THE JOLLEY JOURNALS - PRAYER

Posts have been sparse this week, due to the fact that I only had 4 days to prepare a talk for sacrament meeting. My topic was the power of prayer. I thought that I would share a few excerpts with you:

I asked several friends, "What is prayer?" Here are two of my favorite answers.

“Prayer is a daily PPI. It is an opportunity to talk with God and reflect on what I can do better tomorrow.”

“Prayer is a way to open your heart to God, let him in your life in an intimate way, and tell him all your fears and worries, gratitude and thankfulness. Prayer is one of those things that is experienced differently by everyone but is a universal way of talking to the one who created each of us!”

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President Kimball taught: “No mother would carelessly send her little children forth to school on a wintry morning without warm clothes to protect against the snow and rain and cold. But there are numerous fathers and mothers who send their children to school without the protective covering available to them through prayer—a protection against exposure to unknown hazards, evil people, and base temptations.”

We are taught to “pray always to the Father in my name.”

Once a Primary teacher asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.

“Yes,” he replied.

“And do you always say them in the morning, too?” the Primary teacher asked.

“No,” the boy replied. “I ain’t scared in the daytime.”

Fear of the dark should not be our only motivation to pray.

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We sometimes forget that prayer should not be our last resort, but our first priority.

President Hinckley said, “Believe in prayer and the power of prayer. Pray to the Lord with the expectation of answers. I suppose there is not a man or a woman in this entire congregation today who doesn’t pray. I hope that is so. The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries- we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Isa. 1:18). That is the invitation. Believe in the power of prayer- it is real, it is wonderful, it is tremendous.”

My testimony of prayer is that it is real and that God hears and answers our prayers. Prayer changes who we are and what we will become. "Prayer changes things."

PESPI NOW! TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

In 1983 and 1984, the slogan for Pespi was "PESPI NOW! TAKE THE CHALLENGE!"
Well, Pespi is currently doing a Refresh Challenge.

Pepsi is funding amazing ideas that refresh the world. Dream it, submit it, get enough votes and we'll help make it happen for your community!

Our community of Pocatello is coming together to make a dream that the Fisher family had for their daughter Brooklyn a reality. And you can be a part of making the dream happen.

Everyday through the end of the month (July 31st), click here to vote on the Pepsi Refresh Challenge! Go Pocatello/Chubbuck!!!

KELLEY'S ENGAGED!

Have I mentioned that I work with incredible women? After work, we were able to all meet up at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate! That's right ... Kelley is engaged and going to be married August 26th to Austin Budge. What a fun last name!!!

Kelley and Megan

Allison and Carolyn

Megan and Amy

and me!

I really need to practice taking pictures of myself. This is not a great one!!!

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY - KATE AT 1 YEAR OLD

Here is Kate at 1 year old. She is such a little cutie!!!

HELLO MR SUNSHINE

THE JOLLEY JOURNALS - FAV SCRIPTURE

On Sunday, Faith was asking me about my favorite scripture and why it was my favorite. Then she proceeded to ask my why I don't blog about that too.

Hence, the Jolley Journals will come every Sunday! It may be me, or it could be Brandon or one of the kids ...

My favorite scripture is found in the Doctrine and Covenants 84:88.
88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

That's my favorite because it has always meant to me that at my hardest moment, there will be angels to help me push through my trials, just like the angels that helped push the handcarts.

THE 24th AND DAD

As always, the highlight of the 24th of July is seeing my dad in the parade on some sort of scooter.  When we were kids, my dad had a motorcycle that he would take us on rides around the neighborhood with.  I remember that the helmet we wore was blue!

Grandpa Kelly and Jordan

It's such a fun thing that we have this wonderful parade to celebrate the pioneers.  We really enjoy it!

On a side note, I always wonder what the missionaries think about it if they are not from Utah or Idaho... 

JOURNAL TRIVIA

Another girl that was from the stake was running the journaling section. I brought what I could and got amazing help from my Aunt Sondra, my mom for our family history, and Sister Poppleton from my ward (who I am also related to.) Thank you for your help! I doubt that this will be the last time that I do something on journaling.

I typed up the journal trivia to have interactive stuff with the journaling section. It was fun. The answers are in blue.

(BTW ---- I don't know what happened to the spacing issue. Sorry!!!)

When is the best time to start writing in a journal?

As soon as you can start writing.

How often should I write in a journal?

As often as possible, but at least once a week.

Should I use a pen or a pencil to write in a journal?

Just writing is great, but a pencil will fade over time. Pen is the best option.

True or False: I should use the full names of my friends every time I write about them.

The first time that you write about someone, you should include their full name.

True or False: I should write the date on every page of my journal.

True. Pages may fall out or become lost.

True or False: A journal can only be kept with pen and paper.

False. You can use other things such as blogger, video, or even online journaling sites.

Does it matter if I misspell a word when I journal?

It doesn't matter. Infact, it is kind of fun to see how English changes over time.

True or False: The Book of Mormon is a journal.

True. What a blessing in our lives that they kept a journal.

Who has asked us to keep a journal?

The Lord through his Prophets.

Name one reason why it is important for us to keep a journal.

The prophet has asked us to.

So our family has information about us when we pass on.

So that we can see how we dealt with trials in our lives.

So that we can see the hand of God in our life.

Should I record my testimony in my journal?

Absolutely! Don't you want your family to know that you have a testimony of the gospel?

True or False: I should write in my journal only when I am happy.

False. Writing at different times is good for us and can even be used as therapy.

True or False: The pioneers kept journals.

True. We are also lucky for so many to have kept journals. We know about their struggles, but also the fun times when they sang and danced around the campfire even when there was little to be grateful for.

I should keep a journal for: myself, future generations, or both?

