Friday, May 28, 2010
Intolerant of the Tolerant
Tolerance and Intolerance has become a watchword in our day and people are afraid to even make comments which will label them homophobic, racist, or prejudiced against a minority group of people. I am of the opinion that this has created great fear in our society. Once I was sitting in a college library looking toward the window. I was studying for a class in which the only books I could find were in that huge library. I had my purse in my lap and was startled to hear a sound behind me. Naturally I clutched my purse harder and turned around to see a dark skinned man behind me. He came up and scared me out of my wits and began yelling at me..."Do you always clutch your purse when you see a black man?" I could only stare at him because I was so startled and he left as fast as he came. I wondered about that incident and thought of what I would have said to him if he had given me half a chance. That's what happens in our day. We are not even given a chance to respond and are judged quickly if we belong to a majority group. If we have any differing opinion we are labeled racist, homophobic, or some other derogatory term. The judgement is swift and harsh. I rebel against such judgement because of this experience as I rebel against the opinions of people who will just not listen with reason. I believe that there is a lot of ignorance and I find it in unjust behavior such as this.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Dale Carnegie and Dad
I have been reading a little bit about Dale Carnegie. In my college history classes he wasn't regarded well because he was rich and the rich were not thought of well in the classes I took. But, I think that being rich doesn't make a person terribly bad even though historians right now are looking at the rich of his era with a critical eye. I thought he had some good ideas. The way I was introduced to Dale Carnegie was through my father. Dad liked at one time to listen to self help books and tapes. One of the people he listened to and read was Dale Carnegie. It was a book about influencing people. Here are some of his ideas.
According to Dale Carnegie one way to make people like you is:
1 Be genuinely interested in other people. Real interest is a great form of flattery; disinterest communicates that the other person is boring at bet without value at worst.
2. Smile. It's hard to dislike a happy person.
3. Remember a person's name. After all, a person's own name is the sweetest and most iportant sound in any language.
4. Listen. Carnegie was a great listener and encouraged people to talk about themselves. We all want to believe someone finds us interesting.
5. Speak in terms of the other person's intersts. (This expands on the first and fourth steps.)
6. Make the other person feel important and do so with sincerity. We are egocentric, Carnegie knew, and making other people the center of the universe--even if only during a brief encounter--makes them feel good. And it makes them like you.
Cherie was telling me that I should talk a little bit about my childhood and some of the things that I remember. This is one of the things I remember my Dad telling me, and that is to remember that people like to hear about the things they are interested in.
Dad liked to think about things that he could do for other people. I always remember that he would bring me a box of chocolates on Valentines Day and I would share it with everyone else. When we lived in San Francisco he would bring us all 5 cent candy bars. Back then the 5 cent candy bars were as big as the ones we pay almost a dollar for now. My brothers would like to climb up my Dad too. I think Arlen and Alan would remember this the most.
Mom was always doing little things for other people too. She was always cleaning the house, working on a project for the Primary, driving us to different activities and generally working from dawn until dusk. She sacrificed a lot for us and if she had something she would always give it to us before she had any.
Mom would talk on the phone all day and iron clothes while watching her favorite show...I Love Lucy. On Friday nights we would wheel the black and white TV into the bedroom and watch the Lawrence Welk show. Mom loved the dancing and singing. She didn't watch TV very much other than that. It was a real novelty for us to even have a TV. We spent most of the afternoons outside playing with our friends.
Saturdays were a big day at our house. When we lived in San Francisco, we would get up at the break of dawn and clean the house, eat breakfast, and go to the grocery store. Dad would often buy a big box of oranges and peel them for us to eat. We would have peanut butter sandwiches on wonder bread for lunch while we hiked up one of the mountains nearby...Mission Peak or Mount Templepias.
At dinner time Dad banned drinking glasses at the table because one of us (I won't mention who because they know who they are) would spill their drink all over the tablecloth every time we would sit down to eat. We had two tables, one for the dining room and one in the kitchen. Dad had Mr. Hardy his friend make us some benches for the breakfast area so we could all sit down there.
