Annual Birthday date

 Ginny and Jake had their annual birthday date.  This year they say a comedy show by Nate Bargatze. 

 

Happy Birthday Bug

 Happy Birthday to our traveling girlie.  She spent year 23 of her life traveling the world from Paris France to Ireland to various trips within the states.  She is a nit feisty and strong-willed  but we will keep her exactly like she is.  Ginny strives to be faithful and kind to others.  I look forward to seeing what 24 has in store....Love you Bug!

 

Happiest of Birthdays to my main squeeze

 He is a man beloved by many but loved most by me.  He is the person who makes me better and helps me want to be a disciple.  He is great father and even better husband. He is my Jake!

I did not do anything spectacular for the day of his birthday but did try to make the weekend nice.  Jake and I saw "Hail Mary" with his sister in Atlanta and the day before (Sunday), the senior primary kids hid in his office and sang when he opened the door.  AS he walked to his office, I had hung pictures some of the youth and primary colored the prior weeks that he had no idea about.  I hope he knows just how much he is loved. He makes the world, the ward, and our family better.  

Spending time talking to Brennan Fullmer (nephew) on the couch

 

 On Feb 28th, Jake and I had the opportunity to attend the temple with a previous ward member.  I enjoy going to the temple. Well, actually I do not always look forward to it but I never regret going. I feel it has helped me to be more patient of a person with my kids.  We also watched a few of Sandra's kids while she was out of town and Brent was for soccer games with the others. 

 

Aubree & Miles Adamson

My parents went to Idaho and were there for their anniversary and my dad's birthday. I was happy to get a few pictures from that.  When they got back to Tennessee, I went down that Saturday for a small get together for my dad, Aunt Sandy Wedgeworth, and Uncle James Eaton because they all have March birthdays. It was nice to see them and some of my other cousins.   My mom has a way of celebrating people and helping them feel loved. 

 

ACGME Conference: San Diego & Ginny in Ireland

 

February has come and gone quickly. Ginny is quite the little traveler.  She spent a week in Ireland. She and her friend Stella went together. I am glad she was not alone.  I do worry at times though and hope she is making the best decisions. She enjoys kissing boys and I do not want one getting the wrong idea.  

 

 

 

I attended the ACGME conference in San Diego for work but did explore in the evenings some.  San Diego is a beautiful city.   I would enjoy it more if my family was with me. 

Little morning hot chocolate on the balcony

Night view from my room

Balboa Park Japanese Gardens

Balboa Park

Beach at Hotel Del Coronado

Hotel Del Coronado

As for the boys, they attended the church's formal that Saturday evening.  I received a picture from Jake of he and the boys with the following message: "Boys just left. We are all hunting tonight.  The boys for some girls, and me for some coyotes with Doug.".

My three very HANDSOME men!

Hanging on through Perilous Times talk by Renee'

 Hanging on through Perilous Times

Bartlett 2^nd Ward 2.08.2026 

Defeated. Clinging to believe and hold my head high.  2025 proved to be a year that stretched my faith and sense of belonging. Every few months something happened that was heavy and often lingered for a period of time.  I was not sure where I belonged or fit in the scheme of things.  I questioned if me being me caused undue hardships on the ones I love most or others within our sphere.  Was I allowing wedges to form? Surely, I could find a way to justify the weakening of relationships but regardless of how I was feeling, I had to remember that not only am I, but others, are children of God, and our perceptions often become the reality we know. So, I needed to see the good and alter any misconstrued perceptions. I needed to look for ways to grow towards Christ and more like Christ during these evolutions of faith. Not wanting to infringe or add more to Jake, it took me a little time (which for me is maybe a day or so) before opening up to him and allowing his counsel and love become a balm to my soul.

 Much like 2025 seemed difficult for me it comes at varying times for others. Often, there can be pain and discomfort that comes with modern membership in the Church, however, I am an advocate that we must face these problems head on because beyond the hurt lies the gospel, with an unsurpassed power to heal a wounded world and soul. Internal suffering can come when one feels they do not belong or have different feelings or views on things than most other members.  It can be a source of overwhelming pain as the devil would make us feel inadequate or lonely. 

