It is with a sad, but thankful heart, that I inform you, that after a year and a half, I have decided to discontinue my produce co op for good.  It has taken some time and much contemplation to come to this conclusion.  I have loved being able to participate in such a wonderful experience.  I have met some very wonderful people over the year and some have stuck with me from the beginning.

I will miss having all the produce in my fridge at all times, as well as some things that I wouldn't normally buy just because.  I won't miss trying to find people all the time to fill spots, or having to cover the cost of extra baskets because someone just decided at the last minute that they were done with co op.  I feel like I now have my days back, even though it was just one day a week, it took a couple days to plan and order and then sort and wait all day for everyone to come pick up, since everyone has different schedules.

I did learn quite a bit about produce.  How to store produce to last for a couple weeks, what produce costs, which is more than most people realize!  I even learned a little about finances and how to work with less money to save produce spoilage and help people live on a lesser amount of money.  I loved every minute of it and maybe one day in the future, I will start up again, but for now, I feel that this is the best option for my family at this point.  My grocery budget will go up a little, or I will just have to revamp what I buy in order to accomodate for the extra cost of produce, since I will no longer get free produce.

If you want to start your own co op where you live, it is really quite easy.  It does take some time and thought, but anyone can do it.  Here is a previous post about my co op if you are interested in learning more.

Food for Thought

It has been a while since I last wrote anything. I guess I have just been busy and have not had anything inspiring to write about lately.

I have been busy with young women camp things, getting people to help with certification and cutting out messenger bags to make for young women camp. I have been very busy!

Today though, I have some food for thought.  In my religion we belive in an after life and that we will be able to see our loved ones again after we pass through this life.  Losing loved ones in this life is very hard and we miss them dearly, but I think having this knowledge helps us through the hard times.  I have recently heard of many people passing on lately, friends and loved ones of people I know.  Some have this same knowledge that I do, others have lost that knowledge.

Last year we had a couple really tough months.  We lost our dear bishop who we were fairly close to.  He was a wonderful man, and I worked closely with his dear wife in the young womens for a couple years and love her dearly.  We had the opportunity to visit him just a couple days before his passing.  We could tell he was in pain, suffering from cancer.  But through it all, he never gave up.  He was always positive and still cared so much for his ward.

My dear grandmother passed just a few after our bishop did.  She was such an inspiration to everyone around her and especially to her family.  She loved hugging everyone and cared so much for all of our children and loved when we would come to visit.  She had such a strong testimony of the gospel and especially our Savior.  I do miss her dearly, but I know that I will be able to see again, as well as my grandfather who has also passed on.  This is a wonderful knowledge that we have been given through the scriptures and through prophets.

So my food for thought today is this:  There are many people throughout the world who may or may not be church going, religious people, that belive that there is a heaven and a hell.  Most believe that if we are good we go to heaven, if we aren't, we go to hell.  This is true is someways.  I believe a little differently than this, but if pepole belive there is heaven and hell, then why would there be an end to life?  Yes our spirits leave this earth and our bodies behind, but don't they have to go somewhere? I'm pretty sure we don't just vanish and cease to exist.

I read an obituary the other day that said "he has returned to heaven" yet from things I've heard, this family doesn't believe they will see this person again, that this was the end.  How, if he has gone to heaven, can this be the end?  Heaven is a place, where I would think our spirits would dwell, so we still live on, right?  Maybe some people think that once our body has died, we just vanish.  This is a hard and sad thing for me to think that people just vanish, when we have so much more potential than that.  We have all been promised that we can live on and also become kings and queens, gods and goddesses.  Who would not want to try to attain to that?

I thought of this the other day.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to become a goddess, to reign over a world of my own and watch my many children live and fail and strive to do good and love others and have heartache.  I decided, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that.  What a responsibility!  I was overwhelmed at that thought!  I have always wanted to be great and achieve wonderful, fulfilling things that would inspire and uplift others, but being a God/Goddess, goes far beyond that!

I am so thankful for the knowledge that I have that we WILL live again after this life!  I WILL be able to see my grandparents again and all those in my ancestory who have gone before me.  I will be able to meet all those people who have inspired me in this life that I won't get a chance to meet here.  I WILL also be able to kneel at the feet of my Savior and to personally give him my thanks for suffering for my sins in this life so I can strive to be more like him and live with him again.  I know this to be true and hope you do too.  If not, I encourage to seek out the Lord and find out for yourself if these things are true!  Thanks for reading and allowing me to give my opinion.  May the Lord watch over you and yours each day, is my prayer!