Broken Glass

Well this will be a short blog post as I am short a finger for typing. I was helping to clean up some of the broken glass around here and managed to slice my finger open - not too bad, only 1 stitch was needed.

Sitting in a hospital waiting room is always an interesting experience. Some of the people in the waiting room had obvious problems, but many were not discernible. My injury was so minor compared to some of the other things that others were dealing with. Sometimes small things feel huge though, like when the freezing went in to the end of my finger and it felt like it is portrayed in cartoons - like it is literally changing in size with each heart beat!

Life is a lot like sitting in a hospital waiting room. We all have things that we have to deal with - for some people they are very obvious, for others they are not at all visible, yet, we each need help and assistance from one that has training and experience in dealing with the various difficulties. Thankfully in life, our physician is perfect - he set a perfect example in how to treat others and he also taught how to heal. Only through the Savior can we heal when we are spiritually wounded. He is as important to our spiritual health as a doctor can be to our physical health. As I watched the various people move through the waiting room I felt grateful to have such assistance available to me. I am ever more grateful for the spiritual assistance available to me and every living being on this earth through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

What joy there is in the promise of complete spiritual and physical healing.

Despite Adversity!

When we were hit by a severe hail storm just last week it seemed like nothing would have a chance to survive. Upon surveying the damages the next day the lawn was covered with leaves and branches and new, undeveloped fruit. The grapes looked bedraggled and the greenhouse looked like bubblewrap that has been popped, but with a little bit of effort and cleaning I began to see what was left and gospel truths filled my yard. The common theme through this experience was the blessing of repentance which gives each and every person on this earth the promise that they can clean up their lives as though the sin or sins had never, ever  happened. What a wonderful blessing.

This flower popped out within days of the storm showing a determination to stand forth in glory regardless of adversity. We too can be radiant and filled with joy despite the adversity we face.

My water garden was untouched by the storm with exception to the foliage that had blown in. We cleaned out the dead leaves and debris which, if we had left it, it would have decayed into a terrible mess. From my water garden I am reminded that sin and error must be dealt with immediately or they introduce something ugly and putrid into ones life.

The fish were all safe and secure in their watery home. They are well protected from  hail as ice cannot penetrate deeply into the water because it floats. So the water was a shield for the fish from the flying ice and debris during the storm. Our spirituality can be much the same. It will shield us from much of the fiery darts of the adversary IF we ensure that our spirituality is developed enough. It would have been fatal to the fish had they been in shallow pools. When our spiritual armor is thin we too can be fatally wounded.

Once the debris of leaves, twigs and other items were removed from the yard it was once again radiant. Repentance works this way. Through the Atonement, when we work at removing unwanted debris from our lives, the Atonement can actually make it as though those things never happened. What a wonderful promise.

Well, the grapes got thinned out by the storm. We cut the dead branches away and then realized that now the sun can reach the fruit and it will develop and provide us much nourishment come fall. We too are like the grapes. When adversity thins and prunes it is painful, but as we persist in righteousness, we will behold a great harvest in our own lives and receive blessings along the way. One blessing for me right now is that I don't have to prune my grapes!

The long shadows fall as we complete our cleanup efforts feeling fully rewarded. There is a great spiritual joy when we persist in daily repentance and righteous living, cleaning away the undesirable.

Our home. It took quite a beating and while it may not look like much, it faced the opposition without faltering and protected us from the raging storm outside. The gospel and our conversion does this for us spiritually. 

Still green and still growing. While some of these plants are a little beat up, they still have strong roots that will  help them overcome and regrow the lost foliage. Our roots in the gospel help us recover when opposition seeks to beat us down.

In the shelter of the house. Properly sheltered, these flowers never even felt the icy  balls of hail that plummeted out of the sky. With the Savior as our guide, we too can position our selves in places of safety.

And he still felt like singing. This little bird has been a joy in our yard ever since the storm. We hear him sing every time we go outside and he never wanders far away. Yes, even though we took considerable damage to our personal property I still feel greatly blessed in my own life and my soul is filled with song.

President Hinckley has encouraged us to stand a little taller and to be a little better. The evergreen trees lost a lot of their new growth, but as they reach taller every year, this slight setback will help them to be a little better as they grow and develop.

What a joy it is to  be taught by the creations of the Lord on a regular basis. I love the parallels and the lessons I receive as I seek to be taught. I am saddened when I hear others curse the storm. It was great and it was terrible, but God's hand was in it in that He, and He alone, can teach the lessons that testify of the truths we most stand in need of remembering.

