The mystery solved

  I received a message last Saturday.  It was a high counselor.  He ask if he could meet with me and Glen.  I called him back.  It was for me.  He said he would like to meet later this evening at our home.  "Oh," I said. "Wouldn't it be more convenient to meet at the church?" "I don't have access," he said, "Do you?"  I didn't.  Then he said, "Don't worry about this. It will be a great opportunity."  In my head were left the words, Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, worry, worry...
  It's like when you tell your kids, "don't get dirty."  All they can think about is dirty, dirty, dirty.  When what you should really say is, "Stay clean."
  But clean is what I did, with the house that is.  It was a mess.  We had just moved.  And there was still boxes everywhere with stuff in them that didn't seem to belong anywhere.  And meanwhile I tried not to worry.
 The evening came and the high counselor arrived.  The house was decently clean at least in the front room.  After a bit of small talk, he said, "Well, I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here?" Of course I was, so I said, "Yes, please solve the mystery for me."
  We would like to call you to be Stake Girls Camp Director.

So, due to this new adventure, I would like to ask y'all a few questions about girls camp.

1. What made girls camp most memorable for you?
2. What was your favorite part?
3. What things did you like that you would want repeated?
4. What things didn't you like?
5. What was your most favorite year?
6. What theme would you choose?
7. What foods did you like to have?
8. What activities did you like?

Any experiences you want to share?

Since I have this call 11 months in advance from when actually camp starts, I feel there is no time like the present to go ahead and begin the brain storming process.  I think once the theme is established, then the other ideas and activities will flow from there.  I am by no means an expert, so feel free to share any and all ideas.  Thanks in advance.

The Great outdoors adds to the wonder of camp

2+2 = CHICKEN!!

To follow Jared's example I decided to come up with a random title.... However could it be that this title is actually a reflection of an actual event causing it to be pseudo-random?

We went as a ward to the Manti Pageant. 

I think that was the first time I had seen the Manti temple in person... at least that I remember. I can't think of any reason that we had been to Manti before this, but I could be wrong.

Here is a picture of me and Ian (my former roommate and current coworker) with some brownies.

The week before last Ian, Matt (company President), and I went to a sales coaching meeting with the man in the picture below. His name is Greg Bishop. He talked about how to improve our sales process. One of the things he mentioned was to have a clear, defined sales process. In Capshare it goes something like this. We reach out to new people via email, and when they respond, we do a demonstration of the software. Next we either set them up with a demo company on our system, give them some time to think about it, or set them up on the system directly. Next we have a follow-up call where we close them on the system and help them pay. The next call is to set them up with our support team and make sure that we are meeting their expectations. We can ask for referrals then based on whether or not they are satisfied.

It really reminds me of missionary work. As a missionary, you are always looking for the follow-up visit and you are always inviting them to do something. You are also always asking for referrals. One thing that I noticed on my mission was that we were more likely to get a referral when the person we were talking to really felt like we were helpful to them. We created something of value for them and they liked it so much that they wanted to share it. It is hard (I am sure that other missionaries can agree) to get a referral from someone who dislikes the missionaries or who isn't interested. You can still get them sometimes, which is why it is important to ask from everyone, but you are more likely to get  a good one from a person who is feeling the Spirit and experiencing conversion.

Anyhow This picture has three columns (you might have to zoom in) and it talks about features, advantages, and benefits. Greg was talking about how all the customers we had were probably using Capshare for a handful of benefits. For example I could talk all about our product and how great it is. It has this feature and this bell and this whistle.

 If you were looking at a car, it might go something like this. -This car is great! It has a sunroof, cruise control, windshield wipers, etc. That is a conversation on a feature level. The salesman in that case is leaving you to make the connection between those features and the advantages and benefits that you will experience. 

A conversation focused more on the advantages might look something like this. -Look how you have cruise control! You won't have to have your foot on pedal on long trips. You also have windshield wipers! They can help you see on rainy days. And the sunroof! Well that is great for fresh air and stargazing! Those are more of the advantages. 

As the conversation migrates from features to advantages to benefits, the conversation begins to focus more on the person getting the car (in this case) and less on the product and the salesman. So when we talk about benefits the conversation might go something like this: The car with cruise control will provide you with peace of mind and comfort. 

You can ask the customer some questions...What are some of the biggest pain points you experience with your current car? Is is comfortable to drive long distances?  How about when it rains? What is it like to drive in the rain? 

Then you can show them, based on their answers, the features that will link to their benefits. You can explain the feature and then help them make the connection. It is much better if you help them with the connecting and linking because then you not only reach the link that you want them to make, you also get a feel for how they are making their decision. Then you can establish yourself as a coach/mentor in the decision process and then they will trust you and come to you before they make their final decision. Greg said that when the decision is a competitive process, it is best to talk the the customer as close as possible to the decision point. Be the last one to get a word in. If it isn't competitive, then it is best to be first to speak with the customer. Now it may or may not be competitive it depends a lot on the customer and their decision-making process. 

