Miss Grumpy Pants

Seek for the Eternal…Come What May and Love It!

“Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.”
-Elder Worthlin

   Youth, we are going to have MANY times of disappointment whether the disappointment is about big things or the small. We are going to feel sorrow every now and then and in the end we WILL learn from it. I love how Elder Worthlin described these times of trial, it is our on-the-job training. So the next time your parents tell you to get a job you can say living is one....just kidding :)

Last Thanksgiving we had a family contest, to see who could build the best gingerbread house. My sister Emily, and my niece Madison were on my team. We only had 20 minutes to complete the house and so we had to work FAST. At the end we had to do a presentation of our gingerbread house. As you can see, we are not the most talented builders...My niece Madison did not think it was as funny as we did. She was experiencing the sorrow of losing the contest. It was something that she had really wanted to WIN! After losing the contest she turned to her mother to find comfort. Her mom was able to get her to calm down and realize it was just a game. In that short moment she was able to have an experience that was hard for her and she had someone to turn to. Just like Madison was able to turn to her mom, I know we can all turn to our Heavenly Father when we go through something we are not used to. Heavenly Father puts us ALL through DIFFERENT trials for a reason to see if we will turn to him :)

www.mormon.org
(C)LV2011

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT!

I recently came upon Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk "Come What May and Love It." While serving a mission, I have realized that you can NOT always control what happens in your life. There will be times where we get a curve ball and we just don't know how to hit it. I looked back to my sophomore year of college when I really learned this lesson. After months of a constant pain in my stomach a doctor decided it was time for surgery. When he proposed the date, I realized it was going to be Spring Break. I had already gotten tickets to go to California, but I decided my health was probably more important... I can tell you I was not a happy camper! The day I went in for surgery, it all hit me. I would have 5 incisions in my stomach, and would not be able to really move for a week. Through all of this the only thing I could think of was... WHY ME!?!?!

Right before I went in for the two hour surgery, I said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to teach me something valuable from this experience. All I can say was, HE DID! When I woke up the first thing the nurse said to me was, “Well I guess it looks like it is time to get you out of here!” I was barely conscious when she told me to get dressed. All I could think was seriously?! I cannot even move! My beautiful mother helped me get out of the bed and let me sit in the recliner chair as she helped me get dressed. She thought it would be a good idea to pull the lever on the side of the chair...bad idea... It was like the scene from Sweet Home Alabama, I flew forward and I could instantly feel the pain shooting up and down my incisions. At that minute though, I decided instead of getting mad at my mom, I would laugh. Even though it HURT, my Mother and I laughed and laughed...Throughout the recovery of that surgery there were many times I just felt like crying, but I decided to rely on the Lord and LAUGH.

"The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

-Elder Worthilin 

Bulls Eye!

Bulls Eye!!!

"As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? ...It is essential that we are able to face—with courage—whatever challenges come our way. Remember the words of Tennyson: “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.”

-President Thomas S. Monson

Dare to Stand Alone

YOUTH, you will face challenges every day, like President Monson said, it is inevitable. We cannot PICK and CHOOSE the trials we go through, but we can CHOOSE how we get through them. It is our attitude and pure hearts that will help us make it through the trial. I know that many of you are “looking the bull in the eye” right now. What I have come to learn is that through the atonement, Heavenly Father will give us that strength we need to get through the unfortunate events. It all starts with our FAITH! Our FAITH in the atonement will give us strength as we stare the adversary in the eye…

Now the question is how will you face the challenge?

CLV(C)2011

www.mormon.org

PICK A TEAM

CALLED TO SERVE

“This is a life-and-death contest we are in, young men, so I am going to get in your face a little, nose to nose, with just enough fire in my voice to singe your eyebrows a little—the way coaches do when the game is close and victory means everything. And with the game on the line, what this coach is telling you is that to play in this match, some of you have to be more morally clean than you now are. In this battle between good and evil, you cannot play for the adversary whenever temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple and mission time as if nothing has happened…My young friends, we need tens of thousands of more missionaries in the months and years that lie ahead.”

