i'm an olympics junkie.

Greetings from California!

Haven't seen (you know what I mean) you people in a while!

I've been busy, busy, busy around here... and I'm mentally preparing myself to write a very long post with lots of pictures when I get back.

But for now, let's talk Team USA.

I'm a huge Olympics fan. My whole family is. I remember times as a little kid when we would buy a Marie Callender's pie and sit on a blanket in the family room and watch the Olympics while enjoying good ol' Chocolate Satin.
And I got to stay up almost as late as New Year's. haha.

It's kind of a bummer that we ended up going to California the exact two weeks as the Olympics... but I've still been able to tune in pretty often.

I have to say that at first I was like, "huh??" while watching the Opening Ceremonies... but it came together nicely and ended up being really cool.

Anyways. My little sister is big into gymnastics. She pretty much dedicates her whole life to it, actually, so we were pretty excited to watch the women's team compete. We've known for a while that they were supposed to be really good this year... and holy crap are they ever.

We freaked when they won gold as a team. That hasn't happened since 1996, you know.

Oh. and I like swimming. Of course, I always root for the Americans, but I was super happy when that Le Clos guy from South Africa beat Michael Phelps yesterday. It was his first Olympics and probably his first gold. But the best was his dad. He was so proud... the cameras showed him crying in the stands... and he used the flag he was holding to wipe his tears. It was cute.

Apparently that was the first major race Michael Phelps has lost in ten years... he's now officially the greatest Olympian of all time... and I'm a fan of his and all... but it's fun when some other kids get the gold for a change... :) haha.

But yeah. I liked watching the kayaking, too. (It seems to be a pretty hectic sport!)

Are any of you Olympics fans? What do you like watching?
See you soon...

shoes and ships and sealing wax: avoiding the adversary

I was laying in bed several nights ago when a little snippet of The Walrus and The Carpenter popped into my head very randomly.

I haven't seen Alice in Wonderland in several years and couldn't completely remember the story of the walrus and the carpenter... so I got out of bed, went upstairs, and, at two in the morning, read about The Walrus and The Carpenter.


And realized that it was a blog post waiting to happen.


So, without further adieu, here's the clip that gave you nightmares as a kid...
[But has a great moral!]




Notice how the walrus kept the carpenter from running down there to eat the oysters at the beginning.

They needed to be lured.




You know how you [supposedly] are supposed to tell kids what to do rather than what not to do?

Like... "keep the sand in the sandbox" rather than "don't throw the sand"??


Well... I usually try to focus on what is good to do...

Except for now.

Because it is important to realize that Satan is real and that he is powerful.

But remember that he only has the power you give to him.


Curiosity can be a dangerous thing.

It can get you into trouble sometimes.


So don't be curious. 


Try avoiding rather than resisting temptation.

One of my YW leaders used chocolate chip cookies to illustrate that just last Sunday.

[pretend you aren't supposed to be eating a cookie...]

With no cookies to be seen, she asked, "are any of you tempted, sitting here in Young Women's, to eat a chocolate chip cookie?"

Well, of course not. There weren't any chocolate chip cookies around.

Then she brought some into the room.

"How tempted are you now?" she asked...

Of course, the fact that eating a cookie was now an option planted the idea in our minds.

She passed out the cookies.

"How tempted are you now?"

Pretty tempted.

Then she had us take a small bite, but eat no more.

How tempted were we to finish the cookie?


Well... I do love cookies...


Anyways. If you aren't supposed to be eating a cookie, don't go into the kitchen where they are being made.
If you have trouble dressing modestly, don't go into a store where there is mostly immodest clothes.
If you have a hard time keeping the Word of Wisdom... don't go to a party where they are serving alcohol.

Doesn't that make it a little easier?

Avoid making the decision altogether.


1/3 of the host of heaven are all around us... trying to get us to give in.

They watch you to determine your weaknesses.

Your weaknesses will be different from others. My weaknesses are different from yours.

Identify your weaknesses. It will help you know what sorts of things you need to watch out for.


Pray for help and stand strong.


Remember, we already know which side is going to win in the end. If you already knew the outcome, why would you bet on the losing side?



Be aware... because just like the walrus, Satan tempts you little by little.

Of course there is always a way back, but you would be making things a whole lot easier on yourself if you never went down that road in the first place.



Now wasn't that positive? :) 

I think that The Walrus and The Carpenter really has a good moral to it.

And I liked the chocolate chip cookie analogy.



Oh... and I should probably mention that I will be in California visiting family for the next two weeks. So my blogging schedule might end up a little irregular.

Who knows.

Bye!

thanks for everything.

happy pioneer day!!

I will forever be filled with gratitude for those amazing pioneers... They suffered to extents that I cannot even imagine. The amazing legacy that they left will be felt and appreciated forever.

Without them, I wouldn't have the gospel. 

I thank them with all my heart... for saving me.

Click here to read my post Come Come Ye Saints.

i'm a palmer.

Yesterday we went up to the sixty-something annual Palmer family reunion held in Willow Flats, Idaho...

My cousin Taylor and I in the blistering heat...

