My Niece Avery's Baptism

 Today was my sweet niece Avery's Baptism and it went really well including some comedic moments I want to remember:

First from the mouths of babes:

Today while giving the baptism talk at my niece Avery’s baptism, I was talking about the scenario of what if someone stole a candy bar from the store, how could they make things right. One little boy replied, “ you could return it.” Which was a great answer. But then I asked but what if you had eaten the candy bar. The answer I was looking for was that you could earn some money to pay for it. Instead this was the answer that came.

“Well you could cough it up!”  I was dying! I guess I asked for it!

Another funny answer was when I asked the Articles of Faith Trivia Question: "How many years old are the Articles of Faith? The first answer I received was "Alot", the second answer I received was "a billion, trillion, infinity years." One girl did guess 200 years so she became the winner since she was the closest. 

Then I had asked Bobby, Bryce, and Chase to read quotes for me during my talk and Chase somehow in five minutes completely lost his.

Then Breanne played a beautiful song from her speaker called "He Knows Me". During the song her phone just stopped playing the song out of nowhere and she had to scramble to get it back working.

Then my Dad gave a talk and wanted to bring back Cindy the Citrus Warrior (the clementine I had drawn a crazy face on, which btw when I first brought it out the kids were laughing so hard at it. ) I had put it out in the hallway so Cole ran out and had to bring it back in. Then my dad took over my leftover smarties to give away to the kids. Then he had this poor little kid, like way little, read this long hard scripture that went on for five minutes. 

When Avery opened her gift from me depicted below I asked her how it felt to be baptized. She said she did feel different with a big smile on her face after she came up out of the water. And she was so radiant the rest of the time I was with her. 

At dinner Bryce made my day and said he had dibs to sit next to Aunt Kara. Then of course I spilled on myself and he told me it was a rookie mistake that I didn't have my napkin on my lap. 

It was such a wonderful day. As I drove home, I felt so happy and blessed to have such a wonderful family and to have gotten to spend this special time with them. It was just sad and CoCo and Henry couldn't be with us.

Love this niece of mine! So grateful to have been apart of her special day!

Today, my sweet niece Avery is getting baptized and I get to give the talk on Baptism! This is what I have prepared.

I have prepared to do two object lessons. The first is in reference to finding the light of Christ in the scriptures. I found this awesome light disguised as a book that I will have hidden in my own scriptures and at the right time will open my scriptures to reveal the light inside. That I think will be a pretty cool wow moment. Then I have attached a laminated picture of the Savior to the front and a laminated letter to the back to my niece Avery and will give to her as a gift after her baptism. I have included photos of these items at the end of this post.

I also purchased from Deseret Book bookmarks that have the articles of faith on them to give out to all of the kids and a pocket sized picture of the Lead Kindly Light picture to give to all of the kids. I anticipate there to be 8-10 kids.

The second object lesson is referred below as Cindy the Citrus Warrior. I will have a pitcher filled half with water and put in an orange with a girly face drawn on. Then as we talk about the mistakes she makes after baptism will peel the skin of the orange away. When I drop it into the water, it then will sink and we will talk about repentance so that she can float again. In testing this, I tried clementine's and oranges and strangely could not get the clementine's to sink, so it has to be an orange. This idea came from a New Beginnings I think probably over ten years ago that I remembered another leader doing. I even messaged her today to thank her for the idea. It's funny the things that stand out to you over the years.

Baptism Talk for Avery Sunday, April 24, 2022

Today I want to start with some trivia about the Articles of Faith.

By raising of your hand:

Who can tell me how many Articles of Faith there are? 13

Who can tell me who was inspired to write the Articles of Faith? The Prophet Joseph Smith

Who can tell me what book of scripture the Articles of Faith are found in? Pearl of Great Price

If someone asked you what are the Articles of Faith, what could you tell them? They are the basic principles that we, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe in. Our Beliefs

Who can tell me how many years ago they were written? We will play price is right rules- closest without going over wins. 180 years

Because you are all smart, you all get smarties!

 

Today I want to focus on the 4^th article of Faith.

It starts

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are:

Ok those were some big words. Another word for principle is truth or foundation of truth

So we believe that the first principle or truth is to have First have Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ

 

Alma from the book of Mormon teaches us that Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

So how in the world do we do that? How can we develop Faith in Jesus Christ when we can’t see him?

Let’s start with the beginning of our earth life.

When we all came to this Earth we obtained a body and in that body is our Spirit and in that Spirit is the Light of Christ. Everyone in this world was born with this Light of Christ.

