Sister Spotlight: Regan Clements

I’ve enjoyed getting to know Regan (pronounced like the president) since she has moved into our ward.  Regan is from Dallas, Tx and in 2003 moved to Fruita when her mother remarried. In her youth, Regan enjoyed softball and sports.   She really loved being a part of FFA (future farmers of America) and even became a chapter officer.  She’s stayed involved with contacts she made from FFA.  She also learned valuable leadership skills.  Regan loves horses and was able to spend summers on Glade Park riding and caring for her relatives horses.  Regan loves crocheting and is working on several projects.  She loves how she can make useful things at the same time as relaxing and enjoying herself.  

Regan met Roger at a VICA (skills USA) state competition in Colorado Springs.  They were both waiting to be interviewed to be state officers.  While waiting, they started talking and became friends. They exchanged phone numbers but lost contact for about 5 months.  One day Regan was looking through her contacts and saw she had written down Roger’s birthday and it was approaching.  She thought she’d call him and wish him a happy birthday.  They started talking on the phone again and visiting each other and they fell in love.

Regan is the mother of three kids, Clarence (age 4), Abigail (age 2) and Braden

(3 months).  I have so much admiration for her caring for three little ones so close in age.  She said it’s a juggling act and she’s still trying to figure it out.  She was recently sick and just when she was getting in a groove, everything was thrown off.

Regan works from home as a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant.  She’s been doing this for about a year.  She loves that it’s something she can do from home, she interacts with other adults, and it brings in some extra income. Regan would love to eventually take her business to the next level and become a director.  When the kids are older she’d like to finish her bachelor’s degree, maybe in Mass Communicans. Roger is currently in school studying business management.  He has about a year left before he gets his degree and he hopes to open his own collision and auto repair business.

Regan was familiar with the church when she married Roger, but it wasn’t until Clarance with born that she started to investigate seriously.  They were living in Limon, Co at the time and Regan said the missionaries were often in their home for dinner and visits.  Regan was casual at first with the missionaries and kept her distance from the church.  Her family had expressed concern about her marrying a Mormon and she worried that it could cause a rift in her family if she became a member.  She also really appreciated Roger not pushing the church on her, making it so she could investigate on her own terms.  The missionaries started sharing spiritual messages and eventually invited her to hear the discussions.  She had so many questions and was able to open up and really talk with the missionaries. Things started to piece together for her as she learned more and she was baptized in December of 2009.  After her baptism, Regan and Roger were able to be sealed in the temple.

Regan finds strength in knowing that her family can be together after this life.  She also finds strength in trying to do what’s right and making her home a sacred place.  Knowing that she can still be with Roger and the kids in the afterlife, gives her perspective and peace. She also loves being a visiting teacher.  She likes how she can get to know sisters in the ward that she may not have normally been close to.  

I was able to visit Regan the morning after Braedon was born and she was beautiful, happy and social. I found that amazing and so far off from my post birth experiences. I’m so glad to have Regan and her family in our ward.

(photo taken by Sally DeFord)

I.  Many of you know that I lived in San Francisco for a good number of years.  I went there for Latin Ballroom dance auditions after college and ended up staying.  I had to get a solid 9-5 job to pay for my dresses and coaches and worked downtown.  Joe and I met at the San Francisco airport after 5 years of me living in San Francisco.  We conversed on the plane on our way out of town (40A&40B) and we both lived in the city not more than 15 minutes away from each other.  We were sealed in the Oakland temple and we lived in San Francisco after we were married.  After buying a house here in Grand Junction, Joe had work in South Africa, and then a contract back in the Bay Area. Phoenix was born in the East Bay.  

So the Bay Area is dear to my heart. I love San Francisco.  Why am I telling you this.?   With all the arts, culture and delicious food of the Bay Area, there are also the negatives--in every place there are positives and negatives.  One of those negatives is as Bishop Dean Davies talked about in this past April General Conf (2013).  I’ll read:

“On October 17, 1989, while driving home after work, I was approaching a stop light at the intersection of Market and Beale Streets in San Francisco, California. At that moment I felt the car shake and thought, “I must have a flat tire.” As the car continued to shake, I noticed a bus quite close to me and thought, “That bus just hit me!” Then the car shook more and more, and I thought, “I must have four flat tires!” But it wasn’t flat tires or the bus—it was a powerful earthquake! As I stopped at the red light, there were ripples in the pavement like waves of the sea rolling down Market Street. In front of me a tall office building was swaying from side to side, and bricks began falling from an older building to my left as the earth continued to shake.

The Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area at 5:04 p.m. that day and left as many as 12,000 people homeless.

