Spare It A Little Longer

Upon opening my scriptures the other morning for my study I realized that I was at the chapter of Jacob that most people just read to get through it because of it's difficulty to understand and it's great length of 77 verses. Yep, that is Jacob 5. I hesitated to study it, especially after having just woken up half an hour prior. I didn't think my mind was in the right state to be able to gain anything from it. I decided to read it anyway and quickly learned to never underestimate the power of prayer and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, even in the grogginess of the morning. My eyes, mind, and heart were open as they had never been in past experiences reading this chapter. I wanted to share my insights.

(Disclaimer: These are solely my personal insights; nothing I say will or ought to be claimed as church doctrine).

In the beginning of the chapter it starts out by speaking of one olive tree. This tree had started to decay and the master of the vineyard and his servant began pruning it and digging about it that it may put forth young and tender branches and so it would not perish. The Lord and through His servants have been pruning me through my growing up years. My growing up years were far from perfect and I still had some wild branches that needed to be plucked and cast into the fire. We all have weaknesses and faults that are always needing to be plucked and cast into the fire. The Lord and his servants had prunged and digged about me to create strong roots, which He could trust to keep the rest of the tree alive.

Once the Lord and his servants saw that the roots were strong enough and that I had many good branches He wanted to place me in other places of the vineyard where my strength could be used for good to other growing trees. The Lord planted me and grafted me in places of the vineyard that varied in degrees of greatness. He placed me in soil that was poor, but he also placed me in soil that was rich. He grafted me into withering trees as well as into strong trees. These places and trees for me include: my family, close friends, roommates, Anasazi, BYU-Idaho, wards, callings, activities (sports, outdoor adventures, etc.), and any other involvement that I have had in places and in people's lives.

All the while in these places the Lord was pruning, digging, plucking, grafting, dunging me, etc.; He was keeping my root system strong. The places and people that I was surrounded by also helped me to grow as the Lord was pruning, digging, plucking, grafting, and dunging them as well. Growth is sometimes painful and is hard. The Lord of the vineyard knows that and puts us in places or places certain people in our life to enrich our life and help us in our journey with the growing pains. But as they have influence on my life, I too had influence on their lives. Through the Lord I have produced good fruit. Good fruit comes from following the commandments and putting the Lord's will over our own will. (verses 1-24)

I think I can safely say that in almost everybody's life there comes a time when we begin producing evil fruit and the branches on our tree begin dying. It starts little and if not stopped begins to spread and has a far greater reaching effect than one could have ever imagined. And when we start to break down it is an invitation for Satan to come into our lives even more powerfully, even to the point where he continues kicking you while you're down over and over again. Of course there are varying degrees to how far one falls. If not stopped deep damage occurs, such as: relationships going sour, fond memories becoming tainted, experiences becoming bitter, great losses occur, and everything we seem to touch or have relation to seems to go bad or die. We feel like we are in a never-ending blackening downward spiral. All our fruit has become evil. All of our branches have begun to decay. And the Master of the vineyard cries out, "What could I have done more for my vineyard?" But the truth of the matter is that the Lord did everything He could to help us produce good fruit and strong branches. It is our agency that He has given us that He cannot control. It is our pride that obscures and limits our growth. The Lord does everything He can for us, but ultimately it is up to us to choose whether we produce good fruit and branches or evil fruit and branches.

The good news is that the despite all of the bad and despite our agency the Lord of the vineyard NEVER gives up on us. The Lord knows that the roots are still good and because the roots are still good that is enough. (verses 25-51)

The Master of the vineyard and his servants began bringing back the branches they had scattered throughout the vineyard to the main mother tree; the original tree they initially took from in the beginning of the chapter. The end was nigh at hand and the season speedily cometh. The Master and many enlisted servants began to prepare the way that the vineyard may be saved. They diligently worked day in and day out plucking, digging, grafting, and dunging the tree. This was done over a long period of time so not overwhelming for the tree to handle. Little by little. And slowly the evil was plucked away and the vineyard began bringing forth good fruit and branches again.

"And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.

And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away...

And thus they labored with all diligence, according to the commandents of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard and Lord has preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning" (v. 72-74).

Through the combination of the Master of the vineyard, his called servants, and our obedience to the commandments slowly and over time the evil in our hearts are plucked out, our branches and roots grow even stronger, and our fruit is the most sweet above all because it is the fruit of Christ that we are growing in our lives and offering to others. The plucking, digging, dunging, and grafting is painful, but we must know the pain in order to know the sweet; and we must go through the pain in order to get to and receive the sweet. The beauty of it all is that the Master of the Vineyard will never give up on us. He will always do everything He can to help us grow strong and produce good fruit. The Lord will always "spare [us] a little longer" because He knows us and He knows our divine potential. Trust Him. Let Him pluck your heart in your striving to keep the commandments and all the pain and struggle will be worth it when He says to you, "Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father."