Will someone read quote 1:

The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good and prepares them to receive the Holy Ghost. One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience.

Someone read quote 2:

The Light of Christ should not be confused with the Holy Ghost. It is not a personage, as the Holy Ghost is. Its influence leads people to find the true gospel, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (see John 12:46; Alma 26:14–15).

Someone read quote 3:

Conscience is a manifestation of the Light of Christ, enabling us to judge good from evil. The prophet Mormon taught: “The Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. Moroni 7:16

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/light-of-christ?lang=eng

So the next question is where can we learn about the Light of this World who is our Savior Jesus Christ?

These are my scriptures that I have had since my baptism day when I turned 8 years old. And you know what I have discovered over the years. The more and more I read them, study them, and ponder them, I am able to find the light of Christ through its pages. And get to know him personally.

So I want you to always remember that you gain Faith in Jesus Christ through your scriptures.

Now let’s return to our 4^th article of faith

The Second  Principle or ordinance of the gospel is Repentance. This is when we realize we have done something wrong, and need to ask sometimes others and our Heavenly Father for forgiveness. The ability to be forgiven is all because of the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. Because he atoned for our signs and died for us, we can become clean and our sins and mistakes are washed away.

Another word for Repentance I really like is change. Repentance is the opportunity to change to become more like our Savior and Heavenly Father so that we will feel worthy to live with them again one day

 

Third item of the 4^th article of Faith is, Baptism by Immersion for the Remission of Sins

 

Baptism is a sacred ordinance because it is a ceremony performed by someone with priesthood authority.

What does immersion mean? Being completely covered by water

And remission of sins means that we will be cleansed of any mistakes we have made in our life thus far.

So what happens if someone never learns about the gospel of Jesus Christ in this life and goes to heaven without ever being baptized? Do they never get a chance to become clean?

No, that is why we have temples so that we can go be baptized for them and they can choose to accept that baptism in Heaven.

What’s really special about Baptism, because it is a sacred ordinance, is that it is the first time in our lives that we make a two way promise with our Heavenly Father known as a covenant.

When we are baptized we promise or covenant to do three things.

To take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and always remember him.

To keep his commandments

And to love and serve others

What does that mean to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ? It means to be an example of him in all we do and say. To be kind and loving like he was and to a good representative as one of his disciples. And to share his wonderful gospel with others.

And because baptism is a two way promise, Heavenly Father promised us to forgive us of our sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ,  and gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I want to do one last activity.

Meet Cindy our Citrus Warrior. Cindy was just baptized. She is happy and clean and light- floating through life.

But then because she is living on this earth, is here to learn, she makes some mistakes. Maybe she lied to her parents, or cheated on a test, or was mean to her brothers and sisters.

Cindy the Citrus Warrior, starts to feel heavier and starts to carry the burden of guilt because she knows she has disobeyed the commandments.

Is all lost? How can Cindy become light again?

She can repent. She can tell her parents the truth, she can come clean to her teacher, she can apologize to her brothers and sisters and then she can pray to Heavenly Father for forgiveness.

And after she has done those things there is one final step.

How can Cindy be clean again like she was right after she was baptized?

She can partake of the sacrament at church that represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and be made clean and happy and light again.

Did you know that partaking of the sacrament after you have been baptized is just like being baptized all over again?

Does anyone know what the final ordinance in the fourth article of faith is?

Fourth, Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. You are right!

 But I am going to let Grampy talk about that.

I know in my heart all of these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Back to my home Temple!

 Today I got to go back to my Bountiful Temple and my regular shift after it being closed for three weeks for cleaning. It felt so good to be back "Home". I am sure that sounds crazy to most people, but I have spent so much time in this building over the past 15 years it feels like home to me. The only blessing in disguise about it being closed for cleaning, is it forced me to go and visit other temples. One day I went to the Brigham City Temple and another week I went to the Jordan River Temple. Both are beautiful Temples and all of the ordinances performed are exactly the same, but Bountiful is still my favorite. 

All morning before my shift I had been preparing for the Baptism talk I would be giving at my nieces baptism on Sunday at 4pm. And I still had to run a few errands to walgreens to pick up smarties, and deseret book to pickup bookmarks and I started to get overwhelmed with everything. Also in the back of my mind was the fact that I would be teaching gospel doctrine in one week because another teacher needed to trade shifts with me. Sometimes when I get overwhelmed I just shutdown and feel paralyzed and don't know where to start. Which is what happened this morning. I tested out my prepared talk on Hen and then just sat there thinking, how am I going to get everything done I need to before the temple? 