Mr. Hardy was an interesting man. He was a single adult in our ward and would go with our family on excursions. We went to a park one time and Mr. Hardy jumped in the canal when we saw a little girl drowning. He was able to save her and give her artificial respiration before the fire department came. That was really exciting and scarey.
Dad and Mom were always taking us on adventures. We visited many National Parks, went camping, hiking, and to museums, aquariums, zoos and amusement parks. There were many things to do around San Francisco. I remember going to see the frog jumping contest in Calaveras County. Another time Dad bought us all hiking boots and we hiked to the top of a mountain. Jan cried because she had big blisters on her feet and could hardly walk. Mom didn't like to hike very much and got mad at my Dad for putting her through that.
At the time we lived there the Hippy Movement was in full swing. We went down to Haight Ashbury Street by the Park to see the Hippies. Our next door neighbor's daughter ran away with her boyfriend at that time and joined the movement there. Mom had a comment to us about that. She always did when she saw something that she thought was wrong so that her children knew never to get involved in that kind of thing. We were sheltered against a lot of things going on back then.
Growing up in our household was one adventure after another and I had a great childhood. Thanks Mom and Dad
According to Dale Carnegie one way to make people like you is:
1 Be genuinely interested in other people. Real interest is a great form of flattery; disinterest communicates that the other person is boring at bet without value at worst.
2. Smile. It's hard to dislike a happy person.
3. Remember a person's name. After all, a person's own name is the sweetest and most iportant sound in any language.
4. Listen. Carnegie was a great listener and encouraged people to talk about themselves. We all want to believe someone finds us interesting.
5. Speak in terms of the other person's intersts. (This expands on the first and fourth steps.)
6. Make the other person feel important and do so with sincerity. We are egocentric, Carnegie knew, and making other people the center of the universe--even if only during a brief encounter--makes them feel good. And it makes them like you.
Cherie was telling me that I should talk a little bit about my childhood and some of the things that I remember. This is one of the things I remember my Dad telling me, and that is to remember that people like to hear about the things they are interested in.
Dad liked to think about things that he could do for other people. I always remember that he would bring me a box of chocolates on Valentines Day and I would share it with everyone else. When we lived in San Francisco he would bring us all 5 cent candy bars. Back then the 5 cent candy bars were as big as the ones we pay almost a dollar for now. My brothers would like to climb up my Dad too. I think Arlen and Alan would remember this the most.
Mom was always doing little things for other people too. She was always cleaning the house, working on a project for the Primary, driving us to different activities and generally working from dawn until dusk. She sacrificed a lot for us and if she had something she would always give it to us before she had any.
Mom would talk on the phone all day and iron clothes while watching her favorite show...I Love Lucy. On Friday nights we would wheel the black and white TV into the bedroom and watch the Lawrence Welk show. Mom loved the dancing and singing. She didn't watch TV very much other than that. It was a real novelty for us to even have a TV. We spent most of the afternoons outside playing with our friends.
Saturdays were a big day at our house. When we lived in San Francisco, we would get up at the break of dawn and clean the house, eat breakfast, and go to the grocery store. Dad would often buy a big box of oranges and peel them for us to eat. We would have peanut butter sandwiches on wonder bread for lunch while we hiked up one of the mountains nearby...Mission Peak or Mount Templepias.
At dinner time Dad banned drinking glasses at the table because one of us (I won't mention who because they know who they are) would spill their drink all over the tablecloth every time we would sit down to eat. We had two tables, one for the dining room and one in the kitchen. Dad had Mr. Hardy his friend make us some benches for the breakfast area so we could all sit down there.
Mr. Hardy was an interesting man. He was a single adult in our ward and would go with our family on excursions. We went to a park one time and Mr. Hardy jumped in the canal when we saw a little girl drowning. He was able to save her and give her artificial respiration before the fire department came. That was really exciting and scarey.
