David Anointed King

King David's accomplishments:

anointed king over the house of Judah

anointed him king over Israel

build a house for the Lord

smote Philistines

smitten all the host of Hadadezer

restores all the land of Saul to Mephibosheth

It was kind of difficult for me to find the accomplishments of King David. I think that this part in the Old Testament is a little harder for me to understand what is really going on.

Why did the Lord not want David to build a temple?

At first the Lord asked David to build him a temple. At that time there was a lot of bloodshed and killing going on by King David. I don't think that the Lord felt that David was in the right mind set to be building the Lord a temple after killing a bunch of people. 

I am not really sure what David was going through,but if I was in a situation similar to David's in 2 Samuel 7:12-17 I will feel very grateful that the Lord wanted me to build his temple. The Lord had given David a lot of blessings and promised him a lot of good things. 

David's response to God is first like who am I to do this thing for the Lord? David also says that he will do it and is praising God. I think that verse 16 is a messianic prophecy because it is sort of talking about the Messiah and all the houses and how they will be preserved and we are each from one of those houses. 

Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go

What was the situation of the land of Judah when Ruth and Naomi lived?

They were in a land where there was famine. There were many invasions and wars in that time. They had to go to Moab which was 30 to 40 miles away. 

List the trials Ruth faced in Ruth 1

Her father in law and her husband and her brother in law died. Her family was ripped apart because of the deaths and Naomi wanted the girls to return to their homeland. Ruth and Naomi had to go to Beth-lehem.

Choose one trial that is like one that you have faced and briefly describe it

I think that we all can relate to having a family member die. I haven't had my husband, father in law or brother in law die but I have had family members die in my life. 

Explain what you think motivated Ruth to go with Naomi. In what ways would it have been hard for Ruth to go with Naomi?

I think to take care of Naomi would have motivated Ruth. Ruth lost her husband so I feel like she really didn't have anything to lose so why not go with her. I'm not sure if Ruth still had family in her homeland but I think that could have been hard for her. 

Why was Boaz so impressed with Ruth? 

I think he was was impressed with Ruth because she left everything to go with her mother in law and take care of her. 

Explain what you can learn about facing your challenges from the examples in this chapter?

Just to have faith and to stay devoted to things that we have made commitments like the gospel.

Briefly describe the greatest sacrifice you have yet made because of your commitment to the Lord. Then write an answer to the question, "Has your sacrifice become a blessing?" If so, please describe how it did. If not, describe how you now feel about the sacrifice. 

I am not sure what my greatest sacrifice has been. I feel I haven't really made many sacrifices compared to some people. I am very lucky. I think one common sacrifice among members is our time. We take a lot of time out to go to church and with other church activities. I definitely think that any sacrifice that we make to the Lord will always turn into a blessing. Even if we don't realize it in this life we will figure it out in the next. 

Explain why you think Boaz was so kind to Ruth

I think it is because he saw how kind Ruth was. He saw that she was a sweet spirit in sacrificing her life to help Naomi. 

Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve

The sun didn't really stand still. God actually made the earth stand still. The earth didn't rotate while the sun was not shining. I think it makes sense since the sun is central and the earth is rotating around the sun. God is all powerful and if he wants to he will cause the earth to stand still. The Book of Mormon says that it was the earth and not the sun that stood still.

Israel:

Successes:

Make the Gibeonites servants

Defeats Amorites and their allies

Lord fights for Israel

Conquer the whole land

Conquer kings

Failures:

Israel defeated by people of Ai

I think there are more successes and failures but I got kinda confused in the later chapters because they were split up.

I really enjoyed reading Joshua's final address to the people. It is always important to hear what a prophet has to say right before he dies. I think the main topic in his speech was to cleave unto God and serve only Him. He mentions how our God is a jealous God. I really like that even though at first it seems a negative thing to say about our God. He is jealous and wants our loyalty. He wants us to follow him and wants us so much that  He is jealous. In reality that isn't a bad thing at  all. I think when the people of Israel are good and doing what they are supposed to, God blesses them and they defeat their enemies. When they start worshiping other gods then that is when they get defeated and have hardships.

Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

The nations that will be destroyed:

Hittites

Amorites

Canaanites

Perizzites

Hivites 

Jebusites

Israel was commanded to destroy these nations until they were consumed.They were not to make any covenants with them or show them any mercy. I thought that sounded harsh but the reason they were to destroy these nations was because they were worshiping other gods. They were putting graven images before God. They were just so wicked that there really was no choice but to kill them. There are certain instances when it is justified to kill just like Nephi was killed by Laban because he threatened the existence of an entire future nation. The Lord slays to bring about his righteous purposes. 

I think it would be very interesting today to see what would happen because there is a lot of wickedness that goes on. I think it is very hard to stay away from these sins because they are all around us. But I think God gives us many tools to stay on the righteous path. As we have heard many times, we need to live in the world and not be of the world. 

Why is This Book Called Numbers?

Why do you think this book carries the title of "Numbers"?

I think this book is called Numbers because it talks about the numbering of Israel a few times in the book and it is the name for the first five books of Moses or this section of the Torah. 

What time period of Israel's history does Numbers cover?

I really don't know what time period it covers. I am not good with dates and time periods in the scriptures. I am going to guess a long time because they number Israel twice and I would imagine that would cover quite a bit of time.

How many males 20 years of age and older were there at the beginning of the children of Israel's journey into the wilderness? How many were there after 40 years in the wilderness?

There were 603,550 at the beginning and 601,730 after 40 years in the wilderness. 

Why do you think after 40 years of bearing children in the wilderness, the population of the males 20 years and older was actually less? Consider this question as you move through the lesson. 

I think the number was less because they were cursed with 40 years of wandering. The had become wicked at one point and so maybe they just didn't have as many kids or they died because that is a long time to wander. Also they could have just had more girls because they are only counting males. 

It's my BIRTHDAY!!

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 20! I am finally officially not a teenager. My hubby is treating me like a queen today :)

Hiking!!

Thank goodness for the beautiful weekend we had! We were able to go hiking on Saturday and the weather was perfect! We got lucky :) It was so fun. Lots of snow but still warm and now I am getting a good start on my farmer's tan. {eww} I hope there is a lot more of this coming soon!

 Lots of snow

Gotta have ice cream :)

Holiness to the Lord

We are studying in Leviticus. If I could give the book of Leviticus a theme it would probably be to follow the Lord's statutes and you will be blessed. 

What does it mean to be holy and sanctified? To be holy and sanctified means to be pure from sin, pure and clean. We can become that way by using the atonement.It sort of refers to your character and being moral.

Why could Jehovah command His followers to be holy? He could command them because he was holy.

What could we do today to avoid that same downfall? We could not neglect the spirit. We could try and study it and understand what lessons we are really meant to learn.

How can the principles you have studied to this point in the book of Leviticus help you become holy? I think we just need to follow the commandments and do what we are supposed to. I also think we really need to make sure that we take advantage of the atonement because that is what it is meant for and  that can help us become clean and pure. 

Keeping the commandments helps us to walk with God and gain blessings. We will one day be able to live with him again. 

Some commandments:

respect mother and father

keep sabbath day holy

not worship false idols

not steal or deal falsely

not take Lord's name in vain

don't rob your neighbor

not curse the deaf

put a stumbling block before the blind

judge righteously

don't hate your brother

don't hold grudges

be pure

don't commit adultery

don't have tattoos

don't be a prostitute

don't lie with the same gender

I highlighted all of these commandments because I think that the world has a hard time with all of these commandments. The one I want to work on is probably to judge righteously. I don't have a problem with any other ones but I think this is one that everyone will need to work on for our whole lives. This is a hard thing to do and I don't think I'll ever be perfect at it but I can try my best. 

The Ten Commanments

The Ten Commandments:

thou shalt have no other gods before me

thou shalt not make any graven image of likeness of anything that is in heaven above or worship false idols 

thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain

thou shalt keep the sabbath day holy

thou shalt honor thy father and they mother

thou shalt not kill

thou shalt not commit adultery

thou shalt not steal

thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

thou shalt not covet

The first great commandment is thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second great commandment is to love thy neighbor as thyself. 