As I was sitting at my makeup table getting ready some thoughts crossed my mind about the calendar. And I discovered that I was completely off a week in mind. I wouldn't be teaching gospel doctrine in one week, it was going to be in TWO weeks!!!!! I was so happy I could have jumped for joy! I was ecstatic! I know that sounds like a weird thing to be so happy for but just felt overwhelmed since I taught gospel doctrine last week, was doing a talk this week, which I know was only supposed to be five minutes, but will be more like ten minutes. And then the thought of teaching in a week when I had hardly started thinking about that lesson was just a bit too much.

Even though I didn't think I would have enough time to accomplish everything I needed to before the Temple, of course it all got done and I even made it to prayer meeting ten minutes early.

I sat there listening to the piano music being played by one of our sweet sisters and just felt at peace. I am on the second floor again this week and I started out in a chair by the staircase where everyone walks down after they have left the celestial room. Every person smiles so wide and truly has the light of Christ in their eyes as they descend. I was again reminded how GRATEFUL I am that we are no longer wearing masks and that I can see every smile of every person! Each was so beautiful to me! Somehow my shift went by so fast today. And it was so sweet to see so many of my dear Sister friends whom I hadn't seen in a month. 

As I walked out of the temple the sun was shinning which was a surprise since it had been so rainy and cloudy when I went in. 

I sang hymns as I walked slowly to my car. I have to walk slowly because my shoes no longer have tread and every time I hit a wet spot I go skiing! So I was walking more like "don't step on a crack or you will break your back, and you won't get up until the morning" Lol. Luckily I made it all the way to my car that was parked in the far back without slipping. 

After going home I ate some dinner, watched more of the Chosen, read a few more pages from the book the Infinite Atonement, read a few scriptures from the book of mormon in Helaman, and finished my night with reading a conference talk from our recent conference. So tired I fell asleep around 9pm. 

April 17th, 2022 Gospel Doctrine Lesson- Easter Sunday

 April 17th, 2022 Gospel Doctrine Lesson- Easter Sunday

Obviously we did not cover everything, but hopefully covered what the Spirit wanted me to cover in the time we had.

The treat I prepared, thanks to my mom's idea, were the Lamb Lindt chocolates that I passed around in an Easter basket for everyone. This was during the section where we talk about our favorite names of Christ and one of mine being "The Lamb of God" because it reminds us of the love of our Heavenly Father that he gave his only begotten son so that we could return to live with him again.

Welcome to Gospel Doctrine 

A little less than a month ago, I found out that some other wards had cancelled their second hour for today and were essentially treating today like Christmas, in only meeting for Sacrament.

The natural man in me got excited, maybe I won’t have to teach! Yeah!

So I texted Alan, and confirmed that we were in fact having a second hour today. Of course I was a bit deflated. Throwing a bit of a tantrum in my own mind. “But why do they get to not have a second hour and we don’t?”

Then as some time passed and my mind pondered on this lesson. This scripture was brought to the forefront of my mind over and over again.

2^nd Nephi 25:26

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

My heart was softened, and I started to get very excited about this lesson.

I became excited to get to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and preach of Christ.

So I am grateful for the opportunity to be with you today and to talk of Christ.

 

By raise of hands, did anyone attend the Passover dinner on Thursday evening?

Would anyone like to share something that stood out to them or that they learned or enjoyed?

 

By raise of hands, has anyone had the opportunity to visit the bountiful tabernacle experience?

Would anyone be willing to share something they learned or enjoyed?

Where could we find Christ in this tabernacle experience?

One of the things that really stood out to me was when they talked about the animal sacrifices. How in order to repent someone would have to bring their beloved, unblemished lamb and take it’s life to be forgiven of their sins. Maybe it is because I love animals so much. And when I think about having to take an innocent life of one of my dogs all because of one of my sins, I can’t even fathom that. Through this imagery the true weight of the cost of repentance really impacted me. I have always been so grateful that we do not have to sacrifice animals because of our Saviors sacrifice.  But I truly now feel a weight unlike before of our Saviors sacrifice because he is even more innocent then those animals and he bears the weight of my sins with every mistake that I make. It definitely motivates me even more to try and overcome my weaknesses so that I don’t add to his anguish.

How are we like the people of the old testament?

