Bear Lake and Corban's Prayer

So we had a great week at Bear Lake even though I had a sprained ankle and Amber busted up her knee within the first day or two of being there.
First observation was that it was really nice to have a family vacation.
Second observation is that no matter how much sunscreen you put on at Bear Lake you will get roasted as my upper body can currently attest to.
Just a couple of memories... First we went most of Saturday and Tuesday and all of Sunday and Monday without our boys and we never want to have to do that again. We missed them desperately. As fun as some people might think it is top have some quiet time we just missed them.
Next was seeing the boys on Tuesday evening and having all four confirm that they really didn't miss us. Apparently a beach, cousins, a boat and grandparents make great replacements for parents.
I also just wanted to note how kind Amber's parents are. They voluntarily took the boys so the boys could have more time on the beach and in the water. They helped out a ton while Amber and I were gimpy. It is more than lovely top have such kind in-laws.
On Thursday we went four wheeling and the boys had an absolute blast. Trey and Trenton learned how to drive and I am afraid that Trey got his mother's crazy sense of adventure since the only speed he knew was full throttle;-)
I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them how to ride. We had some sacred experiences as i had am opportunity to talk with them about being safe and keeping their eye on the road. I told them that keeping their eye on the road while four wheeling was similar to keeping their eyes on Heavenly Father and Jesus in their lives. Trenton proceeded to repeat" keep your eye on the road" multiple times as he drove. I hope they remember that little lesson as I hope we all do!
Then Friday my ankle started to feel reasonably better so we went out in the boat. The three older boys all took a turn in the tube and had a blast. That afternoon I spent about two hours with just me and Trey out in the water on the water trampoline that Amber's aunt and uncle brought. I will cherish that time forever. It was so much fun to just play with him and spend time with him away from the cares of the world that so often encumber me and hamper my ability to be a good parent. Then Taft came out too and it made it double the fun.
Corban was sweet the whole time and since riding bikes was easier for me then walking he and I spent hours on the bike together. He would talk to me from back in his bike trailer about everything from the dog that he apparently wants now to everything else under the sun. Audrey came with us one day and fell asleep. Sweet Corban played with his sister's hair the whole ride! There was a speed bump on the road by the cabin that we would go over every time we rode that he and i called "the laughing bump" because he would laugh every time we would go over it. So cute! I might add that Corban is quite the wild man on the four wheelers as well. He laughed and screamed with pure delight whenever the speeds would increase.
Audrey enjoyed everything. Loved the water, the boat, the beach, the bike rides, the four wheelers and especially dancing to Uncle Eric's ukulele music! She was quite the ham! She also enjoyed sneezing for everyone which is apparently a trick she learned at her pictures last week.
Finally we finish off with Corban's prayer after we got home on Saturday. He prayed that "we wouldn't go to bear lake anymore and be in the car forever". They were in the car for thirty or forty minutes while we finished packing (had to pack around them because we didn't have tons of room). Then the drive home took longer because we had to stop by Amber's parents house to get the boys' Sunday clothes. Anyway...I am sure based on the amount of fun he had he really didn't mean that, but it sure was funny all the same!
The week has enhanced and increased my gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father and His plan of happiness for us that includes as its basic unit the family. His plan is perfect and I am so grateful for the atonement of the Savior that made it all possible!

Conversation with Dad

It's time for me to go to sleep right now so I'm going to keep this short, but I wanted to post some thoughts now so I wouldn't forget what I wanted to say. First off, I want to say that we should all be extremely grateful for what an incredible father Dad is. I think we all know he isn't perfect (none of us are), but that doesn't matter, because I know that he is exactly the father I need, imperfections and all. The reason I say that is because he has been able to work through and overcome a lot of things in his life, and as a result has developed a very unique and powerful spiritual gift of being able to see the potential that we as his children each have, even when we can't see it ourselves. Now, Dad has always seen my potential to use music/singing as a way to touch people's hearts and share my testimony, and as we talked about that earlier tonight, my eyes, mind, and heart were opened more fully to what that really means. I don't know exactly yet what the Lord has in store for me in regards to the ways through which he will ask/direct me to use my gift to further His work, but I did feel stronger than ever that I need to more actively seek out opportunities to do so, in whatever ways the Lord may see fit. As a result of this feeling, I am going to begin making that part of myself a matter of study and prayer, and would ask a favor of each of you to keep me in your thoughts and prayers as well where music is concerned, and share the thoughts or impressions you receive if and when you receive any. I would greatly appreciate it. I love you guys so much!