They had this sawdust pile filled with prizes for the kids to find. After all of the kids were out, they said, "everybody in!" There were gold dollars all over in that pile. I raked in about $12... which I thought was a lot until my aunt Sherri counted up a whopping $57 that she had found. I can't even imagine how much money there was altogether in that sawdust pile...

Kelsey with (great) Grandpa De...

lol. This picture is too... her.

The river was seriously... ice cold. It took all of three seconds for your feet to be numb. We braved it anyways. 

Kelsey and me...

We set up chairs and sat in the middle of the river for probably an hour. We were too scared of hypothermia to walk back...! (notice how one chair was reserved for a footrest...)

Anyways...

Happy Sunday!

Click here to listen to a song that I liked today.
I really liked it when I heard it on the radio... but the video is sad!!!
It's good nonetheless... but yeah.

(I have to say... 1:59 where they are showing off their clothes kinda cracks me up... (: )

Click here to listen without the video. (suggested if you aren't in the mood to be sad! The song isn't even sad! Just the video!)


K. Uh.... bye.

changes.

It was time for a change.

Please don't freak out... I will still be writing posts just like the ones you've been reading...

But some (most) of these posts take me a long time to write...

And now I won't have to write them quite as often...


So now that I can write quick posts about whatever the crap I want...

Hopefully you can hear from me a little more often.


Sound good?


Oh... and the title thing.

I'm still a little unsure about whether or not I want to change the title/URL.


Is What Matters Most still an appropriate title?

I mean... if I am posting about my new pants or something... ??

I'm not sure if it makes sense.



I may be over thinking this.

anyways.

Please tell me what you think... (please??)



K. Bye.

guess what I saw today?

yep. 2,000 stripling warriors. [in a parade]

and they stretched as far as the eye can see.

you tell me.

So. I dig blogging.

And I like this blog...

But I kinda wonder sometimes how long I can keep these posts up.

I mean, I say that... and then just keep posting, so I suppose I am good for now.

But I've been really thinking lately whether or not I should keep posting the way I have been, or if I should throw some other stuff in the mix.

I mean, I know I've talked about doing that before, but I mean really changing my posts.

Still often doing... churchy posts, but then doing lots of other posts on other random stuff.

For example... I just turned $6 plain old blue jeans from the DI into pink skinny jeans.

And that was fun.


You know... I just get bored sometimes.


So I've been stewing over it, but I don't know.

I know that it is my decision and that I will do whatever the crap I want in the end...


But I thought I'd ask...

So you tell me!


[please?]


What would you like to read?

And I know I don't exactly have tons of readers... but I have you know... some. 




And I probably do this for you more than for me...


So. yeah. That's about it.


Please let me know... in the comment box?

Or don't. Whatever. I am torn.

who can glory too much?

The following post was inspired by a number of EFY lessons... :)

Christ is my master.

In saying that... I'm not saying that He would ever make me a slave.

It is my honor and my greatest privilege to be His servant.


The following video makes me a little queasy at parts... but it is a really good reminder not to take the Atonement for granted...




Did you know that the word Atonement is actually an English word that was originally invented by William Tyndale when he was translating the Bible into English?

Atonement, or At-one-ment, means to be at one. 

At one with Christ.


I wonder if many people recognize the significance of the Atonement.

When we were all in the pre-existence and chose Heavenly Father's plan to come down to earth and get a body... we bet everything on our Savior, Jesus Christ.


If He hadn't followed through on the Atonement... we would all be lost.

There would be no Plan of Salvation.


We truly bet everything... and He followed through.

We put our faith in the right person.

He suffered for our sins, but also for all of our emotional and physical pains.

He - in some miraculous and inexplainable way - lived your whole life. He lived everyone's lives.


He knows what cancer feels like.
He knows how it feels to lose a loved one.
He knows how it feels to raise wayward children.
He knows how the consequences feel when you have sinned.

But not just that...

He knows incredible joy.
He knows how it feels to ace a hard test.
He knows the joy that comes from your children.


He lived it all.


One thing that was brought up at EFY - that humbled me a lot - was the fact that a human could not endure all that.

No, it was only because Christ was part god that He could endure such pain.

Anyone else would have died.

A human cannot sweat blood and live.


I don't know about you, but that certainly put things in a different perspective for me.


Redeemer by Paul Cardall





Be grateful, my friends.

For who can glory too much in the Lord?

it's glorious.

Glorious by Russ Dixon

There are times when you might feel aimless

And can’t see the places where you belong

But you will find that there is a purpose

It’s been there within you all along

And when you’re near it

You can almost hear it

It’s like a symphony just keep listening
And pretty soon you’ll start to figure out your part
Everyone plays a piece and there are melodies
In each one of us, oh, it’s glorious




You will know how to let it ring out

As you discover who you are

Others around you will start to wake up

To the sounds that are in their hearts

It’s so amazing

What we’re all creating

It’s like a symphony just keep listening
And pretty soon you’ll start to figure out your part
Everyone plays a piece and there are melodies
In each one of us, oh, it’s glorious

And as you feel, the notes build, you will see

It’s like a symphony just keep listening
And pretty soon you’ll start to figure out your part
Everyone plays a piece and there are melodies
In each one of us, oh, it’s glorious

Oooooh.... I love this song. I'm obsessed. It's just peaceful and... good. Yeah.

