I Stink at Updating My Blog. . .

. . .but not so much because there's nothing to say. I've just sort of lost the drive for some reason. Oh well, it'll come back sometime, I'm sure.

It's been nice weather and just look what happened to the tree in our backyard! I am in love.

just ignore the dilapidated swingset. it was here when we moved in.

Despite the recent lack of posting on my end, Emma has continued to send me her weekly write-ins she does for her Book of Mormon class. I like them. I am sad you are all missing out on them due to my laziness.

Without further ado, words from my brilliant little sis. (You may be totally lost reading her post without first reading Ether 2 here.)

"I loved something we talked about in class this past week. In Ether Chapter 2, there are three major problems that the brother of Jared has regarding their journey across the ocean (this is a cool chapter to read and the chapter before gives some context, but for now I will just summarize). His three issues were: they had no light, they had no way to steer, and they had no air. The interesting thing is that the Lord helped the brother of Jared solve these problems in three different ways, and one of these (or a combination of them) is usually how our prayers are answered. For the first problem-having no light in the barges- the Lord basically asks the brother of Jared how he would have the problem be solved. The second problem was that of not being able to steer the barges. The answer to this prayer was much different. Instead of having the brother of Jared think of a solution, the Lord in essence said that He would just take care of it. The Lord would provide a way for them to reach their destination. The third problem was how they would have air in their barges. This time, the Lord gave the brother of Jared specific instructions to follow. Each answer to the questions he received were very different, but a combination of these types of answers allow us to grow in different ways. When the Lord let the brother of Jared figure out his own solution to the first problem, He let the brother of Jared exercise his agency. The thought he put into a solution also helped him develop intellectually. The second solution required the brother of Jared to have complete trust that the Lord would really take care of the problem completely, helping him to exercise and grow in faith. The third solution gave the brother of Jared specific instructions to follow. This gave the brother of Jared the opportunity to be obedient, which we know always eventually brings blessings. I am glad I got to learn about this this week in class because it has helped me look at situations in my own life where I may or may  not have appreciated the answer I received to a prayer but I now recognize that different types of answers to prayers help us develop spiritually in different ways. As it turns out, diversity in how prayers are answered is just another thing to be thankful for!"