Bishop's Orchard. Garfield, WA.

The House of the Lord

Walking into the temple last night, I was greeted by Brother Spear. He checked my recommend and said, "Welcome Home!" How grateful my heart was to be in the temple last night. It give me such peace to be able to enter into the House of the Lord. 

Two friends in my ward planned the trip and I asked if I could tag along. They were so sweet to let me go with them! I also called my mom to tell her I would be there. It was so good to see her for a few minutes. I also ran into my dear friend Jessie! We had a wonderful time being in the temple together. 

I was reading in the Bible Dictionary last week about Temples. I love what it says:

"Temple. A temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed by and for the living and also in behalf of the dead. A place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth. Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness. "

4th of July Recap

The 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays! We spent the morning out in the garden pulling weeds, picking produce, and watering.

We spent part of the 4th at our local pool. Emma Jane and the girls LOVE the pool!

For dinner we invited everyone in our ward to have a BBQ at the park by our house.  Bryan pushed the grill over! 

I've been learning to play the ukulele. I love that happy little instrument. Here's Sister McCabe with my uke!

Lighting off fireworks! The best part! A couple Elders and Sister Missionaries came to watch!

Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students

After having my fourth girl I needed a jump start. I needed something that would help get me back on a healthy spiritual track. Every night I would pray for the desire to feast upon the words of Christ. I prayed about this for months. One day I downloaded the new LDS gospel library app. As I was looking through this app, I came across the Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home Seminary Students. I started using it that day, straight from my Ipod. 


After using it almost every day for a couple of months, I finally bought my own hard copy. (If you are not able to purchase the guide, the one from the app. is free.) It's quite thick, with beautiful color pictures on every page. The study guide I use is the updated version which includes new quotes from more current General Conference talks. I also use a scripture study journal along with the study guide. You can buy the same ones here. When I write in my journal I use washi tape and jelly roll pens. This adds color and creativity to my journaling and makes it that much more special and fun! 

My Scripture Study Journal:

ABOVE-(check out my sweet BOM stick figures. the study guide had me draw out verses here!)

Here's my washi tape and scripture box. I found my scripture box at Michaels on sale for $2.50. Inside:

-pencil sharpener

-Highlighter

-colored pencils for marking

-all different colors of jelly roll pens

-tags

-note cards

-pens and pencils 

As I continued to pray I found time to study. I was able to push things out of my life that were wasting my time. We set up a better family and chore schedule. As we moved into summer I found that I had to make changes to our school schedule to accommodate a summer schedule. I have a testimony that being diligent in finding time to study the scriptures will be beneficial to all members of your family.

The Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home-Study Seminary Students has changed my life. I have shared it with many friends who have since purchased it for themselves and they are using it too. One of the things I love the most is that it's produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I can tell that it was inspired by the way it teaches you how to study and helps you receive your own personal revelation. I can testify that a regular daily study of the Book of Mormon will change your life. It has changed mine. I can only testify of what I know and invite you to read the book and find out for yourself. You can purchase it here.

Photos of the Study Guide:

My girls and I have also been making these cute scripture boxes! We found some cute paper packs at Michaels on sale, used old cereal boxes, and clear duct tape. 

(my favorite, studying on a warm summer night)