P.S. On a semi-related note, I feel that if each of us will at times use this blog as a way to communicate things like this (e.g. asking each other to keep certain things in our prayers, etc), it will enable us to help one another more in accessing all of our spiritual gifts so that we can use them to strengthen one another as a family, and to build God's kingdom within our homes, wards, communities, and even nation.

Some summer pictures.(:

Talon and his teammate Peyton after their home runs!

At Talon's state baseball games(:

Free slurpees from 7-11 for 7/11.

Horseback riding for mutual with Bro. Harris.

My road trip with the Hansen's. 

Stadium of Fire with the Warner's.

Bellagio hotel in Vegas.

Trek!!

Party at Kaysha's. 

-Mistilyn

More lessons learned at the MTC

First, I wanted to say thank you to Tyrel for his post about Trey's experience. I think we all need to be reminded sometimes just how close children are to the Spirit and how often we fail to recognize how many things can actually be considered spiritual experiences, etc.

Second, I had a cool experience today at the MTC through which my testimony of Christ and his Atoning Sacrifice was strengthened. It was during one of my favorite activities that we do at the MTC where we read the Book of Mormon and discuss and share the promptings and revelations we receive, and the things we learn as we read. Today we read in Moroni 7 and as we were reading verses 45-56, a thought came to me to replace the word 'charity' with 'Christ' and see how that would open our eyes to additional truths about Him and his Atonement. When you do that it reads: "And [Christ] suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not [his] own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not [Christ], ye are nothing, for [Christ] never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto [Christ], [who] is the greatest of all, for all things must fail." Isn't that beautiful?!!! It's a perfect description of Christ during the Atonement!!! (And any time really, but the Atonement was on my mind as we were reading these verses). Christ truly DID suffer long! Even at the darkest hours of his mortal life, he DID NOT envy others, become prideful, think evil, allow himself to be easily provoked, rejoice in iniquity, or seek his own. Instead, he was kind, rejoiced in truth, bore all things, believed all things, hoped all things, and endured all things. HE REFUSED TO FAIL US!!!

As it is our purpose in life to become like our Savior, Redeemer, Advocate, Mediator, and elder brother, Jesus Christ, who is also our Salvation, let us follow the example he has set from the very beginning and endure all things in order to accomplish the will of the Father, which is to 'bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39).

P.S. Quick side note/question... One of the Sisters in my district pointed out the usage of the word 'cleave' and it made me wonder how often and in what situations it is used... Off the type of my head, I can only think of a couple specific examples: (1) Scriptures like Moroni 7:46 where we are taught to 'cleave unto charity' (i.e. Christ), and (2) the marriage covenant where we are told to cleave unto our spouse and none else. Thoughts? What does cleave mean exactly? What is it's significance?

Trey

So Amber and the kids came to visit me at work today and Trey decided to stay with me for the last hour or so.  He got bored after only a few minutes and I had an extra copy of preach my gospel in my office so I gave it to him and told him to write on the notes page the things that Heavenly Father had told him through the Holy Ghost.  He started talking about that when he feels the spirit he feels love and feels warm inside.  Then he informed me that he really feels the spirit when someone is rubbing his  feet because he feels really warm and really loved when someone does that!  Just a fun little thought that I didn't want to forget!  

Even though it sounds a little silly and people may think that Trey isn't understanding the Spirit, I think he actually has a better understanding of it then most people. All things that come from God are good (Moroni 7:16) and the fruits of the spirit include love (Galatians 5:22-23) so when we have these experiences it is indeed the Holy Ghost inviting and enticing us to become more like Christ (Mosiah 3:19). 

