Matyroshka Goodness

Bah! Guys! Look at what I found the other day (and of course had to buy):

[photo courtesy of fredandfriends.com] 

They're measuring cups shaped like a матрёшка (matyroshka--the Russian stacking dolls). 

How cool is that? 

Answer: soooooo cool. 

I will be baking with these, thank you very much. [the white, plastic ones. NOT the hand-painted, wooden ones.]

And, just for kicks, here's a great sign we saw the other day at the Logan Temple: 

Don't park there. Just don't do it. 

Or else I will challenge you to a Soviet staring contest . . . 







and win. 

[no such thing.]

Lest you think that I am too serious, you should also take a look at what else went down last night.

It's called Megan is Cool. 

Look at that swag. Ohhhhhhhhh, yeah, baby.

Pajamas and high ponytails. The next big thing.

It is called: dressed to kill. 

#youwishicouldbeyoursister

#hashtagsgivemeheadaches

Back to School Night

. . . talk about stepping into the Twilight Zone.

Last night my uncle, who teaches Physics at my former high school, asked us to help decorate his classroom before school starts tomorrow.

So, of course I went. I mean, I might not be majoring in art, and I may not even have any talents in interior design, but I won't pass up an opportunity to decorate. Cards, cupcakes, classrooms, take your pick.

It was the first time I'd been back at my old high school in a long time. And it was weird, to say the least. Strange to walk on those tiled floors, past rows of lockers, and enter my old physics classroom. Honors Physics. Sophomore year. A1. My first day, first class of high school.

I was greeted by classic black science desks, friendly-neighborhood Expo markers, and that familiar, pungent scent of bat guano (our high school is ancient--I *think* the bats are out of the ceiling by now? I *think* they got rid of them my senior year? In any case, they left their mark).

The memories rushed back, too. Early morning light streaming over the mountains and onto my physics assignment. F = ma. Force. Pressure. Those growing pains of adolescence. Gaining confidence. Losing it. Gaining it again. Making friends. Seating charts changing. Awkwardly flirting with the cute junior boy sitting next to me. Falling flat on my face. Getting up again. Learning. Growing. Changing. Some things never do. Newton's laws. 9.8 m/s squared.

And some things never do change. Cycles. Rotations. Transitions. Seniors, juniors, sophomores, freshmen. We learn and grow and cry and laugh--and that is life.

And tomorrow, there will be a new beginning for those students. Who knows what will be? A fresh canvas of beautiful possibilities. Heartbreaking disappointments. Mistakes and experience. Desirable to make one wise.

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?" ~ Anne of Green Gables 

Welcome back.

A Shout-Out to Kyra

Guys! I am so excited! I get to see my cousin, Kyra, tomorrow! I haven't seen her in like, two years! And there's so much that has happened for both of us. It will be a wonderful reunion.

[and yes, Kyra, this is a thank-you for your blog post about me a month ago. just returning the favor. love you.]

Kyra and I have had some pretty incredible adventures together.

Like escaping from pirates.
And crossing the plains in pioneer bonnets.
And battling villains who either wanted to marry us or make us their slaves.

Granted, these all happened in the safety of a downstairs playroom or a grassy backyard, but they still happened.



Do you know what else also happened?

Whenever we got together, we made theatrical performances that we then forced our parents to watch.

[um, yes, this is now one of my favorite pictures of all time. how awesome are we? so awesome. what are we even singing/dancing to? i don't remember. joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat, maybe? probably. because we are just that awesome.]*

We would write stories with each other/to each other. About kids living in hotels (and, might I add, this was before The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, people. We were way ahead of our time). About princesses and pioneers and Nephites. We were just that cool. 

I always enjoyed being with Kyra because she was smart, funny, kind, and clever. She always had the most interesting ideas and it was fun to talk with her. It still is fun to talk to her. Did I mention she's clever? [like, you have no idea. like, wrote-a-master's-thesis-in-electrical-engineering-while-pregnant-genius-girl clever. amazing.] 

But if you need some visual proof of her cleverness, just look at what she made me for my birthday while I was on my mission: 

 That's right, people. 

Also, did I mention I'm so excited to see this little guy? ^him^

Because I am. So excited.

Did I mention I'm excited?

Anyway.

Kyra, you're just wonderful.

Love,

me.

*I think that is the most recent picture we have with each other? And it's from, like, 2001? We should probably get a new one tomorrow. Just sayin'.*

[and so it goes.]

Just something beautiful I found. 

After a while you learn
The subtle difference between
Holding a hand and chaining a soul
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn
That kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises
And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes ahead
With the grace of a woman
Not the grief of a child

And you learn
To build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow's ground is
Too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way
Of falling down in mid flight

After a while you learn
That even sunshine burns if you get too much
So you plant your own garden
And decorate your own soul
Instead of waiting
For someone to bring you flowers

And you learn
That you really can endure
That you are really strong
And you really do have worth
And you learn and you learn
With every good bye you learn.

~Jorge Luis Borges 

translated by Veronica A. Shoffstall

beautiful, no? beautiful. 

Love and Trust

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between love and trust.

I just finished reading The Power of Everyday Missionaries by Clay Christensen (which I highly recommend, by the way), and in his book he has example after example of regular people sharing the gospel.