Dad and Mom were always taking us on adventures. We visited many National Parks, went camping, hiking, and to museums, aquariums, zoos and amusement parks. There were many things to do around San Francisco. I remember going to see the frog jumping contest in Calaveras County. Another time Dad bought us all hiking boots and we hiked to the top of a mountain. Jan cried because she had big blisters on her feet and could hardly walk. Mom didn't like to hike very much and got mad at my Dad for putting her through that.
At the time we lived there the Hippy Movement was in full swing. We went down to Haight Ashbury Street by the Park to see the Hippies. Our next door neighbor's daughter ran away with her boyfriend at that time and joined the movement there. Mom had a comment to us about that. She always did when she saw something that she thought was wrong so that her children knew never to get involved in that kind of thing. We were sheltered against a lot of things going on back then.
Growing up in our household was one adventure after another and I had a great childhood. Thanks Mom and Dad
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Maybe Today
I have found myself wondering about how life changes after your children leave home. It isn't easy to go through the empty nest syndrome. Sometimes I wonder how my children are doing. I don't get to see anymore the day to day events in their lives and hope that they are taking care of themselves. I wonder sometimes why boys go through such a strong cutting of the apron strings too. I am working on letting go and trying real hard to let my kids soar and take off in their lives like I always meant them to. It is challenging when all I have is the memory of the first step, the birthday cakes, the eagle scout projects and young women's projects and then the graduations. I watch my friends whose children live close and wonder how they can keep them so close to them. They tend their grandchildren and help out with little things on a day to day basis. Their lives with their children continue somewhat. And yet my heart tugs towards my children also. It isn't that I'm unhappy with they way things are going in their lives because I feel that each and every one of them is doing well in their own right, it is that I really miss the crayon drawings, the activity, the daily talks, and I miss their faces the most of all.
I had a choice this week that I had to make. You see for years I have wanted my own classroom as a teacher. The job offer finally came to teach this summer. I would have my own classroom and teach English to foreign exchange students at the college here. I turned the job down. The reason is that I want to spend the summer doing things with my children. There is nothing more important to me than the small glimpses of time that I have with them.
I had a choice this week that I had to make. You see for years I have wanted my own classroom as a teacher. The job offer finally came to teach this summer. I would have my own classroom and teach English to foreign exchange students at the college here. I turned the job down. The reason is that I want to spend the summer doing things with my children. There is nothing more important to me than the small glimpses of time that I have with them.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Women's Voices
Today I went to get a pedicure. Last week I was examining my feet and the heels are cracking pretty badly so I thought a pedicure would help them. I remember that there was a woman at one of my pedicure sessions whose doctor proscribed it for her because of the poor circulation in her feet. Lately my legs have been going numb at night so I thought this would help. I came away with pretty feet with a French Manicure and feeling great after the massage.
That wasn't the most important part. I began talking to 'Lisa' who did my pedicure. She is a single mother with six children, five boys and one girl. Wow. I could not imagine having to be a single mother and working with feet all day and then going home to do everything else mothers do. So I asked her how she did it. She said that her mother is there to help her with the children. The kids Dad has nothing to do with them. She said that her mother's help is the one thing that gets her through. Although she can barely speak English, she is able to make it on her income with her children. I don't know how but she does.
We began talking about things that her kids like to eat also. They like the same things that mine did growing up: Pizza, Grilled Cheese, Beef Noodles (Ramen), and Mac and Cheese. Of course we had to talk about school lunches. She said that her kids get pizza every day if they want it. I have watched what kids eat and found that schools in this area turn off the snack machines during the day. The kids at school can buy healthy snacks which are granola bars, potato chips, cookies, corn nuts, nuts, juice, and water bottles. I wonder how healthy the healthy snacks are in the schools. :0 Cherie told me once that at the school she worked at the kids were not allowed to talk at lunch. Someone clarified why this was so. It is because if the kids talk they throw half their lunch away. Then I thought, I wonder how much my children threw away of their lunches when they were in school. Maybe I shculd ask them and find out. I bet only Cherie and Kristen respond to this one.
