Last weekend was Fall Break. It was FABULOUS. It was really hard to be grateful for the two days that we had off when seemingly everyone else had two weeks, since many schools in Indiana have gone to a balanced school schedule. What I would give for two weeks off right now. I think especially as a first-year teacher, two weeks after the first quarter would be invaluable to get things together, make some plans, and get yourself set up for the rest of the year, now that you have an idea of what it's actually like. But alas, just two days for me.

I spent the first day at home working on stuff for school. The next day, though, I went home and had lunch with my little sister, watched a movie with my sister and brother, and went to my brother's football game (which I mentioned in my football post recently). I didn't even take work home with me, which was so nice.

The next day, my mom and I went to a multi-stake Relief Society conference with Sister Linda Burton, General Relief Society President of the Church. She was fabulous. She talked a lot about temples and one thing she mentioned was that there should be no obstacle too big to make it not worth it to go to the temple, meaning that no matter what we have to do, it will always be worth it to go to the temple. I thought about that a lot and how easy it is to find excuses not to go to the temple, especially now that I live over two hours away from the nearest temple. This past weekend I went to a conference for work in Columbus, Ohio. We had Friday night free and I remembered that there's a temple in Columbus. I didn't drive to the conference, so going to the temple would require packing my temple clothes and paying for a taxi to get from my hotel to the temple and back. It was pretty expensive, though I'm not sure it was a whole lot more than what I would pay in gas to go to the temple in Louisville. I remembered Sister Burton's words and decided that the money and the inconvenience was not a big enough obstacle to keep me from going to the temple. I went and I'm so glad I did. I was very sleepy and struggled staying awake, but I knew I was in the right place, I felt a sense of peace and coming home, and I wasn't nursing a hangover the next morning like most of my friends who had decided to do something else the night before. :)

After that conference with Sister Burton, my mom and I came back up to my house and my dad, Micah, Jacob, and Isaac were all here helping Tessa get some things done around the house and yard. Since I live in Tessa's house, that meant they were also helping me. They got the futon out of my room and my mom helped me set up my new queen-size bed that I bought from my sister. We put my new bedding on it (which I got for a steal at Marshall's) and Isaac helped me hang pictures in my room.

 

After eight years of sleeping on BYU apartment twin-size beds, I finally have a big girl bed! I love it. It's very soft, my sheets are cozy, and I love the bedding even more than I did when I bought it. I've been living here for over three months and I finally feel like I'm living in my room, instead of someone else's guest room. I don't know what my sister was expecting when she said I could stay with them for a while, but I'm here to stay, sister. Hope that's ok.

 

That Sunday I gave a talk and sang in my branch's Sacrament Meeting. My sweet family drove an hour to be there to support me. I love being close enough to have them involved in my life in a more direct way. I was honored that they came. My talk was about fasting, which I don't think was an accident. I really struggle with fasting. When it comes to going without food, it's just not a good time. I learned a lot about the importance of fasting, though, and found a quote by President Henry B. Eyring that changed my view of it. He said, "By our fast, we both keep our covenant to care for others [through fast offerings] and we prepare to keep our covenant to bear testimony [at the testimony meeting]." Viewing fasting as a way to keep the covenants I made at baptism really changed my perspective and helped me understand better why it is so important. Covenants are not a joke, and my poor efforts in fasting aren't either. I've committed myself to do better this coming week to prepare for Fast Sunday on November 4th so that I can more fully keep my covenants to Heavenly Father.

 

After my church meetings that day, I was also able to ride home with my family to have Sunday dinner at home and play games with my siblings, then ride back with my mom who gave an awesome fireside that night for single adults. She talked about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and went over a timeline of what will happen and when. When talking about the bad, scary things that will happen, she likened them to the plagues of Egypt when Moses was a prophet. There was some pretty crazy stuff going on in Egypt at that time, but the Hebrews were protected. Why? Because they had a prophet, Moses, who was telling them specifically what to do to protect themselves from the plagues. We also have a prophet in our day who is telling us specifcally what to do to protect ourselves from the plagues that will come. I think it's easier for us to not take the warnings seriously because the threat isn't immediate and doesn't seem real. I kept thinking about the prophet's counsel to get out of debt. He hasn't said exactly what might happen that will be bad news for those who are in debt, but the threat is there and it is just as real as a plague of grasshoppers who came and destroyed crops which were the livelihood of the people at that time. Being out of debt could be the difference between stability and security and financial ruin. I'm choosing to be on the stability and security side and have made a more concerted effort to pay off my debts so I can feel safe in our tumultuous economy. When you think about the Second Coming from the perspective of the righteous who will be prepared, it is exciting. I want to be on the right side when He comes so I can fight for the truth and stand confident in His presence.