She Got Married In The Temple???!

This is a sort of question/statement that sometimes slips out from people's surprised tongues on occasion.

This was a statement made from others about me once upon a time after my blissful wedding. And this, was may be, probably, a question/statement that's been said about many of you reading this. Regardless of your gender.

When I heard that this was said about me, was I angry? No, actually I wasn't at all. I saw it for what it was. A misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that hopefully someday would be explained to those whom are unfamiliar with Christ's atonement and temple ordinances. Truly, it was easy to shrug off the rumoured comments, because I had a strong grasp of what Christ's atonement meant for me in my life.

Getting sealed in the temple is a huge commitment. It is an eternally binding ordinance between your spouse and the Lord. A commitment of a forever. This commitment is comprised of many covenants - promises to deity. This is what we believe and strive for as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Because of the deep sacredness and proper authority channels of specific priesthood holders and temple sealers, there is a faith-filled journey of worthiness required in order prepare to make and keep these very serious covenants within the ordinance.

Regardless of who your are or what your past entails, entering the temple requires repentance. It requires you to be a better person. It requires you to build your faith. To use Christ's atonement in making amends and seeking forgiveness for those sins that have so easily besought you in the past. It requires that you strive to know your Saviour more deeply.

Here is a link that will take you further for more insight into our temples if you are curious:

Temples (click)


Also, here's a pretty awesome short video about temples too. It's even in drawing/cartoon form!

CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLE VIDEO

And here is one about temple clothing and garments, that I know lots of people are curious about:



In case the video doesn't work here's the link to click for it.

Feel free to snoop around lds.org for more information on this or any other "mormon" topics you  have desires to know about.



Heaven's slice is making and keeping temple covenants.

Where The Roses Are

I believe everyone has a talent. And these talents show themselves in a very beautiful and positive bloom.

Like a rose.

Sometimes however when we see another's rose we feel the need to put it down.

"That's not real"
"That's totally fake"
"Gag me"

We look at those online photos of their "perfect" family and status updates of how much they are "loving" life.

We get cynical. We get critical. And we start to complain that they aren't being real. That their rose is fake. Instead of being happy for the rose they are displaying and enjoying it's beauty, we desperately search for it's faults. The blooper photo. The vengeful ranting post. The scraps that were edited out.

Why do we do this to people? Especially to other women? Why do we condemn their rose for not being true and real instead of acknowledging the beauty that they have created?

Here is my answer.

We aren't paying enough attention to our own roses. We're not tending to them. We're not sharing them with the world. And we most certainly aren't around them near enough.

For some it's photography. For others it's paintings. Hairstyling. Nails. Humour. Sports. Cooking. Physique. Cleaning. Music... and for me, it's writing.

I really don't consider myself talented. But. I know that writing is my talent. Because that is where my positive outlooks burst through. My excited giddiness manifests. And my effortless energy surges. Also, my perfectionist/detailed side appears. A side which doesn't seem to appear anywhere else. I find great pleasure in trimming paragraphs and spell checking. I like getting to the meat and potatoes quickly and navigating emotion pulls through sentence structures. Grammar, thankfully, isn't actually so much part of the blogging world. It thrives more on how a conversation would stop or start itself. See my point? I could go on forever writing about how much I love writing. Because that is how excited I get about it! It's my rose.

And I've paid a whole lot more attention to my roses than I ever have since having children. I believe that's because when you lose yourself serving others you find yourself.

I've found as I've been developing and sharing my roses more to others, I feel so much joy upon seeing another's rose.

They are not competition. And they most certainly aren't fake.

They are beautiful.

And I am so grateful that they shared them with me. Even if it was only on social media, I am still grateful that there are people out there sharing their roses. The labour of love with detailed perfection of vision. Editting out flaws, and allowing us to see their talent bloom through.



Heaven's slice is being where your roses are and sharing them with not only yourself, but your family and the world.

Halloween Fun

Oh my how I love Halloween!

I'd love to say this pose was planned, but this is my daughter's new 'I forgot how to smile because you've taken too many photos of me' face. It worked out  pretty awesome for our theme though hey?!(Thanks for taking the photo MOM!!)

I had us pegged down to be Goldilocks and the 3 Bears since the beginning of the year (may be earlier). It was my little girl's favourite story to read for a long time and seemed pretty suiting given our family size.

