The Jacob & Shayla Bentley Family: A Heart Full of Joy

Sunday, August 18^th, 2013

My Dearest Brother,

I hope that you are well. Things are going well here. We are in the midst of a basement remodel. I don’t know if you remember what our basement looked like at all. There was a large section of the basement wall that had a dark wood paneling on it; when you combine the paneling with the dark brown carpet the basement was… well… dark. We ripped the paneling off the walls and there is drywall already in place on one wall but not on the other. Tomorrow, with the assistance of many family members, we are going to replace a window, put up the drywall, and get as much mudding and taping done as possible. We are planning on painting the walls that had the drywall on them a very light sage green and have it be an accent wall. We will then have Grandpa build us some shelves for an area of the basement that is kind of recessed in its own corner. We will put all of the kids’ toys on these shelves. We also emptied the basement and are attempting to get rid of many pieces of furniture that were taking up space uselessly. We plan on replacing the carpet in the basement as well. Needless to say, it is a major project. I don’t feel like I am explaining the idea of the finished product very well so you will have to make do with the progress pictures I can send you. Hopefully we will have a lot done by the time I write you again next week.

Jake passed his last final with flying colors this past week scoring 90%. The completion of this final wrapped up his semester at school and he is enjoying a wonderful break until he starts again in September. We are planning on making Monday and Tuesday my school day and Wednesday and Thursday his. Even though he goes to school online he will stay late at work on Wednesday and Thursday and do homework since I do not have to attend classes on those evenings this semester. It will be busy but hopefully it will allow him to make some solid progress in his program.

I got all of my grades (officially) this week from summer semester – 4.0 GPA. I was really happy to see all of my grades come in although my Exercise Physiology grade was a bit closer than I would’ve liked it to be. Does that make me a perfectionist? Probably so. I can hardly believe that school starts again on Wednesday. Earlier this week I would have told you that I was quite anxious for it to start up again, but now that we are in the midst of this large home project I am definitely not ready for the hustle and bustle of school to start again. I know that the Lord will bless me, once again, in my busyness and I am sure I will enjoy my classes, once more, this coming semester.

Abrielle started preschool again this week and seems to love it. I think that she gets kind of overwhelmed by the time that preschool is over. It doesn’t help that it ends right at lunch time and so she is fairly cranky when I pick her up from school. If you can talk her through that first ½ hour after preschool and get some food in her she usually perks right up. We practiced writing her name in church last week and I think she is really enjoying learning more and more.

Nathan continues to be Nathan - darling and fun although a bit more moody as he moves into the “terrible twos.” He is nowhere near what Abrielle was at his age and so it doesn’t faze me nearly as much this time around. We love both kids dearly and look forward to next year when we plan to have another baby. (FYI – I am not currently pregnant nor do I plan to be until next year.)

I made a resolution last week after reading a talk by Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the 70. The talk is titled, “Agency and Anger.” In the talk, Elder Robbins says, “No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose! …Anger is yielding to Satan’s influence by surrendering our self-control.” He issues a challenge in the talk to decide today that we will never get angry again. As I pondered on this talk and its message I thought about the importance of it in our lives, and especially in mine. I find myself succumbing to anger far too often and that isn’t the way that I want to be. I accepted the challenge to never get angry again. I have been working very hard this week to live up to that commitment. There have been days that it has been quite easy and days that it has been quite hard. But when I struggle I just repeat in my mind, “I will not get angry.” I say it to myself as many times as I need to to regain my self-control and get control of my emotions. The more I adhere to my commitment the better my life is. I have seen a direct correlation in how I view everything in the world around me. I am generally more positive and happy and content. I know that this is a very difficult goal that will most likely take a lifetime to master, but it is worth the pursuit. Jake is on board with me and I am so grateful to have a loving, and supportive partner.

I could go into many more details about the small things that we have done this week that were wonderful: having the chance to play ball with Nathan, going to “Papa’s Picnic” at Zion’s Bank with dad and the family, making a cake with Abrielle, etc. etc. etc. Just know that my heart is full of gratitude for the wondrous blessing of the gospel. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation and the reality that our family can be together forever. I know that one lifetime with my wonderful husband, beautiful children and our fantastic family could never be enough. What a wonderful joy we have in the gospel! I rejoice in my Lord and my Savior and for the gift of life that he has given me through his eternal sacrifices. What a blessed people we are!

I love you, my dear brother. I am so proud of you. I am so proud that you are selflessly serving the Lord and that he is molding you into the man that you need to be in order to partake of even greater blessings that he has in store for you. Remain strong and faithful. The gospel IS true and you are carrying an amazing message of happiness to the people of Finland. Let that joy and happiness fill your heart and lift your countenance. Sing praises to our Lord and our Redeemer! What great reasons we have to rejoice in the knowledge of truth.

All my love, now and always,

Shayla