Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Oh crap! Our tree fell down...

Kidding...it didn't...but we finally got it CUT down. We were outside cleaning the van and some dude came by and bartered a decent deal with James, so it's all gone now! Just a big bunch of sticks and stumps sitting out by the curb. Thank goodness, too....cause the dude was showing us just how rotted out and close to falling over the tree was...and we probably would have had a big hole in our roof the next time a big storm came thru!
We are kind of sad, tho...no matter how mangled and rotting that tree was, it provided some nice shade in the summertime. She will be missed!


Last night, I was able to go to the temple and be an escort for a friend I visit teach. It was her first time going thru and receiving the ordinances. Such a wonderful experience! I loved being able to sit in and listen as they explained the different steps to her, it reminded me of how much I had forgotten and how I need to make a better effort to go to the temple regularly! One of the temple workers had asked how long it took us to get there, and we live close...only about 30-45 minutes and she says "Oh, you are so lucky" and isn't that true?? When I was growing up, the closest temple was 6, maybe 8 hours away...we would go up as a youth group and stay overnight. Even after they built the St Louis Temple, that was still 2 hours away from home...easier to make a Saturday trip. Then after we were married in the Las Vegas Temple...we were so close, that we could go and make it a date night, but we hardly ever did....so, I hope that we can make a better effort to go to the Dallas Temple.
I know the Lord blesses us when we make that effort and do the things he has asked us to do. The promises of the temple are so sacred and special, it's nice to have that reminder on a regular basis of why we are here and what we have promised to do for those blessings.

"We unavoidably stand in so many unholy places and are subjected to so much that is vulgar, profane, and destructive of the Spirit of the Lord that I encourage our Saints all over the world, wherever possible, to strive to stand more often in holy places. Our most holy places are our sacred temples. . . . We must strive for holiness by being 'an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Timothy 4:12). In this way we can maintain and strengthen our own individual relationship with our God." ~James E. Faust.

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4 comments:

Bell Family Blog said...

Im glad you got to go, I went with the youth last Friday and it just made me feel like Man I really need to get our butts here more often. We should do a double date night on the next ward temple night and go out to dinner before.

Krista said...

Sorry about your tree!! You will have to plant another one.
I think we are all guilty of not going often enough to the temple. It truly is within close reach and we don't take advantage! It's a good goal to have for the year:)

Jenni said...

What a great reminder.

Colton Anne said...

This is why I can't wait for the Kansas City temple to be built! 4 hours to a temple is so far away now! But I know that people have to travel farther than that, so I'm still very grateful! 30 minutes, plus a babysitter on the way though is just so appetizing, my mouth is watering!! :)