Blog post turned sermon

Today we visited my Florida friend, Michele Bates, down in Lindon, UT, and it was AW-SUM! She was in town to see family, and I'm glad she made some time for me!

She's totally prego and totally cute. I wish she could see that. Instead she only sees her round growing belly and calls herself fat. Maybe she's just being modest. Haha - Cuz she seriously looks amazing!

Not only do I adore Michele, but I also adore her parents! They are the most friendly people you'll ever meet, and her dad will bend over backwards to make sure your kid is happy! He brought the cat inside for her to play with, took her out back to see the fish, and even cleared the leaves out of the pond for Bella to see them better!! Who does that? I mean, really?! It's easy to see why Michele is so accommodating and kind! Thank you Bates family for sharing Michele with me!

On the back porch watching Michele's dad clean out the pond for Bella.

I also got to visit my awesome friend Nikki Randall. She's the bomb dot com. I never leave her house empty handed. She has this motto where if she has more than she needs (clothes, toys, etc), then she gives it away - even if it's in excellent condition or brand new. Not only does it help de-clutter, but she says it's a good way of helping someone else out who needs it. I am grateful for her example! Now it's time for me to get rid of a few things I've been hanging on to!

Inspiring quote to add to this thought:

"We are called upon to love God first and over all. The moment that pattern is followed he seeks in us the one thing that we do not really want to give up. Many of us will say that we do not have that kind of faith. But I submit to you that you do not have that kind of faith until you pass that test [of giving up what you don't want to and putting God first] .... It is the love of God that cries out for us to prove our love for Him. He cannot bless us until we have been proved, cannot even pull out of us the giant spirit in us unless we let him."

- Truman Madsen,

taken from Light in the Wilderness, Explorations in the spiritual life

This quote reminded me of my friend Nikki, because of her ease of giving up physical things to others; However, I think this quote requires each of us to take a deeper look inward...beyond the physical things.

My character flaws, my temptations, my laziness to change. It's like I'm one foot in and one foot out sometimes.

I think, "Oh, I'll give up this one thing, but not that one."

Maybe it's time I gave up that one thing I don't think I can give up. Will you do it, too?

This is my blog post turned sermon. Thank you, come again! :0)

PS. Bella made a body portrait using pen. She's an artist.