The earthquake caused severe damage in the San Francisco Bay Area, most notably on unstable soil in San Francisco and Oakland. In San Francisco, the Marina District had been “built on a landfill made of a mixture of sand, dirt, rubble, … and other materials containing a high percentage of groundwater. Some of the fill was rubble dumped into San Francisco Bay after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.”1

Bishop Davies continues,"In about 1915, apartment buildings were erected on the landfill. In the 1989 earthquake, the water-saturated unconsolidated mud, sand, and rubble converted to a liquid-like mass, causing the buildings to collapse. The buildings were not built on a sure foundation.”

I felt a small earthquake while living in San Francisco but nothing like this earthquake.  And a little more about the Marina district.  While I was a young professional living and working in San Francisco, the Marina district’s Safeway was voted as a top spot for singles/ a dating pick up hot spot.  Its ironic to me that this district is likely still foundationally weak because the rents and properties there were very expensive (I don't know that much other than structural reinforcement was done after the 1989 earthquake).  I would guess that properties and rentals are still very expensive in the Marina district eventhough the soil and land is of  questionable integrity.

Bishop Davies continues and talks about Helamen...

“The Nephite prophet Helaman gave unmistakable clarity to the importance of building our lives on a sure foundation, even the foundation of Jesus Christ: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).”

Contrast the Marina district to the Oakland Temple in the East Bay.  Oakland has some rough parts but lets talk about the temple and where temples are built:

Bishop Davies states, “In the development of modern-day temples, careful attention is given to the design, engineering, and use of building materials. Thorough testing of the soils and geology takes place on the site where a temple will be built. Studies of wind, rain, and changes in the weather for the area are considered so that the completed temple can withstand not only storms and climate common to an area, but the temple is designed and positioned to withstand the unexpected earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and other natural calamities that may occur. In many temples, concrete or steel piles are driven deep into the earth to anchor the temple foundation.”

Bishop Davies says, “Brothers and sisters, none of us would knowingly construct our homes, places of work, or sacred houses of worship on sand or rubble or without appropriate plans and materials. Let us accept the Savior’s invitation to come unto Him. Let us build our lives upon a safe and a sure foundation. “

II.  Discussion:

How do we anchor our lives to the sure foundation of our Savior and His Atonement?  

Bishop Davies gives some great insight into prayer, scripture study and the importance of the sacrament as an ordinance in our lives in the above referenced April 2013 Conference address.  He also references the Sermon on the Mount and the wise man who built his house upon a rock.  (Matthew 7:22-27).

III.  Now another layer...

What are the benefits of anchoring our lives to the foundation of Christ and his Atonement?  

Lesson #9 from Teachings of Lorenzo Snow:  Sacred Family Relationships.

Why is family important?  What are our connections to each other?  are they trivial or otherwise?

From President Lorenzo Snow:

1. "The Lord] has shown us that if we are faithful we will associate with each other in an immortal and glorious state; that those connections formed here, that are of the most enduring character, shall exist in eternity.5The associations that are formed here, will be possessed by [us] in the eternal worlds.". President Snow further talks of the following:

• The importance of the family, and our connections to each other (here's my plug for visiting teaching...a carry over from Sally Deford's last week lesson; )).

• He encourages us to honor our marriages-- nurture a oneness of feeling which encourages love and kindness in our home.
  

• He addresses that if you haven’t met your match or don’t have the children in the numbers you now desire that it will be made up to you in the next life.  He cites the example of his sister Eliza Snow:

“My sister Eliza R. Snow, I believe, was just as good a woman as any Latter-day Saint woman that ever lived, and she lived in an unmarried state until she was beyond the condition of raising a family. … I cannot for one moment imagine that she will lose a single thing on that account. It will be made up to her in the other life...”

• President Snow says that children learn best from good examples and when parents seek inspiration.  Rhetorical question here:  Anchoring our lives to a sure foundation can help us in our homes.

2.  “See that the little, trifling misunderstandings in domestic concerns do not poison your happiness.” (page 131)

?  How do we avoid poison/ offense?  How do you reconcile it?  

For me it takes lots of prayer, seeking personal revelation, and pondering the Savior’s life, teachings and atonement and then I need the balm of time.

3.  "The same forms of relationship here will still exist beyond the veil; the ties here formed will grow stronger in the other life which is to come. And the Latter-day Saints feel an assurance, because God has given it unto them.6"

See also, one of my personal faves-- Doc& Cov 130:2:  “And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.”

How can we be examples and prepare to associate with each other in eternity?  What will you do?  What can you share?

