Blessings and Bigger Blessings

I'm not sure how many people read this blog but hopefully this picture will at least make someone curious enough to take a look... It has been a while since my last post and a TON has happened. I feel pretty confident that this picture and one other can represent most of it. Curious?

A second title to this blog could have been; Getting Married Can Seem Tough. "Seem" should be the key word in that title. I'm thankful for a wonderful wife who makes it so that "seem tough" remains outside of reality.

On September 2, a Thursday afternoon, Elizabeth and I left Washington heading for a new apartment (which we had not yet seen) in Rexburg, ID. We had JUST enough money for the drive down and to pay our first month's rent on the apartment. The Trooper (from the pic above) had been miraculously given to me which enabled us to pull the U-haul with the things we needed. I'm going to make a long, long story short now. I want everyone to know that we have seen miracles. That Trooper broke down three times on the way here - after every mountain top I passed it seemed to brake down at the foot of the next, Beth had to drive on ahead to make it to the apartment before the manager left, we didn't know how we were going to move our stuff in, not to mention the hassles of getting everything ready to go before we left. This past summer was a wild one for us.

Well, I suppose that doesn't

really explain a whole lot at all...But to me this explains a lot more:

I know how we've gotten this far and I know how we'll get much, much farther. I know how that old Trooper kept on making it through those valleys and how it is still running now, I know how her car got amazing gas mileage, I know how she stayed awake for that whole drive, I know how we have enough money to pay our bills, I know how she got a raise and promotion, I know how I am getting an amazing internship and am receiving amazing opportunities to further my academic success.

It is because long before we got married, Beth and I committed ourselves to base our marriage on the teachings of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for how He has blessed my life. For every dollar we've made since we've been married, Beth is there to make sure that a full tithe is paid on it. Winston Churchill said, that "we receive our inspiration from the mountain top but our maturation from the valleys of life". It is at the mountain of the Lord that I have been inspired and instructed and its is through the trips back and forth to that mountain that I am being built into a better a person.

How will I get closer to the Lord's reality for my wife and my future children? I may not know the details of what to do and how to navigate those valleys but I know who I will plead to for guidance. I know where I can get the guidance. I know, with all my heart, that Jesus Christ and lives and is aware of EVERY detail of my family's life. I believe in Him, and I have hope that He believes in me. He carried that Trooper through the valleys it represents - and it was in His Temple, the mountain of the Lord, that we began our eternal marriage.

Flowers and Rocks

This past weekend Elizabeth and I celebrated her 21st birthday by a light hike, a view, and dinner. We walked up Menan Butte, "R Mountain", located just outside of Rexburg. The trail up the hill side is full of amazing views and beautiful rock formations. The walk is steep but as Beth commented, "well worth it". It really isn't too tough. As we reached the summit of the butte we ascended to the top of some of the rocky overhangs and were captivated by the 360` view. There was a plaque dedicated to the explanation of how the rocky buttes that line Idaho's desert landscape had formed due to plate stretching below the Earth's surface. It is difficult to realize all the miracles that occur below the surface without true desire and effort. I suppose it is pretty difficult to bring the miracles to pass also.

Once on the summit, Beth and I began to look for where we would sit to relax and eat. She was the one who had noticed another, perhaps slightly smaller but just as awe inspiring, miracle. A small purple flower had penetrated the rocky foundation that its seed had been dropped in. It was blooming bright with color and seemed to be the only one around. Somehow, this lonesome flower had overcome all opposition and had grown to become a beautiful blossom amongst the rocky soil.
Soon we sat down to eat, I cooked Beth a steak dinner on my back-packing stove as her birthday dinner. I hoped desperately it would turn out well and she would realize how much she meant to me. Her and I had previously reflected upon our pasts and the obstacles we had overcome, together and individually. We reflected upon our gratefulness for all that we have. I was touched by her smile, her testimony and accomplishment that is seen through her eyes. The Light of Christ can shine through the countenance of a disciple just as that flower shined through the Earth's rocky surface. The faith that comes with such a disciple is sufficient to raise mountains, alter rivers, and split seas. It seems to me that some of us, all of us, are planted in the rocky soils of life and mortality. But, the purple flower on "R Mountain" stands as a reminder that we can overcome all obstacles and rise to a standard above Earthly Measure. I suppose the real purple flower of "R Mountain" is the Savior of the World. He overcame all things, His purple robe worn on Calvary stood as the bright color to the dark background, and He stands as the pillar of light reaching out to all who were planted in the rocky soil of mortality. "'Come unto Me,' the Savior said, then let us in His footsteps tread" (LDS HYMNS 116). "Behold, the Mountain of the Lord." (HYMNS 54)

High Mountain Experiences

This past weekend has been one of progression and time well spent - 10 hrs of sleep, 30 hrs of driving, 1 hour of reading the scriptures, 1 hour of high mountain experience, and an indeterminable amount of learning.

Time is something strange to me. The two of us are in a constant battle, unfortunately I often feel like time gets the best of me. I've striven diligently to find out how I can use my time more wisely and draw on the powers of Heaven to provide a way beyond my own ability. For example,

A man known as the brother of Jared needed to draw on the powers of Heaven as he reflected upon the need of how to get his people, a chosen people, across the ocean and to the Promised Land. He desired their joy and well being and pleaded with the Lord to give them light in enclosed barges as they traveled across the ocean. He went into a high mountain and chose 16 stones which were presented before The Great Creator to be touched and turned into sources of light. The Lord did touch them and as he did so the stones began to emit light. But more significantly, the brother of Jared received Light and Truth into His life, He saw the finger of the Lord. Sixteen stones changed his life and because of that effort all things pertaining to Eternal Life were revealed to him.

This past weekend as I sat on a high a mountain with two choice associates we reflected upon this story. I looked at sixteen stones and wondered what a few "random"stones could possibly represent and what caused the brother of Jared to pick out those certain ones. I looked out from that high mountain where we had sit ourselves and pondered. Perhaps there are a few stones that I need to present before the Lord. What sacrifice will I present before him? What attributes have I chosen to work on? What have I exercised faith in? How have I climbed the mountain of discipleship to bring myself into alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ?

I sat on that mountain with Elizabeth, my fiancé, and pondered upon the steps we have taken taken toward Eternal Life, reality. Time, though seemingly limiting, is surely one of the great tools God has given His children that allows us to step forward, climb mountains, choose stones to present before Him, and recognize His hand in our lives.