Lessons learned from cupcakes

I made cupcakes yesterday before church. One of our co-workers is leaving us so I wanted to bring him cupcakes today. Which I did and they were delicious! Cody and I made then into cute, little baseballs because it's our sports writer that is leaving. (Note: The cupcake in the picture is not mine. I forgot to take a picture but this is the general idea of what we did!)

As I was looking on the back of the cake mix box to check what temperature to turn my oven to I noticed the little cupcake note that said something like "fill cupcake liners halfway." I really struggle with this! Seriously, halfway is never enough. Or at least it seems like it's never enough and then you get batter all over your oven!

So yesterday I made a deliberate effort to only fill my cupcake liners halfway. It was torture. I kept thinking, "That's not enough!" and "They won't be good enough!" Then I realized that I have this problem in other aspects of my life. Sometimes I think that I haven't done enough and that my efforts aren't good enough, that I need to do more. I know you've thought that, too.

So as I filled cupcake liners I told myself that it was alright, that if I followed the instructions and didn't get worked up about having to do more than I actually needed to that they would turn out just fine, and they did. Of course, they did.

It reminded me of the times that Heavenly Father tells us to ease up a bit. To not do more than we are doing, to wait a little bit, to ration ourselves. It also reminded me of blessings. That sometimes it seems like our blessing cups are only half full and we may get nervous or feel cheated. But when our halfway cups and our efforts seem like they aren't enough, through Christ (the oven) our efforts and our blessings grow to be exactly as they should be. Full, and plenty.

I don't know if this makes as much sense written out as it does in my head but I know that Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. That even when His instructions don't make sense to us or we want to do more when we are told to wait, that things will work out if we trust and follow Him. Always.

Frozen--Some people are worth melting for

A while back I read a blog written by a lady who said that the movie Frozen is pro-gay. She was very disgusted with it and gave a lot of examples from the movie. Soon after reading that I watched the movie--not because of the blog--but while I watched it I looked for these examples she gave. I didn't see them. This morning I watched Frozen with my little girl. Today my heart is tender and so not only did the movie make me cry several times but I was able to see a deeper message in the movie.

Frozen is about love.

The first thought that came to me is if Elsa and her powers were a hidden message of being gay, then what we should take from that isn't disgust but that Elsa's parents went about things the wrong way. If we tell our children that who they are is bad and they need to hide it and suppress it, that will only cause problems. They will learn to live in fear and mistrust and not feel that they are loved for who they are. They should be loved and accepted for who they are and not taught to hide. Parents should help children learn how to properly handle their feelings and how to deal with them. Now I'm not trying to start controversy or say that we should all start supporting gay marriage. What I'm saying is that we should love people! And teach our children to love themselves not to hide who they are. We can love and accept people without having to love and accept everything that they do. And that goes beyond being gay.

I'd never really listened to the words to the song "Fixer Upper," when the rock trolls are singing about how Kristoff isn't perfect but love can fix that. But I did today and there are a couple of really good lines in this song.The first one I liked was this...

"So he's a bit of a fixer-upper,
but this we're certain of
You can fix this fixer-upper
Up with a little bit of love!"

I think that being shown love can go a long way to helping someone. Love can heal and bring out the best in someone. My absolutely favorite line is at the end....

"We're not sayin' you can change him,
'Cause people don't really change.  (I'm so glad they threw that in there!)

We're only saying that love's a force
That's powerful and strange.
People make bad choices if they're mad,
Or scared, or stressed.
Throw a little love their way.

Throw a little love their way.

And you'll bring out their best.

True love brings out the best!
Everyone's a bit of a fixer-upper,
That's what it's all about!"

People do make bad choices when they're not feeling up to par. Loving them when we know they aren't being themselves helps a lot. Nobody is perfect, but if you love them it helps fill in their cracks.

When Anna needed an act of true love and she thought that being kissed by Hans who was supposed to be her true love would save her, I wondered why the other acts of true love she was shown didn't heal her. Kristoff showed love to her when he acted immediately to take her to another man to heal her. Olaf showed love when he went looking for her and braved the fire to help her. Not that he really knew the dangers that the fire posed to him, but when he said "some people are worth melting for" didn't that just melt your heart and make you want to put it on a sign and hang it somewhere?? 

Anna's heart had been frozen and she needed an act of true love to thaw/change it. What she didn't realize was that she needed to perform the act of true love to change and thaw her own heart. Others' love helps a lot and can help get us to where we need to be so we can change, but only we can change our own hearts. Loving others and serving them is the way to keep our hearts warm and open not just to others but to God, as well. 

It's a dual process, we both need to love and to be loved. 

A more important hidden message that I got from Frozen is that if our children don't feel loved or know that they are loved they will be desperate for it and may find it in unsavory places and unsavory ways.This actually applies to people of all ages. Anna didn't know love and was lonely and she thought she found true love with Hans and was terribly wrong. She also didn't recognize the love shown to her by Kristoff. That's something to think about. 