That wasn't the most important part. I began talking to 'Lisa' who did my pedicure. She is a single mother with six children, five boys and one girl. Wow. I could not imagine having to be a single mother and working with feet all day and then going home to do everything else mothers do. So I asked her how she did it. She said that her mother is there to help her with the children. The kids Dad has nothing to do with them. She said that her mother's help is the one thing that gets her through. Although she can barely speak English, she is able to make it on her income with her children. I don't know how but she does.
We began talking about things that her kids like to eat also. They like the same things that mine did growing up: Pizza, Grilled Cheese, Beef Noodles (Ramen), and Mac and Cheese. Of course we had to talk about school lunches. She said that her kids get pizza every day if they want it. I have watched what kids eat and found that schools in this area turn off the snack machines during the day. The kids at school can buy healthy snacks which are granola bars, potato chips, cookies, corn nuts, nuts, juice, and water bottles. I wonder how healthy the healthy snacks are in the schools. :0 Cherie told me once that at the school she worked at the kids were not allowed to talk at lunch. Someone clarified why this was so. It is because if the kids talk they throw half their lunch away. Then I thought, I wonder how much my children threw away of their lunches when they were in school. Maybe I shculd ask them and find out. I bet only Cherie and Kristen respond to this one.
Monday, May 17, 2010
A Letter From my Mother
Mother has been gone for 4 years now. She died February 3, 2006. In between that time there has been a lot of healing from her death. At first I withdrew and tried to cope with my grief alone, which put me into a tailspin of deep sadness but as time has gone on I have accepted her death as part of life. And I realize that this is part of the great plan. We who are born must all die and those left behind must cope with the empty place in life where our loved one existed. This is a cycle to life that we all must go through.
I found a letter from my mother that I saved for many years and wanted to share it with you.
February 18, 1995
Dear Carolyn,
I have been making it a matter of prayer and was awoken by the still small voice last night and given instructions as to what to do. Yesterday your father and I talked in church and I was given the topic of charity which is the pure love of Christ. Arlen had me read Moroni Chapter 7 and his discourse of this subject which I did. I decided to talk on another subject and asked for material from Dixie and Paul and Lori and Allison. Nothing seemed to come together but I felt strongly that Charity was to be the subject.
My mother and Dixie came down which I appreciated so much. It has been very difficult for my mother at this time. She has learned a lot from going to the school of the blind. They teach them not to have any pity parties about their condition but every day they are reminded to have good thoughts of themselves, to hold their head high and treat this as something they need to conquer just as graduating from school or as an achievement. She has learned tolerance and love for all people and to accept the blacks which she has never done before.
They brought the Sacrament to Grandmother Olsen after the meeting. They did not know she was here. They have sent for her recommend and are going to give her a temple recommend which President Hunter says we should carry with us at all times.
These are two great ladies that have lived very fulfilling lives and have given much to others. We have taken care of Grandmother Olsen for 10 years now. Has it been easy for me? No. did I have to work on my attitude and doing it for the right reason? Yes. I made it a matter of prayer so that I could serve her with love and give to her back the things she has given me. You will never know how grateful I was when I married to have her make my first maternity outfits and to help me with you and Jan when you were born. She treated me like a daughter and was so kind to me. I had things in my life that I had never had before. I was so grateful and appreciative of them.
I had a wonderful husband that put his arms around me and gave me love and listened with his heart and was kind and understanding. It is not easy to adjust to being a new mother and a new bride. He was not critical and has never been critical of anyone. He has been my greatest teacher of love and charity.
Elder Featherstone has said, "I promise you that all who faithful attend to temple work will be blessed beyond measure. Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when Satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin and great spiritual experiences will distill upon this people." I bear testimony that the veil has been thin and great spiritual experiences have been poured out upon me and my family. I have felt warm arms around me in my great hour of need and known what it was like to have the encouragement to go on as I struggled with my own health and watching my children grow with their own families, especially you my daughter Carolyn in bringing all these children into your family. You went through great trials to do this and you have been a great mother to them. I wish they could know your story and know what courage it must have taken to bring them into a home where they were born under the covenant and given these great temple blessings in their lives. The Lord has been with you in your moments of great despair to your heights of greatest joy. Knowing that someone loves you is the loveliest feeling known, that cares and is there for you.