Maybe you are among the minority that has not questioned your role in the universe; however, it would benefit us all to better understand the sources of hurt for others. Understanding is needed to help build a bridge over the divides, whatever they may be, intergenerational to opinions. Enabling us to be covenant keepers-  to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. The hope that comes from Christ is hope tempered by Gethsemane and Calvary, and too often the answers found in gospel teaching and life most often come as contradictory: sacrifices bringing forth blessings, the penniless being the richer than the wealthy, the living among the dead, and an unwed mother preparing to give birth to God’s chosen son.

Lehi (2 Nephi 2:11) taught that good and evil constitute co-eternal principles and not a question of whether we will suffer.  Undoubtedly, we will suffer. But how will we choose to respond to that suffering? Will we choose to lean into the vulnerability created by suffering, so we can fully understand the necessity, power, and transformative effects of love?  Will we not fear the judgment of others and seek refuge with one another? Will we choose to welcome those who differ and love with open arms or will we silently judge? Will we turn to the Savior, even if we have only a mere hope that He can help? Will we allow our faith to diminish? Or to grow?  Will we seek discipleship?

“Faith is the wind that keeps our discipleship aloft when our confidence falters…Faith is a combination of grace, personal tenacity, and commitment that allows us to continue living as the gospel is true, even when we remain unsure. It does not always allow us to make the right decision, but it allows us to keep trying, even when we falter.”  Discipleship in the face of uncertainty taxes us and requires humility, determination, and faith. Doing just this is intellectually and morally defensible, however, it can become transformative and beautiful. Persevering through episodes of doubt matures our faith. There will be days when we believe despite it all, days when we do not, and days when the best I can give is to hope that belief will one day reawaken.

We must become like Mary, who continually sought Jesus, even after His death. Even when she had watched the object of her faith and devotion breathe His last breath, and even when she buried her Master’s lifeless body, and even in her mind must have declared it to be the end- some spark deep inside her refused to die, a stubborn ember of persistent belief. What followed was perhaps the sweetest reunion in all of scripture- a reunion involving both the return of her Teacher and the rising of her confidence and understanding.  … There really are blessings that can come only when we persist in making our way toward the tree of life, even and especially when the mists of darkness wrap their tendrils most tightly around us. (Johnson, 130) Show up. Mourn. Hold on. But Stay near Him. “Jesus never forgets a promise. Despite giving Him every reason to, Jesus will never give up on the house of Israel. He will never give up on you.” (Hank Smith, 2025)

How many times do we have to read that He is “mighty to save” before we start to believe it? Those of us who know the Lord can see His ministry continuing—just as it did in His mortal life. He still goes village to village, house to house—one by one. Jesus shows up for us. (Hank Smith, 2025)

If you are one that has lost hope or feel like you are traveling a lonely road, I hope that you encounter a reminder or ember that may still faintly glow in your growing darkness. Satan seeks to kill those glows and distract us from finding the Lord. “ He told Adam and Eve, “Be ashamed of your choices. Hide from God.” He told Cain to avoid work, to sidestep sacrifice, and to take—violently—from his own brother. Esau gave up what he wanted most for what his body wanted at the moment. Joseph’s brothers allowed jealousy to drive decisions that haunted them. David fell because he was not where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there. He treated Bathsheba and Uriah not as children of God he was supposed to protect, but as objects to be used. My friends, people are not objects. King Ahab got his friends and his enemies mixed up. That’s a recipe for disaster. The religious leaders in Jesus’s day were so entrenched in defending their religion against the pressures of Hellenization that they forgot the point of being religious in the first place. Laman and Lemuel seemed to have perfected the corrosive art of murmuring. Korihor was educated but so unwise—he bought into the idea that a belief in God was foolish, the effect of a frenzied mind. And for people like King Noah, Amalickiah, Kishkumen, and Gadianton, politics and political power became their god—and their demise.” (Hank Smith 2025)

 We cannot allow tasteless temptations and amusements with a bitter aftertaste, fill us with shame, and steal our future. We must remember who we are and why we are here. Regardless of mistakes made or sins committed, we can still have a beautiful, bright future. Why? Because as we saw in times of old and as the modern prophets have taught, the Lord never gives up on the House of Isreal or us.  He understands us. He understands why we do what we do. His mercies are suited according to the conditions of the children of men. Our choices, superb or mistakes, do not determine our value, we brought our value with us when we came to Earth. Ask the Lord to help us make decisions that match that value. (Hank Smith, 2025) And keep trying, regardless of how may times it takes. Stop praying on your knees and start praying on your feet. Get up. Work towards belief and better days. Bet on the Lord.