I don't care if the creators of Frozen did or didn't mean it to be pro-gay, overall the movie is about love and teaches some great lessons that all children and people should learn. And it has so many applications. The song "Let it Go" is extremely popular and I know I'm not the only one who gets sick of it, but it's a good reminder to let things go.

So let it go and love someone!! Because everyone is worth melting for to God.

Because of the easiness of the way...

The other day I was complaining to a dear friend that it would be nice if something was easy for once! I had gotten my hopes up, thought it would be and then, of course, was sorely disappointed. I had thought this same thought to myself a few times but when I voiced--or rather texted--that thought about easiness to someone else, a phrase started running through my head: "Because of the easiness of the way..." After I heard it a few times, and admitted that I was being taught something, I started to search through the scripture stories in my head to place the phrase. I wasn't sure which part of the scriptures it was in but I knew that the way being easy wasn't a good thing.

After searching the actual scriptures I found the phrase in Alma 37:46. "...do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way..." The verse was referring to when the people of Israel were attacked by poisonous serpents in the wilderness and some of them wouldn't look at the snake on the staff and be healed because it was too easy.

The Pride Cycle is seen many times in the Book of Mormon. God's people follow the commandments, the prosper, then the start to get prideful and then they fall away.

So while easy is...well, easy, it's not always the best thing. I know that when things are going well I have to work harder and be intentional about reading my scriptures and making my prayers meaningful and inviting the Spirit into my day.

Along with those easy times I have known difficult times. I have had to wait and work for a lot of things in my life. I have known heartache and frustration.

Before I had Elise I had a miscarriage. It was hard to get pregnant that first time and even more difficult to get pregnant with Elise. And then I was on bed rest with Elise hoping that I wouldn't miscarry again. That was the hardest thing I have ever been through. The way to having Elise was the longest, most painful and most difficult way I have every traveled.

But I would never take it back.

Because of the difficulty of the way...

I came to know God.
I learned patience, faith, hope and trust in my Heavenly Father.
I learned that He does have a plan for me and it is better than I could ever dream to imagine.
I learned that His timing is worth waiting for, no matter how much I hate the waiting.
I became stronger, emotionally and spiritually.
I learned a lot about God, myself and about getting pregnant.
I learned empathy.
I learned that everyone's story and experience is different.
I learned that I can get through anything with the Lord.
I learned that He wants me to be happy, and for that purpose he gives me tender mercies every day.
I learned that there is a purpose for what happens, no matter how bad it is.
I learned the blessings of tithing.
I learned to prepare.
I learned to make the most of the time spent waiting.
I learned to cherish 1 Nephi.
I learned that things will work out if I do all I can and have faith.
I learned that God fulfills His promises.

If the way had been easy I wouldn't have learned any of that. So I can say with sincerity that I would not give that trial away. It is mine, along with all of the blessings I received along the way. I still enjoy those blessings to this day.

That doesn't mean that I want things to be hard, I really wish they would be easy! But at least when hard times comes I know what to do and I know that I can do it. All I have to do is stop complaining, turn to God and put on my eternal perspective.

Whatever hard path you are going down, no matter how endless it looks, I know that with God you can make it through and you will be stronger and wiser for it. Trust in Him. Put your faith in Him and He will not let you down. In the end you will receive blessings far greater than you could ever have thought to ask for. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will get there.

If you want opposition...do something right!

So tonight is Monday, which means Family Home Evening! We're not perfect at FHE but we do try. After a great talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday I felt that a change was needed. So we discussed it last night and decided to start tonight. I thought we were doing a great job with our new FHE until Elise got super whiney and I got super frustrated with her and then I got frustrated with Cody and just had a general feeling of frustration and irritation. And then I realized that what I was experiencing wasn't just me having a bad day or being a bad person, it was opposition. Opposition to the FHE that we were trying to have. Opposition to the right that we were choosing. Which tells me that we were doing something right! Why else would Satan want to ruin our simple night? So what are we going to do next Monday? Have FHE! Even though tonight wasn't a stellar success we are going to keep trying. Sometimes it's nice to have a little bit of opposition to let you know that you're on the right track ;)

'The Saratov Approach'--the article I really wanted to write ***SPOILER***

I like to watch movies but the older I get the more and more I find myself being selective. I'm busy, I don't want to waste my time and I definitely don't want to watch something that I'm not comfortable with. So when I heard about "The Saratov Approach" I put it on my 'to watch' list. I missed the opportunity to see it in the theater so when my contact at Cedar Fort emailed me and asked if I wanted to review it I was ecstatic! I anxiously waited for it to arrive in my mailbox and then very gratefully watched it when it came. 