Love God:

no other gods before me

don't worship idols

don't take the Lord's name in vain

keep the sabbath day holy

Love neighbor:

honor father and mother

don't kill

don't commit adultery

don't steal

don't bear false witness against thy neighbor

don't covet

I feel that all of these commandments are being broken all the time but the top three would have to be: worshiping false idols, keep the sabbath day holy, and coveting. If everyone could keep these commandments, the world would definitely be a different place. EVERYONE worships false idols. They come in the form of houses, cell phones, clothes, degrees, titles, and so many more things. I think there would be a greater importance and value on the things that matter most like family and God. If everyone kept the sabbath day holy no one would be working on Sunday. That would be really different from what we are used to now. An interesting thing I learned while reading about coveting was that it seems like the least important commandment but it is actually very important. If this commandment is broken, then there is weakening in all of the other commandments because they are all so intertwined. If people didn't covet we would have a lot less people breaking all the other commandments.

Preparing to Meet the Lord

Right now we are talking about the story of Moses. Moses was chosen to ask Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. God wanted these children of Israel to become a peculiar people. He wanted them to become the twelve tribes of Israel. They will be a holy nation of priests. In order for the children of Israel to become all of these wonderful things, they needed to obey the Lord's voice and keep His covenant. If the children of Israel could accomplish these things they will become this wonderful group of people and be a treasure above all other people. 

I think we can make a good application to us from these verses. I believe that it really isn't any different in our day. If we obey Him and keep our covenants that we made with Him then we will become Priests and Priestesses of our own worlds and just live in this wonderful paradise with our Heavenly Father. I believe that there are reasons why certain stories are in the scriptures. It is for our benefit in our day so that we can be taught lessons. There is a lot of symbolisms and just other parts that are meant for us also. I know that if we follow is voice and keep His covenants then we will be treasured above all other people. 

Marriage in the Covenant

Abraham did not want his sons to marry girls that were Canaanites. He wanted them to go to his country and find a wife. He showed his concern because he made them swear that they would do this. His concern for them also came from the fact that if they did marry someone that was a Canaanite, the sons would end up falling away from the gospel. Of course, no parent would want that. They needed to find someone that they could be one with the Lord. It just doesn’t really work when you marry someone that isn’t of the same faith as you. It isn’t a good pairing. I think we can definitely see this concerns for parents even today. We know that if we marry someone that is not of our faith or has different beliefs than we do then there are more chances for arguments which means there are more problems involved in that kind of marriage. It not only creates problems in the marriage but in the family as well.

Rebekah ends up being the one that is chosen for Isaac. Rebekah also has a lot of good traits that would be good for us to look for in a companion.

·         She gave the servant a drink from her pitcher and she even drew water for his camels. I have heard that drawing water from a well is very hard and she did that several times. (18)

·         She provided a place to stay for the servant. (25)

These instances show that she was a strong woman, she was kind, and she was beautiful inside and out.

Rebekah and Isaac had concern for Jacob. They were afraid that he would marry someone that wasn’t of the same faith as Jacob. They told him where he should go to find a wife. They said if he wouldn’t marry someone of Canaan then he will prosper and be fruitful.

Jacob ends up meeting someone named Rachel. She was of the same faith as Jacob. In order to be able to marry Rachel, Jacob had to work for Laban for seven years. That is a long time. After the seven years is up, he doesn’t get Rachel, he gets her older sister Leah. So he has to work another seven years for Rachel. He does all of this just so he could marry in the covenant. I think this is in the scriptures because this is an example to us that marrying in the covenant is so important that we should do anything to be able to do it. I never made this connection before but now I really see how important it is. Now that I am married I can hold an even greater importance to it because I am so grateful to be eternally sealed to my husband, someone that I love so much. It is something that is worth it to work at it for fourteen years. 

Cake Pops

So, I was in Target and I picked up a recipe book of cake stuff. I don't really remember what it was but I looked at it and it had a recipe for cake pops. Well I wanted to try and make them and they weren't hard so here is how that experiment went :)

The finished product

Don't drool on your keyboard :)

First Day of School!

