New blog address...

Blogging on Wordpress from here on out...
http://inspiredkathy.com

Quote from Church talk today

“Though I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. … I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.”
~D. Todd Christopherson

Going Bananas

I'm not supposed to Facebook this but I can blog it right?

Brett got asked to Preference last night.

Life by the Yard is Hard...

"Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it's a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day--and then one more and then one more after that--until we've lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness." Thomas S Monson

Arrow of Light - Bradley

Congrats to Bradley for getting his Arrow of Light!!  He's now officially a boy scout.

Kylie - Our Girl Scout

Kylie is a Daisy Scout. She begged to join girl scouts and I finally caved.  She is in a troup over in Bloomington.  Thursday night was the first awards ceremony.

She got her first pin and was pretty proud.

Way to go Kylie!

Ask In Faith

I'm reading a book by Elder Bednar called Act in Doctrine.  I've only read the first chapter so far but one of the assignments is to read some of his previous talks.


Ask in Faith is at talk he gave in 2008.  Here are the quotes I pulled from it that meant something to me.


Joseph’s questions focused not just on what he needed to know but also on what was to be done! His prayer was not simply, “Which church is right?” His question was, “Which church should I join?” Joseph went to the grove to ask in faith, and he was determined to act.

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other” (Bible Dictionary, “Prayer,” 752–53). Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father.

The object of our prayers should not be to present a wish list or a series of requests but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is eager to bestow, according to His will and timing.

Tender Mercies

I read Elder Bednar's Tender Mercies talk and here are the parts I highlighted.  This is such a fabulous talk.  I loved it when he gave it and still love it nearly 8 years later.

I repeat again, the Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them.


We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live.


I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:34–35; emphasis added).

I believe the implication of these verses is quite straightforward. God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen.

“Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength” (D&C 11:20; emphasis added).


One of the most well-known and frequently cited passages of scripture is found in Moses 1:39. This verse clearly and concisely describes the work of the Eternal Father: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (emphasis added).

A companion scripture found in the Doctrine and Covenants describes with equal clarity and conciseness our primary work as the sons and daughters of the Eternal Father. Interestingly, this verse does not seem to be as well known and is not quoted with great frequency. “Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength” (D&C 11:20; emphasis added).


Truly, “the Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Ps. 145:9).

3 Stitches for Kylie

Starting the New Year off with a bang... 3 stitches for Kylie at InstaCare tonight.  She was getting off the piano bench and hit her forehead on the corner of the piano.  Thankfully it was just after 8 pm so InstaCare was still open so we were able to avoid the emergency room.  Unfortunately it is a new year so our deductible just reset.

She was really scared and nervous until we got their because she didn't want stitches, but they put her right at ease and she did great!

Happy Birthday Bradley!

Happy Birthday Bradley!  Bradley turned 11.  We celebrated by driving up to Cedar City to go sledding.  He took his friend Zach with.  We found a great place to sled and had lots of fun.

2013 - Works of Righteousness & Tender Mercies

My chosen scripture for the year:

But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come - D&C 59:23.

My goals for the year:
Recommit to doing "works of righteousness" (prayers, scriptures, temple, FHE, service, family prayers, family scriptures, family history, etc.).
To seek for and accept the Lord's will in my life.
To recognize, discern & acknowledge His "tender mercies".

From Elder Bednar's 2005 Conference Talk

Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20).
My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

And of course there are all the other goals I have that deal with health, exercise, housework, mothering, keeping balance, etc.  But I've yet to write them down yet.

Happy New Year 2013 - Hike

Happy New Year!

The past couple years have been a little rough with lots of ups and downs.  Here's hoping 2013 with be a year with lots more ups than downs.

This morning we hiked up Webb Hill to the cell towers in an attempt to burn off all the nachos we ate last night.

Kylie is an amazing hiker!  She was the first one to the top other than Brian who ran part of the way up and then came back down to walk the rest of the way back up with me.

Sad to say this is only the 2nd time I've attempted any real exercise since I broke my leg 7 months ago.  I attempted some jogging about 3 months ago and it didn't go so well.  Once I recovered from that attempt I was not excited to try anything else so I didn't.  I'm happy to report today's hike showed my leg is good to go.  I couldn't tell any difference between my 2 legs.  Hooray!  Yes I was the last one to the top of the hill thus stuck with the task of making lunch when we got home but that's ok since we had plenty of left over nachos to heat up.

Family Photo 2012 - The one we didn't use for the Christmas card

Pictures for Brett's School assignment

The Good, The Bad and The Crazy

The Good:
The hospital wrote off 81.5 % of Brett's Hospital bills making what we owe on his $10,000 bill a little under $2,000.  Hooray!

The Bad:
I got my first ever speeding ticket yesterday for going 94 in a 75.  Yikes!  I don't usually speed (at least not that fast) but traffic was flying and so was I.  Beware when you are heading down the hill after the Moapa Indian Reservation exit in Nevada.

The Crazy:
Brett takes a lot of vitamin supplements.  I usually give him flush free niacin and didn't realize the niacin I just bought causes a flush.  It was pretty crazy to see him looking like a tomato.

Inspiring Quotes

"Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith."  - Thomas S. Monson


"My desire to alter the Lord's timing had been the cause of my anguish." - Carolynn Spencer


"There were a lot of good decisions that went into that body." - Daniel Amen

"We don't want to get lost in the details of life and forget what's most important."

"To get rid of fear and doubt we must increase our faith."

Use the temple as a pattern for our home.  Nothing out of harmony with the Lord. (neat, clean, nice)

There must be opposition in ALL things.