At first I wasn't sure about the quality of the movie, probably because I was watching with my more critical reviewer eye, but as the movie went on I found myself leaving my reviewer self behind as my spirit was touched. 

Oh, how I love this movie. And after talking to Garrett, the director, I love this movie even more. And let me tell you why. 

***SPOILER*** 

There is this scene in the movie. It's the pivotal scene. It is THE scene. This scene makes the whole movie worth it. It speaks to me of things I've learned from life these past few years. If you've seen the movie I hope you know what I'm talking about.

Are you ready for it?

The missionaries see an opportunity to escape. It's risky but it could work. They've been handcuffed for days and Elder Propst figures out how to get them out of the handcuffs. Now they just have to attack the guy that's watching them and run away. They get all set up and ready to execute the plan when Elder Propst has a revelation. 'He has a plan for them. He will get them out of it. This is not the way.' So what do they do??? They put everything back the way it was, AND THEY HANDCUFF THEMSELVES BACK TOGETHER!! Batty told me that mothers have told him that their hearts broke into millions of pieces at that moment, that they wanted the missionaries to just run for it.

What faith. I feel like I have had to have some tremendous faith in my life, but to be free and then have the faith to put the handcuffs back on! There is so much to be learned from this one scene. Most often when I have had to have faith in my life it has been in situations that I can't control. I was there until the Lord, in His wisdom and timing, freed me. I had no other way to free myself. I hope that I would have that kind of faith if I were put in that kind of situation.

I had to ask Garrett if that scene was true to how it really happened to the missionaries and he said yes, that he worked very closely with the real missionaries and that they did all they could to make the movie accurate. No embellishing here. Most of the changes were made in condensing five days into 90 minutes.

 ***END SPOILER***

Garrett also told me about some of the responses that he has been receiving. Members of other faiths, and even people without any faith, have responded positively to the movie. An atheist told him that it really made him rethink things. "The Saratov Approach" has been successful and has transcended the LDS movie genre to become a movie for all faiths.

This movie has great potential to bring God into the lives of those who really need Him. And that is why I love it even more after having talked to the director about it. To me it seems impossible to watch it and not feel anything. Even just talking about the movie with Garrett, the Spirit was so strong. The movie's success at the box office gives it an even greater chance to reach a wide variety of people.

If you haven't seen the movie, see it. And share it with others! What a great tool to plant seeds and bless the lives of others.

For more information about the movie you can check out the website at www.http://saratovapproach.com/ or find them on Facebook.

God is the Gardener....and so am I!

Today I planted my peas. I am so excited. I may have gone slightly overboard, I planted four packs of seeds. While lovingly planting the seeds I took great care to plant each seed just right and not loose a single one. Each and every one was precious. I was thinking about how much I loved each seed and how excited I was for them to grow, and that got me thinking about my recent scripture study in Jacob, about the vineyard. And about how much the Lord loved His olive trees. More than I love my pea plants. We are those olive trees. Our Heavenly Father loves all of us so much. He took great care to plant each of us individually with great love, intent on not losing a single one of us. What hope and great expectations He must have had as he put us exactly where He wanted us to be, exactly where we should be, and thought of each of us growing and what we would become. And how we would become like Him. All the good things we would do. When someone plants a garden they don't plant things they don't like or won't be useful to them, so you can know that Heavenly Father did not plant anyone in His garden that he does not love, or who does not have the potential to be a tool in His hand. So when you start planting your garden, remember who planted you where you are, and how much He loves you and delights in watching you grow. 

Stockpiling Service

I have many wonderful women in my life who are great examples to me. I am grateful for all of them. A few weeks ago I visited one of them and learned a valuable lesson. One day we dropped in on a friend of ours, Sara Mckee. Sara and her twin sister, Cindi, were good friends with Cody in high school, and still are good friends. The day we dropped in on Sara and her family she was having a busy Saturday. They were feeding dinner to the missionaries that night and she was also taking dinner to a family in her ward. She explained that, even though her family doesn't eat the lasagnas, she buys them and keeps them in her freezer and looks for families who need a dinner brought in. She doesn't wait for someone on the compassionate service committee to call her and ask her to take dinner to a family, she looks on her own for a family who might benefit from her kindness and acts on it. What?? I told you she's awesome.

So that got me thinking...about stockpiling lasagnas. And as I thought about it I realized that that particular method isn't really practical for my family, and that's okay. So I've been thinking about other things, from cookies to notes. I have a couple of good ideas that I'm going to try out.

But as I type this up I realize that I didn't put near as much thought into actively looking for people who need a little love and service, the way that Sara does. So I'm going to put a lot more thought, and prayer, into that. Perhaps the important part isn't keeping lasagnas on hand, but looking for the opportunities to serve, and acting on them. 

Thank you, Sara, for your good example and for the lesson I learned from you!