We must work on things that stand in our way of this pure love of Christ. I have seen your struggles, you needs. We are all intermixed with strengths and weaknesses. All of us have problems, sorrows with feelings, hopes, disappointments, all of us misjudged, misunderstood at times, some of us generous, sometimes we are patient, sometimes we give way to temper, but all of us with human ills, misfortunes, loss of loved ones, all sometimes discontented and sometimes feeling blessed and grateful. These are the great lessons the Lord wanted us to learn on this earth.
The Lord placed us here on this planet together on this earth as an eternal family with eternal purposes. He told us to have understanding for one another, to trample no one, to injure no one, to deceive no one. He lifted other men's lives in their sickness, in their sorrows, in their loss and in their loneliness and those who were discouraged and disillusioned with life. Is this easy at all times? Do we struggle with this? Do we try to make our family an eternal family with this kind of love for all--unconditional love. Do we tell our children enough that we love them and how much they mean to us? Do we love all the members of our family unconditionally and pray for them?
I want you to know Carolyn how much your mother loves you and care about you and how much you mean to me. I need to feel your arms around me and to feel this love from you also. I am so grateful you are my daughter and you are a beautiful daughter with much love in your heart. You are an example to others and have given and served well in the church and given much to others when it was hard for you. You have overcome much and made many wonderful friends. The still small voice has given me comfort in the middle of the night as I put your name in the temple and prayed for my daughter. You mean everything to me and I have been on my knees much to know when you needed help and what to do and I have received direction from this hand. I have felt discouragement because I could not be there physically at times for you but I will always remember when my father came to me to give me this comfort and reassurance that he would look over you and your family and give you this care when you needed it. There was beauty and warmth in my father's voice when he sang the Prayer Perfect to me as I was feeling great anguish for you and could not be there for you or my mother when both of you were ill.
Dear Lord, Kind Lord, Gracious Lord I pray.
Thou wilt look on all I love, tenderly today.
Week their hearts of weariness, Scatter every care,
Down a wake of Angel wings winnowing the air.
Bring unto the worrying all release from pain,
Let the lips of laughter overflow again
And with all the needy, O divide, I pray
This vast treasure of content, that is mine today.
When this life is over my greatest desire is to be with my children and my grandchildren--all of them with this wonderful feeling of content--to look back over our lives and know that we have done the best we can and to know that he will forgive our failings and weaknesses and take care of those around us who have not learned this Charity or the pure love of Christ yet in their lives.
With much love and great devotion to my daughter Carolyn and her husband and her family--may you always feel this love from your father and I and know how much we care.
Love, Mother
I found a letter from my mother that I saved for many years and wanted to share it with you.
February 18, 1995
Dear Carolyn,
I have been making it a matter of prayer and was awoken by the still small voice last night and given instructions as to what to do. Yesterday your father and I talked in church and I was given the topic of charity which is the pure love of Christ. Arlen had me read Moroni Chapter 7 and his discourse of this subject which I did. I decided to talk on another subject and asked for material from Dixie and Paul and Lori and Allison. Nothing seemed to come together but I felt strongly that Charity was to be the subject.
My mother and Dixie came down which I appreciated so much. It has been very difficult for my mother at this time. She has learned a lot from going to the school of the blind. They teach them not to have any pity parties about their condition but every day they are reminded to have good thoughts of themselves, to hold their head high and treat this as something they need to conquer just as graduating from school or as an achievement. She has learned tolerance and love for all people and to accept the blacks which she has never done before.
They brought the Sacrament to Grandmother Olsen after the meeting. They did not know she was here. They have sent for her recommend and are going to give her a temple recommend which President Hunter says we should carry with us at all times.