In one chapter, Brother Christensen shares the stories of three wards in three different areas of the world. Each of these wards had experienced phenomenal growth in a relatively short amount of time while the wards around them only had mediocre success in missionary work. Why? Brother Christensen suggests that it is not because there was a higher percentage of “prepared” people in the flourishing wards and a lack of “elect” in the surrounding areas. Rather, Brother Christensen says that it was because God could trust the members of these wards. He trusted them because they were actually going what He has asked all of us to do: they were being member missionaries. They were opening their mouths. They were fellowshipping less-active members of the Church and non-members. They were full of love, which “casteth out all fear” (1 John 4:18). God knew these members. He knew their character and their hearts, and He knew He could trust them with His children. Brother Christensen writes, “God has promised that He will answer the prayers of His children. If He can’t trust us, then he must use other means to answer the prayers of others.”

Gaining the trust of God is a very real thing . . . and it is a deeper aspect of His love. 

I first had this discussion with a missionary companion during companionship study in a dusty little room in Ukraine. My companion was talking about one of the elders we served with, and she mentioned that God didn’t just love this elder—He trusted him.

The comment struck me.

I thought, “That’s what I want. I want to be someone God can trust. I already know I have His love, but I want to meet His trust.”

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.

We don’t earn the love of God. God loves us because He loves us. He is our loving Heavenly Father and we are His children. God chooses to love us. The love of God is what saves the world: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Everything God does is calculated only to bless, because he “first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We are literally the sons and daughters of God, created in His image, and He loves us with an all-encompassing, filling, healing love. I have felt His love, and it is available to everyone. There is nothing that can separate us from His love (see Romans 8:35-39) . . . only if we willingly choose to reject him. “For this eternal truth is given, that God will force no man to heaven.”

God loves all of us. We are His children. But trust is a different matter.

People trust us when they know we love them. The Savior said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

If we truly love God, then we will want to keep His commandments.

I love my little brother, but I don’t trust him to drive me to Salt Lake. He hasn’t earned his driver’s license, and no amount of my love will keep us safe on the road. Only knowledge of and obedience to the rules of the road.

I love my 12-year-old cousin. But I don’t trust him with my journal. He hasn’t earned that level of trust.

God loves me. But if I don’t keep His commandments, how can He trust me?

If I don’t study my scriptures and pray every day, why would He trust me with continuous personal revelation?

If I don’t open my mouth to share the gospel, why would He trust me with His children who are praying to find the truth?

If I don’t repent daily, why would He trust me with His Spirit?

Meeting the trust of God is nothing new. The scriptures are full of examples.

·         Abraham earned the trust of God so much that He was even called the “friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8). God knew Abraham’s character, and trusted him enough to make covenants with him. He could trust Abraham to bring up a righteous posterity:

“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Genesis 17:17-19)

·         A Book of Mormon prophet, Nephi, aligned his will so perfectly with God’s that God granted him incredible power. God granted him this power because he knew he would never ask for anything contrary to the will of God:

“Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but has sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty and word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shall not ask that which is contrary to my will.” (Helaman 10:3-5)

If that’s not trust, I don’t know what is.

·         From Church history, I love the example of Joseph Smith. One reason I love his example so much is because we can see his progression as he grows in the knowledge and trust of God and as he becomes someone who God can always count on. Joseph Smith wasn’t perfect (none of us are). He made mistakes (as all of us do). It took him four years (1823-1827) to be ready to receive the gold plates because God was teaching him and training him . . . and, ultimately making sure he could trust Joseph. Even then, Joseph sometimes made mistakes—sometimes big mistakes (116 lost pages, anyone?). Some things we learn from the episode of the 116 lost pages (and there are many) are that:  

                1. It's the purposes of man, not the purposes of God that are foiled. (D&C 3:3)

                2. When God tells us not to do something, just don't do it. 

                3. We can earn the trust of God again. Look at what the Lord tells Joseph: 

                           "Behold, thou art Joseph, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the Lord, 

                            but because of transgression, if thou art not aware thou wilt fall. 

                            But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done
                           which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work." (D&C 3:9-10). 

    Joseph repented. He regained God's trust completely, finished translating the Book of Mormon by the power of God, and was the means by which God restored His gospel and Church to the earth in our day. He was a prophet of God in every sense of that sacred calling. 

     Joseph Smith said in 1843, "I have made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it."

     

     That is someone God can trust.

That is someone who loves God.

And the first sign of love is always loyalty.

I know I've only scratched the surface of this topic. But these are my musings for tonight.

Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. 

[if you have any more thoughts about love vs. trust, please comment below!] 

This one's for Nicole

So, I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile. But basically, a few weeks ago, my friend Nicole came out to Utah! She was on a road trip, visiting missionary friends and enjoying the sites.

Now, you need to understand just how incredible Nicole is. Nicole was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just five months ago. And she is on fire. She has the most amazing conversion story. It’s not my place to post her story to the entire world. But let’s just say it’s a beautiful example of how God works so delicately and perfectly in our lives. And I’m honored to have played just a small role in it. My role? Not much. I was just a friend, really. A friend who lived and loved the gospel and was happy to answer questions.

This is us at the Salt Lake Temple. It was so wonderful—a year ago, Nicole was at Temple Square as a tourist . . . now she is able to go inside of the temple! yayayayayayayay.

It was great having her with us. I feel badly that she had to put up with my family's overall craziness. But I did warn her, “You’ve heard of My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding? Well, this will be My Big, Fat, Mormon Family Reunion.” But seriously. Thanks for putting up with us, Nicole! We love you! Come back soon. J