Right With the Lord

It was the fifth Sunday today and our new Bishop, Bishop Wells gave the joint Priesthood/Relief Society lesson. He talked about the last days and all the anxieties that could and can affect us. What we all need to remember is the Lord is in control, and if we give ourselves over to God in terms of living the gospel and being obedient and perhaps most difficult, trusting God to do what He says He will do, then there won't be anything we can't handle.

I'm in two choirs right now - my own Tropicana Ward and also Hacienda Ward. The Hacienda ward choir will be performing for both wards on the 14th. I had made sure it was the 2nd Sunday before I went to rehearse with them so it wouldn't conflict with the 3rd Sunday where I teach in Relief Society. Sister Enrico asked me today if I could teach my lesson on the 2nd Sunday instead as they have a special lesson prepared. She was going to check with her board and see if they could switch the special lesson to the 14th since I'd already made the choir commitment. It would probably be ok if I didn't sing for the Hacienda program, but I don't like backing out if I can help it.

Tithing settlement was this evening as well. I got a chance to visit with the Bishop and declare that I was a full tithe payer. He asked about what blessings I'd seen from paying tithing and I couldn't point to any specific blessing and say that was from paying tithing - but I do know that a whole lot of blessings come from it. It might be a blessing of protection - the destroyer passed by and didn't come in. I'd never know that happened, but it would be a blessing. Moderating challenges, having sufficient for my needs, health, and so much more.

I am going to pay more attention to the blessings I receive and the impressions I sometimes get regarding the reasons they enter my life. The Lord is so good to me.

Dewey the Cat and Shadow the Cat

I was reading a book today about a library cat named Dewey Readmore Books, rescued from a book drop as a starved frostbitten kitten. He changed the lives of many in good ways by his life and affection. The author of the book and the 'owner' of Dewey realized that all through his life she had held him and he had held her. He died in his 19th year in her arms as the vet sent him to the next life.

Shadow is for me as Dewey was for her. He came into my life in 2005 just months after the end of my 30 year marriage. He has been a loving companion and unconditional support through all the dark days. He waits for me to come home, he prefers to eat only when I'm with him, he sleeps on my shoulder when I'm sitting and by my side when I sleep. If he's not next to me he's where he can see me.



God blessed me with Him. He is a tender mercy from a loving Heavenly Father, a little gray abandoned kitten that has become a strength and a joy in every day of my life. Even now he is stretched on my shoulder, purring.

The First Commandment first

... which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (JKV Matthew 22:36-37)

We live in a world where good people are filled with confusion about what is right and what is not. We are appropriately encouraged to treat each other kindly, to be tolerant of differences, to be respectful of every human being.

Toleration does not mean we must agree. Toleration does not mean we must accept behavior or teachings that are contrary to our beliefs. Toleration means we allow others to be different from us, not that we roll over, give in, and surrender when beliefs and institutions are threatened.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (JKV Matthew 22:39)

Noble as this second commandment is - it is the second commandment, not the first. If in an effort to love our neighbors we abandon the first commandment, then we've got things backwards. Our loyalty and obedience belongs first to God and His teachings. We cannot keep faith with God if we abandon the laws He has given us in an attempt to "love" our neighbor. That is why we must always love one another, but never accept sin against God's laws as ok.

A New Year and New Possibilities

For the most part I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore - having found that I rarely manage to keep them for long. What I do try and do is re-commit to doing the things I should be doing and generally am doing - just better. Some people can charge forward quickly and be successful quickly, then go on to more things. Some of us run at a slower speed, but this is ok too, it's less about the speed than the destination, and enjoying the journey.

I signed up to Ravelry.com, a web site for knitters and crocheters. It's still in beta, but you can sign up to be added as they are adding several hundred people a day to the site. It's a place to organize, keep track of, share and get ideas from other knitters and crocheters. So far I like it a lot.

I've been thinking of my Dad a lot lately as his estate gets closed out and his things get given away or sold. I miss him and Mom, but my fondest memories are from years ago and I'll have those always.

This year I will give thanks every day.
I will smile more often - and every day.
I'll remember that I'm a daughter of God,
And He loves me no matter what.

My car was in the shop today and I took the bus to work. While waiting there a man and women, in their 20s I'd say, arrived with their young daughter and younger son. For the 5-10 minutes I was waiting it seemed that all the parents could do was criticize and chastise their children. I hurt for the children and for the family as a whole.

Why is it that the things we should love and cherish the most are treated so lightly? Why was it that these children, these gifts from God were so little valued? Where have we as a society gone that this is the daily behavior in so many families?

Let us remember Christ and how he loved little children and how He also said it would be better to be drowned than to offend a child.

Look at your children through the eyes of God, who was their Father before you were their parent. Love them even a little like He loves them, and like He loves you as well, for we are all children of God.

Blogging on a schedule

With a regular schedule I will blog regularly. We'll see. If I post nothing else but a few thoughts, the habit will begin to form.

Thought for the day: Those that want to live with God someday will need to form themselves, or rather allow God to form them, into the sort of being that would be happy in God's presence. Heaven wouldn't be heavenly if we aren't happy there.

Ten More Minutes

A parable of the cups. Sometimes when painting china and firing them in a kiln, the paint can come out chalky to the touch, and come off of the china. To a potter this is frustrating, but a mere ten more minutes in the heat of the kiln sets it properly.

We are like that in the Lord's hands. He is the master potter. He knows what we need to be all we can be. His timetable is not ours. Sometimes we might think we are all we can be, we have been heated and tested enough, but the Lord, the Master Potter knows more than we do.

Sometimes we need just ten more minutes.

Parable of the cat

I have a cat who likes to sleep on my chest. In order to allow him to do this I have a sash which I wear across my shoulder, over my head. When he is settled I knot the sash securely around him and he sleeps in perfect contentment.

Although he is perfectly secure and I add my arms to support him, as soon as I stand up he panics and will not remain within his safe wrappings, even though my arms are about him. I cannot compel him to remain and he leaves, unwilling to remain and go where I go.

How often do we do the same thing? We have come unto God and are wrapped in His arms, safe in his bosom, secure in His love and watchcare. Then God, still holding us close, desires to take us to another place and a different challenge, and we panic, choosing to leave the safety of His embrace.

God did not cease to watch over and care for us. He would have continued to hold us secure and safe, but we would not. We, like Peter, saw the place where we were and lost our trust in God's care.

Let us remember that His arms are always open to us. While we rest securely there we may still have challenges, but can always know that He is with us and we are His.

Already Getting Behind

There are a lot of things I'd like to talk about here but I seem to be slipping in posting regularly. General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is this coming weekend and I will be watching and listening. It's always inspiring to listen to modern apostles and prophets and know that God loves us in these times as much as in times past and he has once more given the world his messengers.

Think of what it would have been like to sit at the feet of Moses, or Isaiah, or Elijah or Christ. Just because they aren't dressed in robes and are clean shaven, doesn't mean their messages aren't just as authoritative. We're so conditioned to think of such men as things of the past that it's hard to get past it sometimes. Millions have done so however.