The Blessing of Good Friends

Tonight as Bryan and I begin our fasting and prayer that we will be led to a new career path, I have been reading from the Ensign.  In one article it said, The Bible Dictionary offers this statement about prayer’s purpose: “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.”

I know that the windows of heaven can be opened up to me and my family as we pray for specific blessings and guidance in our lives.  I truly believe that the Lord is waiting to bless me and I just have to do my part. 

Today we had our First Annual Easter Egg Hunt with Jeff and Reannen Steffenson and their kids Sienna and Jack, Angie Dunn and Chloe and Olivia and our kids.  After we left the park, I felt so blessed to have such great friends.  I feel surrounded by people who love me and care about me. 

For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I can finally be the kind of friend that my friends have been to me.  Angie Dixon Dunn and I met in High School.  She married Myron Dunn, who I grew up with in Taylor Park Ward.  Her and Myron have become very good friends of Bryan and I, and Bryan and Myron also have an Auto Glass Business together.  (Aces Auto Glass) 

Megan Beals Montgomery has been my friend since 8^th grade but we really started hanging out our Junior year of high school.  She has twin girls who are just a few months older than Bella. 

Melissa Cohee and I met when we worked together at Garry L. Johnson & Associates. 

These girls have been through a lot with me and have helped me through some rough times.  They are all beautiful and talented and I consider them my Best Friends Forever. 

Bryan and I have been and always will be best friends.  I enjoy hanging out with him more than anything in the world.  He makes me laugh and truly has a heart of gold. 

Blessings come in all types of packages and today I feel very thankful for the blessings that I have in good friends. 

Testimony of a Child

Tonight for Family Home Evening Bryan thought it would be a good time to teach our kids how to bear their testimonies.  We talked about what a Testimony is and then we both shared our testimonies.  We then let the kids take a turn to share theirs with us.  Ashlee gave it a great shot, but didn’t quite grasp the concept.  Dane however, did a great job.  He also added that he knows the world is not flat.  I was so touched by the rest of his testimony that this little fact that he added in there was just the icing on top.  I am so thankful that Bryan and I are teaching our kids the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I hope that we can be the kind of parents that our children need to grow up in this day in time. 

I am thankful for my Testimony of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that my family can be together forever through the blessings of the Temple.  I know that Jesus Christ lived and died for me, as my big brother and as my Redeemer.  I am so thankful for that sacrifice and what it means for me individually.  I know that by paying an honest Tithe, we can receive blessings beyond anything we can imagine.  I know that Satan is real and that his purpose and plan is to distract us from doing those things, especially the small and simple things that will help us to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion and guide.  I know that if we allow Satan to be present in our lives that he WILL BE.  But if we command him to leave in the name of Jesus Christ, he will leave.  No matter how many times we have to do it.  We can rid him from our lives and be happy and healthy, mentally and emotionally. 

My heart is full of gratitude for a husband who works so hard for our family.  Who loves his kids more than anything and would do anything for them.  I so appreciate his goodness in helping around the house and being the help mate that I so need in this life.  I love him and have loved him and will love him for eternity.  

After a late night last night for Bryan and I, we still got up in time to get the whole family ready for church on time.  It was so nice to get there in time to take the sacrament.  As I sat there after the sacrament prayer with my head still bowed, my arms folded and eyes closed, I was feeling very thankful to my Father in Heaven.  I prayed for forgiveness for my impatience with my family this week (especially with Bryan).  After a minute or two of doing this, Ashlee (3 years old), who was sitting next to me, leaned over and said, “Mom why are your arms still folded and your eyes still closed?”  I explained to her that the sacrament was a time for thinking about Jesus Christ, and that I was saying a prayer.  She seemed satisfied with that answer.  She is such a sweetheart and has sure been a cuddle bug lately.  The last month or so I will feel her climb in bed next to me and when I asked her what’s up she just says, “I just want to snug with you”.  Ashlee hasn’t always been a snuggler so Bryan and I eat up every opportunity we get to “snug” with her. 

