Girls Camp, part 3

WEDNESDAY: Our theme this day was Force Field Activate; Live in the World, Not of It. Lots of fun this day. We got to take part in an activity called bubble soccer. I'd never heard of it. And man was it tougher than it looked.

Later that day when we had everyone at camp including our junior leaders (they are staying with the stake), I gave them a short devotional on light and salt, a family home evening lesson my dad gave a year ago when we were down for spring break to help Ash prepare for her baptism. I thought the message went along so well with our theme that day.

LIGHT AND SALT

For his props he had a light bulb with two wires coming out, a glass jar with water, and some ordinary table salt.

So how old is salt and does the flavor change as it ages? He passed around a salt shaker that my great-grandpa used when he would go fishing. The idea was that salt can be very old but still taste the same.

Salt is essential. It purifies. It preserves. It heals. Salt is old and will never lose its savor through age if it remains pure. It is only lost through contamination and mixture.

Blood is salty. Our tears are salty. Body cells must have salt in order to live and function. We need salt to survive. 

D&C 101:39 "When men are called unto mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men."

The savor of men are those who have covenanted to take on his name through baptism to stand as a light to the world. After baptism we are given the Gift of the Holy Ghost who helps us be that light to the world.

[I added this quote when I gave it at girls camp: "We should not try to take ourselves or our children out of the world . . . He needs stalwart [Young Women] who live exemplary lives in the world and demonstrate that joy and fulfillment come not of the world but through the spirit and the doctrine of Jesus Christ." (Elder Ballard, Ensign, May 1989)]

Grandpa then put the two wires into the water and turned the light bulb on. Nothing happened. As he slowly added salt to the water, the light bulb got brighter and brighter.

In Matthew 5:13 "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?"
 

How does salt lose its savor? How does the light in the bulb dim? When more water was added, the salt became diluted and its ability to effectively carry an electrical current diminished causing the light the become weaker. 

[Another addition from girls camp: When we fail to let the true light, Jesus Christ, shine in us by allowing the worldly influences in, we lose our savor and the ability to be saviors to someone who may need our “super powers.”]

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Here's some interesting things about salt:
 

The early saints were first called to settle in Kirtland, Ohio. Then they were forced to move to Missouri and eventually settled in Nauvoo, Illinois for a time. Ultimately they were forced again from their homes to finally settle in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Coincidence? I don't think so. 

The Romans appear to have esteemed salt highly. Its army, for a time, was even paid in salt. This is the origin of the word "salary" and the expressions "worth his salt" and "earning his salt." In fact, the Latin word sal became the French word solde, meaning "pay," and has come down to us in the word "soldier." The first of the great Roman roads was the Via Salaria, the Salt Road. The Romans used to salt their greens, which is the origin of the word "salad," salted.

Magnify your calling

I subscribe to a Facebook group for my Primary chorister calling. One of the ladies there posted something about callings and how we view callings and it has stuck with me this past month. I even got to share it yesterday at church so I'll share it with you also.
 

"When something is magnified, it doesn't become bigger, we simply see it with more clarity.

It's kind of funny how such a simple observation could mean so much. We hear the phrase 'magnify your calling' a lot. Seems like the phrase is always used in the sense of making your calling bigger -- putting in more time, going above and beyond expectations, etc. That's what it has always meant to me (and I tend not to use the phrase). 

Anyway, I love the phrase now. Magnify your calling means to see more clearly the important details of your calling. Seeing the Lord's purposes and how your calling helps His children doesn't require us to make the callings bigger than they should be. It literally does not include changing perspective, either. It just means a closer look with the aid of an instrument. The spiritual instruments we use are prayer and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Faith, hope and gratitude keep those instruments running smoothly."
-- Stephanie Weight Hadfield

Girls Camp, part 2

Summer is officially half over and I have failed to document so many things. Life at the moment is seriously crazy and fun. A lot like girls camp.

MONDAY: Monday morning of the week of camp, my little family and I woke up early and left our Leary family reunion in Idaho in order to make it back in time to get Kiersten to the stake center and off to the woods for her 4th year overnight hike. I got to spend the rest of the day getting packed and ready.

TUESDAY: Our theme for the day was Discovering Your Super Power. Every girl has been given certain gifts or "powers" that can help someone else. We may not touch every person all the time, but we can be someone's super hero. Leading up to camp I decided to pull out my patriarchal blessing and study it a little deeper. I looked for those special gifts and talents I've been blessed with. It certainly didn't come right out and say it, but through experiences I've had in my life, I know with certainty that I have been given the gift of faith. I've never been a doubter. Sure I've had questions. It's natural to question and wonder, but I also know that God is in charge and some day all my questions will get answers. And I'm okay with waiting. . . . Which is weird because I'm not a very patient person.

That afternoon is began to snow and snowed for several hours leaving a couple of inches of fresh, white powder -- perfect for a snowball fight and a snowman named Olaf.

That night our girls discovered that one of their super powers might very well be resiliency. I never heard one complain or want to go home. I'm sure they thought it and might have voiced it out loud to their tent mates but not a one grumbled about the weather that blew in on top of us.

The next morning I got up to make a fire and I just had to stand still for a moment and take in all the beauty surrounding me. Trees frosted with snow and the sun just peaking over the mountaintops. It was awe-striking and I decided that morning I would do it all over again just so I could witness the breathtaking beauty of that morning once more. Seriously, there are just no words to describe what I saw and felt as I got to be a witness to a small part of God's creation.

And ya know, life is kind of like that sometimes. It gets a little cold and stormy and is certainly nothing you'd wish for, but after passing through those hard experiences, most would look back and wouldn't trade it for a thing. The sun will always come up. All of us, regardless of what lemon life has passed on to you, has a choice. You can either choose to be miserable or you can choose to be happy. I personally like myself so much more when I'm happy.

Ty's first official 5K

The guy below in the green shirt ran his first official 5K race . . . pushing Alex in a stroller. So proud of him.

I say official because five years ago we held a fun family race which he participated in but kind of cheated and took a short cut. 

Kiersten, Nate, and I were signed up to run the Tooele 5K 4th of July race, one we haven't done before. At the last minute Kiersten got invited to Lake Powell and I tried finding anyone to take her race bib.

No takers. So Ty decided he'd do it and push Alex in the jogging stroller. After a practice run around the block his shins were in pain and I wasn't sure how he was going to do at this race.

We started and Nate finished first with his best time ever of 26 minutes and something. I came in 2nd and after getting some water, an orange slice, and congratulating one of my young women campers on finishing 2nd overall, I started back to find Tyler and finish it with him.

I ended up walking the entire race route back to the truck with no luck. Thankfully, since neither of us had cell phones, we had made a plan to meet at the finish line and we worked that plan. I found him right where he should have been.

And . . . 

He finished only 3 minutes behind me.

WHAAAAAAAAAT?

Wowzers!

I was pretty impressed he did so well. I kept telling him yesterday that he would probably surprise himself at how well he would do.

He's signed up to run our local Lake Point 5K in August. You know . . . it just starts with one little race and you get a little hooked.