Now I would like everyone to close their eyes. I am going to time about 30 seconds. During this time, I would like for you each to let your mind wander to thoughts of how our Savior has touched your life, helped your faith grow or moments in your life that have shaped your testimony of him. It could be a trial, it could be a hymn, it could be a scripture, a picture or a conference talk. It will be different for everyone.

The 30 seconds starts now.

 

I would love it if anyone would share what came to their mind.

 

An experience that impacted me a great deal was probably 10 or so years ago I went to a Relief Society activity one night at our ward building.

It was held in the gym and rows of chairs had been set up. The lights were turned down as low as possible and we were asked to put blindfolds on.

A recording was played of the events of Christs life from the new testament. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Then as events moved forward and it was time for Jesus to carry his cross to Golgotha,

A voice of one of the volunteers whispered in my ear. “Will you help me?”.  I whispered back. “Yes”

As I stood up, an extremely heavy piece of wood, which I can only guess was a railroad tie, was lifted on my shoulder. Blindfolded and with tears streaming down my checks, I carried that wood in what I would guess was a circle around the setup chairs back to my chair.

As we listened in the quiet to the rest of the scriptural account of the events following. Snifles around the room could be heard.

And from that day, I have never been the same.

Watch Jesus Once of Humble Birth Music Video

 

What are some of the names of the Savior that resonate with you when you hear them and why?

 

Show picture of Peter in sea and read scriptures

How can we accept the Lord’s will over our own? What decisions or choices in your life have helped you to build that level of trust?

Read # 15

Read the Living Christ

Could we sign our names to the bottom of this document? Are our testimonies strong enough?

 

How can we help others find peace and joy in Christ?

 

Last Tuesday night my mind wrestling with questions about the atonement that were confusing me and I couldn’t wrap my mind around.

So, I texted my Dad at almost 1am.

Hi Dad, I’m teaching Sunday and I have some questions about the atonement. Will you call me when you have a few minutes?

My Dad is my closest resource when it comes to scripture and church knowledge. He has read all of the scriptures more times than anyone I know and is constantly studying pretty much any church book he can get his hands on.

Of course I knew my almost 70 year old dad was sleeping at one am, so did not expect him to call me right away.

He called me the next day and we talked briefly about my questions surrounding the atonement. Except, he did not give me the answers I think I was expecting or looking for. So I felt a bit frustrated after the call because my mind was still in a bit of confusion.

But my dad say one sentence that made all the difference.

He said, you should read the book titled “The Infinite Atonement” by Tad Callister.

I asked him if he still had a copy and he said he would look for it.

Later that night he told me his copy was just on his phone.

So I did the same. Downloaded a copy from amazon to my kindle app.

That night I began to read and I literally couldn’t put it down. Every question I have ever had regarding the atonement was being answered. The scriptures and quotes from prophets and apostles are interwoven throughout to give context to each piece of the atonement in a way I had never understood or known before.

If I were a book peddler I would literally go door to door selling this book.

 

I did realize I made one mistake with this book. I should have bought a hard copy to mark up. I ended up taking screen shots of passages I liked, but it is definitely not ideal.

Some things I learned from The Infinite Atonement.

Read #3 and #4, possibly read 24 and 25

Finish with Elder Eyring’s words from his last conference talk

#Because of Him Video

All passages that I snipped from The Book The Infinite Atonement

Life Size Old Testament Tabernacle

 This morning Hen and I went and toured the Life Size Replica of the Tabernacle from the Old Testament used by the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. It was displayed on the lawn of the Bountiful Tabernacle and we were taken on a 45 min tour. Today was the day for our Stake so we got to see alot of people we knew too.

This video was shown at the beginning of the tour

There were so many things I learned about the similarities between this ancient temple and our modern day temples.

I was reminded of the cloud that could be seen over the tabernacle in the daytime and the fire that could be seen over it at nighttime, reminding the children of Israel that God was with them. When the cloud or fire moved, then they knew they needed to pick up and move to the next location. What a comfort that must have been to have that there so that they didn't feel lost and forsaken.

Coming to the entrance of the tabernacle there is only one the east side. It is referred to as the gate. and all I could think of was the scripture:

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13–14.)

The colors on the doors represent: Red-the Saviors sacrifice of blood, purple-royalty, and blue to represents heaven

I also learned that only the priest could enter into the holy of holies once a year and there was no light in that section, but coals would burn in there and when the smoke gathered above the arc of the covenant then the priest would step back into the holy place out of the holy of holies and receive instruction from the Lord. 

