Oh shucks!

I really wanted David  Archuleta to win.  I'm so surprised!  I really thought he was the better candidate.  Oh well, I'm sure well be seeing him.

I miss my husband

Ron went to Marlboro, Mass for the next couple of days.  I guess its good for him to leave sometimes that way I am reminded how much I love him and having his company.  I look forward to him returning soon!

Wow!

 I had a really neat spiritual experience happen to me over the weekend.  I went to Idaho with my friend to help her mother who was moving to Utah pack up boxes and a moving truck.  The job was tedious and tiresome and we were getting discouraged, especially Betty who was moving.  Betty was so distraught that she wouldn't eat and barely kept a conversation which was completely out of character for her.  After a long day of packing we went to bed to a long night of restless sleep.  In the morning we packed a few more things into the truck,  I looked at this huge moving truck and felt overwhelmed for Betty who had to drive this behemoth home to West Jordan.  We were all unnerved and tired.  Betty asked for a prayer for the way home and I got the opportunity to offer up this prayer.  I began the prayer and thanked our Heavenly Father for all that we accomplished and for safety as we went, I then pleaded with the Lord for the peace that Betty and we needed for this journey home.  Usually you can see a prayer being answered but not always immediately.  During this prayer I began to sob and I knew and Betty knew, and Jennifer knew that we would be safe, and all would go well.  I have never had such a quick and firm answer to my prayers such as this.  The Holy Ghost bore witness to me that Our Heavenly Father would give us his loving guidance and safety and peace in which we so desperately needed.  I am thankful for prayer and for a Father in Heaven who loves me and answers my prayers.

My AZ visit so far

I am in Arizona for the next week getting some much needed rest. The weather is in the 80's which is nice and seeing my family is wonderful. We celebrated Tiffany's 12th birthday today and we had a party with a build your own pizza bar which was soooo good and got to visit for a few hours. All of the nieces and nephews were toddling around at my feet and I am thankful I can live vicariously through them. I am thankful for these visits and cherish them. This visit has been especially nice because Ashley came with me and she is really enjoying her cousins. My sister and sisters in law I think are enjoying the help she is giving in chasing the little ones around. Ashley makes me happy to watch her be so helpful and motherly to these sweet little ones... she will be a great mother someday.

Why are girls so mean?

I hope that everything I write doesn't sound like I am always complaining, but I have something to gripe about today.  Ashley has a friend who likes to "joke" the problem is that Ashley doesn't perceive it as a joke and comes home from school really upset.  So before school this morning,  I took it upon myself to talk to this little girl and tell her its not kidding or joking unless everyone in the situation feels like they're in on the joke, and asked her if she would try to be a bit more subdued when it comes to Ashley in her "joking".  My conversation with this little girl lasted for a total of a minute and a half .  Right after school I got a call from this girls mom telling me that next time I wish to speak to her daughter she wants to be there.  I apologized and told her exactly what I said and in the manner that I said it.  She told me that it was part of her daughters nature to be a joker and that if Ashley didn't like it she didn't have to hang out with her.  The problem is that this girl will not leave Ashley alone... but she is just "joking".  I have told Ashley that maybe she needs to find a different friend to hang out with, but Ashley is so sad.  I hate this growing up thing.  Why can't kids be kind to each other.  I just wished every body loved my children as I do and saw them the way I see them.  It hurts when they hurt.  I wish I knew what to do.  I guess I will just have to let things settle themselves.  I hope they d0.

