Going to the Temple!

I called the temple Tuesday June 14th to see when the quickest available time was that I could get to the temple. I was so excited to hear that I could go through the next day! Wednesday was the longest day of my life! Just waiting for that 7 o clock session come. My mom and I had to be there at 5:30 to get everything ready and so that I could get some instruction. Everyone in the temple was just so gracious and the feelings of peace and joy were just everywhere! It was definitely a sweet experience. Although it was all very new and I didn't fully understand what was going on I did understand how I felt. It was absolutely amazing. I would not trade that feeling for anything. Being in the Celestial room after the session was over with my parents was great. I was pretty proud of myself  fro not crying the whole time. But sitting there in the Celestial room....man did it hit me. I am really excited to go back again and again this summer to learn and understand more about the temple and this gospel.

Before...this is me being excited and in my missionary get-up :)

Starting Over and Getting Called

So you may or may not have noticed that the older posts are dated differently. That's because I decided to combine blogs. The one I had before the URL was super long....not that this one is super short but you get it right? I will assume you said yes. This will hopefully get me in the habit of blogging so that when I go on my mission I will be able to keep people updated on what is going on. We will see how this goes. I already have a lot of catching up to do. As always I'm off to a great start aren't I? Where shall I begin?

Everyone placing their guesses on the map

Getting My Call-
The time leading up to actually getting my call in the mail and me reading it actually took a long time. I decided kind of on a whim that I needed to go on a mission in December of last year just after Christmas. So why the heck did it take me so long to get my call? Well let me tell ya! I had to take care of some financial stuff so that all my school debts were taken care of. School kind of wiped me out of everything I had (including the gumption to finish right away) So after watching all of my paychecks from January to March go straight to the school, I was finally able to start saving money solely for my mission. I had my end of the paperwork done by mid February but because of scheduling and all of that other stuff my doctor and dentist appointments were pushed back to the end of the month of March. Then it took my bishop like 3 weeks to get all of my paperwork and then it was another 2 weeks or so for the bishop to process them and look them over (He was a busy man). When I finally got in for my interview with the bishop he said that he felt that we didn't need to rush to get my paperwork in. Maybe I'll find out the reason soon enough. God works in mysterious ways and I am about to realize that on a very real scale I think. I got to meet with the stake president pretty soon after that initial interview and then my papers were FINALLY off!! I got my call in the mail about a week and a half later! What an exciting time for me and my family to get that white envelope in the mail!

Opening My Call-
I invited a bunch of friends over to my house Thursday to be a part of me opening my letter. Because in a big way my friends helped me to get to the point where I really considered a mission and actually went through with it. My roommates, Shay and Leah, invited a bunch of my Idaho friends over to their apt to "be there" when I opened my call also. I was so excited to open my call!! Then it finally happened:

So it begins...

"May 17, 2011
Sister Benson,
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the England Birmingham Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.
You should report to the England Missionary Training Center on Friday August 26, 2011. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.
You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.
The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become and effective missionary.
You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop."

Signed by President Thomas S. Monson! :)

Wednesday February 16, 2011

Crazy Spiders!
Ahem- So this morning I went into the bathroom so that I might take a shower to rid myself of dirt and other things that make me unclean....like frosting. haha Anyway I pull back the shower curtain and in the tub is a spider. Poor guy. Stuck in this ceramic bowl with no way out. Normally when there is a spider in the tub I just wash it down the drain. But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it this morning. So I thought about rescuing him. But I was not about to let that 8 legged thing crawl into my hand- no sir! So I draped a washcloth over the side so that he could have something to crawl on without slipping. Naturally he doesn't crawl on it. Why? Because it makes too much sense. So I turned the water on to hopefully coax him into moving onto the washcloth. What does he do? Starts freaking out and crawling toward the water. Clearly he is not the smartest arachnid to ever crawl in a tub. So I move the washcloth closer to him hoping that he'll catch on to what I was trying to do...literally catch on. So finally he grabs hold of it and realizes, "Hey this is a good idea" and starts crawling like a mad man! I freak out cuz he's almost to my hand so I throw the darn washcloth across the bathroom so he's way far away from my hand, and I feel pretty good because I just saved the dern arachnid's life. But he starts to race back toward the tub!!! What the heck? He almost just died there and he wants to go back? Crazy spider. Fortunately he couldn't make it back up the side of the tub so he seemed content with huddling up in the corner.

Tuesday December 7, 2010

Life's Funny Huh?