They also shared that any unrighteous priest that went into the holy of holies died of a heart attack.

I also learned that the center of the memorah represents the tree of life and Jesus Christ and the other branches represent us. 

One thing that really stood out to me was the explanation of the animal sacrifices. This has always been a hard concept for me to fathom. I love animals so much and I think it would be so difficult to kill one of my own. It really brought to the forefront of my mind, that if I really had to sacrifice one of my own animals to repent for my sins, I definitely would never sin again. It makes the sacrifice we make today of a broken heart and a contrite spirit pale in comparison to the animal sacrifices that had to be made back then. We are blessed because of our Savior's atonement and his shedding of his own blood that we no longer have to sacrifice animals in order to repent. But the thought of our repentance equating to  sacrificing the life of the animal, and even more the sacrifice of our Savior I learned much more the true weight of both today.

I am so glad we went. Even though there is no way I will remember everything. It definitely strengthened my testimony of the old testament of ancient temples and our modern temples we have today. How blessed we are!

A Date with Myself

                                                   

Since the Bountiful Temple is closed for a few weeks for cleaning, I made an appointment for an endowment session at the Brigham City Temple on Saturday for the 11:30am session. I couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I just decided to go by myself. I set a goal for myself to always go to the temple once a week and I failed for my first time last week because I ended up going to Vegas and cancelling the appointment I had made to go out of town. I am disappointed in myself for breaking my streak of almost a year not missing one week, but what can I do? I can't get that week back, so I am just going to have to start again, and try not to miss any more weeks. 

I woke up early Saturday morning and did some work down in my office, paid some bills, but quickly I was running out of time. I knew I needed to leave the house no later than 10am to be able to get there in time to get dressed. Because work took longer than I intended, I ended up leaving at 10:07. I didn't even have time to do my hair, only had enough time to shower and put on very minimal makeup. I got in the car with name in hand, Jessie Low. 

Jessie Low is Henry's Great Grandaunt. In other words, she is Henry's Grandfather Becker's, Mom's, Sister. And Henry actually knew this great grandmother when he was little, known as Mimi. 

I have had Aunt Jessie's name for a while. I had completed her baptism and confirmation back in December 2019, then her initiatory in January 2020 (right before covid hit). So it felt very special to be able to complete her personal work by being proxy for her endowment. 

As I sat in the car getting everything situated to make the hour long drive north, plugged in my phone, turned my Pandora station to Motab (they are now known as the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square), I said out loud to Jessie and Mimi, "Ladies please help me get there safely and in one piece." I felt like they were with me in the car the whole way up I-15. 

So many beautiful hymns played as I traveled northward. "If You Could Hie to Kolob", "The Spirit of God", "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" and so many more. I felt the Spirit on more than one occasion and had a few tears trickle down. Which had made my mascara run a bit and I didn't notice until I was standing in front of a mirror in the locker room much later.

As I pulled up to the Brigham City Temple, I was reminded of when I came with the young women of my old ward to tour it during it's open house back in August of 2012.(Blog Post Tour Link) I was also reminded of when I came to serve with my Dad back in 2014. (Blog Post Link)

After parking and walking through the gates, I was greeted by beautiful Tulips everywhere, of so many colors. I didn't have my phone on me, otherwise I would have taken some pictures. As I arrived at the front doors,  motion censors trigged both doors to open unexpectedly in front of me, like I was about to walk down the aisle of church for a wedding or something. It felt almost magical, like I was Cinderella.

 As I greeted the front desk workers they scanned my name and said "Welcome Sister Becker, I see you are here for an Endowment Session". "I said yes, I am a worker at the Bountiful Temple and since ours is closed, I am borrowing yours today." They said they were so glad that I had come. 

I took the elevator up to the third floor and to the locker room to get changed into my white clothing. For some reason I really struggled with figuring out my way around this temple, I kept going the wrong direction even though the sweet sister workers were every few feet instructing me where to go. This temple is seriously a maze! But I am going to try to remember so that I don't get so turned around next time. 

I had forgotten over the years how exquisitely beautiful this temple is! While everything that happens in that temple procedurally is exactly the same as every other temple in the world, the inside decor was very different from the Bountiful temple. So many intricate patterns and beautiful white's and browns. I have included a link below so that you can see what I mean. 

