What Food Tells me about Life

This week were blessed to be able to attend a preparedness fireside where we learned about food safety and general preparedness for emergencies of every nature. One of the things that we learned was the essential nature of taking proper care of our food as it is an ideal place for bacteria to grow if given the chance. One interesting fact that was shared was that the food-born bacteria will double every twenty minutes… let’s put that into perspective…

If a genie appeared and gave you a choice, what you would choose: would you rather have a penny today, that doubled every day for a month, or $1 million today?

A million dollars sounds pretty good, but if you do the math… If you took a single penny and doubled it every day, by day 30, you would have $5,368,709.12.

Apply that to bacteria, and it is crazy what would happen in just a few hours. So why does our food have to have properties that make it go bad so quickly? Answer… I don’t know, but what lessons can we learn from our foods' susceptibility to spoilage?

If you compare sin to the penny or the bacteria in the food, you can see that a tiny bit of sin, introduced to the proper conditions will grow to an astronomical volume very quickly. In other words, it can get out of hand fast!!! A little sin can open the door to a LOT of sorrow! From our food, we also learn that while contaminated food can make us sick, our bodies can fight it off most of the time, and we can heal. The same is true for our spirits. Because Jesus atoned for our sins, we can repent and our spirits can heal. We will remember the sin, and the difficulty, but when we fully repent the feelings of guilt and remorse will be wiped clean – it will be as though we never gave in to temptation. We become to God as though we had never sinned. Similarly, we will still enjoy the good foods God has given us to eat, but we will be wary of foods that haven’t been handled properly every bit as much as spiritually, we will be wary of sin.

The Measure of a Season

 Gardens are funny things... you never quite know what will do well. We have lived in this location for 25 years and I have never grown an overly flourishing garden. Potatoes the size of apples were as big as they ever got, onions the size of golf balls, corn and squash - never! But this year, we put a lot of effort into preparing our garden boxes and planted them in faith. The yields have been amazing in some areas!

I have potatoes coming out of the garden this year that are 8-10 inches long! There haven't been any that are hollow either!

There is nothing as good as a garden fresh carrot, and we got a super sweet variety this year that we almost crave! They are so good and we have so many!

The tomatoes did amazingly well too, yielding 13-20 quarts thus far from about 12 plants! To date, there are still more growing in the greenhouse.

Corn has been unheard of in this little space, but this year we got some small cobs. not quite as sweet a variety as the Taber corn, but still so good.

The squash makes me smile. I planted 4 hills of buttercup squash and those vines have literally taken over! They climbed up the trellis and up into the Saskatoon bushes. I have squashes hanging over my head out there!!! It is like a treasure hunt, trying to find them all! But we brought in a good-sized box full so far with lots more still growing.

The onions did well, but the beans did not. The watermelon got shaded out by the potato plants and the cantaloup took forever to set fruit so they are small, to say the least. the beets never really grew, and for some reason, the cucumbers which are usually crazy were really tame this year. They provided some cukes, but nothing like usual.

I love to garden, but it seems that the yields are a little bit different each season. I wonder if that is how it is for us in the seasons of our lives. Some seasons will do great in some areas, and other areas may seem to struggle, and yet, the overall important factor is that we are producing, even if it is only one fruit that we bring forth, we are growing, stretching, blooming, and striving. 

We will fulfill all things in the measure of our season, and this year was the year for potatoes and squash at our house! I hope I can keep the perspective, that if something is struggling it doesn't diminish its value, it just needs time, patience, and effort so that it may thrive in its season... 

It's All About People!!!

 Have you ever considered the commandments in terms of people? It occurred to me this week that we actually can’t live the commandments without relationships! Relationships with God and relationships with others are at the heart of keeping the commandments. Each commandment we live by guides us in our interactions. To walk the covenant path we need people in much the same way!

Seeking to become Christlike is much the same! In order to develop Christlike qualities, we need people! You can’t be forgiving without people to forgive. You can’t be kind, merciful, loving or even humble without people to interact with! 

To truly grow and learn as God intends we need people to connect with!!!