Ok so I know this is really late, but.....whatever lol. This is our 2nd spring semester here for us. Which makes it our 4th semester at BYU-I. I made Ryan take a picture before he went to school. Isn't he cute :)

He made sure that I took a picture of myself also. I left after him so I had to just take the picture myself :)

Yay for the first day of school!

Who was Melchizedek?

             In Genesis Melchizedek blessed Abraham (then called Abram). But who is Melchizedek? He was the king of Salem. At some point in Salem the people became very wicked and had gone astray. Melchizedek preached repentance to his people and they did repent. They had peace in his days and he was also called the prince of peace.He received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God. He was a high priest and he took upon him the high priesthood forever. I don't know if those last two sentences are the same thing.  It also says that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek and he received it through the lineage of his fathers. Now the Melchizedek priesthood is named after Melchizedek because he was such a great high priest. Before it got that name it was called "The Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God." In Doctrine and Covenants 107:4 it says, "But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood." I think that is so interesting that, that is the why they called it that.
                  Among all of God's ancient high priests none were greater than Melchizedek. He held such a high position in the eyes of the Lord that he was like unto that of Abraham. And we know that Abraham was the angel Gabriel who told Mary that she was going to give birth to the Son of God. Something that I found very interesting is that Melchizedek's position was so high and exalted in the eyes of the Lord AND his people that he stood as a prototype of the Son of God himself. That is such a powerful statement. A prototype is a model of something or something that illustrates another object. He is a model or example of the Son of God. I find that amazing and yet, I really didn't know anything about Melchizedek or even that it was a person. I just knew it was a name for the higher priesthood. I also noticed that he was called the prince of peace which is also what we can refer Jesus as and so now it all kind of makes sense. One more interesting thing. Shem, the son of Noah, is thought to be Melchizedek. We don't know for sure but there is a lot of evidence suggesting this. I am so glad that I have learned this about the Melchizedek priesthood. It is so much more important now than it was to me when I knew nothing about it. I also think the manuals are so useful for helping us to understand the scriptures better especially if you are someone like me who has a hard time understanding them and the things that are not exactly visible when just reading them.

Spiritual Thoughts from the Old Testament

For my online Old Testament class I have decided to do an assignment where I post it in my blog every week. So here goes the first entry :)

Whom God Calls, He Qualifies:

I am reading in Moses and God is describing how the people are in those days. He is so angry at them for holding their own counsels in the dark, devising murder, denying God, and they are not keeping the commandments. While I was reading that, I thought about what God would say about the people of today. It would probably sound something like that but with more things that they are doing. God asks Enoch tell the people to repent. Enoch's reaction is that he is slow of speech and just a boy, so why is he the one that God is calling to do all of this? This part reminded me of Joseph Smith, being just a boy but he did so much for this gospel. It's incredible if you really think about it. It doesn't matter what time period it is, I don't think I could do what some of these people have done at such a young age. I wouldn't have been mature enough. I remember when I was younger I was very shy, especially with adults. I have grown out of that but it would still be a hard thing to do at 19. But then again there are 19 year olds all over the world doing just that. I suppose when it is the Lord's work at it is something that is so desirable and sweet, it ends up not being as hard as we think it is.

The Lord reassures Enoch that He is with him. God walks with Enoch. It is just amazing to me for someone to go from no self-confidence at all in telling people to repent to help raise up this wonderful nation that is so great that God takes them up to be with Him. He made people tremble so that they could not stand in his presence. Enoch's faith must have grown so much because the Lord protected him and was with him always. I think the Lord does the same for other people but in ways that we might not recognize. Definitely we see this all the time in church callings. Someone doesn't think they will be able to do a good job or aren't worthy enough to have such a high calling. But these callings are from the Lord and He will help us do anything. I think this story comes out even in small things like if we are scared to do things on our own. The Lord is with us so we are really never alone. Even when we give talks, we might be nervous but it ends up being just fine. I recently had an experience with this. On Easter Sunday, my friend and I were going to sing in sacrament meeting. Thank goodness we had sacrament first because I was dying just waiting to finally get the song over with because I was so nervous. My heart kept beating, I was hot, I just tried not to think about it. I finally said a little prayer in my heart to help us to do well and to help me not be so nervous and to just calm down. Sure enough I did calm down some and we sang our song beautifully. We made no mistakes and I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. 

