Buried in Baptism is more than a one time process

Here we are at the end of another week.  I hope it has been an adventure filled productive week.  My week was good.  As I sit here now and reflect, I am so very grateful for the hand of the Lord in my life.  He sees things that I do not see.  He revels things that are not always evident to me in the moments, but blessings none the less. I hope that you are also able to see his hand in your lives.

We met as a congregation for the first time since March today.  We met in two separate groups and not all were able to participate, but we did me.  The spirit of being together was strong.  We learned many things and adapted to others.  I look forward to see further developments.  One thing that stands out from all my meetings was "there is no going back to 'NORMAL'."  Life is planned to be a progressive learning experiences.  When we were in first grade, most of us learned to add numbers.  This became the norm in second grade.  However, in third grade, we learned to multiply.  At first it was a challenging concept to understand, but multiplication opened a new door to greater things.  The way we come out of this pandemic will open just as many doors going forward.

Is this what I pondered this week?  Not entirely.  The verses of scriptures on my mind come from Romans 6:3-8:

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?"

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:"

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."

"For he that is dead is freed from sin."

"Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:"

As I read and pondered this words this week, I could not help but think of what we were studying in Come Follow Me this week as well.  Often times we think of baptism as a one and done process, but the Anti-Lehi-Nephis teach us that covenanting with the Lord and burying our old habit is an ongoing process.  Once we bury them, we are able to rise up, unburdened, to a newness of life.  

Our prophet today has asked us to do the same thing through the new youth initiative of setting goals, listening to and receiving personal revelation.  As we discover, plan, act, and reflect upon those things we can do to better ourselves and our lives, we bury old habits and rise to new ones.

Our week -

This was the Queen's last week of her current work bid.  She did her best to stay productive at home as well as at work.  We are grateful for the support from family to be able to borrow vehicles, move rock, and dispose of debris.  She was super productive in my eyes.

The Professor is doing her best to wrap up course work for this summer class.  She submitted a 34 page document and is counting the days she can start preparing for the new school year.

Congrats to Tall Man and Ehl-Bo.  The were able to celebrate a wonderful wedding anniversary on the same day Cherry Berry closed.  We were fortunate enough to help take care of Lego while they celebrated.

Puddin worked his first overnight shift this week due to holiday weekend.  It has given him a whole new perspective of what Lady Hawkins has been doing for quite some time now.

SnackPack mended the old, renewed the broken, and helped others with new commitments.  It has been a productive week for all.

We are sad that the Cherry Berry closed their doors, but it was wonderful to see all the loving support that came from the community and also be able to celebrate Granny Nan.