Spreading Love

My sweet friend lost her dear mom over the weekend.  To brighten her day after the long, grueling day of the funeral, I had the young women and other leaders I work with in my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, write little notes of love and appreciation for my sweet friend and her daughter.

On the day of the funeral, I snuck over to her house with my little 8 yr old and we put them on her door!!

Just one small way to show her how much we love and appreciate her.  I hope it was a little moment of happy in her day.

"Never suppress a generous thought" -Camilla Eyring Kimball


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Heather

God Loves Broken Things

I am constantly looking for other women who are going through or have been through the same things I am struggling with.  Blending families, divorce, remarriage, raising kids...whatever it is.  It seems like it is always easy to find the negative or discouraging things out there, and I know that is part of the journey, but its so special and uplifting to me when I find someone who can be in the midst of a trial, but still be trying to find happiness. And can show that happiness throughout their struggle.  Not every day maybe, but more than they are projecting negativity, and also that they can show they are making it through and so can I.   It's the way I want to live, the way I am trying to live, although I know I need to work on that a lot!

Yesterday I came across Calee Reed.  She is a motivational speaker and a songwriter, singer.  She spoke in Time Out for Women in 2017 and talked about a song she absolutely loves called "Broken" by Kenneth Cope.  She also talked about a form of Japanese art called Kintsugi.  It means to repair with gold; the art of repairing pottery with lacquer and gold or silver powder, understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.



She goes on to say that she hopes that as she comes closer to the Savior that He can make something beautiful of her broken pieces.  And I just LOVE THAT!  Don't we all feel like we have so many broken parts of us?  There are so many things that we find ugly within ourselves..things we want to just hide away, but with the love of our Savior and His refining power He is able to put those pieces back together in a way that is beautiful and powerful and we can see His light within ourselves.  I love this image and imaging His love woven through the cracks in our lives and the love that we feel knowing of His love for us.  And hopefully others will be able to see that too!

I love this message.  I love that others help us on our journeys.  I love that God loves us so much that He uses us to help each other.  I love that through our brokeness (Is that even a word??)  that we become better beings and closer to what He wants us to become.


Here are the words to "Broken" and also a link to her cover of the song:

BROKEN (Words by Kenneth Cope; Music by Kenneth & Eliza Cope) —inspired by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Broken clouds give rain
Broken soil grows grain
Broken bread feeds man for one more day

Broken storms yield light
The break of day heals night
Broken pride turns blindness into sight

Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
Could it be that God loves broken things

Broken chains set free
Broken swords bring peace
Broken walls make friends of you and me

To break the ranks of sin
To break the news of Him
To put on Christ till His name feels broken in

Broken souls that need His mending
Broken hearts for offering
I believe that God loves broken things

And yet, our broken faith, our broken promises
Sent love to the cross
And still, that broken flesh, that broken heart of His
Offers us such grace and mercy
Covers us with love undeserving

This broken soul that cries for mending
This broken heart for offering
I’m convinced that God loves broken me
Praise His name—my God loves broken things
So, broken cloud—Give rain
And broken soil—Grow grain
And broken bread—Feed man for one more day

Calee Reed cover of Broken



Happy Wednesday Everyone! ❤

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Heather

Ding Dong Ditched

We are working on creating unity in our young women's group at church.  To follow up with our lesson on Sunday, the group I get to work with, 12yr-13yr old girls, did a fun little activity. 

I found these cute tags at Poppies at Play and we wrote little notes to each girl in our group and doorbell ditched them!  It was a fun way to let the other girls know we were thinking of them and for the girls doing the ditching it was a fun activity!  So much laughing and encouraging each other to run fast and not get caught!

I had ditched the 12 & 13yr olds earlier in the week to give them a hint at what we would be doing for our activity!

Check out the link above to get the free printable!!

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Heather

Festival of Trees

It's that time of year again!!  It's time for the Festival of Trees.  I love this event.  I love the meaning behind it!  I love the family time we spend there!

Here is a little history of the festival...
The Festival of Trees was inspired 46 years ago by a group of 15 women from along the Wasatch Front.  These women were challenged by Lewis M. Jones, Chairman of the hospital's Men's Endowment Board, to identify a way to raise funds for Primary Children's Hospital.  Organized as the Women's Endowment Committee and led by Betty Wells, the group sold tickets to the Ice Capades and dabbled in other projects in an attempt to raise funds.  They soon determined they had spent too much time and energy for too little return.  They searched for one project they could devote all their efforts on.
That project was inspired when Co-Chair Ruth Flint vacationed in Hawaii and attended a Christmas boutique featuring small, decorated Christmas trees, centerpieces, and Christmas decorations.  The Women's Endowment Committee expanded the concept to include full-sized decorated Christmas trees, a gift boutique, and sweet shop.  At that time, Primary Children's Hospital was owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and much of the support would come from church members.
That first year, there were approximately 60 trees for display and sale in the gymnasium of the old Armory off Sunnyside Avenue.  To everyone's surprise and delight, $47,000 was raised!