Inside the Brigham City Temple Pics

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Brigham City temple and will definitely be returning in the future. After the temple, I stopped at Maddox's (my favorite restaurant) for some lunch. I feel like I have been dining in restaurants more and more by myself these days. Which is ok, but I know a lot of people that would never dare to do that. And while the food was absolutely delicious, the noise was really hard to handle. I almost wished I had ear plugs. Saturdays are probably their busiest days. I think after spending so much quiet time in the temple, my ears were extra sensitive to all of the clanking of dishes and conversations that were happening. It felt nice to get back in the car to peace and quiet. 

Next was a stop next door to Alpine Gardens. They have a lot of fun yard art that has become my favorite thing to add to our swimspa area outside. I picked up a few new pieces and headed on my way back to Bountiful.

My last stop was to At Home where I picked up some storage bins and a few Easter decor items for my bookshelves. 

And at last I was home. It's been a while since I have driven that much. Between the medication I am taking and driving alone, I was extremely drowsy by the time I made it home and took a much needed nap. 

So grateful I had the opportunity to go to the temple and to finish Aunt Jessie's work. Also so grateful I didn't have to wear a mask in the temple! This is still a new enough change, that I am trying not to take for granted. Also, it wasn't too long ago that all the temples in the world were completely closed due to covid, so I am grateful to be able to serve there.

Catching Up

This is the problem with getting behind, like crazy behind, because I know there have been some things I wanted to record over the last few weeks, but have now forgotten them. 

Here are some things I do remember. 

So many tender mercies over the last few weeks.

On Wednesday, April 30th, I decided to go to last Vegas at the very last minute. I had a temple appointment I had signed up for on Thursday of that week and would need to cancel it to go. I decided to selfishly take this trip, cancel my temple appointment, and break my goal of trying to go to the temple once a week. So most people would probably think, I would be punished for this selfish decision, and yet I wasn't. The Lord was still kind enough to help me out in more ways than one. 

First-I was taking a standby flight that day. I literally got the last seat on the plane. No other standby's made it on the plane. Second-not only did I get the last seat, but I got an aisle seat! How is that even possible? Always the last seats available on planes are middle seats! I was soooo grateful, even with the hour flight to get to have an aisle seat.

Then we were upgraded to an absolutely beautiful suite that is in the Spa Tower of the Bellagio far away from the casino, which is where I like to stay. 

I was so grateful that for the whole trip, the pups were taken care of at boarding, Hen was able to come out for a couple nights, I had great weather at the pool, a super fun time at the Carrie Underwood concert. Which, I was wondering if she would sing "How Great Thou Art", and I kept thinking in my mind, how in the world would she work that song into a Vegas show? Well she did it! Half way through "Jesus take the Wheel", she switched to "How Great Thou Art". She did it in a very tasteful and beautiful way. I was so proud of her. I don't know if that song has ever been sung in a theater in Vegas. 

Then on Saturday we were headed back home. Again on a standby flight and I was given an aisle seat again, and this time, no one was in the middle seat! Even better! And it was even economy comfort! 

Another interesting situation that keeps coming to my mind, was one day when I was swimming laps in the pool. There was a girl who could have easily been a model and most guys idea of a perfect "10". Tall and skinny, in a bikini with not much being left to the imagination sitting on the side of the pool with legs in the water.

I got in the pool to start my laps and caught her eyes, I smiled, and she smiled back. Then about 15 minutes later as I was swimming past her, she says to me "I'm living vicariously through you." I was so caught off guard but wanted to return the compliment, so my response was "Ditto". 

I will never know why exactly she was thinking that. It could have been because she didn't know how to swim, or thought she should be swimming laps instead of just lounging, but if that were the case, why wouldn't she just swim laps? The other thought that occurred to me, is maybe she looked at me and thought "I bet this girl eats whatever she wants and I never get to eat what I want." 

Again who knows what she was thinking, but the fact that she envied me, who looks like a giant clumsy seal in the water, with rolls for days in my swimsuit, and more chins, than I like to count, just goes to show, that the grass isn't always greener. 

My looks may not even register on the 10 point scale, but at my age of 38, I can assess that I do have some things I can be proud of that I have overcome in my life, and blessed beyond my wildest dreams, with family, career, home, traveling, and most of all my testimony that remains to still be my greatest possession.

 Of course this girl, didn't know any of these things about me. But I think that is why finally I have some confidence in myself after all these years. I am far from perfection, but I know the road I have traveled and the addictions, and mental health, and sins I have overcome along the way, of course not on my own, but with the help of my Heavenly Father, Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.