Here they are! The miracle district!

Update in the life of Tennyson

So I'm actually going to start this post by going back about four months ago or so to the time when I was applying for the Training Coordinator position at the MTC. When I got the call that they decided to go with someone else, I experienced a lot of different emotions simultaneously and also had a ton of thoughts run through my head as well. I was sad, angry, confused, disappointed, and I honestly started to wonder if I even wanted to work at the MTC anymore, because I wanted that job so badly at the time that anything "less" seemed almost pointless. I mean, I had been teaching there longer than any other teacher in the Philippines area, I had been a Zone Coordinator for a long time, I felt good about the interviews, AND I had been praying like crazy that I would get the job, so why didn't I? The question of why kept ringing through my head over and over and over again every day. Even weeks and months later, the fact that I didn't get the job still haunted me at times. I just didn't understand why the Lord hadn't provided a way for me to get it when the timing seemed so perfect and it was an opportunity I had been hoping for a long time would present itself. Eventually, I got to the point where I was able to more or less forget about it and just move forward, but I still never felt as if I got any kind of answer as to why things didn't work out as I had hoped...until about a week ago as I was teaching my most recent district at the MTC (they left for the Philippines today). I honestly don't really remember specifically what I was teaching them, but the feeling that came to me as I looked at each of them while teaching was undeniable. THEY WERE THE REASON! In the blink of an eye I knew exactly why I hadn't been chosen to be the training coordinator. I needed to meet these particular representatives of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and I needed specifically to learn from their incredible examples of hard work, diligence, determination, service, sacrifice, faith, hope, and unconditional love. That same impression came very powerfully to me again last Saturday night when I had to bid a temporary farewell to half of the missionaries, and yet again earlier this afternoon when I bid a temporary farewell to the rest of them. Having taught at the MTC for as long as I have, I have become somewhat used to saying goodbye to missionaries as they depart to their respective fields of labor, and as a result, even though I have loved deeply every district I have taught, I haven't cried at the time of their departure for a really long time. When this district left, however, I couldn't keep the tears at bay, because each and every one of the Elders and Sisters in the district changed my life in very permanent and eternal ways. I am a different and better person now because of them. The last time I was with the entire district at once, they gave me a journal in which they had each written a personal note to me. As I read their words, I was completely overwhelmed by their expressions of love and gratitude for me. I honestly don't know how it happened, or even when, but at some point they became something much more to me than friends; they became my brothers and sisters in Christ, my allies in the battle for the souls of God's children. In my Patriarchal Blessing it says, "You are blessed, also, to be able to make friends. You have many friends but few close friends. This is also a blessing unto you. You should not be dismayed by this, but should try to go forth and do the things that are necessary, and remember that close friends are close friends." This short paragraph has always bothered me a little bit to be honest, even though it clearly states that I "should not be dismayed by this." Over the years, I have indeed made a lot of friends, but most of them have passed in and out of my life in a relatively short period of time. The truth is, outside of all of you, I could really only count on one hand the number of people I would consider to be my close friends; but these Elders and Sisters are now a part of that list, and they have inexplicably helped me find peace in the fact that I will only ever have a few close friends. Anyway, since this post was all about missionaries and missionary work, I want to end by testifying that I know that God lives. He is my father and yours. He loves ALL of his children without exception, even one as imperfect as me. Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son, who also loves us perfectly and who atoned for my sins and yours. He is my Savior, my Redeemer, my Advocate with the Father, my dearest and closest friend of all, and HE LIVES!!! I know He does! I know it because I have felt it in every part of my heart. The light of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ has been instilled within my heart so deeply that nothing could ever remove it, and it has lit a fire in me that will never die, but will remain alive and vibrant in my very soul for all eternity; for my God "hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh" (2 Nephi 4:21). That is the miracle of the gospel and of the Atonement upon which it stands. It changes lives, heals broken hearts, and binds families together forever. Of this I bear witness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.