After the sacrament I had taken the kids to the bathroom.  In doing so I realized that I needed to go home for some girl supplies.  I took Bella so Bryan wouldn’t have to have all 3 kids in sacrament meeting all alone.  I got home and wasn’t feeling too well so I ended up laying down for a bit.  After picking up the kids and Bryan from church I came home and took some Midol.  I had forgotten that the Midol we have has caffeine in it.  I haven’t had caffeine in my system since the week after Christmas 2010 and boy did my body let me know it.  After about 20 minutes I got really bad anxiety and felt like I was headed for a bad panic attack.  I have only had 2 panic attacks in the last 2 months, but this was the worst I have had in a long time.  I took a Xanax hoping that would help, but it didn’t seem to do a thing for me.  After trying to breathe through it for about 30 minutes I finally decided I needed to take a proactive approach to helping myself feel better.  I don’t normally go to the gym on Sunday but I decided that I was going to go to the gym and just sit in the steam room and see if it would help me to relax.  I went in for 10 minutes and then out for a couple of minutes and back in 3 different times.  It helped quite a bit and then I went home and ate dinner and that helped too. 

I have finally been able to start pin pointing the things that trigger my anxiety and depression.  It doesn’t mean I don’t have issues with it every now and then, but it sure helps me to avoid it most times.  After feeling what I felt today, I was assured that I will never put caffeine in my body every again…if I can help it.  It’s not worth it. 

I have really gained a testimony of the word of wisdom and not just the WofW in general but for me personally.  Each of us can be and is effected by certain things that we put in our bodies and if we pay attention to our bodies and feed it what it needs and avoid those things that cause us to be physically or mentally ill, I believe that is what Heavenly Father intended for us to be aware of. 

The principles of the gospel are for everyone.  Where it becomes personal is when we recognize how it can bless us individually.  I am so thankful for that.

Listening to the Spirit

After watching General Conference last week, Bryan and I sat down and talked about the things that we thought we needed to change in our family, marriage and home.  One thing that we have been struggling with lately has been paying Tithing.  Our struggle is more of a lack of organization than a lack of motivation to pay it.  Bryan and I made a decision that this year we would get caught up on our Tithing as well as paying it weekly rather than monthly to hopefully stay on top of it better. 

Tonight I made a solo trip to the grocery store for dog food and a few food items.  As I walked through the store I remembered that tomorrow being Sunday, it was time to pay Tithing.  Knowing that we have LITTLE in our bank account wasn’t going to stop us, I chose items wisely so that I would have enough to pay something.  I have $10 in cash and $21.43 in our account.  As I started to leave the store I saw the RedBox movies and thought it would be nice if Bryan and I could sit and watch a movie tonight and just unwind.  I quickly forgot that I needed every penny we had to pay Tithing.  I browsed through the movies that were available and found a couple I thought we would enjoy and when I went to purchase them, neither of them was available.  Coincidence?  Maybe, but as I walked out of the store I got such a warm feeling inside and knew that was the spirit telling me, “Great job Coree!  Don’t forget your promise!”

As I drove home, I felt so strongly that even though it was all the money we have, it is the Lord’s money and we are doing the right thing by giving it to Him.  We KNOW we will be blessed, we have experienced having blessings poured down on us.  I am so thankful for a husband who wants to keep the commandments and do all that we can to receive the blessings that our family needs and can get. 

With the economy the way it is and with Bryan working really hard to get our Auto Glass Company off the ground, and me trying to help support our family with my vinyl business, we have been very prompted recently to explore other avenues for careers.  We have worked so hard being business owners but it seems like no matter how hard we work, it’s just not enough for our family.  Not willing to give up on it yet, Bryan is still busting his hump trying to find ways to bring in more business.  My business is doing pretty well, but I am trying to boost my business as well.  The other night we sat down and discussed our options.  With tears in our eyes, we decided that we NEED to have a plan B and possibly a plan C or even D.  Bryan has always wanted to be a Police Officer.  When we were first married he decided to take another path, which I was grateful for.  As we talked about this option this week, we both felt differently.  We started looking for Departments that were hiring (most departments are not hiring new recruits right now because of the budget problems the government is having right now).  We came up with nothing right away but had faith that if this is what is next for us, it will happen in the right time.  We laid it to rest for the night but the next day Bryan had a feeling that he needed to check the Tucson Department.  The feeling he had was that they are hiring and that he needed to apply.  He got on the computer and found that they ARE hiring right now.  He submitted his application and now we are waiting to hear back.  We don’t know if this is it, but we do know that we both feel very good about the direction we are heading. 

Bryan and I have learned in our almost 7 years of marriage that prayer is key when making big decisions like buying a home or changing careers.  We have made mistakes.  We have gone ahead and done things knowing that the spirit was telling us to run the other direction.  We are both trying to be more prayerful and asking for the Lord’s help in making these decisions.  For now we will keep praying and wait to see what He has in store for us.