6/22/08

Hey Chochy,

Another week gone by. Where do they go? They go by so fast. I’m about ready to start writing my talk for tomorrow. I have to talk in Sacrament meeting. It’s on Richard C. Edgley’s talk in last October’s conference on enduring together. It’s a pretty good talk and I’d have no problem doing it normally, except they assigned another dude in the ward the exact same talk and told us to coordinate with each other so we are not stepping on each other’s toes. What the heck? Why would you assign the same talk to two people? That’s just weird. That almost bugs me as much as the 6 person rule in every circle up front. With two of those spots going to you and the Bishop.

We finally got your picture and video CD. That will be great to keep your blog busy until you come home I think. Plenty of good stuff on there. So thanks for sending that home. So what news from the east this week? You never commented on your thoughts on the new job.

Yesterday was a long and somewhat tough day. Clint and Rachel lost one of their triplets on Monday and the funeral was yesterday. That was pretty sad. I gave a prayer at the graveside and the service was nice. They had a nice family luncheon too afterward. Their Stake relief society did a really nice job. The food was awesome and plentiful. Clint and Rachel took home a ton of left overs too.

So are you going to grade those tests and send them back. I hope you are not holding out for more, because everyone else has made it perfectly clear to me that they are NOT going to do it. It’s funny how not into it some are. I thought everyone would have a good time doing it. So anyway, grade those and let us know what happened. We are probably going to look dumb. But oh well.

Any suggestions on talking points on the subject of enduring together? Do you have access to that talk last October? Let me know if there is anything you would say. I’ll probably get your reply before I go to church and will have time to put some stuff in. Well, I’m going to start on the talk, but I’ll drop some stuff in occasionally here so that the letter is finished and sent by tomorrow morning so you have it waiting for you when you check it.

Ahhhhhhight, I’m back. I prepared my talk, it’s now 1:38 AM Sunday morning. Ha ha. That’s how I’m livin’ and you know. I’m always preparing my stuff last minute. But I do a lot better under pressure. I’d always do my homework last minute, I’d always finish my work projects just before the deadline, etc. that’s just me, it’s how I roll. We had a busy day today. Went to Target, picked up some prescriptions, did a little shopping, etc. Then went to Clint and Rachels and took them dinner. We made some IKEA meatballs and rice. Mmmmmm. So good. So ate there with them and hung out a couple of hours, then went to Ma’s and Pa’s. Hung out there a couple of hours. Grandpa was there, I guess was having some weird inner ear issue where he can’t stand up without falling down dizzy. So mom was taking care of him in your room. Shelby Lynn came home and hung out with us too. So that was fun over there. Then we rolled out to the Emery’s house and chilled there for a couple of hours. Good times all around. But got home late and got started on my talk late. Wow, almost 2:00 AM. That’s not going to be good on the tired factor tomorrow when it’s time to talk. T’all good though.

Not sure if I told you that they got all of our grass laid in the yard. The sprinkler system is laid out and on the automatic system. I got a deal on the sod, ordered it all from Chanshare where we got the 2000 sq. feet already for free for moving in, but our yard is 6500 sq. feet, so I had the 4500 extra sq. feet covered too for less than or equal to what it would have cots to hydroseed. Sweet. Not sure if I told you that a manager I work with, that Chanshare sod farm is his inlaw’s business. So he hooked me up way better than contractor rate. Then my guys had it all laid out in the yard before we even got home yesterday. Pretty happy about that. So most everything is done now. Just a couple of little additions to wrap up and we are complete. Well, I’m going to crash. I took some Excedrin PM a while back when we got home and it’s kicking my trash now. I’ll finish this up in the morning before I go over my talk one more time.

OUT

K, wow, it’s later than I expected it to be. It’s 10:21 now, I just woke up a little bit ago and had breakfast. So those pills hit me hard. So now it’s time to finish this up. I’m kind of excited to do my talk today. I had this wave of inspiration last night that just carried me from beginning to end and gave me some awesome material. Isn’t it great when that happens? I love it! I always acknowledge those things in my talks to, since I’m never one to take credit where credit is not due. That leads me to the quote of the week:

“Teach by the Spirit when you go into the home and have the Spirit so strong that it shines in your face, then investigators will feel it so strongly they will say, “I know what you say is true.” When this occurs you can teach all the lessons in ten minutes time.”

- Alvin R. Dyer

Good stuff. I love when the Spirit not only gives you good material and guides the pace and the information you teach, but also prepares a room for you, prepares the hearts of those you will talk to for you, and then lingers and testifies to them for you. We are just weak vessels that physically go where we need to go and open our mouths when prompted. We are nothing! And what a marvelous thing that is sometimes! Well, I best be for sending this off now.

I’ll look forward to your e-mail soon. Have a great week. I’ll talk to you again in another 6 or 7 days.

Love,

Trav