*I would love to hear your insights, ideas, comments, etc. so please feel free to post comments!

Enchiladas a la Mangled!

I had an unexpected battle today. The opposer, Enchiladas. I received the best enchilada recipe from my best friend. These enchiladas aren't the 15-minute-dinner-in-a-snap kind of enchiladas. That is why they are the best; they take lots of time and effort to create such a masterpiece.

I had these enchiladas almost a year ago and decided that I wanted to make them for my Easter dinner. I was having Easter by myself and so I got to make whatever I wanted. I chose to make these enchiladas. To my advantage I had help making these enchiladas for the most part from the master teacher herself. We started making these enchiladas on Friday - starting with home-made sauce and home-made tortillas. The sauce making went smoothly and turned out great, but the tortillas were a bit more difficult. We did a half white/half wheat mixture. The dough was not as sticky as it should, they wouldn't roll out or stretch quite like they ought to, and they didn't bubble up to create a soft tortilla when cooking them. But that is all we had time for that Friday evening.

I made the enchilada meat on my own Saturday evening. I thought that I had done it wrong, but after my friend's approval and our test-tasting, I was assured it had been made correctly. Phew! My friend and I ended up having some time that evening to give the tortilla making another try. We went at it and after a good work out of rolling, stretching, and cooking the dough we had success! They were soft and moist. Perfect!

Having everything all ready to make for today's Easter dinner I was excited to get started after arriving home from church. Following a tip from my friend I combined the tortillas and the sauce together before I left for church so the tortillas would soak up some of the sauce creating a juicier enchilada. When I arrived home from church I ran through the verbal instructions my friend had given me in my head to put the enchiladas together. She first told me to heat up the sauce, then dip two or three tortillas in the sauce so they were coated, place them in the pan where I would then fill it with the meat, onions, cheese, etc.

Being the time savor and innovator that I sometimes think I am I placed the tortillas and the sauce that I had combined before church on the stove to heat up together. I figured that the sauce could heat up and I'd just take the tortillas one at a time to fill, roll, and place them in the pan. This is where the battle began. Once the sauce was heated up I reached to grab the first tortilla on the stack, but had a little bit of trouble getting it out. At first I thought I was unsuccessful because I couldn't really see what I was grabbing due to the sauce that the tortilla was completely covered in. After trying to use a fork, a spatula, and any other flat object I could find in the kitchen I realized what had happened. I realized that heating up the tortillas with the sauce caused the tortillas to stick together. My heart sank when I came to this realization and panick set in. I thought I could just peel them apart with a little bit of effort but soon found out that that wasn't going to happen.

My mind raced as to what I could do, but no solution came. I wanted to call my friend in hopes that she would be able to rescue me from my dumb mistake but she was unavailable for me to call. The thought of just bagging the whole thing went through my mind but then I remembered all the work that had already been done to get as far as I was. I wasn't about to throw in the towel now. So the battle continued. The enchiladas were winning. But I continued to do the best I could under the heat and pressure. The outcome of each tortilla was different but all fell under the same category: mangled. I was able to pick, peel, pull apart and make 8 mangled enchiladas that filled the pan I was using. With approximately 2.5 tortillas left I decided to save my insanity and create one last whole enchilada, (that just happened to be rather thick). I sprinkled some cheese on top in hopes that it would disguise the extremely unculinary artistic ability that I have and threw it in the oven.

Down-hearted and disappointed in myself I subjected myself to doing the pile of dishes that had mounted up in the kitchen sink and on the counter. I don't know if I did this to get rid of painful reminder of the disaster I had created or to relieve some pent-up stress and frustration. Either way I got the dishes done.

After about 15 minutes of the enchiladas cooking the aroma filled the kitchen and brought back some hope that these enchiladas would be good. I realized then that all the ingredients were there and in their proper place....as much as they could be....as so there wasn't any reason why they shouldn't taste good. At the ring of the timer I pulled them out of the oven to see these masterpiece enchiladas. They weren't too pretty to look at, except for the last one I made that looked mostly normal. To congratulate myself and express appreciation for everything my friend had done for me and taught me I scooped up the best looking enchilada onto my plate, garnished it with some corn and sat down for my Easter dinner.

To my great surprise the first bite blew me out of the water. It was SOOOO good! I couldn't believe that I had allowed myself or allowed my friend to deprive me of these amazing enchiladas for as long as I had! They are outstanding! There is great gratitude in my heart for my friend and her willingness to share with me her all time favorite recipe as well as allowing me to learn at her side. I am calling this first-time go-around with these enchiladas a practice round. Next time I make them they will be almost as great as if the master made them herself.