To sum it up about what the bible says about Enoch and his people is that the people were wicked. So of course God calls on someone to tell them to repent and that was Enoch. Enoch feels inadequate and the Lord lifts him up and is with him. Enoch keeps prophesying unto the people and he tells them how he saw God, face to face. He talked with God. God told him who to go tell to repent and Enoch went and didn't say anything else because he knew God was with him. Enoch led the people of God. Even in battle people were in fear because he walked with God. They were so righteous that God took them up to live with Him. I think this is a powerful testimony of showing us that we can do anything that God asks us to. He will not ask us to do anything that we cannot handle. Reading through this challenges me to have a different outlook with callings and other things and to not be afraid because God is with me. 

Conference!! April 2011

So I went to General Conference for the very first time!! It was so amazing. We just had a great weekend with friends and seeing Conference! It is different then just watching it at home. It's weird to think that they are just a few hundred feet from you! We sat on the balcony to the side a bit. But is was great. I started bawling during the first talk and a nice lady sitting next to me gave me some tissues. Note to self: Get tissues to put in your purse. How about bring a purse? lol. Here are some pics from the weekend!

We ate yummy sweet tart jelly beans on the way down

So handsome :)

Walking to conference. I was NOT is high heels

Don't mind the brown sweater I am wearing. I didn't think it would be snowing. 

Friends :)

Front row on balcony

It was snowing dippin dots!!

Job!!!

So....I got another job!! Its funny; I couldn't find a job to save my life during my off track and then now that it's over I have 3 jobs!! So the first one and obvious one is working as an early morning custodial in the way too early hours of the morning. The second one I have is the lifeguarding job at the new pool in Rexburg that they might not have finished in time. I have been meaning to call them and tell them I'm not doing it though....because I have this other awesome job! My friend, Mandy, who actually lives right above us, basically got me this job. She now works with me :) It is at a nursing home called the Homestead. I am pretty sure no one is as happy as me to have a job wiping old peoples' butts. (Which really isn't as bad as you think) I have only worked 3 days so far and I'm loving it. Even though it is overwhelming at first, you catch on pretty quickly. The residents are just so sweet and I love what I'm doing. I am so lucky to have found something that is right around in the career I want to do for the rest of my life. It is also a blessing to even find a job around here (it's not in Rexburg, it's in St. Anthony). Now I will have something to do on my off track :) Yay for having 2 jobs and going to school!

For My Husband

Me and the Hubby are starting to work on campus again because the spring semester is starting. So Ryan works from 5-1 p.m. and I work from 4-12 a.m. While I am at the cozy Tracy home, he is working :) Today was his first day back at work. We just got back from Boise 30 min. before he had to go to work and so he didn't really get to eat anything. So his sweet little miss cooked him some dirty rice and put it away so he can heat it up when he gets home :)

And yes, mine turned out just like it looks on the box :) A full husband is a happy husband <3

Fam Bam

Two weeks ago, Ryan and I got to go to Boise to visit my family :) I love my family. I love seeing them too. I don't get to see them as often anymore. Its kinda weird but something that I am adjusting to. I am so thankful for my family and all that they have taught me. I love them so much!!!

My whole family :)

 I love my grandparents to death <3

Last but not least...

My handsome husband <3

Finals are DONE!!

Yay! I am done with finals!!! I got an A in the class :) I was actually retaking bio 265 because I want a better grade so I can HOPEFULLY get into the nursing program. I am so surprised that I ended up getting a 96%! what the heck? Where did that even come from? But anyways it is so great to be done with that class. Now, school begins for real. I am actually on track for this next semester and have 12 credits :) yay i'll have something to do! And a schedule to live on! Not looking forward to 7:45 class :/ We will see how it goes.

I Love Friends

I just want to say that lately I have been very grateful for the friends I have and the friends I am making. We have gotten to know so many people in the ward but we are actually hanging out with them. I am absolutely loving where I am right now. 