And because my parents are awesome and don't get trick or treaters really anymore out where they live, they came in and handed out candy at our house while we went out with the kids! I must say my mom is pretty much the funnest halloween candy hand 'er outer there is. Someday I hope to be as fun as her!

And then after Goldilocks and Baby Bear went to bed, Momma Bear and Papa Bear watched a classic Halloween movie while looting the little's candy bags.




Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Yes. I know, it's chalk full of early 90's cheesiness and shall we say "ok" acting. But it used to be my favourite and I can still laugh and smile at a lot of the parts of the movie. I can't handle scary movies, so this movie gives me the "sense" of a scary movie without it being scary at all.







Anyways. Halloween was awesome this year!




Heaven's slice is this family of mine and mini chocolate bars.

My Week of Reading My Patriarchal Blessing

As a weeker I decided to read my patriarchal blessing every day. To find out what a Patriarchal Blessing is you can CLICK HERE.

Every day for 7 days I read it. And by the end of the 7th day it was pretty well memorized. I do have a gift of easy memorization, but none the less it was so wonderful to have that amazing blessing stored in my mind. I actually continued doing this for sometime after the weeker was done, because it was so profound to me. I seem to take these spectacular gifts in my life forgranted, and through reading my patriarchal blessing I was able to see more clearly how incredible it is to have this loving guide from my Heavenly Father to help me remember the purpose of my mortal journey.

This was probably my most profound and favourite weeker, and I challenge anyone that has theirs to do it as their weeker.


Heaven's slice is patriarchal blessings.

The 4 Year Difference

Photo credit: Meghan Holt Photography

Can you spot the changes in these photos?

Heaven's slice is looking forward to what the next 4 years will bring!

He Sees Your Try

Quite a few months ago I heard something that really touched and encouraged me to finally change my view.

I was in relief society, and as a discussion was commencing on a certain gospel topic there was a comment made from another sister (sister is what we call each woman in the church, as we believe all people are children of god, so we are all essentially brothers and sisters) She had stated that she tries to read her scriptures first thing in the morning before reading or perhaps even doing anything else. She went on to talk about how God has stated that he is a "Jealous God" and that '"Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and how by reading her scriptures first that it is like a sign she is giving to Him. This may not be exactly what she said, but that is what I took from it.

I'm sure I've heard this many times before, but this is the first time I actually listened. I always had this prideful kind of way about my morning hatred. I've purposefully not read my scriptures in the morning because I've felt like I'm not really alert enough to understand all what I'm reading. I'd get more out of it by doing it at night, or so I thought until now...

I took this into my life almost the day after I heard that comment. I began putting scripture reading as one of my first to-do's in the morning. Before any screen-related scrolls, I made sure that I had read my scriptures first. If I hadn't read them yet, I'd only watch gospel-related videos until I did. There was much effort and attention at first to place this habit into my life, but I now find I crave that symbolic gesture in the morning.

That sign I give to my Heavenly Father that I want to put him first in my life. 

I've found that since doing this, I've become more inspired this year than ever before. I feel a more frequent closeness to Heavenly Father and even more personal revelation given to me. I see lights at the end of tunnels, and dreams becoming more strongly known. I am also feeling more desirous to change faulted behaviours of mine. I feel that he has seen my try and he is blessing me for it.

Heaven's slice is putting God first.

Family Photos

I'll never get that photo of the 3am snuggle.

I'll never get the photo of the first time she told me I was her bestest friend in the whole wide world.

I'll never get the photo of the playful teasing banter of my husband and I have as we prep supper.

I'll never get the photo of those ordinary extraordinary moments in life that burst your heart. That create memories deep into your soul. Those moments where you are fully present and aware of the precious gift you have before you. For those moments are too special to photograph. They are sacred, and only for me.

...

But the photos I can get are worth every single penny! Amongst wind, short attention spans, and a friendly clingy kitten was a photographer talented enough to take on the challenge. It was so fun to get our precious family all dressed up and have an evening out playing at a kind neighbour's farmyard (I consider a neighbour anyone within a 10 mile radius, is that weird?. She created gorgeous poses and beatified our images in such a dreamy romantic way. I sure do love her style!

Huge thanks to Meghan Holt Photography!

Feast your eyes upon a few of our family photo treasures!

Heaven's slice is this precious family of mine.