It may not be much to look at, and the tortillas may have won the battle....but I won the war!

THANKS FRIEND FOR EVERYTHING! THEY ARE AMAZING, JUST LIKE YOU!

The Resurrected Christ

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father, and the Creator of this world was born in a lowly stable, the most humble circumstances. God is no respector of persons.

Christ, the greatest of all, ministered unto the sick, the poor, and the needy. Status or class doesn't matter, but that everybody is a child of God and needs love.

The Lord taught with calmness, assurance, and compassion that was backed with power of the Holy Ghost to touch the heart of man. Don't underestimate the power we can have in the lives of others as we teach and love as Christ did.

The Creator, testified of His Father in all He did. He taught us of His own and our own divinity. That we are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father. We are Gods and Goddesses in the making.

The Master embodied charity - which is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Without charity you are nothing. It is the pinnacle Godly characteristic because through pure and true charity we become who Christ is; we become perfected in Him.

The Messiah walked a life of perfection to teach us by His example how to walk after Him so that one day we may become perfected in Him.

The Lamb of God suffered in Gethsemane so we might not suffer. He forgave us of all our sin; we too must forgive all. Through the balm of Gethsemane Christ heals all of our wounds, sorrows, griefs, pains, and broken hearts.

The Redeemer prayed unto His Father for all things. We receive all from our Father in Heaven and we can pray and speak to God, our Father, also.

The Holy One was crucified upon the cross and rose three days later so all may rise and live again as He lives, with Him, and with our Heavenly Father. That is my message to you today, that the Savior and Redeemer of this world LIVES! Everything that Christ did He did for us. We are who we are because of Him. He conquered this world, He conquered death, and He conquered sin so we may have the opportunity to live with Him again. He taught us and showed us the way. Nothing combined or single-handed has had a more profound influence on this earth as this one man has. He is the Good Shepherd who knows each and every one of His sheep. His arms are continually outstretched towards you. Take His hands and let the living Lord guide you home.

Soaking in the Vitamin C & D!

I returned yesterday, March 12th, from a week long trip to California to visit my Grandma & Grandpa Nelson. Not only was I greeted with open arms and the love of my grandparents, but by bright blue skies, a shining sun, the colors of living nature, and temperatures in the 70's! (The color white from 4 months of snow gets a bit old and boring). I woke up the morning after I arrived and looked out my window. I sat on the edge of my bed and began soaking in the rays of the sun that were streaming in through my window as I looked over the large green field behind my grandparents house. I couldn't believe the grass was green, the trees were alive with colorful budding flowers, and the sky was clear and blue! It was a sight I hadn't see in several months and I smiled at the merciful reminder of another side of God's amazing and beautiful creations.

My days were filled with personal structral activities in the mornings (praying, studying my scriptures, writing in my journal, etc), followed by a small energy-filled breakfast for my daily 2-miles run around the block. Then after getting ready for the day I was either working on some homework, relaxing in the sun (getting a head-start on my chaco tan line), or just chilling spending time with my grandma.

There were several highlights to this trip! The first and biggest highlight of the trip was of course to be able to visit and spend time with my grandparents. The second was my grandma's and my trip to Las Angeles to see the broadway musical 'Wicked". Neither of us had seen or heard much about this musical. I had heard songs from the soundtrack from previous roommates and told it was a pre-quel to "The Wizard of Oz", but nothing more than that. Both my grandma and I didn't know what to expect but went with eager interest. We were very much satisfied with the play. They did an outstanding job! All the actors and actresses were amazing and the visual effects were fantastic! We were both quite impressed and neither one of us had any disappointments whatsoever. It was a very fun outting. Just Grandma and me!

Another highlight of the trip was being able to pick an orange every morning for breakfast off of my grandparents orange tree. This isn't something you get to do everyday and so I took advantage of it while I had the opportunity. The oranges were some of the most biggest, sweetest, and juiciest oranges I have ever had! It was definitely a treat each morning to be able to indulge myself in right-from-the-tree fresh oranges!

I brought with me the 20/20 DVD's of Brat Camp that I participated in over a year ago at Anasazi. We took two nights to get through the four of them. It was fun to re-watch those DVD's and remember that experience, but it was even more fun to be able to show and share that part of my life with my grandparents. I could talk forever about Anasazi and the experiences I've had but one doesn't really understand it completely without experiencing it themselves. This was a step closer for them to see what trail life is like. Another highlight of the week.

Every Sunday is Family Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's. Not every week does everybody in the family living in that area make it for dinner. I got lucky this time to be able to see everybody in my extended family. We had a great dinner, as usual, and a fun evening of interacting. I taught my (not-so-little-anymore) cousins how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together. It impressed me that they remembered and asked me to do it again for them. I enjoyed that very much. While the family was there my grandma took the opportunity to take a picture of all of her granddaughters. There are only 4 of us, but it was fun to be able to get a few pictures together.

