Many miracles, and moments of deep gratitude. God has been so kind even when not deserving. Doesn't the scriptures say that even "...if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants." So we are never really deserving, but yet because we are His, and He loves us... He deemed us deserving of the sacrifice of His only begotten, perfect son... So undeserving, and yet He desires us to partake of all that He has...
HM REUNION--ZERMATT
Our big annual Reunion for work came and went. Too many miracles to count, but I will share just two very personal ones. With only one Saturday before the event, I literally had a window of 40 mins to go shopping for the banquet night. I had not put off shopping for a gown, just really didn't have any time to spare/put towards shoppping. (And yes it doesn't help that I really dislike shopping or anything like it.) I had put in my heart and mind faith that God would help me get something with no time and no extra money set aside in my budget.
As I finished up work that Saturday, I said a quick prayer sharing my delemha of time and funds with the Lord. I felt impressed to head over to Dillards. Now I had been there a few weeks prior but was in a hurry, and did not see anything.I pulled into Dillards a little frantic knowing I only had time for one store. In I went and after 15 mins found a wrap around top for 40 bucks that I was not thrilled about but at least I could throw on a skirt and call it good. Just as I was walking back to the dressing room, my eye caught a zebra print. ME- Zebra print...yes, that is kind of a joke. And it was another joke that I was shopping back in the section where I used to shop when I was 100 pounds heavier. But here was this (I call it a tent) type blouse. HUGE in size, but to my mind was brought a vision of how I could make it work. I grabbed the shirt and went into the dressing room. Sure enough, this $22 wonder would work just fine! 5 mins found me with a fancy pin to tack under my bust line to hold the whole "tent" together... and wallah! In 20 mins I had my banquet get up, modest and somewhat cheap. God is sure good!
The following Wed had us setting up our event. Look how cool my designer is! Not to mention how great Zermatt was for letting us deck out their bear. Here is the before and after shot of Marin Barny's genus.
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You can't tell but this bear even has sparkly eyelashes! What a sight to be hold! Heritage Makers book loving consultant blinded out bear TRUMPS plain old accordion playing boring statute bear! ;)Wed setup came together pretty smoothly. My team and I were all exhausted by the end of the night but thankfully we always can count on event adrenalin to kick in!
Thursday morning and afternoon had me running around coordinating the different meetings and events. I came out to our registration desk at 4:40pm only to find that I had made a HUGE mistake. I didn't order enough of the registration shirts. (Everyone who comes to the three day event, receives a registration gift of a pen, booklet, charm, bag and a tshirt.)
How many events do I do a year!? And how many years have I been about this? A mistake like that could be easy for a rookie planner, and although I am no Patti yet, I surely am not a newbie either. And Yes it is "just" a tshirt, but a tshirt that teams plan an evening around wearing so they can do team pictures... and it is never fun being "left out" so the pressure was on. How do I fix this awesome challenge. The truth was... I couldn't.
I ran and called my vendor and without trying to freak out asked him if he could some how get me 40 more shirts. Now the logistics of this little nightmare were quite amazing. Steve, my awesome shirt vendor, said that he would call and see if any warehouses had stock. The plan was he would call and I would start counting up exactly how many of each size I was in need of. I frantically counted with my ever willing and beyond patient/forgiving team. I called Steve back at almost 7 mins to 5 to give him my numbers. He said that the warehouses he was calling didn't seem to have any stock in med shirts--which med shirts was the most quantity of shirt I was in need of.
I ended the phone call with Steve knowing that I had just requested the impossible. Here it was practically 5pm. I was asking that one of his vendors overnight the shirts to him to get there by the next morning, so his team could re-screen and print and have them to me no later than Saturday morning. *Reminder this was Thursday night. The impossible. Heavy hearted and sick over my mistake I went into one of the restrooms and locked myself in the handicap stall. I knelt down. I told the Lord that it was all my fault. Truly, it was a complete error on my part. I just simply had not ordered enough shirts. I asked the Lord that if there was a way to get the shirts to Steve--that he might be inspired what warehouses to call and those who had not closed their shipping for the day. ... I still don't know how I made such a mistake, but I did. I prepared my heart for the worst and got up off the restroom floor and headed out to my next meeting which was to do a team picture in our awesome photobooth before heading to our opening session.
I was getting ready to jump into a photobooth at about 5:20pm. I had not heard back from Steve so I figured the shirts were a no go.
As I got into the photobooth to take these pictures with my team, my phone rang.
"Bryndi, it's Steve. I found a warehouse. They are overtightened the shirts tonight. I will receive them in the morning. We will print them and have them ready for pick up by tomorrow afternoon. I have to go, talk to you tomorrow." I wanted to start crying right there. I thanked Steve and told him he was an answer to prayer. And Steve (who knows how this impossible thing just happened) became quite and said basically that this could only have happened because of God. Steve acknowledged the impossible becoming possible. My sweet parents stopped by Steve's warehouse and in less than 24 hours--I had enough tshirts to fill the registration needs!Why did God have to save my hide? Really He didn't have to. There is truly no blame for the situation but my own mistake. No one else... and yet God pulled out all the stops! The tears flowed freely that night as I knelt in gratitude for God's kindness and mercy.