Make a wager. Bet your entire life that the gospel is true and begin to believe, expect, and hope. See the goodness of God. Believing carries risks but so does the choice not to believe. The sacrifices we make along the path of discipleship can seem overwhelming, but the sacrifices we make on the pathway to doubt are every bit as real, although in the moment may not seem as monumental.  Believing is not spiritually inferior to knowing, it is okay to merely believe.

In ancient days, sailors relied greatly on ballast- heavy materials, like rocks, placed in the bottom of the boat to stable it on the seas. May we allow God’s words, the scriptures, prophets, and apostles to provide ballast to our spiritual ships as we sail on the tumultuous sea of life. I am learning that when I feel most sharply the gap between who I am and who God needs me to be, I try to remember the best way to shrink the gap, is to do all I can to make our ward family and community more like Zion. It will be well for my soul to wear my life out in serving, building, and blessing.

It will not always be rosy nor bright, but we can press forward and must press on. When we feel hurt or those we love have been wounded be the teachings, words, or actions of another- we must do then what we do when we encounter suffering in any arena of human toil-  we seek grace and healing from Jesus.  Let us remember that the gospel does not shine because it is a fairy tale life but because we push past that and we find deep, substantive, and enduring succor. The real gospel is what remains when fairy tale perceptions dissipate. “The gospel matters so much because in an age of isolation, it binds us into communities; in an untethered time, it binds us by covenant to God and to each other; in an age of ambiguity, it offers meaning; in an age of desperation, it offers hope; in an age of echoing, empty, and careless cosmos, it offers an empathetic, invested, omniscient Heavenly Father and Mother who hearts beat in sympathy with ours.” (Johnson, 226). The rebirth of belief is something worth waiting for and working for.

When I look at our ward family, especially the primary children and youth, I am confident that the Church’s brightest days are still ahead. You are faithful. You love the Lord, and you love His Church. You are teaching the young ones the same. This Church is our home. We are brothers and sisters. And please remember—please remember—no matter what happens, you can always come home. (Hank Smith, 2024) May we strive to begin today to work towards the celestial kingdom together. We will only choose the celestial kingdom in the future if I choose to repent now in the present. Let us help, forgive, and love one another. “The Lord gets His work done through His people, and He gets His people done through His work.” As Elder Holland said, I hope “your love for Him and your discipleship in His cause will be the consuming passion of your mortality.”  Brothers and Sisters, I know that I, and you are going be redeemed because of the righteousness of our Redeemer. We must believe it and cling on to that belief.

References

Johnson, T. P. (2024). When church is hard. Deseret Book.

Hank Smith. (2025, August 6). Speeches. https://speeches.ensign.edu/devotional/hank-smith-11-2025

9 Snow days in West Tennessee

 School was back in session today after being out all of last week and 4 days this week due to snow & ice. We woke up the morning of Saturday 1/24 to snow and it continued to snow throughout the day and into Sunday. We enjoyed two weeks of home church and playing games together.  I was able to work from home the first week and able to be around. We were ready to leave the house more often after about a week though. Christopher got braces on Saturday 1/31 because other people cancelled on the day the clinic was making appointments from being closed for the week. 

Ginny enjoys reading and can read about anywhere

Will recently had to make a discussion post with him and something that is representative of who he is for a school class. This was his post: "This is a picture of me right in front of the Tennessee temple. This shows my value because it is the house of the lord that he has left for us on Earth to be able to draw and help others draw closer to him. It reminds me everyday that I am a beloved son of god. I know that if I'm worthy to be able to enter his temple, I am worthy to return to him in the celestial kingdom."