Hindsight is such an amazing thing. You think that you are just pluggin' away a life and getting by when something happens that causes you to reflect on the past year or so. You see things in a whole new light. And I'm not just doing this because it happens to be December and a time when people start making resolutions and whatnot....nobody ever really keeps those things anyway. haha ;)
For me I have seen that the Lord really does love me and He really does watch out for me. As stubborn as I am sometimes in recognizing His help, I can always see the blessings of it.
Things I have come to a greater appreciation for:
1. My family-they freakin' rock. If you haven't met them yet...perhaps someday they will be able to bless your life as I know they have mine
2. My roommates- I have been so blessed with such great roommates that I know will be my best friends forever. They have saved me more than once this year.                                                                      
3. Quote Walls- Its always so much fun to read those stupid things that you say sometimes. Laughter is the best medicine so they say....I completely agree. I can't tell you how many times that quote wall has made my day.
4. Good weather- when a bike is your mode of transportation everywhere, it's nice to have some good weather
5. My testimony- it has grown so much this year...it's nice to have one of your very own and not have to stand on someone else's. It's amazing to me how much a few sentences whether said or unsaid can really change your heart and focus in life.
6. All things eternal!!! need I say more? Knowledge, relationships, family, marriage, the gospel...*sigh* it certainly gives a person a lot of hope. Heaven knows we could all use a little more of that! :)

Friday September 17, 2010

Well it's been a few months and I figure every decade or so I should put up a new post so here I am. I feel as though I should have something deep to say or that I should share some life changing experience...I am, however, at a loss. Life has just been moving along just grrrreat! You should say that like Tony the Tiger.
I had the wonderful opportunity to do EFY this summer up in Rexburg. It came so suddenly and ended just the same. I loved my kids and I learned so much more from them then I am sure they learned from me. The youth of the church never cease to amaze me. There is so much bad out there in the world today but they love to find the good. They strive to be better and don't care what other people might say about them. They know what's right and no amount of peer pressure can make them do wrong. That's the Joseph Smith in them. :) We can all be a little more like that I think.
School has started and after a week of hassle with the registration office I finally got signed up for my classes. Hooray! Now I have no excuse for not getting my homework assignments off of I-Learn. The weather is still nice up here, it gets chilly on occasion but I will wear my t-shirts for as long as I can! I wouldn't be surprised if a month from now we are all walking around in snow. Gotta love Rexburg!
Yes, I am talking about the weather...I'm still waiting for a strike of inspiration...Perhaps sleep deprivation is not the answer to receiving such inspiration however. I shall leave with a joke that Brian made up...
How do apples go on diets?
..............................................
They walk into a dehydrator!! :)

Food for thought!

Saturday May 1, 2010

I have recently come to terms with the fact that life is hard. Yes, I might be a little slow on the uptake but most of my life has been spent trying to convince myself that I was the exception rather than the rule. After an exhausting 21 years the truth of the matter has finally caught up with me. Life is hard but you know what? The real truth of the matter is that life is all about how you look at it. An old room mate of mine would always say, "It's the best day of my life so far!" We would always laugh. It was kind of a thing we would say sarcastically if we really had one of the worst days of our lives so far. One day I decided to adopt this mantra. It was like clockwork, everyday people would ask how my day was and my reply was always the same, "It's the best day of my life so far!" It was something out of the ordinary and something to smile at. Then something crazy happened. One day after the usual pleasantries of someone asking how my day was and my newfound response of "best day of my life so far", came the pivotal question; "Why?". Needless to say I was somewhat shocked. If someone says that they had a good day people don't usually ask why. Asking how someone's day was has become as automatic as saying "Hi". It's hardly ever just "hi" anymore, it's almost always, "Hi, how's it goin'?" or "Hey what's up?" something along those lines. How often do you really listen to their response? They could say that a giant meteor just crash landed 10 miles from their house and you would say, "That's great. So I was wondering if......." you know the scene. We've all been there. So why was this time any different? The question of "why" made me reflect on my day and ask myself why it was so great and what made it different than any other day? I'm not sure what my response was but that expereince sure left an impression on me. I shouldn't take life for granted. Each day has something special to offer as long as I look for it. There's a saying,

"Yesterday is history,

Tomorrow is a mystery,

Today is a gift-

That's why it is called the present."

Now when I say that it's the best day of my life so far, I really mean it. Each day just keeps getting better and better and I can't wait for tomorrow!