A new Semester has begun! :) Singing

on
I don't know why this song came to mind as I begin this new semester:  
A new day has begun! I celebrated last week as we left for our backpacking trip to the Tetons. It was epic and I was so happy to be done with my classes for Spring Semester! As I returned on Monday evening, it was hard to think that I had to jump right back into classes again. I admit that I was hesitant and slow to jump into this short summer semester. 

The flowers were SO beautiful! When I got overwhelmed the first two days, I would just look beside me, and there I found over and over again, pure white columbines - acres of them! I have never seen so many! I kept meaning to get a photo of them, but they must be preserved in my memory because I didn't capture them! By day three when we finally had a camera out, they were not as abundant! I saw a couple here and there, but honestly those first days, they were invitations to the Celestial kingdom! I was there in a beautiful place with my family! Celestial in every way! It gave me the strength to keep going! We can do hard things! 
I feel like this is our into the lone and dreary world photo. It is beautiful but vast! It is treacherous! It is a struggle, but He will help us! I can do this with Brad Harr pulling me along! I love you Brad Harr!
This young man, now dad is unemployed, homeless and facing a giant journey right now! We moved him out of his home, and to Laramie Wyoming to attend law school. His classes begin on August 19th in just a few short days. I know he can do hard things! You got this Chandler Weijland!
Together these two can do it! Chandler is so blessed to have Haley Nelson by his side!
Cute Sara is so funny! She has so much character and smile! 

This little Stephen is 8 years old! He carried that pack every step of the way! I love this photo of him at the top, following his Dad off the edge into the valley below! If we can but follow giants to great places, they will show the way, and help encourage us with every step!


When we got back, I got to jump right into new classes! 
These instructions are from my new Business 211 class syllabus. I love these mantras:

  • Exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as a principle of power. Understand that the Holy Ghost is the true teacher and invite the Holy Ghost to teach us.
  • Act, rather than be acted upon.
  • Accept responsibility for learning and teaching.
  • Integrate scholarly knowledge and sacred truth.
  • Love, serve, and teach one another.

As we embark on this new semester, we have a business opportunity knocking on our door. I want to include a few notes here for my future reference:  



"The great overriding objective of this college must be to lead the minds of youth in the discovery of those great unchanging principles which come from a loving Father given to His children for their blessing and happiness now and forever." -President Gordon B. Hinckley



  • Experience is an occurrence in which you participate or observe that takes place within the knowledge of an individual, community, or mankind. This can occur during a particular period or over time.
  • Reflection involves "looking back" at an experience and analyzing or understanding why and how that experience happened; for example, a business meeting you directed may have moved "off track" and failed to achieve the primary objective in the allotted time.
  • Identifying Key Learning(s) is a function of effective reflecting. Key learning lessons are lessons, conclusions, or principles that (1) you do not want to forget and (2) the application of which would improve your performance in a future similar situation.
  • Action Planning is proactive and involves these fundamental steps: (1) Identifying specific actions to apply the key learning process, (2) formulating some evaluation criteria, and (3) determining appropriate measurement procedures. The following questions help to work through these steps. Specific actions: what will I do to incorporate the key learning process into my future performance? Evaluation criteria: what will success look like? Measurement: how will I know if I succeed?
  • Applying is the execution phase (putting your action plan into practice).


"When the train starts to move, I notice that someone's holding on to my leg. Whenever the car sways, my neighbors don't hesitate to grab me. And I hold on to everyone around me. Oh, my goodness! This is the most crazy train trip I ever had." This is from a video for my Family relations class. He was in a 3rd world country, overpopulated, trying to get out of town, and the people were smashed on top of the train, hanging out of it. They were hanging on just trying to get out of there. I wish we all would not hesitate to hang on to each other! We need to be kind and helpful to all!  With this kind of loving concern for the health, happiness and safety for others!......

"Before every tunnel, we put our hands over our neighbors' heads to protect them. And I know that how many of us there are it doesn't matter. But how we treat each other does, and how we treat the planet."

A few other touching pieces I want to include in my notes for this week so I can share them with my family!

Great powerful video by Elder Holland about the mists of darkness we are living in! 

I found this chart scary regarding how quickly the world changed from being against gay marriage to embracing it! https://www.pewforum.org/2015/06/26/same-sex-marriage-state-by-state/


I have to include this song just playing as I type:  


I am so blessed! I have so much to learn and so far to climb, but with God nothing is impossible! I will do my best this new term to learn and apply the new things I am learning!