General Conference and Lizzie Bennett, Asthma and Voracious Reading...

Well, General Conference was, for me, amazing. Again. It is always a wonderful feeling to hear the words of living Prophets of God --His servants who speak for Him. I learned much. I felt much. I savored much. Here's a tidbit of what I gathered:

Sister Dalton taught me that if we could change the way our society viewed women --if we could champion virtue and womanhood --many of our immoral and societal ills would cease (and I would get specific and say that rape, misogyny, abortion, abuse, objectification, etc. would no longer hold clout. Of course, that's the hope, and satan would need to be gone, but whatever --she's right!).

Elder Bednar taught me that the law of chastity isn't something to fool around with; that it is God's power to create life and messing with it will bring only pain.

Elder Ballard taught me that Priesthood responsibility, although different for men and women, is imperative and creates equality in that partnership.

Sister Wixom taught me to be kinder to my children, to listen to them more, to turn off the iPad and iPhone and spend real time with my kids.

President Packer taught me that it is easy to be caught unawares by the "snakes in the ivy" and that if I want to be safe, I don't play with the temptation of a "tolerant" society --that legalizing immorality doesn't make it moral.

Elder Holland reminded me that people are imperfect --but needed, our faith might be small --but it is enough, and that we need to stop pretending that doubts and questions are better than what we do believe and have faith in.

Elder Clayton taught me about eternal marriage and how to HAVE a better, eternal marriage.

Seeing Sister Stephens and Sister Stevens give prayers in General Conference reminded me that God loves ALL of His children. Women praying in GC might have been a non-issue situation to me, but to others, it mattered. And even though I still feel it was such a silly thing to freak out about, to some, it was enough to freak out about. God proved that He cares about those women --and He did it by inspiring His leaders to assign the prayers/talks before the protest even reached Church Headquarters. Tender Mercies. That is what it was.

Elder Ellis taught me that it doesn't matter WHERE I raise my kids, only HOW.

Elder Scott taught me how to make my home more peaceful.

President Monson taught me that there are parameters in our lives, and it is foolish to assume we can control things outside of those parameters. He taught me to keep the commandments in order to be happy. To be safe.

There were COUNTLESS others (okay, maybe you could actually count them) who taught me so much. Truly, the weekend is like drinking from a firehose! Good thing we've got six months to ponder and apply it all...

Oh! And hey, we're discussing General Conference at Real Intent. Go have a looksie!

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Thanks to Annette Lyon, I discovered this! What is this, you might ask? Why, only an entire vlogging YouTube series based on a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice! It aired last year and I just found out about it last month.

LOVE! SWOON!

It's truly fantastic! It's called "The Lizzie Bennett Diaries" and it seems so real, people actually thought it was (not sure how, though. Do people go to school anymore?). Anyway, it's fantastic. Start with Episode 1. Pace yourself. Be careful, because you might end up spending four hours one morning trying to watch them all! (there are 100 webisodes (they are 4-8 minutes long) with several Q&A videos and some vids from other characters.)

Again: LOVE!

P.S. This modern adaptation is probably not suitable for children due to content. Just FYI. 

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Books I've read: Covenant Motherhood by Stephanie Dibb Sorenson (I will be doing a blog post about this book specifically soon, but you need to go buy it right now. Seriously.)
Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden
Drops of Gold by Sarah M. Eden
Friends and Foes by Sarah M. Eden
Blind Sided by Cheryl Leigh
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

I need to read The Rent Collector by Camron Wright for Book Club, and I also want to read the other two Sarah M. Eden books (A Kiss From a Stranger and An Unlikely Match). I really need to read Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, as well as Crossed and Reached by Ally Condie and A Band of Sisters: Coming Home by Annette Lyon. Too many good books! Not enough time!

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My husband brought me flowers. He brought me flowers even though I didn't deserve them. He brought me flowers the day after I had been a jerk to him (completely). He brought me flowers even though he had to wait at the pharmacy for my medication (asthma) for more than an hour (because the pharmacy people made a big mistake) and it made him really late for dinner. He brought flowers and remembered what my favorite flowers are (daisies!). He brought me flowers for no other reason except that he wanted to do something nice. Because he loves me.

It's easy for me to forget how blessed I am in my husband. We argue, we disagree, I assume the worst, I see things so black/white. But behind all of it, my husband is simply doing his best, forgiving and loving. And I appreciate it --I need to recognize it more for what it truly is.

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I've had some severe asthma sickness the last few days. It was pretty bad and I was really close to taking myself to the ER at one point. However, I'm much better. The worst may be over! The frustrating part was how it's derailed exercise. And I need to get goin' on the exercise! I've got my leg assignments for Portland to Coast, and I deliberately chose some really hard ones. So, hopefully I can get my lungs healed enough to start to really train.

And how are you, dear reader? Anything new? Anything you loved about General Conference? Read anything good, lately? Write me a novel of a comment --I really don't mind!