Other fun things that I did included helping grandma clean out some flower pots and plant tulips, helping clean up pine-tree clippings, walking around the property exploring the remains of helicopters and airplanes that are being stored there, and looking up at night into the clear sky at all of the stars.

This is the view I had from my window - only partly what I saw every morning waking up. The grass is a beautiful green, there were trees that were just starting to bud, and off in the way distance you can see snow-capped mountains. You can see in the background off to the left two large helicopters. This is two of several others as well as planes that are projects my Grandpa and his friend work on to restore. They're fun to explore.

This is me picking an orange off of my grandparents orange tree for breakfast one morning. Being able to do that has inspired me to have an orange or other fruit trees someday.

If you look real close in the center of the picture you can see me laying out on the grass. This is one of many times I laid out in the warmth of the sun. I actually got a little sunburn on my arms one day, but was able to start working on my chaco tan line. In this picture I am writing letters and writing in my journal.

The 4 Granddaughters!
From left to right/top to bottom: Amanda Morgan (19), Emerson Nelson (12), Stephanie Morgan (21), and Me (24). As you can tell, one would never guess we are related. We look so different from one another and are all actually quite different in personalities as well for the most part. The thing that kills me the most is that my 12 year old cousin, Emerson, is just a hair shorter than I am!

The Broadway Musical that my Grandma and I went to see in Las Angeles. "A New Musical. Wicked. The Untold Story of the Wizards of Oz".

Dog Sledding

This is an adventure that I thought I would never experience because I hadn't ever thought of doing it. But am grateful for the creative mind of Todd Kennington, the young man who invited me to come along with him on his long-time desired adventure. Todd and I woke up early Saturday March 1st to travel from Rexburg, ID to Jackson Hole, WY for this adventure. We were greeted by a beautiful sunrise that morning as we took off. A great way to start the day!

Dog Sledding has its pros as well as its cons; much like almost everything else. Dog Sledding is a great sport and fun activity to participate in that I would recommend to anybody who doesn't mind the smell of lots of dogs. I say that because of the amount of dogs that you are being pulled by don't all have the same potty schedule and so you are stopping every few minutes to wait for a dog to finish doing its business. And since you are sitting down in the sled you are at the same level the dogs are, which puts you downwind from them. Can't say it's one of the most pleasant smells I've had in my life. But one can't complain to much because when you gotta go, you gotta go. And I don't know how my body would handle that if were pulling three adults and sled behind me.

The dogs were great! They were very friendly and fun to watch. Although the temperatures were in the teens and we got a little chilly at times, the dogs were roasting from running. On each stop they would all dive into the snow banks on either side of the trail, eat the snow, and roll around in it in order to cool off. This was quite entertaining to watch. It definitely kept our eyes adverted from the other dogs doing their business.



Dog Sledding is quite the relaxing activity. All you do is sit in the sled. But it's definitely not boring. You are taken away from all sign of city life and brought into the the deep lush surrounding forest. This brought back memories for me of working at Anasazi where any reminder of civilization is only acknowledged from your own or somebody else's shared thoughts or experiences. It was quiet, beautiful, and serene. I was definitely in my element. I soaked it all in! God has created some beautiful country!

After our adventure of dog sledding we hit up Bubba's BBQ in Jackson Hole and then began to make our way back over the pass to Rexburg. We were lucky to leave when we did. I think had we stayed any longer our day trip could have turned into a weekend stay in Jackson Hole due to the snow fall and the almost no visability on the freeway. But we made it through and ended our trip by rescuing my best friend Angie's car from being stuck in the snow. What a day!

It was quite the adventurous day and one more to add to the list! The above pictures we taken by a 'professional'. Todd took some additional pictures that I have not yet received from him. But will post them as soon as I do.

Snowboarding Videos

Here are four videos of Ben and I snowboarding for our third time. One of the purposes for shooting these videos was to show our newly learning and still perfecting skill of turning. As you will see Ben picked it up quite well but I still have a ways to go before getting it down. It's great when a younger sibling shows up their older sibling! Enjoy!

This is of Ben on a good run down a section of the mountain.

This is of me going down the same section of the mountain as above. Don't enjoy my biff too much. I'm still learning!

This is another section of the mountain where I totally white wash Ben on my way down. The spray and my facial expression at the end are the best parts! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sisterly love.

This is Ben on the same run as above. And to get back at his older sister he white washed me on his way by. He got me pretty good. Too bad there wasn't somebody recording my reaction to being sprayed; it was pretty good. To say the least, Ben was pretty proud of himself.