These are two great ladies that have lived very fulfilling lives and have given much to others. We have taken care of Grandmother Olsen for 10 years now. Has it been easy for me? No. did I have to work on my attitude and doing it for the right reason? Yes. I made it a matter of prayer so that I could serve her with love and give to her back the things she has given me. You will never know how grateful I was when I married to have her make my first maternity outfits and to help me with you and Jan when you were born. She treated me like a daughter and was so kind to me. I had things in my life that I had never had before. I was so grateful and appreciative of them.
I had a wonderful husband that put his arms around me and gave me love and listened with his heart and was kind and understanding. It is not easy to adjust to being a new mother and a new bride. He was not critical and has never been critical of anyone. He has been my greatest teacher of love and charity.
Elder Featherstone has said, "I promise you that all who faithful attend to temple work will be blessed beyond measure. Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when Satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin and great spiritual experiences will distill upon this people." I bear testimony that the veil has been thin and great spiritual experiences have been poured out upon me and my family. I have felt warm arms around me in my great hour of need and known what it was like to have the encouragement to go on as I struggled with my own health and watching my children grow with their own families, especially you my daughter Carolyn in bringing all these children into your family. You went through great trials to do this and you have been a great mother to them. I wish they could know your story and know what courage it must have taken to bring them into a home where they were born under the covenant and given these great temple blessings in their lives. The Lord has been with you in your moments of great despair to your heights of greatest joy. Knowing that someone loves you is the loveliest feeling known, that cares and is there for you.
We must work on things that stand in our way of this pure love of Christ. I have seen your struggles, you needs. We are all intermixed with strengths and weaknesses. All of us have problems, sorrows with feelings, hopes, disappointments, all of us misjudged, misunderstood at times, some of us generous, sometimes we are patient, sometimes we give way to temper, but all of us with human ills, misfortunes, loss of loved ones, all sometimes discontented and sometimes feeling blessed and grateful. These are the great lessons the Lord wanted us to learn on this earth.
The Lord placed us here on this planet together on this earth as an eternal family with eternal purposes. He told us to have understanding for one another, to trample no one, to injure no one, to deceive no one. He lifted other men's lives in their sickness, in their sorrows, in their loss and in their loneliness and those who were discouraged and disillusioned with life. Is this easy at all times? Do we struggle with this? Do we try to make our family an eternal family with this kind of love for all--unconditional love. Do we tell our children enough that we love them and how much they mean to us? Do we love all the members of our family unconditionally and pray for them?
I want you to know Carolyn how much your mother loves you and care about you and how much you mean to me. I need to feel your arms around me and to feel this love from you also. I am so grateful you are my daughter and you are a beautiful daughter with much love in your heart. You are an example to others and have given and served well in the church and given much to others when it was hard for you. You have overcome much and made many wonderful friends. The still small voice has given me comfort in the middle of the night as I put your name in the temple and prayed for my daughter. You mean everything to me and I have been on my knees much to know when you needed help and what to do and I have received direction from this hand. I have felt discouragement because I could not be there physically at times for you but I will always remember when my father came to me to give me this comfort and reassurance that he would look over you and your family and give you this care when you needed it. There was beauty and warmth in my father's voice when he sang the Prayer Perfect to me as I was feeling great anguish for you and could not be there for you or my mother when both of you were ill.
Dear Lord, Kind Lord, Gracious Lord I pray.
Thou wilt look on all I love, tenderly today.
Week their hearts of weariness, Scatter every care,
Down a wake of Angel wings winnowing the air.
Bring unto the worrying all release from pain,
Let the lips of laughter overflow again
And with all the needy, O divide, I pray
This vast treasure of content, that is mine today.
When this life is over my greatest desire is to be with my children and my grandchildren--all of them with this wonderful feeling of content--to look back over our lives and know that we have done the best we can and to know that he will forgive our failings and weaknesses and take care of those around us who have not learned this Charity or the pure love of Christ yet in their lives.
With much love and great devotion to my daughter Carolyn and her husband and her family--may you always feel this love from your father and I and know how much we care.