Charity the Pure love of Christ-my talk

In writing this talk the hardest part was not trying to find information, but as to what to information to choose from.  I compiled this talk from many talks and a few books I read that were written by church leaders. There is so much on the subject of charity.  What a wonderful celebration Easter is, a day that we reflect on the life of our Savior and his resurrection. Elder Joseph B Wirthlin said: “There are images of those who petitioned him for help.  We can imagine a deformed man unable to walk since birth or the tears flowing down a widow’s cheek as she follows the body of her dead son as it is carried to its tomb.  We can imagine the empty eyes of the hungry, the trembling hands of the sick, the pleading voice of the condemned, and the disconsolate eye of the outcast.  All of them reaching toward a solitary man, a man without wealth, without home, without position.  We see this man, the son of the living God; look on each of them with infinite compassion.  With the touch of his holy hand, He brings comfort to the downcast, healing to the sick, liberation to the condemned.  With a word a dead man rises from his bier and the widow embraces her son.  These and other miraculous acts of mercy and kindness, define for me one of the salient characteristics of the Savior: His love and compassion for the downtrodden, the weary, the weak, the suffering.  Indeed, these acts of compassion are synonymous with His name… Our Saviors loving example remains an integral part of who we are as people and who we are as a church.”  This Easter Sunday as we remember one of the biggest examples of charity that is known to humankind we think of what truly happened that sacred day and how selfless and loving our Savior was that he took upon himself our sins so that we did not have to carry that burden and our load might be lighter.  Pres. Howard W. Hunter said: “The love that Christ has for every one of us is called ‘charity’ or ‘the pure love of Christ.’  It is the love that prompted the suffering and sacrifice of Christ’s atonement.  It is the highest pinnacle the human soul can reach and the deepest expression of the human heart.  Those who are filled with the love of Christ do not seek to force others to do better; they inspire others to do better, indeed inspire them to the pursuit of God.  We need to extend the hand of friendship.  We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger.”  Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught us that charity is not an act but a condition or a state of being.  Little by little our charitable acts change our natures, define our characters, and ultimately make us a people with courage and commitment to say to the Lord ‘Here I am send me’

As difficult as charity is to describe it is easily seen in the lives of those who possess it.  Bro. Klug asked me to speak on this subject several weeks ago and I have prayed to more fully understand and find myself as one who is charitable; although I have so much more to work on in this area, I have made myself more aware of ways that I can be charitable in my own life.  I have had the opportunity to be of service to a dear friend of mine whose young husband had a stroke and have been completely incapacitated by this event.  I have had the opportunity to spend time with them in the hospital and be a listening ear, to bring meals, and to even help her with her clientele in order for her business to remain afloat so that the family can continue to meet their financial needs.  This alone has proven to be a big challenge for me as I have a lot on my own plate that keeps me busy, but although I have been completely exhausted by this service I have found joy in being able to serve and to truly feel that love for her and her family in doing so.  I pray that I might continue to find ways that I can continually feel that pure love that Christ has for each of us.  I also tried to think about acts of charity that I have had given to me.  Sister Gardner and Sister Slaugh come to my home the first Thursday of every month and I always feel loved and cared for, not just as something to check off a list.  These sweet sisters look after me and I know that I remain in their thoughts and prayers.  I know this because I can feel their love and genuine concern for me.  I would also like to relate a story to you about a client of mine.  This woman has come to me for some time now and when the subject of the gospel came up she didn’t really want to talk about it and didn’t feel she needed it her life at that time. This client of mine has a visiting teacher that persisted in her efforts to serve and come to her home and check in on her this my friend allowed her in but would not allow a message but this visiting teacher would ask her how she was and kept her visits non intrusive to her. This dear visiting teacher continued for years making visits to this sister until finally one day this sister called her visiting teacher and asked her if she might give her a lesson at her visits, this went on for a few months and this sister began to feel the love that her visiting teacher had for her and began feeling as if she needed something more in her life.  One Sunday morning my friend got up and called her visiting teacher and asked her to pick her up for church- my friend has not missed one meeting since then and bears her testimony to me during her visits with me.  I have seen a change in her, a glow, a knowledge of the restored gospel and the love she knows the Lord has for her.  She will soon be getting her temple recommend and she knows the atonement was for her as it is for all of us.  If it had not been for the kind gestures, and the unwavering love this visiting teacher had for this sister this change may not have happened.  You may never know the lives you can change through your own acts of charity.  Some acts of charity may not only change a single life, but the lives of generations to come.