Once the whole event was over, I spent a day fasting in gratitude, crying and taking time in the temple. Truly, the Lord got me through the event. He always does. And I know He always will, but there is always this deep satisfaction/gratitude for when such events are finished. God is such a God of mercy.
GOD, PLEASE FIX MY MISTAKE OR MAKE IT OKAY
I had a dear friend teach me a valuable lesson. She had a project coming up that required travel time for her co-workers. Without praying about it she asked one of the folks on her team to go. But after offering the spot she prayed about what she should have done and she felt that she had made a mistake. That the one she was asking to go was not the one to go. My beautiful friend's next action was what was so stunning to me. She went back to God and said she had made a mistake and that now He was going to have to either fix it and get the right person to go on the task, or make the one she had offered to go, be able to go/work out.
The next day, the person she had offered to have help with the task came back to her and said she felt impressed she was not to accept. THUS, my friend could go back and follow through with what she felt impressed to do with her prayer.
No stewing, or beating her self up over her mistake. She simply acknowledged she had made a mistake (not on purpose but a lesson learned that she should have prayed first before just extending) and exercised her agency to have faith that God would either correct the mistake or make the person selected to work out. What incredible faith! What a beautiful testimony and reminder. Thou shalt not make a mistake was never a thou shalt... So even when we make those mistakes, God, who loves perfectly, does not with hold his love from us. The deliverer is in the house! **This doesn't mean that we will be delivered right away. My friend's faith was that God would either get the right person to do the task, or He would work with the one originally assigned.Great lesson! And what a difference in when I made the shirt mistake and tried to not let my guilt consume me. My friend's simple, but defiant faith was that she had made a mistake, learned her lesson, trusted that God would work with her mistake or make it work out the way He wanted it to.... and He did!
INSTITUTE--FREEDOM!
So at the beginning of the semester I felt impressed I needed to attend a certain class at institute. The topic was applicable and I anticipated all I would learn...however my love for Wed night institute turned into drudgery. Although I loved my teacher, I was not loving their teaching style. :/
When it involves others, I am a commitment girl. I am not just going to drop a class because I was not "feeling it". Plus, I wasn't putting it all on the teacher. Hadn't I preached enough about how if one is not getting something out of the meeting, then one is not going prepared. ... But week after week I started dreading going to institute.
After a month into the new semester, my girlfriend's work schedule opened up and she asked if she could start going to institute with me. I figure she would attend the class I was attending and I almost wanted to suggest to her that she should go to a different class, but I didn't for some reason. ??
Finally my soul seemed to not take it any more. I prayed about skipping the class and joining another. I worried about my girlfriend and having her follow what I felt was like being a horrible example. I also felt bad for the teacher whom I do love and I know they love me--but I just felt like I was wasting my time. Trying to swallow down the guilt, I told my teacher that I needed to go to the other class room. My friend, thankfully stayed in the class. Her not "flowing" me to my new class helped me feel that at least I didn't set an example she would follow.
Within 10 mins of the new class, I was LOVING institute life again. The room was filled with the sweetest spirit. My teacher is a convert from England and has a passion for the gospel. It was night and day difference to my soul. I felt the whole evening I was on cloud nine! I then worried that when I told my friend how amazing my new class was, she would jump ships too, and I didn't want to do this to the other teacher.
Well after me spouting all the amazing things of the new class on our drive home, my friend informed me that she would not be changing classes. She said that she felt she was to be in the class and that she was already being able to start applying all the things she was learning about marriage/preparing for it on she and her boyfriend's relationship. ... ! CLICK! I started to jab at her arm teasingly, that God put me in that class, knowing she would start coming months in. He knew she would come to my class. And once she was hooked to the class (that it is likely she would not have chosen to take)--she stayed and I was FREED and allowed to move on. Oh I tell you want... JOYFUL evening! I could not stop freaking out at how good the new class was for me. And among a few other things I learned, if the drudgery of institute was just so my friend could end up in the right class... I say Hallelujah! God knows us perfectly. Thank goodness toO!
There are so many more little things I could type but this will have to be all for now.
I report that I did my three part challenge. I read the conference ensign cover to cover right after the April 2012 General Conference. Then I started studying all the conference talks (one a day) going backwards with the prophets. I got back through 2000. What an amazing treat that was to read all of Monson's talks and then a bunch of President Hinckley's talks. Not only was the journey of studying just the prophet's talks insightful, it was deeply moving to see God's hand and hear God's words through His chosen vessels. I feel more clearer than ever that there is so much good stuff to be had! To be taken in! How can I waste any of my time when there are so many pearls and fair stones God would have me line my path and the path of others!?!
I then did the part 3 challenge of re-reading all of the April talks right before the Oct General Conference. Seriously, the insight/revelation/pricking and stirrings of my heart have been intense over the last six months. Great challenge! I highly recommend trying it!
General Conference was amazing! I highly recommend checking it out if you didn't have the chance too! Click Here to view God's words through his chosen tools!
I am grateful for repentance and fasting.
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