The Return of Summer... in November?

Thats right, it snowed here for most of October, but this first week of November has been fantastically warm!!!! Tuesday I went for a hike with my mom and my aunt, Robyn. We hiked to the top of a peak in Millcreek Canyon. Couldn't tell you what it was called, but I know the trailhead was called "Burch Hollow" and it was NOT easy. I'm still sore from it!

Here's a view down the canyon to Salt Lake City:

A view from the top of the peak A piece of the trail:
Here we are at the top:
(we found a lovely retired couple at the top who took this photo for us
- I should have brought sunglasses!)

Welcome Autumn!

I apologize for not writing for so long! Things have been very busy and we have been away from home for the past week house-sitting for my parents.
Several weeks ago, we were asked to teach Sunday School to the 7 and 8 year olds in our congregation. It has been an interesting experience. I have taught Sunday School for the past 3 years, but this group is different than the one I taught back in my parent’s congregation. There are about 12 kids signed up for the class, some of which rarely come to church, and others that are there weekly. They range from coming from very conservative families (those who do not watch television, are homeschooled, etc) and very liberal families (rarely come to church).
I know that one of the girls, Jessica, lives in a home where her mother is a faithful Christian and her father is against religion of all kinds. He allows her to go to church once or twice a month with her mother, and will not allow her to be baptized a Christian until she is 18. We have only had one lesson with her so far, but I was impressed by her faith. She knows scripture verses and hymns by heart at only seven years old and seems to be very responsible and mature. She has a great understanding of what it is to “Obey your father and mother” while still obeying the commandments of God.
Another one of the children, Seth, always makes me laugh. He has such a funny personality, and likes to wear plaid shirts with striped ties that are much too small for him to church. He has bright red hair and freckles to match! Last week we were drawing pictures of our families that are going to be used for an upcoming special worship service. (Once a year the children put on the worship service, and this year decided to do it about famlies, so the pictures will be printed and used for the cover of the order of service bulletin) While doing this activity we learned that his father passed away a few years ago. What a difficult thing for such a young child to grasp! He said to Max “I’m going to draw my dad anyway, even though he’s dead, because he’s still part of our family. And I’m going to draw him with lots of muscles, because he told me he’s been working out a lot in heaven!”
Grace is another one of the girls in the class. She is a sweet girl and comes from the most conservative family of the group. She is the only eight year old I know who enjoys reading Anne of Green Gables in her spare time. I suppose the other kids might sometimes see her as a ‘teacher’s pet’ sort, but I love that she is always ready to answer a question and willing to participate in every activity. She even volunteers every week to say our class prayer!
I will tell you more about the other kids in our class later. Hopefully I will even be able to post pictures soon.
It has become much more autumn-like in the past week. I love this season! It feels so great outside. I am excited to buy pumpkins and put them outside our door.

Harvest, Charity, and Speaking Report

Monday I went to my parent’s house to do some laundry and took a few photos. While I was there, their neighbor (who was also my Sunday School teacher) said hello and told me that he had grown a large vegetable garden this year and could not possibly use all the produce he had grown. He told me to come over and help myself to whatever I could pick!! So I included a photo of what I got as well. I felt bad talking his food, even though he gave me permission, so I didn’t take too much: 3 yellow squash, 2 yellow tomatoes, 1 red tomato, an onion, a purple pepper, and some grapes. I am very excited to eat it. I think I will try to make stuffed squash on Friday, although I doubt Max will like it. I took some more photos there as well: one of my dog, Bridgette, and one of my little brother.

Speaking of neighbors and charity, my parents have been having a little issue with another one of their neighbors who lives further down the street. Several weeks ago he asked if he could borrow their lawn mower, as his was broken. They said of course that would be fine and that anytime he needed it they would be willing to lend it to him. The next week he came and took the lawn mower out of the garden shed – without asking or informing them that he was taking it – and returned it the next day without any gas in it. They said this has happened every week since. They don’t mind lending the neighbors things, but they would like to at least know when he is taking it and they would like him to replace the gas that he has used. He has been unemployed for some time, so they feel bad and don’t want to be rude, but his wife also says that he refuses to get a new job and makes her work two jobs to pay the bills. What is a Christian supposed to do in this situation?

Sunday was the day we spoke in church. I suppose it went well, except I introduced myself with my maiden name!!! It was so embarrassing! But I suppose everyone gets nervous when they are speaking in front of 300 people. Of course I got emotional as well, which just added to the embarrassment. I spoke about sharing the love of Christ with all mankind, and Max spoke about the importance of the Gospel in his life. I was very nervous the night before, but when we did our scripture study together we read Isaiah 51, and some of it really stood out and comforted me. What stood out will be my verse of the day.

Verse of the day:
“Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings… I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may… say unto Zion, Thou art my people.”-Isaiah 51: 7, 15, 16

Where B.Y.O.B. means "Bring Your Own Bible"

Well, it’s the first week of school, and I promised I would write about it. I know some of you may be against women attending college, but I think that this statement that I read just a few days ago in my denomination’s magazine sums up my opinion, “women are encouraged to acquire an education and training that will qualify them both for homemaking and raising a righteous family and for earning a living outside the home if the occasion requires.”

I am attending school to learn to be a better teacher to my children and to be able to have a ‘backup plan’ in case something happens to my husband.

This semester I am taking Cell Biology (I am a secondary biology teaching major), Geography of the Middle East, and the Gospels of the New Testament. (hopefully the geography class will help me understand the Bible better… at least that was my intention.)

So far I’ve enjoyed it. I am most excited about my Gospels class. I am taking it from the Institute of Religion, which isn’t really a part of the University, but correlates with it. The Institute offers all kinds of classes, from comparative religion, to different Biblical studies, gospel teaching skills, studying hymns… almost anything you could think of, and it’s all free!!! They also have activities, dances, a sorority and fraternity, Sunday church services, special speakers… its great. It’s a good way to spend time with other students away from the loose morals generally associated with college life.

My Gospels class will be going through the Gospels in chronological order of the Savior’s life. (for example, my first reading assignment is Matthew 1&2 and Luke 1&2) and I’m sure you will be hearing a lot about it. Here is a picture of my notes from the first day (note, one of the study suggestions is BYOB, which here means Bring Your Own Bible):

And the verse of the day is:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
- 2 Timothy 2:15

A short trip to Bountiful

Wow! It's sure been a long time! My apologies. But the good news is we finally got our own internet access in our apartment, so I can post more regularly now.

School is starting on Monday. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'll have a seperate post about that later.
We are speaking in church on Sunday the 30th, I think I finally have what I'm going to say written down. We are supposed to take 15 minutes each! That is definately the longest time I've had to speak in public before.
Last night Max and I took a trip to Bountiful, Utah, which is about 30 miles north of us, so I thought I'd share some photos.

Here is a view of Salt Lake City from I-15:

Here is a wider view of Salt Lake City:
Here is a view of Bountiful from I-15:

Welcome to Bountiful City!

Grace Baptist Church in Bountiful:

An old pioneer house on a hill: A view of the Great Salt Lake from the east mountains
The Bountiful Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (that white pointy building on the mountain as seen in the photo of Bountiful from the freeway)

Well, there you have it! Now I've got to go do some laundry, clean up the apartment, and get on my sewing projects (I'm making pillow covers for our sofa and a Betsy Ross flag for our wall! You'll see them in a future post!)

Verse of the Day:
"I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me."
Psalm 13:6