I have had some thoughts that have been on my mind for a long time. I have never really seen the importance of visiting teaching before. I suppose it could be because I didn't see it a whole lot growing up because it seemed like all of the visiting teachers were friends. I have never actually had a visiting teaching calling until I came to college which was just over a year ago. Now that I  but am off-track and jobless with really nothing to do I have realized that it is nice to have visiting teachers. Just someone that visits with you or maybe if you become good friends, someone to hang out with. I have not had visiting teachers in a while and I don't know who they are. I kinda wish they would come but I suppose I am fine with the friends I have to keep me busy. It is just nice to build new friendships. 

My best friend of 19 years is awesome. I love her to death. She is in Ecuador right now volunteering at an orphanage. She is such an example to me. I have so many great memories together. I suppose, in a way, it kinda sucks to grow up because you definitely move in different directions. I know she is my best friend because I still have a strong connection to her even though I have not seen her for 7 months. I love talking to her on the phone. I get more that what is required for my daily dose of laughter. I miss having her live right down the street from me and just being within arms reach. Technology is awesome but its not the same. I just wanted to tell her I love her so much and miss her a lot. 

Sad story but our good friend's puppy was hit by a car and died. We dogsat that dog a lot and we loved him so much. It was so heartbreaking. Who would have thought it would hurt so much to lose a dog. I mean it's a dog. Well, that's what you think at first but they are more than that. And they teach us so much. We also love his owners. They are so awesome. When we didn't have any friends they were there. I have nothing bad to say about them.Only good things. I think they will be forever friends. Long into the future we will still be talking even though we might not live close by. 

I think I need pictures. Another time I will put them up. Tomorrow we are leaving to go to Boise!!! Yay for family!! 

Lately

So I have had some new projects that I have been working on lately. I think they are kinda cool. 

1. A beanie :) my husband is the lovely model in these pictures.

He wanted it a little longer than I had planned and so that is why it turned out to be half blue, half black. He is so cute <3

2. I crocheted a freakin tie!!! 

It turned out to be awesome!! I pretty much just made something up. I didn't have a pattern. I have also been very much in love with changing colors now that I know how to do it. 

So as you can see I have been very busy. The tie took me two days! But I love crocheting and my next new project that I want to do is to make a bunny, a monkey, and a bear. I think it will be adorable if I actually pull it off. :)

Computer!!

My computer is back!!! At the end of fall semester (which was forever ago) my computer's hardrive went out. So I couldn't use my computer. Finally, this week we ordered a hardrive and yesterday I got someone to install it! And now it is back and working :) No more using the hubby's computer. 

Also......Congrats to the Giveaway WINNERS!!!

Free Blog Giveaway!!!

Alright few followers of mine, I am having a giveaway of one of my cute crochet headbands! Just go to this blog: peace-love-lauren.blogspot.com and follow the directions! GOOD LUCK to everyone who enters!

Crafty Me

So this is what I like to do in my spare time (which is like all of my time). I crochet. I crochet cute little headbands :). I really do love crocheting. Eventually I want to try to move on to bigger things like baby blankets and little sweaters and things like that but for now I'll stick with flowers :) I am so glad I finally learned how to make them myself. I had been trying to find the perfect one of these headbands and finally did when my sis-in-law, Amanda, was keeping this secret of knowing how to crochet headbands from me. And I didn't even know that she liked to crochet in the first place! Now I can make them whenever I want and any colors I want. I'm thinking of trying to sell them. Just to do it. I mean, there is only so many lovely people I can make these for and there is only so many combinations of different colored headbands I can make for myself. So either donate or sell. I could even do both. 

These cute things are some of the headbands I have made (and some my grandma has made). I have just fallen in love with them!

With the cute little flowers, I like to stick a bobbie pin through the back of them which is so easy because they are crochet, and stick them in my hair. It works perfect because you can't see the bobbie pin and they stay in your hair snug as a bug! Also very cute and something more for a summer thing. 

This looks way better when I am all prettied up. But even for a lazy day this helps beautify yourself. I don't know about you, but I think its adorable. I also want to try to make headbands but with a thinner band. 

Well you now know what occupies some of my time :) Cutie little crafts. This is what happens when a miss turns into a mrs. <3