Getting Noticed

One summer morning a few weeks before sixth grade was to begin, my best friend and neighbor, Jenea got a hot tip that ALL of the cute boys from our class were over at Kurt’s house for some backyard football. Jenea and I brainstormed about how we could get noticed…

Should we casually be in his neighborhood? 
Go “visit” his sister? 
All the ideas we came up with seemed to expose our obvious intentions…

We usually spent our summer mornings riding bikes. I always got up extra early to do my assigned household and garden chores so that by the time Jenea leisurely woke up and ate her pop tarts, (I was so jealous) I would be ready to go play.

On this particular morning, we planned to just simply be out on a bike ride and happen to be riding by Kurt’s house. 

From my view, there were two major problems with this flawed plan: 
Kurt lived on a big hill with no sidewalks and my mom’s rule was that I had to ride on sidewalks unless I had special permission. To get special permission, I had to endure the parental barrage of seeming 100 questions… Therefore, special permission rarely seemed worth the price. Especially in this case – how would I answer the most obvious question of “Why do you want to ride up or down that huge hill? “
I certainly could not tell my mom “So that I can get the attention of cute boys… “

The second problem with Jenea’s plan and the most prohibitive of reasons… 
I only had a little kid bike, not a cool 10-speed bike. How embarrassing! There was NO WAY I was going to be seen on purpose by the cutest boys in school on my little kid bike!!

Jenea was the natural leader in our friendship. I can’t remember how she resolved problem #1…
Or if…
But problem #2 Had a simple resolution in her mind…

She said I could borrow her younger sister’s 10-speed bike.

So off we went cruising down the streets of Sidney, Iowa without a care in the world. We stayed on the flat streets for a while as I got used to Jenea’s sister’s awesome 10-speed bike! Before long, we were both riding with no hands as we sat back in the seat and let the wind blow our summer sun-bleached hair. We felt totally cool…

“Let’s go! “Jenea said and we headed up the hill to Kurt’s house. We chugged up the hill and to our surprise, the boys were all hanging out in the front yard! We tried to act cool by not breathing too hard as we pedaled up the steep hill. We exchanged a few breathless “hi’s” and turned the corner just passed Kurt’s house. This street was a dead-end cul-de-sac. We stopped to catch our breath. There was only one way back home… Back down the hill we just climbed and back by Kurt’s house.

Jenea suggested to really make an impression we ride without hands right as we passed by his house. She took the lead. I was right behind her.

Moments later we were back by Kurt’s house. Jenea sat back on her bike seat and I followed her lead. We were so cool!… And we knew it…

However…

In a split second, I ran over a rock that knocked me off balance. I tried to put my hands down quickly and navigate the hand brakes but I couldn’t. Instead, an epic CRASH ensued…

Right past Kurt’s house… Where all of the cute boys STOPPED playing football to see my personal catastrophe…

In that moment of personal despair and complete humility I picked up Jenea’s sister’s bike, wiped some tiny rocks off of my face, and pedaled as fast as I could to catch up to Jenea …

Two weeks later when school began, I still had scabs and scrapes all over of my scrawny knees and elbows…

So why does this experience remind me of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Because this experience parallels my earthly journey.

I need to navigate God’s rules.
I seem too often to want to look cool, be cool, and successful.
I make plans, set goals, and surround myself with good people.
But despite my efforts… I will always FALL short… Always…

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is not the back-up plan for if my “Plan A” doesn’t work. … It is THE plan! Heavenly Father knows I’m not perfect. He sent a Savior to help me (each of us) -to pay for my mistakes. shortcomings, and lonely heartaches. 

And- Heavenly Father blessed me with the Holy Ghost to:
-Guide me
-Direct me
-Comfort me
-And Influence me.

As I strive to listen better, I hear the Holy Ghost whisper… He whispers to me the very things I need to hear. 

Often, I hear him whisper to me:
“Get up… “
“Wipe the tiny pebbles off of your face… “
“You’ve got this… “
“Keep going…”
“Keep trying…”
“Your Savior is here for you.”
“There’s hope and happiness ahead…”
“Heaven is cheering you on!”

-JC

Mississippi Mud Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup oil
3 XL eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup cocoa (I use Hershey’s special dark)
2 cups + 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt

Mix together sugar and oil.  Stir in eggs and vanilla; don’t overmix.  Add all dry ingredients at once, stirring until well incorporated.  Add 1-2 additional Tablespoons flour for high elevation. Chill dough for three hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Scoop out 24+ 1 ½ “ balls of dough, and roll each into a ball with hands. Flatten slightly. Place on parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. 


Drizzle marshmallow cream onto center of each cookie, then sprinkle approximately 12 mini marshmallows onto  each cookie. Return to oven for 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately drizzle chocolate glaze onto each cookie.  Let set. Share!

Chocolate Glaze
⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup chocolate chips
½ T butter
Heat all 3 ingredients in microwave for approximately 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Spoon into freezer strength Ziploc bag until ready to use. When ready to use, snip small hole into bottom corner of Ziploc and drizzle as desired.