-Elder Holland

This last General Conference Elder Holland gave a great talk about the young people needing to step up and serve missions. YOUTH its time, PICK A TEAM! We cannot sit here and play for the adversary; we are too good for that. I can tell you that preparing for a mission spiritually is hard, but it can be done! It is not something you can do over night, but it something that takes years! Use the time you have in seminary to learn the stories of the scriptures, memorize them, and live them. A mission only lasts a short time; you do not want to spend the full time, learning the basics. You are going to be called to serve. It could be anywhere, speaking any language. The only thing that will prepare you is your standards and a strong testimony... Youth, its time... Pick a team and play your hardest, all we need is one last victory!

Elder Vaterlaus, Sister Vaterlaus, Elder Vaterlaus 

***In January I was able to enter the MTC with my Cousin who is serving in Mexico, and also my brother who is serving in Argentina***

Elder Hollands Talk...READ IT!

Special thanks to Sister Carver and Sister Correia my old companions who were willing to get the band back together :)

 CLV(C)2011 

She said YES!

She said YES!

October 15, 2011

A few weeks ago I did a post labeled “Miracle on Lime Street”. Well, today my companion and I were able to see the beautiful couple be sealed for all time and eternity in the Palmyra, New York Temple.

My Niece Madison First day of school

It was such a BLESSING to see this couple make such a sacred covenant, or two way promise. Many people think that the things that happen in the Temple are SECRET…I am here to tell you that they are not… They are SACRED. I like to think about it this way… My niece Madison recently started first grade. She did all she needed to, to prepare for this big step. She was ready because she had gone to kindergarten. If I was to drive her to school, and say okay we are going to put you in 11^th grade instead, she would not have completed the grades to prepare her. Entering the Temple is all about being prepared spiritually. God wants all of his children to enter His Holy House one day. Now youth, always remember that this is what you are working towards, a  

TEMPLE MARRIAGE!

The Dillinbecks 

tRiCk Or TrEaTiNg fOr ThE TrUtH

tRiCk Or TrEaTiNg

fOr ThE tRuTh

Rica and I as Salt and Pepper 2010

"You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can't count the apples in a seed."

-Elder Costa

My Niece and Nephew as Kiss :]

With Halloween coming up I thought of many of my favorite traditions of the Holiday. I love dressing up, making candy apples, carving pumpkins, and also going TrIcK oR tReAtInG.  When I was little we would just set out with our big pillow cases and hope that we would come back with them full. It was always discouraging to go door to door and only get a piece or two of candy at a time. However when a persistent child continues to tRiCk Or TrEaT their bags become full.  As we plant seeds in people about the gospel, with time it will grow. At Halloween it is easy to get scared of all of the creative costumes that we see. When sharing the gospel, I think we see it through the same eyes, while in reality under those scary costumes is a Child of God who is “tRiCk oR TrEaTiNg” for the truth. Throughout this scary season always remember that one piece of candy counts, that each time we interact with someone and include the church we are planting a seed.

The Family in Masks.....

PUMPKIN CARVING

PUMPKIN CARVING…

My last companion Sister Correia was from Hawaii. When we became companions, one of the first things I told her was how excited I was about HALLOWEEN.  She confessed to me that she had never carved a pumpkin. At first I was SHOCKED that she had never had that chance... I know that my reaction would probably be considered an overreaction. However I knew how much FUN it was to carve a pumpkin, I knew it was not easy, but at the same time it was something worthwhile. I told her that I would teach her and we could do it together.  So we planned it out, we bought pumpkins and got down to business carving. We loved it, it took her a little bit to get into it, but she trusted me and she kept going. By the end we both had somewhat good looking pumpkins.

  

As I laid in bed that night, praising my pumpkin, I thought about how happy I was that I got to share one of my favorite traditions with Sister Correia and how she loved it in the end. At the beginning she was very hesitant at what she was getting into, but she trusted me and so she went forward. I thought about how that relates to sharing the BOOK OF MORMON with our friends. I know it is not something that they have usually heard of, or something they are familiar with. However, they might never have that chance if we don’t offer it. I know I could not just let Sister Correia carve her first pumpkin by herself; she might have really used the ice cream scOoP the whole time… I know that when we are willing to share the BOOK OF MORMON with our friends, it is a learning process for both people but both end up learning a lot :0

I mean there is a first time for everything :)

Twins on our last day :)

CLV(2011)

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