Memorial Weekend Adventures

We definitely enjoyed having a long weekend this past week. We didn't have any huge plans, but still had lots of fun together. We got together with our friends Nicole and Tanner on Saturday night to do some Dutch oven cooking up the canyon. We were pretty excited since we haven't done Dutch oven for a while. We were also pretty excited to take Colson for his first time up the canyon this summer. Colson decided to play around while we were getting ready to go and he thought it would be funny to pull all our food out of the cooler after I put it in over and over. Then he decided he wanted to eat dessert before we even left. He managed to get to the bag of marshmallows and dump it all over the floor, then helped himself to one in each hand to chow down. It was pretty funny to watch him. Once the marshmallows got sticky, he had a hard time getting them off his fingers and kept waving his arms around to try to get it off. We had a lot of fun cooking dinner with our friends. However, as soon as our food was done, we got caught in an unexpected rainstorm. It was pouring! Colson had been covered in the stroller, but I decided to try to get him to the car so he didn't get too wet. Turns out that he actually liked getting rained on. He kept pulling away from me to see what was going on and once we were in the car, he kept crawling to the window to watch the rain. So we got out and let him play in the rain a little more. He wasn't too happy when we finally put him in the car seat to head back to Nicole and Tanner's house to finish dinner. We had a good time doing dinner and playing with Colson. We even got Colson to take a few steps in a row at their house! I can't believe he'll be walking soon! So that was our crazy adventure on Saturday. On Memorial Day we went down to my grandparents' house for our traditional breakfast. We had a lot of fun. Colson loved the attention and crawling just about everywhere. The first thing he did was try to crawl in their little waterfall fountain and play in the water and eat the rocks. I guess my child likes water. I'm going to have to keep my eye on that. We enjoyed hanging out with family and playing around in the yard. We all played baseball, catch, and some other backyard games. It was a great weekend and we are looking forward to everything else we have planned in the next couple of weeks. We sure are loving our summer adventures.

Colson getting into the marshmallows

And making quite a mess

Colson and Nicole

Watching it rain

Playing in the water

Playing ball

Playing with Josh

Scripture Power

So over the past few months I have started to do something a little different with my scripture study. I used to do this in high school and college, but unfortunately fell out of the habit. I start my scripture study with a prayer and then keep a journal of thoughts and feelings that I have while reading. For me, this has made my scripture study way more meaningful and personal. This past week, I have been really trying hard to get up early and read my scriptures before Colson wakes up so I can start my day off with the spirit. It also gives me more time to really search and ponder the scriptures. I am really grateful to be doing this and today it really hit me how important the scriptures are. They are not simply some outdated books from long gone prophets. They were truly written for our day. Ben and I have been reading the Book of Mormon together and I am amazed at how similar the cultures then are to our culture now, both the good and the bad. I just started reading the New Testament in my personal study and today read the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount. I loved how much I felt could apply to me and our time. Here's why it does though. The scriptures contain doctrine. They contain the words of God, and His doctrines never change. It doesn't matter if you lived in 1000 BC, the meridian of time or in 2014 AD. God's doctrine does not change. It will never be outdated. The scriptures are filled with truth. Nephi was right when he said we should "liken all scriptures unto us." (1 Nephi 19:23) We have so much we can learn and benefit from reading them. Not only do we have those scriptures, but we have the words of the living prophet and apostles. Before studying the New Testament I was reading all of the most recent conference talks. I absolutely loved them. Those words are what Heavenly Father wants us to hear and know now. Those words are just as important as the words of Alma, Abraham, Moses, or Mormon. I have learned and grown so much from my scripture study these past months. In some ways, the things I have put in my scripture journal are extremely personal, but in other ways, I wish I could just share them with the whole world. I wish people could learn and feel the spirit testify of the truthfulness of these things. I know that our prophets and apostles today speak the word of God. I know that the scriptures are true. I know we can pray and feel the Holy Ghost testify of these truths if we sincerely seek to know and find answers. I know that anyone who humbles himself before God can come to know this too. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to share more of what I am learning from my study. But today I just feel like it is important to share my joy of studying. I want to challenge anyone who may read this to truly search and ponder their scriptures. Find a method that works for you to make the most of your study. I know as you make scripture study an important part of your day, you will come to love it and find so much joy in the words that they contain. Do it. It will bless your life and the lives of those you love.