Both!

Should you read what you have written in the past? Why or why not?

It's always good to look back and see how much you have grown and what was important to you as a child, etc.

My life isn’t very exciting, and I’m not a very good writer. Do I still need to keep a journal?

Yes. We may not think we are not important, but everyone is important and your future generations will thank you for keeping a journal!

How many days does it take to create a habit?

14 21 30

21

Who said this?

I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

Thomas S. Monson Dallin H. Oaks Henry B. Eyering

Henry B. Eyering

Who wrote this scripture?

And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

Nephi Lehi Moroni

Nephi

Who said this?

Get a notebook, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important event.

Ezra Taft Benson Brigham Young Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer W. Kimball

His journal was 33 black binders on the shelves of his personal study when he was called to be President of the Church in 1973. Since then, he has counseled members of the Church to keep personal journals. Who is this prophet?

Spencer W. Kimball Howard W. Hunter Ezra Taft Benson

Spencer W. Kimball

In the Book of Mormon, when do we first read about writing in a journal?

Enos 1^st Nephi Words of Mormon

1st Nephi

A journal is ____________________________.

a. a continuing record of meaningful experiences that affect our lives.

b. an account of day to day events.

c. a record of current transactions.

d. all of the above

all of the above

First known use of the word journal was in the

14^th century 15^th century 16^th century

15th century

What is the difference between a diary and a journal?

A diary is a report of what happened during the day. A journal is about examining your life. Journals lead to insight, growth, and sometimes, achieving a goal.

DOTS - STAKE ACTIVITY DAY

We used the idea of D.O.T.S. for our stake activity day this year. D.O.T.S. stands for "Depend on the Savior." We have a large number, and had 145 girls attend.

We had rubber bracelets made for the girls that said D.O.T.S. in all different colors. That is also how we divided them up into groups. (We did fore warn them that that would be how we would divide into our groups.) We also had them write their names on a lunch sack with their ward to put all of their goodies in.

For our opening, we sang "I Know that My Savior Loves Me." Then, we had a sister in our stake talk about how we are all special. She used the story, "You are Special" by Max Lucado. We divided them by colors and gave them a handout of dots with the quote that she used. "You are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."

We rotated to 6 different stations. All but 1 station had 2 parts to it.

Station 1 - Crafts
Friendship bracelets with embroidery floss
Flower hair clips with twisted fabric


Station 2 - Faith, not Doubt
Story about Peter doubting when walking on the water
Walk by faith obstacle course


Station 3 - Jesus is the Bread of Life
Taught the girls how to make rolls (this also made the church smell yummy!)
Watched video of Jesus' life - held out arms for 5 minutes while watching


Station 4 - Journals
Made journals with scrapbook paper over them which included ideas of what to write every week
Talked about importance of journals - played journal trivia

Station 5 - Pedicures
Story of Jesus washing the Apostles feet
Quick mini pedicures and nail polish

Station 6 - Scripture stories
Characters in the scriptures (in costumes) told about how Jesus touched their life

As a side note, each station was about 40 minutes. We end the last group a few minutes early to have a closing prayer. We have the girls line up their sack lunches on the sides of the gym underneath a sheet that has their ward info on it. Next year, we will use the stage as a "Lost and Found" area and have a designated First Aid Station.

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY - FAITH'S 2ND HALLOWEEN

Faith was just over a year old, but this is her 2nd Halloween. She was a hershey kiss. If I remember correctly, Aunt Laura made this costume for her as well.


Costume parade. She looks like she is having a great time!!!

TRAVELING ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY - 2 MONTH UPDATE

When I asked my mom what the road to recovery means, she answered, "Taking it one day at a time." She is nothing short of amazing and also does her very best! Her new motto is "I can do hard things." It's from a favorite blog that my Mom and I both check out all of the time.

Many of you have wondered about her injury, so I am happy to bring pictures of her x rays!

This first one is the x ray that they did at the hospital. It's not the best x ray because she was in so much pain and they couldn't get the best angle, but you can definitely tell that something is broken.

Here is after surgery. Look at how much exciting hardware she has!!!

Here is the scar:

Month 2 has been filled with her new job, physical therapy.

She started physical therapy Monday, June 27th at Superior Physical Therapy. They have a great advantage to being attached to Gold's Gym, so many exercises are done at the gym. Cindy goes 3 times a week for 2 hours (or more) each time. When she doesn't have therapy, she has exercises that she has to do 3 times a week. She has done a lot of therapy on a stationary bike. Here is a bit of her progress:

Day 1 - 6 rotations backwards
Day 2 - 75 rotations backwards
Day 3 - 200 rotations forwards
Day 4 - 300 rotations forward
Day 5 - 500 rotations forward

They have used a ratchet to bend leg backwards, which cranks very slowly. This is most painful. When she started physical therapy, her regular bend was 80 degrees; a normal bend is 120 degrees.

They are also working hard to break down the scar tissue. They scrape the muscles to do this.

Cindy went back to work as a receptionist the week after Father's Day, answering phones, and occasionally (and probably awkwardly) being the nurse. She works 3 times a week for 4 hours.

Our latest funny moment while visiting was having my mom show me her thumbs.


Her right thumb was broken (so left in picture) in the accident and she does not have quite the bend as she does in the other hand. If you play the piano, you need to be able to play octaves, so that will be another challenge that will come up ...

I have decided that it's all about trust in the Lord. These trials make us stronger and change and mold our character and who we will become. Cindy and Kelly have been blessed to know how many people care for them and love them. For me, these past 2 months have been a time to give service and to get to know my mom a little better. And for that, I am grateful.


All in all she is doing well. Most days are good days. And she is getting stronger!!!

How she sits most days

Thank you for your love and support!!!