I'm not really full of words right now... so... listen again?

See ya later -
:)

you can save lives...

     I've been wanting to write this post for a week now... but I included some of the following stories and thoughts in a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting today.


So... I didn't want to give it away on here before I actually gave the talk.


But I still wanted to post it for those of you who are not in my ward. So. Here you go.

----------

You know... I think that when you gain a strong testimony and you realize the happiness and fulfillment that the Gospel brings to your life... you naturally gain a desire to share that happiness with others. 

It's why I started this blog.

You can do missionary work wherever you live - amongst nonmembers or even members of the Church.

I know that some people get scared to share the Gospel with their friends.

I mean, lots of things can go wrong. Maybe you don't know an answer to one of their questions. Maybe you find that your testimony isn't strong enough. Maybe they won't accept your beliefs.

Well... Let those fears go. 

Because I know that if you pray about it... Heavenly Father will tell you who needs the Gospel... and who will accept it. 

D&C 84:85 - Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

Study the scriptures. Pay attention in church. Like the above verse explains, if you are treasuring up and learning about that which is good... you will know how to answer questions about the Church.

The Spirit will remind you what you read or heard in the very instant you need it. 

But the Spirit cannot remind you of something that you never read/heard in the first place.

So seek knowledge. And do not be afraid that someone will ask you a question. 

And remember... you can always say "I don't know, but I will try and find out". 

Now... I like to play soccer. 

And something that I've learned from soccer is that just one touch on the soccer ball... can change the whole game.

The same is true with our lives. One touch by the Master can change someone forever.

And something you say... even something little that you will forget about tomorrow... could change someone forever too.

You just never know.

Let me illustrate that with a couple stories. 

First of all... let me share with you the story of Wealtha Bradford Hatch.

Wealtha was born in 1804 in Maine. She married Ira Stearns Hatch and they ended up living near Farmersville, New York.

She was a wife. She was a mother. 

But she was no one incredibly significant to history.

(If you are one of her descendants... you might disagree with that (: haha. )

Anyways. After the Church was organized in 1830, missionaries were sent west to preach to the Lamanites (indians).

The specific missionaries in this story were Oliver Cowdrey, Peter Whitmer, Jr., Ziba Peterson, and Parley P. Pratt. 

Recognize some of them? Sweet. :)

These missionaries went to preach to the Catteraugus indians that were living on a reservation very near where Wealtha and Ira lived. 

So Wealtha got her hands on a Book of Mormon. And she read it. And she wanted to join the Church. 

This was a time of heavy persecution of Mormons, so her husband asked her to wait a while and see if the persecution kinda died down. 


Well... a year and a half later the missionaries had looped back around... and Wealtha was done waiting. She was seven months pregnant and they cut a hole in the ice for her to be baptized. 


A couple years later, her husband, Ira, went to meet the prophet in Kirtland, Ohio. I guess he decided that he was ready, because he joined the Church shortly afterward.


Eventually, Ira and Wealtha went west with the saints to Nauvoo. There, Wealtha died of cholera.


Okay. Why am I telling you this? Why is her story special? 


Well... Wealtha had seven children. If you count up her children and their converts, and their children and their converts... up until the present day... you can trace the membership of over a million members of the Church today back to the decision that Wealtha Bradford Hatch made in 1832 to join the Church. 

Does that make sense? Crazy.


Okay. One more example. This post is getting long. 

Abinadi. Abinadi went about preaching the Gospel. He ended up being killed for it - which was ordered by King Noah. 


After all that sacrifice... Abinadi only ended up with one convert. Alma.


Well, let's take a look at who descended from Alma. 


Alma ==> Alma the Younger ==> Helaman ==> Helaman ==> Nephi ==> Nephi ==> Nephi


Many of Alma's descendants ended up writing in the Book of Mormon. 


Actually, we pretty much have half of the Book of Mormon because of Abinadi. 


And just look at how many people the Book of Mormon has converted!








So... hopefully we learned the effects that just one touch has on generations to come. 


It's amazing. Amazing. 


You truly have no idea what could result from you sharing the Gospel with just one person.


You can save hundreds or thousands or millions of lives... who knows. 


And greater than that... you are saving their eternities.


D&C 18:15 - And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
                16 - And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!


It's so amazing to think about how happy and grateful you and so many others will be far into the eternities for your decision to share the Gospel.


Even if it's just by being a good example... or bearing your testimony in front of a friend...


The Lord works in mysterious ways.


Oh. One more quote. Then I'm done.


"Your call has eternal consequences for others and for you. In the world to come, thousands may call your name blessed, even more than the people you serve here. They will be the ancestors and the descendants of those who chose eternal life because of something you said or did, or even what you were. . .You see, there are no small callings to represent the Lord."
- Henry B. Eyring 






I guess you just never know.

P.S. Hopefully this freakishly long post can last you a week. I will be at Girl's Camp until Friday!! :)
(I'm thinking of auto-posting a great EFY song for Wednesday... So tune in then...!)