IV.  Conclusion:  I think how we treat each other in our own homes, what we build and how our foundations are built is key.  What’s the ending to our individual stories?  I don’t know.  I always hope for a happy ending when I’m reading.  I hope we can always improve upon ourselves and grow in love and service.  I’ll cling to that and to the Doctrine and Covenants 130:2.  I also strongly believe that if we fortify our foundation on Christ and his atonement, then we will have the personal revelation needed in our lives to help those that we love-- our families and each other.    

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Christy Huffaker-Bernat

Homemade Laundry Soup

A Sister in the Ward posted this recipe on our facebook group.  She makes it once a year or so as part of their food supply.

 

Homemade laundry soap recipe:

1 box Purex Softening Crystals (optional. I don't use because I make my own softener)
1 Box of Washing Soda
1 Box of Borax
3 Bars of Fels-naptha Soap
... 2 Tubs of Oxy Clean (generic is fine)
2 Cups Baking Soda

Slice bars of Fels into chunks and add (with a scoop of Oxy Clean) into a food processor or blender to grind till mostly smooth. Add all ingredients into a large tub (outside. powder can waft a bit). Mix well with large spoon. Add to gallon sized Ziplock bags or whatever storage devices you prefer. (I like large glass jars, but my mom just leaves it in a Tupperware tub all mixed.)

TADA. That's it. Easy peasy.

 

You can get everything on this list at Wal-Mart for around $30.

Looking ahead to financial security

Posted by: Sherry Ficklin

When I first joined the church I met a family who took the edict "Don't spend money you don't have" very literally. As a young married couple they'd lived with his family until they'd saved enough cash to purchase a small plot of land and shortly after began construction on their first home. Years passed and (since they did all the work themselves as they had the cash to do so) they slowly chipped away at finishing that home. Children came and more years passed. When their youngest (of five) was born they added a small addition and still had many rooms with unfinished walls, plywood floors, and bare bulb lights. But recently I spoke to the wife, and she was so happy to tell me that on their twentieth wedding anniversary, they finished the last room in their now two story, six bedroom home. All with never having any debt, at all. No mortgage. No loans. No Home Dept credit cards.

That, while wonderful, is completely out of my depth, and probably yours too.

We try to be financially responsible and to live within our means. But most of us have car loans, mortgages, and even student loans that we pay on every month.

This year, I've decided to take some small steps to help move my family closer to true fiscal solvency. That is, zero debt. Will it happen this year?
No.
No way on earth.
But I'm going to make the effort to take steps in the right direction at very least. After lots of research and consideration, I've come up with a plan. And I wanted to share it with any of you looking to do the same thing.

1) The first plan for the new year is to add to my savings.
You may or may not have any savings at all. Every situation is different. And most of us can't afford to drop large chunks of cash each month. So I'm going to try this.

It's called the 52 week savings plan and if followed, will boost your savings by over $1300.00.

2) I'm going to focus on building a junk silver stockpile.
Many people are intimidated by the thought of collecting gold and silver, but there is a very easy way to do it. The best way I've found is 'junk' silver. For example, quarters and nickles minted before 1965 are 0.9 ounces of pure silver. At the current value, that brings the value of 40 1964 or older quarters to well over $300. So before you cash in your change, look through your money and see what you have.
Also, I keep all my scraps of copper pipe, old pennies, and various bits of metals. I recently cleaned up after a friend's bathroom remodel and took the scrap pipe to the junk yard. I turned it in for over fifty dollars! Not too shabby, right?
If it's gold you want to stockpile I highly recommend hitting those yard sales and estate sales in the warmer months. Anything stamped (and be sure it is stamped) can be valuable. Just be sure you are getting it for a good deal. An example of this is last year when an estate sale sold my friend a stack of what they considered 'costume jewelry" for $20. Many of the pieces inside were 14k gold and worth far more than what she paid.

In the event of inflation, where paper money becomes less and less valuable, things like jewelry and coins are easily verifiable money storage.

3) Last but not least, I'm going to devote myself more to couponing and bartering for goods. There are many local barter sites online and places like freecycle.com where you can pick up or trade for things you might need.
As for clipping coupons, there are shows that might lead you to believe you can get three hundred dollars worth of soda for a nickle. I've never had that kind of success(?). But I can say, I save about fifty dollars a week on groceries when I'm taking the time to clip those coupons and use them wisely. It's time consuming, but it's worth it.
For example, I haven't paid a penny for shampoo, toothpaste, soap, or shaving cream in over a year, and I still have a LOT of it on my stockpile.


So what are you doing to help move your family toward financial freedom? I'd love to hear other thoughts and ideas!