Welcoming Change

 
Focus... Intention... Purpose. To me these words convey power. When I do something with focus and laser-like intent I am better able to follow through. If I lose focus I relinquish results. When it comes to personal improvement and overcoming weakness, sometimes focusing on the desired outcome can feel elusive and discouraging. In my experience, true change (repentance) is best realized by focusing on Jesus Christ. Change - especially personal change is hard to measure. Elder Anderson teaches that repentance is a 'day by day' process. It doesn't happen overnight. I feel like repentance includes every prayer I offer, every moment I spend in the scriptures, every thought of Jesus, and every good deed I do because it helps me to know Him better. As I draw closer to Him I discover weaknesses I still need to work to overcome. That process is always gently guided and graciously delivered to my soul. I love that through prayer, we are guided and inspired on the next steps we are to take in Christlike change. Prayer invites the power to change which is obtained only through our Savior's Atonement. This is essential to our efforts to overcome because we truly need the everyday powers of Christ. Anthony Sweat listed them as an acronym: C-Cleansing power, H-Healing power, R-Restoring power, I-Identifying power, S-Strengthening power, and T-Transforming power. Meaningful, intentional, and consistent prayer invites greater spiritual capacity and the POWER of our Redeemer into our lives. I personally need every aspect of His power to effect lasting change in my life. Elder Andersen says, "We may not always succeed as  quickly as we would want, but as we make repentance a covenant part of our lives, miracles occur!" It is my testimony that not only is Heavenly Father anxious for us to draw near, but that as we humbly do so, the Holy Ghost will guide us in the refining process of change and repentance and miracles will follow.

What Matters Most?

 Talk of the Week: "Remember What Matters Most"

One of the things that Elder Ballard taught in his list of what matters most is family relationships. 

In paragraph seventeen he taught that

 "Nurturing these important relationships is a CHOICE. A choice to be a part of a family requires commitment, love, patience, communication and forgiveness.... We CHOOSE to love and sustain one another. We do the same in other family relationships and with friends who are like family to us."

 I know that love is a choice... especially when choosing an eternal companion, but I don't think I've ever considered that principle from the perspective of a child before.

I think it would be easy for a child to feel like they had no choice in their family, after all, they might say, wasn't it their parent's choice to bring them here? Truly their parents made a choice! God sent them to a family, but the choice is theirs as to how well they belong or not. Like Elder Ballard says, NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS IS A CHOICE. When we struggle in a relationship, particularly a family one, it is important to ask ourselves: "Am I nurturing this relationship? Am I choosing this relationship? How invested am I in loving this person?"

If family relationships are among those things of mortality that matter most - and they are - then they will be among our greatest priorities. We will choose to love our family members no matter what dumb stuff they might do or say. It will take focus, intention and effort. Without those elements the relationship is merely a wish that may never be realized. If we want to be closer to a particular family member we must choose it over and over and over again and then act on it, act on it again, and again and again forever. The minute we doubt a relationship, we weaken or compromise it. 

This is a message that I needed to hear. I desire the power and promise of a united family.

Epic Fails or Success?

 I love to create and one of my greatest successes in the creative area recently was the completion of the marble. It took two thick coats of resin and dried with a glass-like finish. The client LOVED it!!! I tried to do a sunflower T-shirt design with the word faith. It looked great! But I forgot to heat set it before I put it in the dryer, and I smudged the colors terribly – an epic fail! 

I planted a garden this spring that I thoroughly enjoyed watching grow. I had in my mind great big watermelon and cantaloupe fruits to enjoy this fall. I have amazing carrots, and we even got corn. The squash has practically taken over the compost area, but the melons are tiny or nonexistent. Next year we’ll try again...

I brought a friend to church with me pretty consistently, and it felt great to be involved in the process of sharing the gospel. My friend cooled, but I have a good friend….

I lost weight... I gained some back... but I learned I can do it!

I held my tongue... I thought a judgment that influenced my actions...

I have to wonder if a success is a failure, and a failure is a success! 

I have to wonder if on some level a success is a fail, and a failure is a success! My failed sunflower project re-taught me something of value that will lead to success! I’ll try the melons again next year… I’ll keep my friend regardless of religion… I’ll recommit and rededicate to hundreds of things I am trying to improve at. If I could do them perfectly the first time, what would I learn? Without growth, it becomes an epic fail in the long run. The Lord says there is supposed to be opposition in all things. Ultimately, my opposition is shaping and molding me into something better [I hope]! Opposition has been a transforming ingredient in my life that has yielded greater wisdom and love for others. 

Ready... Set...

 Life has a way of moving by quickly! So much has changed over the last month - I have an entirely new schedule, new goals, and new thoughts. I have been trying to think ahead to get everything done that I need to do before I move into the full swing of everything. What is everything?

I have taken two new jobs since June.

I have gone back to school.

I am now babysitting for two of my children regularly.

I love spending time with the kids and interacting with them.

I am excited to learn and open up my mind to new ideas and thoughts.

I am grateful for the work that the Lord has blessed me with.

I am confident that the Lord will bless me to be able to do all that I have committed to do as well as still magnify my calling. For me, I know that putting time aside to do the Lord's work is what enables me to do all the other things in my life without having them stress me out. I feel so blessed, not without struggles, but still very blessed.