So I ask if charity is not what you do but who you are, how do you attain the pure love of Christ? A few things I thought of were first show kindness.  Joseph B. Wirthlin said “Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known.  Kindness is a passport that opens door and fashions friends.  It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.  Kind words and acts not only lift our spirits in the moment they are given, but they can linger with us over years.  Second show mercy.  When we are kind we are not judgmental.  The Savior taught us in Luke 6:37 “Judge not and ye shall not be judged; condemn not an ye shall not be condemned:  forgive and ye shall be forgiven.” He also taught us in Matthew 7:1-2 “With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”  The more we treat others with Christ like kindness the more we ensure the greatest effects of mercy in our own judgment. Third be givers.  Give of your time, your talents, energy and your own earthly goods.  I have found in my own life that in giving I am getting back blessings ten fold.   I read a poem a few years back in which I do not recall its author but it was so profound to me that I have memorized it and it has been a good reminder of how I should live my life.  “Give to the needy sweet charity’s bread, for giving is living the angel said.  Must I keep giving again and again? My pitiless, selfish curt answer ran.  Then said the angel, piercing me through just give till the Savior stops giving to you.”   In D&C 52:40 we read “Remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted and in D&C 81:5 it says, “Succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”   We must never forget who blesses us and through those blessings we may continue the Saviors work in blessing others.  Last we need to live our lives in such a way that our testimony is a shining example to others.  Pres. Hinkley had a vision of the good we could do:  Be good home and visiting teachers lifting others through word and example.  Read your scriptures-have your hearts open to the good word of the gospel, being willing to obey, repent, and improve.  Fast and pray for each other.  Center your lives and testimonies around Jesus Christ and his restored gospel.  Keep yourself in holy places so you may receive guidance from the Holy Ghost.  Read, study and learn.  Have homes that are havens where prayer is practiced, scriptures are read, kindness is expected, and unity prevails.  Involve yourself with family history and genealogy.  Attend the temple.  Magnify your calling; avoid contention.  Have family values-creating homes of wondrous upbringing-families who are reclaiming family home evening, enjoying everything from the simple activities to teaching moments.  Have fun, laugh at your own mistakes, take time for friendships, and enjoy your life.   Enjoy quiet acts of charity as your write notes of encouragement, check on neighbors, and listen to children.  Keep your eye single to the glory of God.  Serve your family.  We will let quiet words speak for themselves.  But there will be those whose lives you touch in a simple moment that will tell others about you and wonder how you ever did it?  All of these small acts are true acts of charity, all of which will bring us closer to having the pure love of Christ.  I pray that we may all seek for charity in our lives that it will refine our own lives as well as the lives of others.  I would like to bear my testimony of charity and have felt the love of Christ shining down on me through other people’s kindness.   I know Christ lives; I know he loves me and each of you.  I know that the atonement was for me.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and wants me to return to live with him.  I know that Joseph Smith restored the true gospel to the earth.  I know that Pres. Monson is a living and loving prophet on earth today who is the mouthpiece of God.  I know that only through our Savior we can achieve true happiness.  I love my family, my sweet and patient children and my loving husband who without them I don’t know where I would be, and am thankful for an eternal plan that I can be with them forever.  I am grateful for good friends who are examples in my life and who try to help me to be the best I can be.  I am thankful for this experience as scary as it is that I have been able to learn and grow from.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

 

 

         

Ohh my aching back

I am usually a very healthy person with no complaints.  I however have done something to my upper back.  I have been to chiropractors, massage therapists, and even a person who believes in holistics and put aromatherapy oils all over my back.  Some things helped more than others but I am still sooo sore.  The massage therapist seems to think its from hunching over.  She's probably right.  I'm not sure what is next but I am just trying to get through the day.  I just need to learn whatever lesson that needs to be learned.  Until then I will just keep on keep'in on.