Anyhow I thought that was really interesting, so I asked Greg for his number and asked if we could keep in touch...

Here is a picture of me and the boy I help mentor. We went to the park and played frisbee and soccer. 

Here is a picture of me with some sunglasses... They belong to Amy Fillmore. I invited some friends to Star Valley and only Amy ended up able to go, so I went with Amy to Star Valley. We worked hard loading hay, changing pipe, laying out pipe, and riding the motorbike/fourwheeler. The pictures below are the only ones that I took, so sorry for being a bad photographer... Anywho. !!! :)

This weekend I went to Star Valley and helped out for a day before going to Montana with Linda Lee and Ben. Ben, Ben's dad, and I are all going hiking this next week

 Sha-ne-ne! Ooh.

Finally, Me as a cow! I even have a tag in my ear, but it is hard to see with the glare. I got a free meal at Chick-fil-A. I went with a girl, so I guess the moral of the story is... 2+2 = Chicken... with waffle fries and lemonade. :)

My Grandma's plate

Mary's post reminded me of a plate my Grandma, Mary Ann Stratford, had in her kitchen.  Brenda has it now.  Maybe I can get a picture of it sometime to share with y'all.  This was the poem on the plate.

Thank God for dirty dishes,
They have a story to tell,
While others may be hungry,
We're eating very well.

This was all that I remember being on the plate.  Later I learned a second verse.

My grandma was a young mother during the great depression.  My dad told me that his father's income went from $250 per month to $75 per month.  I don't know how $250 in 1929 dollars compares to today, but that is quite a drastic reduction.  My grandma, who was an excellent cook, by the way, must have had to be creative in her grocery shopping.  My dad remembers feeling like they had plenty to eat, cereal and milk for breakfast and big pots of stew or soup for dinners with homemade bread.  As a child he didn't feel the loss.  The verse on the plate probably had special meaning to my grandma knowing they were fortunate to still meet their needs.

The second verse is:

With health and home and happiness
I shouldn't ought to fuss.
By this stack of evidence,
God's been very good to us!

Happy Dishwashing!

A Pile of Weeds

Here's to summer weeding!  When I was a girl I was often assigned by my dad to weed our lawn.  We were to pull out weeds by the roots.  We couldn't let them snap and break and leave the root behind.  I think my dad was trying to keep us busy with something productive, but it seemed endless and very difficult for me to see the fruit of my labors.  So my first experiences with weeding were somewhat disheartening.  I don't remember weeding our garden when I was a girl and I wonder why not.  Then when I married Dad and learned that there was weed and feed type of fertilizers or other types of sprays for lawns I felt so liberated!  Who knew?

 As a busy mother of many young children I often was excluded from yard work because I had a nursing baby or because I was preparing some elaborate home cooked meal.  I feel I shortchanged myself during some of those years.  What's wrong with toasted cheese sandwiches on store bought bread and tomato soup?  Maybe I did need a nap, but why not bring the baby outside to nurse?  Live and learn.  I know Dad was trying to be sensitive to my physical and emotional needs. So here I come at the 11th hour to build weeding memories.  Esther and James are beneficiaries of weeding alongside of mom.

This is a pile pulled out from the strawberries.  There is something quite satisfying about seeing a pile of weeds.  It's like cleaning through a junky drawer or messy garage and having a load for goodwill or the dump.  We learn from scripture that the earth was cursed with weeds for our sake, for our own good.  The opposition of this world gives us growth.

Here is a bowl of strawberries picked from the same area where I pulled all the weeds.  Actual fruit of my labors.

God is in the details

So I often take pictures as of late thinking that I will use them in a post.  I have several pictures with no subtitle and description.  So here's to those pictures.

After Joshua's post, (thanks Joshua) and just trying to be happier, and enjoy life, and look for the good, I stopped to take a picture of this.  We didn't have a dishwasher (well, not the machine at least) and as such, this kids did A LOT of dishes.  They actually got pretty good at it.  And as mounds of endless dishes always seemed to grace the counters, whether dirty of clean, I noticed how my kids would often make it a game of doing the dishes.  "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.  You find the fun, and 'snap' the job's a game."  And it worked.

So because kids are natural at this process, Rhett would try to see how high he could get his tower of clean, rinsed dishes. This is his masterpiece.

We have had this plant in our window sill for several weeks.  The kids got one of those seed and pot grow kits.  And since it sits in the window right where I stand to do all those dishes.  I've had plenty of time to look at it.  And one morning, I noticed these tiny little leaves.  So small.  So intricate.  And that's when it hit me.  God is in the details.  Even down to the smallest plant.  He doesn't just throw it together, like I sometimes cook, with a little of this and that, not sure how it will turn out.  Those small leaves are precisely placed. Yet so tiny, not screaming to be noticed.  And if God is in the details of this small plant, he is in the details of our lives.  He cares about the small things that are important to you and that bother you.  Those small things that you think you should not let get to you quite so much, and yet they still do.  God is in the details because He created them.