Simple Joys

I love flowers, and this month I was delighted with the appearance of multiple blooms in my living room! First of all, my orchid of 3 months is still blooming. I've never ever discovered such a long lasting flower so beautiful as this one!

I have also enjoyed the amaryllis flowers I planted at Christmas time. Large and showy and bursting forth with color!

This month these delightful blooms inspired me to do something a little creative. Their bright colors are so cheerful that I wanted to make something that would capture that feeling. So I decided to use my new favorite medium - wax...

Here is the finished piece...

This piece of art is quite abstract, but it contains all the colors of a glorious sunrise. It features dark shadows made with tar paper and some real plant life used from my summer garden and then pressed. The eagles were added to further build the theme of rising. This was such a fun piece of art to do. I love the way it all blended and works together. I love nature - I feel so blessed to live. Life is wonderful and every day exudes delightful moments of joy that build into joy filled memories. 

Funny as it may seem, I've even loved the snow. I love to shovel it! (Yes, I know you are thinking I am a weird person) Shoveling snow is hard work, but there is nothing like looking back over 125 feet of clean sidewalk, plus the decks and walkways that feels better in the winter time. It makes me feel great, and I delight in the joy it brings. 

There is so much in life to be happy about! I look forward to each new day with eager anticipation. There is such joy there -  I only find it when I am looking for it - but thankfully, I have learned to keep a constant lookout for the moments that emanate pure joy! May life be a joyful journey for all...

Warmed Thrice

I remember reading in a book once that firewood will warm you three times. First when you cut it, again when you chop it and a third time when you burn it. I have to say that I LOVE firewood! 

Several weeks ago we took some time to put the second step of that formula to the test. We actually picked a fairly warm weekend and got a lot of wood cut and split! The best part was coming home with split wood and sitting in front of the fire to enjoy it. There is nothing like the pure source of heat from a fire in the winter time. It penetrates to the very bones!

So with a nice warm fire burning merrily in the fireplace, we set to enjoying it...

For Christmas my youngest girls got a coloring roll. Here they are working on it in front of the fire...

 They rolled it out as far as it would go in the room and then spread themselves out on the floor and colored happily for hours...

January has been a good month. It has been filled with wonderful things and many warm and cozy moments in front of the fire. The joy that came from just one day of hard work has been enjoyed all month long. What a blessing it is to warm ourselves.

What of the Elephant?

The Blind Men and the Elephant

"Well over one hundred years ago, an American poet put to rhyme an ancient parable. The first verse of the poem speaks about:

Six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

In the poem each of the six travelers takes hold of a different part of the elephant and then describes to the others what he has discovered.

One of the men finds the elephant’s leg and describes it as being round and rough like a tree. Another feels the tusk and describes the elephant as a spear. A third grabs the tail and insists that an elephant is like a rope. A fourth discovers the trunk and insists that the elephant is like a large snake.

Each is describing truth.

And because his truth comes from personal experience, each insists that he knows what he knows.

The poem concludes:

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

We look at this story from a distance and smile. After all, we know what an elephant looks like. We have read about them and watched them on film, and many of us have even seen one with our own eyes. We believe we know the truth of what an elephant is. That someone could make a judgment based on one aspect of truth and apply it to the whole seems absurd or even unbelievable. On the other hand, can’t we recognize ourselves in these six blind men? Have we ever been guilty of the same pattern of thought?" -- Dieter F Uchtdorf

Healing

It has been nearly 3 months since my surgery and it has been for me a valuable road to travel. My healing was to me, nothing short of miraculous. I had prepared myself for a 6-8 week long road to recovery, yet the pain was mostly gone after the first 10 days and the fatigue was basically gone after 3 weeks (and even that was pretty minimal). I am amazed at how well the body heals and I feel so blessed. I know that I have been blessed from on High in my recovery. It is wonderful how the body is designed to heal itself, when it is hurt it doesn't just fix the problem it grows new skin, new cells, new nerves etc. It cleanses and removes waste - in fact it is certain that if waste wasn't removed our lives would be very short and we would suffer a painful death from toxic poisoning.

It is interesting how our bodies and our spirits are so similar. Our spirits want to be happy, experiencing, peace of mind, love, joy and contentment. The need we feel to have those things in our lives - especially on the days we don't have those feelings - give us a reminder from our spirit that it needs some care - some healing. Unlike our bodies the healing of the spirit doesn't come from the spirit, it comes from Christ through the power of his all encompassing atonement. I felt that power while my body healed and I know with every fiber of my soul that it is needed for spiritual healing. Nothing else can take away the excruciating pain of poor choices (whether our own or someone else's) so completely, removing them so effectively it is as though they never happened. Holding onto the pain that comes from those poor choices prevents healing. It is so important to not let that spiritual waste build up in our systems - spiritual waste such as bitterness, revenge, hate, pride, criticism and gossip - poisons that if left unattended, will sap the life (the joy of living) from our spirits taking with it the happiness, love and joy we each crave and need so desperately.

My purest source of JOY

We all understand the need to do the specific things outlined by a surgeon after having a major surgery, and that if those guidelines are not followed further injury or prolonged healing may occur. But do we  understand the need for the specific steps in spiritual healing outlined by the Savior that need to be followed? True spiritual healing takes a lot of effort on our part, but in effect is accomplished through the Atonement. If we don't want to put forth the effort, we don't heal. My physical healing was prepared for, strenuously, for months before I had surgery, that preparation made my healing much easier and I wasn't tempted to disobey the doctors orders. Spiritual healing also takes preparation. I know that I cannot forgive if I don't know why it is so important to do so. I am so grateful for the words and teachings of prophets that have helped me understand deeply the need of love, mercy and forgiveness in my life. I am even more grateful for the Atonement and it's awesome power. It's cleansing effect is so complete, so pure, that nothing can compare with it. It has filled my life with JOY, gratitude, peace, love and EVERY good thing! It has given me a new life - a life completely FREE from the mental anguish and pain that come into the life of every person that has ever lived. I love the Savior.

Physically I feel wonderful! Mentally I feel great and emotionally I am filled with exquisite JOY! I can do everything I did before and more! My days are filled with many things that uplift my spirit and increase my love of life. I love to read and study and learn. I love to teach my children, spend time with them and share my skills with them. I love to spend time with my husband, helping him with his projects and feeling his love when he helps me with mine. We have had so many work days, play days and family days this season, we have been especially blessed.

A Little Bit of Awesome!

Drops of AWESOME!

I found this blog post and really enjoyed reading it. It will definitely be one I will return to again and again, so for my own reference I've put a link here so I don't lose it: Drops of AWESOME!

May we all be filled with AWESOME this year!!!