Awarded to...

Well the end of another school year always brings with it lengthy awards ceremonies. While the time investment is high, it is always worth the wait to see our children presented with honorable awards. This year almost everyone received an award or recognition for something. The younger grades (3&4) were not part of the presentations we were able to attend. They had their own classroom presentations during the main awards ceremonies.

Melodee gets the Citizenship Award

Myles recognized for his help on the Tech Crew

Beth and her good grades

Naomi on the honor roll

Alisha gets a scholarship

The yearbook committee recognition

While we don't seek recognition, these awards days help me see my children in a different atmosphere and it is so good to see them thriving as they live in the world but not of the world. They are strong and valiant and they don't receive awards for those things, but their spiritual strengths are a large part of the reason they excel in other areas of their lives. I love that spiritual knowledge as well as secular knowledge go hand in hand. That when we persist in gaining a spiritual education it supports the things we are taught in school for the most part. That same spiritual education also helps us recognize when false doctrines and teachings are taught, and in that way we cannot be deceived.

I love learning. I love the availability of information that we have today. We are such a blessed society. What a joy it is to invest in spirituality. I am so blessed!

And Walked, And Walked, And Walked

We recently celebrated the Centennial year of a town we live near. Part of the festivities included a parade. It was interesting to find that 2012 is also the Centennial year for when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first came to this area. It was here for several years and then everyone moved away for a time (they were mostly farmers and had poor crops and could not support themselves off the land at that time). Some time later a ward was organized. To help with the celebration our ward asked for volunteers to walk in the town parade pulling handcarts. Our family volunteered to pull one of 4 handcarts in the parade. We dressed up as many as we could find costumes for and prepared ourselves to represent the church.

Trying on the costume.

Gathering for the 'trek'

Here they come!!!

Myles pulls his weight alongside another member of the ward.

They spotted me!

And on they go. Breanna got to ride in the handcart!

It was a very hot day, but they were blessed in that they were near the beginning of the parade and once they were done they came and watched the remainder of the parade with me.

What a blessing it is to belong to such an organization as this church where we seek to center our lives around our Savior, Jesus Christ - He who hung on the cross and died for all mankind that they might live again. I love the gospel. I love the opportunities I get to share it with others. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a source of endless joy that permeates my life every day. I am so blessed to have a pioneer heritage, the gospel and doctrines of Christ and of course, my eternal family.

I'm Bored!

So the summertime boredom has already threatened to set in around here... It never ceases to amaze me how quickly kids - even kids that have lots of things available to them that they can do - become bored. I am so thankful that I am not committed to a job that takes me away from my home because it seems like summer is when I am needed the most around here.

Bored kids - at least when it comes to mine - tend to fight with each other more. I don't have really mischievous children so I am blessed that they are not also seeking out trouble, but the fighting is something we really try to keep away. Last week we implemented a new program where anybody caught fighting or arguing or being contentious receives an assignment to do what we call a noticeable chore - that is a chore that noticeably needs done. They get to choose what that chore is most of the time. Since this is a pretty new program last night during home evening one of the kids asked if their dad and I were to fight would we do a noticeable chore too? That's certainly a valid question. The answer was simple - we don't fight, we seldom disagree and when differences arise we take care of them before they can become a problem. (I am so blessed to have such a man!) As such we don't HAVE to do a noticeable chore but the fact is that we are both doing them all the time. (Again, I am so blessed to have a husband that helps me as much as I try to help him!) My children take after their dad most of the time as well for they are usually as helpful as he is.

Some of last years activities...

Contention is something we would rather not have to deal with and experience has taught me that busy children do not fight. So we have added a little structure back to our summer and once again implemented summer school. (It was actually at the request of most of our kids - they loved it last year!) While we call it summer school, it is really a scripture centered program where we work together on developing our talents. We are also looking forward to doing more crafts together this year than last. To do all this it is imperative that I am home with my children, guiding, teaching and loving them. What a blessing it is to have a husband who wholeheartedly supports me in this. I love being a mom. I love being home with my children. I love having a family. There is so much joy in family. I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for a good husband and so many wonderful children. My family and the gospel are truly my greatest blessing!

I am totally willing to share what I am doing and have included my outlines below so you can use them too if you wish. I will add them as I make them throughout the summer.

LAST YEAR:

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

THIS YEAR

Week Eight