Love, Mother
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Remembering
I have a hard time remembering words sometimes. I always have when I am nervous so I find the next closet word to the one I mean. My mind going blank becomes a problem sometimes when I meet someone who I have know for awhile and forget their name. And I tend to rename people and call them that until I find out that I'm calling them the wrong name. One time I had a friend who I had met and I renamed her for a whole year. She never said a word. I called her Sharon for a year and finally was telling someone that I was going to do something for Sharon and she looked at me with a blank look. "Who is Sharon?" she said. I described 'Sharon' and funny but she knew who I was talking about. "Oh," she said. "You mean Lorraine." My face turned red and I imagine I looked like I had a real good sunburn. Lorraine never said a word to me when I spoke to her or called her Sharon. I profusely apologized to her and she promptly forgave me. I now poke her everyday on facebook and remind myself to call her Lorraine.
So last year I began my Seminary class with nametags so that I would call the students the right names. I was bound and determined that I would not embarrass myself and call them by the wrong name. I made it until the end of the month and was so proud of myself not to call them the wrong name.
Okay so this must sound like I am looking at every fault that I ever had. Sometimes peoples faults are so obvious. Like mine with the names. Remembering things becomes a problem especially when people tend to forget so fast. I have read over and over again in the Book of Mormon how the people forget the Lord and the covenants they have made really fast, unless the people have gone through the harrowing process of repentance and stick to it. Alma the Elder and Alma the Younger were both like that. They both had to repent and both retained the remembrance of the awful pains they had gone through. They remembered the Savior. How can we remember the Savior in our every day lives?
Kerry and I have tried to remember Him through putting reminders of who we are throughout the house. We put pictures of the temple up on our walls to remind us of the covenants that we have made in the temple with each other. We have pictures of the Savior on the wall to remind us of the covenants we have made at baptism and when we take the Sacrament every week. It's important to remember. By creating an environment in our home that will help us remember helps us everyday to be honest with the Lord in keeping our part of the bargain.
Jenessa wrote to me recently about being grateful for my blessings. She is right that I have been abundantly blessed in this life. I have five wonderful children and a husband who loves me. My children have been and always will be my greatest blessing. They have married wonderful spouses who love them. That is another blessing. What more could I ask for? I have food, shelter, and clothing. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ and the scriptures. I have had wonderful parents who have continued to be supportive and I am greatly blessed every week with the spirit. I love my family, the gospel and the Lord.
So last year I began my Seminary class with nametags so that I would call the students the right names. I was bound and determined that I would not embarrass myself and call them by the wrong name. I made it until the end of the month and was so proud of myself not to call them the wrong name.
Okay so this must sound like I am looking at every fault that I ever had. Sometimes peoples faults are so obvious. Like mine with the names. Remembering things becomes a problem especially when people tend to forget so fast. I have read over and over again in the Book of Mormon how the people forget the Lord and the covenants they have made really fast, unless the people have gone through the harrowing process of repentance and stick to it. Alma the Elder and Alma the Younger were both like that. They both had to repent and both retained the remembrance of the awful pains they had gone through. They remembered the Savior. How can we remember the Savior in our every day lives?
Kerry and I have tried to remember Him through putting reminders of who we are throughout the house. We put pictures of the temple up on our walls to remind us of the covenants that we have made in the temple with each other. We have pictures of the Savior on the wall to remind us of the covenants we have made at baptism and when we take the Sacrament every week. It's important to remember. By creating an environment in our home that will help us remember helps us everyday to be honest with the Lord in keeping our part of the bargain.
Jenessa wrote to me recently about being grateful for my blessings. She is right that I have been abundantly blessed in this life. I have five wonderful children and a husband who loves me. My children have been and always will be my greatest blessing. They have married wonderful spouses who love them. That is another blessing. What more could I ask for? I have food, shelter, and clothing. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ and the scriptures. I have had wonderful parents who have continued to be supportive and I am greatly blessed every week with the spirit. I love my family, the gospel and the Lord.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
With Age Comes Wisdom
A guy is 75 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat one day when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up." He looked around and couldn't see anyone. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog. The man said, "Are you talking to me?" The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up,then kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because I will be your bride!" The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket. Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride." He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog." With age comes wisdom.
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