn our tender appendages, half-jokingly asked if someone wanted to bandage our feet. They all replied with a resounding "NO!", but then someone who had apparently had the same problem told us to go to the other cabin where one of the older girls was playing the part of 'doctor'. 

We willingly trekked the few yards to the other cabin and found the referred 'doctor'. She quickly accommodated us and our sore feet by sitting our wet and dripping selves on her own cot while she acquired the necessary 'surgical instruments'. She gently wiped the dirt off the wounds with a wet paper towel, anointed them with triple-antibiotic cream, and carefully wrapped several band-aids on each foot. What a great example of being Christlike!!!

With the pain now almost gone, we hobbled back to our cabin and showered. And we didn't notice our toes for the rest of the night! We still had about half an hour of free time, so we played games for a few minutes before heading up to Flag. Our bishops had arrived while we were still on free time, so we hadn't gotten a chance to say hi, but now we took the opportunity to greet our wonderful bishop and tell him all about our camp adventures so far!

The usual routine of flag was followed by an amazing dinner in the Mess Hall. Each camp flag had been taken from the rafters and leaned up against the rail fence outside. In their places were white paper lanterns and other 3-D hanging decorations--all white. The tables had white plastic cloths and burlap as well as small candles in jars, little white flowers in vases, and strings of gold beads and fake coins, etc., on top. Instead of getting our paper or plastic dinnerware in the food line, there were places at the tables already set for us.

And the food!!! The menu informed us that we'd be dining on Heavenly Chicken, Celestial Salad, Paradise Potatoes, Glorious Green Beans, and Blessed Bread. While we were eating, we revealed Secret Sisters! It was so fun to find out who'd been leaving me all those awesome surprises!

Basically, it was amazing!!! After dinner, we had fifteen minutes in our cabin. For about ten minutes, we played camp games, but we got impatient and went outside with our camp chairs to get good seats for Bishop's Night. 

Bishop's Night did not disappoint! The bishops competed in three contests to see who would be the 'Bishop of the Night'. (Or something like that. It was really just for fun!) 

Contest Number One: All nine bishops participated in this one. They each got a fancy collar tied around their neck and a helium balloon. When it was their turn, they stepped forward to where a YCL was holding a piece of paper with the lyrics to the 'Lollipop Guild Song' which was sung in the Wizard of Oz movie. They popped the helium balloon, sucked in the helium, and sang along with the 'Lollipop Guild'! It was HILARIOUS! Totally awesome!

Our bishop and five others progressed to the second contest. Each bishop received a bag containing several items, each representing a Wizard of Oz character. A roll of aluminum foil, a handful of straw, a black cape, and a broom were among the objects. The bishops had to put everything on themselves and make it stay there, then run to three 'bases' and hit them with the brooms.

 Our bishop was one of the first ones done! Thumbs up to him!

The final contest only had three participating bishops, ours included. They had to run to the bases again, but this time they had to shuck one ear of corn at each base. Unfortunately, due to another bishop breaking the rules, both he and our bishop were disqualified. :(

Then we went up to the Rec Building for the last Destiny program. It was all about how to not let your fear stand in your way, like in 'There's No Place Like Home', where the characters decide to push away the fears the Wicked Witch and her Flying Monkeys tried to use to block up the Yellow Brick Road. 

And then it was Testimony Meeting - basically a fountain of tears. One of our YCLs had given us each a gift during Level Certification earlier that day--a package of tissues with a note glued to it: Use me to wipe away your tears whenever you feel the Spirit near. It was a sweet and useful gift! It was so neat to hear the stories and experiences and testimonies of strangers, acquaintances, and close friends. Definitely the spiritual highlight of Girls Camp! 

After Testimony Meeting, we all went back to the Mess Hall and each bishop gave their ward a quick devotional and then a dessert he'd brought.

Back in the cabins, we did our journaling and scripture study, then went to the other cabin to play 'Murder in the Dark' and 'Mexican Horse Ranch'. When those games were over, we Beehives retreated to our cabin and played a card game until two in the morning. (So not smart!)

Then they went to sleep and I quietly packed most of my stuff so I could get a few extra minutes of sleep the next morning. And then I happily crawled into my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep...

Double Duty!

Before I 'officially' start the post...Did you hear about Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles? He passed away yesterday of cancer. Prayers for his family and for the First Presidency as they ponder who to call in replacement (in October). (Here is a link to the news article.)

Today is a special day for two reasons. First, it is my little sister's eighth birthday! She is now accountable for her own actions, able to know right from wrong, and old enough to be BAPTIZED!!! She will be baptized in about a month.

Second, it is PARENT'S Day. Wait - before you go squealing off to look for a late gift let me tell you: you didn't forget ANYTHING. This is just something I kind of made up. It is the day that falls directly between Mother's Day and Father's Day. Parent's Day! 21 days in either direction and you will hit one of those parental holidays. 

In honor of these two occasions, I did two experimences! What??? You don't know what an experimence is?? Well, keep reading and I'll tell you.

Experimence #1...

A few weeks ago, I finished Divine Nature Required Experience #3:

Make your home life better. For two weeks make a special effort to strengthen your relationship with a family member by showing love through your actions. Refrain from judging, criticizing, or speaking unkindly, and watch for positive qualities in that family member. Write notes of encouragement, pray for this family member, find ways to be helpful, and verbally express your love. Share your experiences and the divine qualities you’ve discovered with that family member or with a parent or leader.

I chose my now-eight-year-old sister as the family member I tried to strengthen my relationship with. As I did this - not only as an experience, but an experiment (thus the word experimence) - I noticed things about my sister I hadn't known before. For example, she's really fun to talk to at night before we fall asleep. She's also very sweet with our baby sister. She happily and enthusiastically plays 'people' or 'house' with our Sunbeam sister, and is always up for a round of roughhousing with her older brother, even if she'd rather be doing something else. She is wonderful with people and is always ready to serve. I was way excited for the opportunity to write her a note at the end of all this telling her just how wonderful she is and how her divine nature really shines through!

Experimence #2...

Today, I completed Divine Nature Elective Experience #5:

Obedience is an attribute of the Savior. Strive to be more obedient to your parents. Read Luke 2:40–51 and John 6:38. Develop a pattern of obedience as you make a special effort to treat your parents with respect and kindness and do what your parents ask you to do without having to be reminded. After two weeks record in your journal how being more obedient motivated you to want to continue doing so and how it has helped you understand your divine nature and the divine roles of mothers and fathers.

In honor of Parent's Day, I chose to do this Divine Nature experience--which really ended up being another experimence. Throughout the two weeks, as I decided to do what my parents wanted or needed me to do (which was hard; sometimes I forgot), I found that the Spirit directs my parents when they pray for me and helps them to know what choices they need to place before me and how to help me stay on the straight and narrow path. I am so grateful to my parents for the obedient example they set and I hope I'll be able to do the same for my children. And if you really want a gift for your parents, you can start this experimence. Trust me, they'll love it!