Everything's Gonna Be Okay

This past weekend was such a great ending to a rather chaotic week. Each weekend I plan to get so much done, hoping to not only catch up, but also get ahead. But then the weekend comes and I get about 10% of my planned To Do's accomplished. So at the beginning of the next week, when I hope to be ahead, I'm only further behind. I'm pretty sure things aren't going to slow down until the end of the year, so I decided to just hold on tight and enjoy it.

Saturday night we had the adult session of stake conference. I loved it and was thinking the whole time, "The Lord is aware of our fears and our desires. He's in control. Everything's gonna be okay." I felt like the messages were so inspired for not even just this time, but specifically this week. The first two talks were almost identical and neither woman had any idea what the other had decided to talk on. They were about how we can strengthen the family. Nothing is new, family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, spending quality time with our families, etc., it was just an answer to my prayers and a reminder that that's how we deal with the world and society as they continue to attack the family. We can keep our families strong. Jeff Flake also was asked to talk a bit about the future of our country and I loved what he said. My favorite part was this (probably not word for word, but pretty close): The longer I’m in Washington, the more I see the wisdom of the founding fathers... The constitution was inspired and I'm confident it is strong enough to withstand the foibles of men and I’m confident that God will let everything come to pass that is meant to come to pass. The Lord is in charge and His will will be done.

On Sunday, we had a regional Stake Conference that was broadcast from Salt Lake to the 95 stakes in Arizona. I had many of the same impressions during that meeting as I had the night before, including, "The Lord is aware of our fears and our desires. He's in control. Everything's gonna be okay." There were more talks on families and strengthening families. That's what it's all about folks, the family. The crowning moment was President Henry B. Eyring's talk. I love that man! He talked about how every day we make a choice to be optimistic or pessimistic in the last days. He went on to say we need to be wise optimists and that by doing so, we can replace anxiety with joy. I wish I could get this talk in print. It was really fantastic.

We went with Dan and Karen to the meeting and after that, Jason was able to ordain Dan an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Afterwards, we shared our testimonies. I was emotional for so many reasons. I love seeing Jason worthily use his priesthood authority. I was overjoyed to hear Dan's testimony and think of his journey. I think sometimes it's easier for people that aren't happy, don't have many standards and have a rough life to see the blessings of the restored gospel. I think it's harder to tell a happy, good person that the gospel can bless their life. Why would they need it if they are already happy and living a good life? Dan is an example of that and today was a reminder that the gospel brings additional blessings to even happy, good people. It only adds to the joys in life.

Dear Dan, Sorry I put the picture of you with your eyes closed, but I loved Hazel's smile in this picture. 

Dear Everyone Else, Did you know Hazel has a major crush on Dan? It's pretty hilarious.