{The Process}

Lately I have been taught the truthfulness of the principle that the Lord teaches us things "line upon line, precept upon precept" (2 Nephi 28:30).  As impatient beings, especially with the ease with which we are able to get modern information, we want things instantaneously.  We want a big answer quickly all at one time.  

Most of the time, this is not how the Lord works.  We get pieces of light, illuminating not our entire path - but just the next step.  One step after another we prove to him that we trust Him - and He keeps lighting our way - contingent upon the faith we put into Him.    

Elder Bednar teaches, "Most typically we receive a series of seemingly small and incremental spiritual impressions and nudges, which in totality constitute the desired confirmation about the correctness of the path which we are pursuing."

One of college football's greatest coaches, Nick Saban, talks about something called "the process."  He says, "Eliminate the clutter and all of the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you go about and take care of your business.  Take the other team out of the game and make it all about you and what you do."

The process.  The Lord has a process.  We need to trust Him, ignoring all the things that can distract us from our ultimate goals, those things which can stop us from reaching our full potential.  If these distractions are allowed in our life we can so easily miss the small "nudges" of the spirit that we so desperately need when we are surrounded by so many conflicting options on all sides.  

This pattern is also the way we learn and grow spiritually.  Every doctrine of the gospel is so deep, so multi-faceted that it is impossible to learn in one Sunday school lesson, no matter how well presented the information may be.  The body needs constant nourishment - the spirit needs constant nourishment - everyday.  

I am glad to be a part of a church where "the process" is clear and I can be taught the mysteries of God "line upon line, precept upon precept." 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/12/31/4912555/coach-nick-saban-has-success-model.html#storylink=cpy

{Big Island 2014}

So Mike and I have been planning a trip to Japan for over a year.  The idea started last year, and we have anxiously looked forward to our special trip, even listening to Japanese language lessons and trying to learn some basic phrases.  

However, some unexpected events prevented us from going on our dream trip at this time, so we made lemonade out of lemons and planned a trip to the Big Island instead!  

Mike has been dying to go back to Big Island (he went before we met with some friends) and so his dreams finally came true.  

When we arrived on the island we met a cute couple who was honeymooning from Boise, Idaho and had underestimated the price of a rental car, so we gave them a ride to their hotel.  They were really cute and it was fun to meet someone who is from close to home!  

We continued on a drive up around Kohala, the small town where King Kamehameha was raised.  It was a quaint old-school kind of town. 

Our favorite Big Island treat (pies) comes from this part of the island!

This is Holy's Bakery, where the must mouth-watering, savory pies are created.  The crust is so flakey and delicious and you can taste the butter... it's quite the treat.  When you bake them the butter literally drips down from the pies and creates a gooey mess in the bottom of your oven - proof of the deliciousness!  We picked up a few for the trip home.

We stayed at Kilauea Military Camp, which is located on the Kilauea Volcano. It was the best (and consequently, the cheapest) place to stay on island!  There was SO much to explore there.  

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We were both excited to see our cute little cottage that would be ours for the week! 

The first evening we walked around and explored the volcano, and made a game plan for the rest of the trip. 

These steam vents are constant.  It's a little eerie!

Mike put his hand over to see how how this vent was (spoiler alert, it was hot).  

Our second day was dedicated to volcano exploration.  

We started off early with the Thurston Lava Tube.  It was strange to walk through a tunnel that was once filled with lava flow. 

We took a hike along Devastation Trail - this is an example of some of the effects of the 1959 eruption of Kilauea.  

It was amazing to see the recovery of plant life on the volcano - plants grew right out of the rocks!

Another hike along Crater Rim Trail led us to this vent which was pretty active and fun to see.

After all the hiking we decided to take a drive down Crater Chain Road... The road ends with the beautiful view of the coast, where the lave meets the sea.  This amazing landmark is called the Ho'lei Arch. 

We ended the evening by going to this overlook where we could see the glow from the lava.  It was a fantastic day of volcanic exploration!

The next day was more of a beach type of day.  We started off with a visit to a beautiful black sands beach and saw lots of sea turtles, which are my favorite! 

This was another beautiful part of the beach park.

The next beach we went to was Green Sands Beach - it was strange but so fun to see!  We had to take quite a rough off roading trip to see this beach - so we definitely earned it!

This was another fun spot  - the most southern tip in the United States!  We saw TONS of whales and they were all playing in the water putting on quite the show.  Loved every minute!

The next place we visited was a memorial to Hawaiian royalty who once inhabited the area.  It was beautiful and fun to imagine how things used to be in the old Hawaii. 

The next day we went for a drive and saw some amazing waterfalls!

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls - this is taller than Niagra!

A scenic drive to Waipio Lookout - totally surreal. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was doing a session in the Kona Temple.  It was beautiful and peaceful evening!

One of my favorite Hawaiian treats is macadamia nuts, so it was fun to tour this factory and get some tasty treats as well. 

On the last day of the trip we got a special tour of Mike's co-worker's farm in Kona.  He grew just about everything there - avocados, pineapples, lemons, potatoes, coffee... mostly coffee.  But it was so fun to walk around the farm and he sent us home with some delicious produce!  

It was a beautiful trip and just what we needed to recharge our batteries.  I can't wait until our next adventure!