Today, the Festival of Trees is held at the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy, Utah.  Over the years, this beautiful event has blossomed into a festival that spans over 220,000 square feet of display space.
Perhaps the greatest phenomenon of all is that everything is donated.  The trees are decorated and purchased by individuals, families, organizations, businesses, and church groups.  In addition, others generously donate items to fill the shops.  Businesses provide the paper and printing of posters and tickets.  Corporations offer their covered trucks and drivers to help deliver the trees, and so much more!  Thousands of people contribute countless hours and means to give "A Gift of Love" to children.  In 2016. the Festival raised $2,622,903.88 for children at Primary Children's Hospital.
Over the years, Festival of Trees has been copied many times throughout the United States and Canada.  However, the Salt Lake City Festival of Trees remains the "granddaddy" of them all.


My daughter Kaylie is a talented dancer and her studio would perform every year at the Festival.  We would then spend time walking through the aisles looking at all of the beautiful trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses, etc...and who can resist all of the YUMMY food and treats you can purchase!!  BUT....our favorite part is the Kids' Corner where you can talk to an Elf at the North Pole or make awesome crafts or ornaments or even stand in a booth and be surrounded in a big giant soap bubble!!  Such a magical, fun place to be.  The feeling of joy and good wishes to all abound there.


Now we have a new reason to visit the Festival!!  Lucy and Cole, our 2 oldest, with the help of a family friend donate a tree every year in honor of their sweet mother.  They come up with a theme, shop for ornaments and then decorate the tree.  They LOVE delivery day!  They always seem so excited and really enjoy setting up their tree and honoring their mom.  I am so thankful they have this event every year to honor her and I know they love that all of the proceeds go to help children who are in need of special care too.  They get to go before the rest of our family and they usually have a tree or two that they love and want to show us in addition to their own!!


The theme they chose this year was 'dancing all night'....here are Lucy's words explaining it!!  "One of my favorite memories of my mom is her dance parties.  even when she was sick and in pain from her cancer treatments, she would turn on some music and we'd all dance it out.  these dance parties were the inspiration for this year's tree-dancing all night."
Many people remember these dance parties and talk about them fondly.  It was a blessing to them all and a sweet reminder of the woman who meant so much to so many.

It turned out beautifully!  This event is such a great reminder to me that despite all of the bad things in the world, there are also so many good things.  We must seek out the good things and share them with others.  We must be kind, happy and share our goodness with those around us and help those in need.  "As we follow the example of the Savior and live as He lived and as He taught, that light will burn within us and will light the way for others," President Thomas S. Monson


Go check out the Festival if you are able!  You'll love it and want to go back every year!


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Heather

Daily InstaGrams

Hey everyone!!  I have started an instagram account called heatherbspage where I have been posting daily general conference talks to enlighten my days...and hopefully yours!  It all started when I was looking for some daily motivation, something to get me thinking, something to bring me closer to the Savior, something to learn from.  I have followed a few accounts on Instagram myself for these talks...@gen365conf and @trekthruconference.  They are great accounts.  I even found myself sharing the talks with my family & friends.  They wanted me to text them the links to those talks.  So, instead of texting them each individually, I thought I would add them to my instagram...that way, as many as want to read them can!  The links to the talks change daily, but I have included the link in each post so you can find it if you miss a day. 

Its been fun sharing these words of wisdom with my friends and family and I'm excited to share with anyone who needs a little pick me up for the day!  Hearing the words of the prophets daily makes me feel happy, peaceful and have hope that I can continue to grow spiritually and become a better person!  I know hearing these words daily will strengthen my testimony and help me to see the positive in my life every day!

I hope you follow along with me and leave comments on your thoughts and feelings too!

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Heather

Its Easter Time Again

I don't know about you, but Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  The beginning of Spring, time to spend with family, coloring eggs and Easter egg hunts, lots of food and my favorite part about Easter??  Its remembering the Savior Jesus Christ, the Atonement, the love he has for each one of us, the opportunity we have to repent and try again.  Because of Him all of these things are possible.

My Easter day usually consists of my church meetings, an Easter egg hunt with my family and lots of yummy delicious food!

We usually try to color our eggs the day before Easter and that silly bunny ALWAYS hides them from us!!  We used a dye kit this year and did some of them that way, but then we also used whipping cream and food coloring and let the eggs just sit in that for awhile.  Some of them worked!  It was fun to try something new this year!!

This is a few of us after the Easter egg hunt sorting through the spoils of the day!!  We have the Easter egg hunt at my aunt's home.  She has a lot of property with horses, a barn and a chicken coop and is the perfect place for the egg hunt!  We are so thankful she hosts this event every year!!  Candy, money and an Easter basket for everyone!!  That sneaky bunny really knows how to help us have a good time together!

The day isn't complete without a family picture to remember the event!  Thank goodness our kids are all accepting of my photo obsession!! 


I hope your day is filled with the memories of a loving brother, Jesus Christ and his atonement, with food, family & lots of fun!  HAPPY EASTER!!!


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Heather

Provo City Center Open House

Today we were able to attend the Provo City Center Temple open house.  It was FREEZING!  But soo worth it!  I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We believe that sacred ordinances are performed in temples.  Learn more about temples HERE.


This temple was so beautiful.  It is the 2nd temple in Provo and was previously the Provo Tabernacle until it was destroyed by a fire.  Read more about its history HERE.  I am thankful we were able to walk through it with our family before it was dedicated.  Our kids loved the baptismal font and the celestial room.  I think what they loved most was being able to experience it with their cousins!


I'm thankful for my beliefs and for the Savior Jesus Christ and for all of the people who worked so hard to bring this blessing of the temple to us all.

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Heather