Joy to the World the Teacher is Dead

That's probably what my students who are currently taking a final right now are singing in their heads.  They are probably also thinking, 'Dang...She types fast.'  Cuz I'm pretty awesome like that.  I think I was actually pretty obsessed with that stupid game Mavos Beacon Typing...and I may or may not have downloaded it as an adult to  play for fun, and became so consumed with the racing game on that program that I had to stop playing because I was constantly trying to type faster.  I'm super mature. I know.

I have been so busy in the last two months or so I didn't really have time to blog.  Over Thanksgiving I ran half marathon #4 and set a personal record of 2 hours and 19 minutes.  Yes I know that is not fast, no I don't care.

I have been meaning to write a post about this for a month or so now, I just haven't gotten around to it, and I think had I written it before it wouldn't have been as meaningful as it is to me now.  Funny how life works out like that.

A few weeks after I got back from my summer vacation (read: got back from working hard for the money) our stake president stopped by our ward. He got up and talked about a girl, Elizabeth Steed, who a few years ago got up at a Youth Conference and bore her testimony.  Elizabeth was 16 at the time and told a story about how all she wanted to do was get asked to the Prom.  She knelt one night to pray and begged Heavenly Father to find her a date to Prom.  Halfway through the prayer she stood up, walked around the room and thought, 'What am I thinking??  Heavenly Father isn't worried about whether I have a date to the Prom or not.  I need to pray about things that really matter!'  So she thought for a minute, and then knelt again to pray.  As she knelt the second time, she heard these words distinctly in the silence, 'Elizabeth, Elizabeth.  What's important to you is important to me.'  She knew that it was the voice of the Spirit relaying to her that her Father in Heaven was worried about what was important to her.

Let me just stop right here and tell you that this is what I looked like after he shared that story.



So over the last few months I have thought a lot about that, but it became ever more important while having a late night convo with one of my BFF's Jenna.  She is shown HERE:

This is Jenna with the glasses, me and Louise one of my other BFFs at Twilight Midnight showing.  DON'T JUDGE US!

Jenna and I were talking about dating and blah blah, I can't tell you the secret workings of Jody and Jenna but we were having a really good conversation and she told me that something she had been doing lately was praying for her future husband.  I know, that sounds cheesy, but it got me to thinking, if I were my future husband, what would I be doing right now...and then I was like, dang boy, clean up your act! haha, Kidding.  But I realized that I had been so focused on ME ME ME, that I wasn't even thinking about HIM!

Now combine that with Elizabeth's story and I just have been a praying fool lately!  I have been praying for others, I have been praying for my students (its finals, they need all the help they can get) I have been praying for my work outs, I have been praying for my siblings, for their kids. I have been praying for my roommates, my co-workers.  I have been praying for dating opportunities and for the gift of discernment. i have been praying about EVERYTHING that is important to me, and it is amazing how connected to the Savior and my Father in Heaven I am.

I know that what's important to me is important to Him. I am so glad that they are just like my earthly parents, who listen to my ridiculous ramblings, who calm my fears and counsel me in my struggles and decisions.  I am trying to treat prayer just like a phone call home, because really that is exactly what it is.

So I might start praying to find a pair of these that fit...