Stronger Through Him

  It had been more than 13 years.   13 years since we had spoken, corresponded, or really done much more than the occasional social media like or love. There have been graduations, illnesses, weddings, and lots of new gray hairs on both sides.   Then a few months ago, she excitedly shared her impending grandparenthood.  The hope and joy of a new generation, hopefully with some healing as well.   And then an e-invite to attend a baby shower.  "You should go."   What? Where did that thought come from?  It is a busy time of year and weekends are my worst times.  It would literally make me sicker to fit in a trip like that.  I brushed it off and went to click "decline".  "You should go."  There it was again.   I have learned not to ignore that voice.  I still do sometimes, I'm not perfect, but I knew I had a prompting.  And so I clicked "maybe". I arranged for my daughter to travel with me and secured lodgings.  Winter stor

  After dealing with a rather frustrating situation today and feeling my feathers a bit ruffled, I walked into the 4th grade classroom.   I was monitoring students during indoor recess and turned to the girls working at the board and asked, "If you knew someone was really struggling with trying to calm back down and not be so frustrated, what would tell them to do?" One girl quickly spun around and spoke up confidently, "Tell them to try medication!" My inward chuckle did, indeed, calm my feathers but then she corrected. "I think I meant meditation!" Both have their places.   President David O McKay instructed, "Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. Jesus set the example for us."  He then expounded on Jesus going to the wilderness for spiritual strengthening after being baptized.   But there is also definitely a place for professional, skilled health care.  And p

  I was sent to teach a kindergarten class earlier this week.  The teacher had fallen ill and there were no substitutes available. This class had been learning about the rain forests and were making persuasive posters to encourage others to help protect them. They were telling me about the animal they had each been assigned to study and using rich vocabulary like undercover and foliage.   As they wrote and designed their posters I watched as some students started with artwork and were more developed artists than others.   Others were sounding out words and writing clearly discernible complete sentences.   One little girl was carefully writing long strings of Os and Is.   In each case I helped scaffold, or support, their one individual next step.   For some they needed to draw lines to represent the words.   For some encouragement to add detail. And in my little friend with Os and Is I asked her to read it back to me.  She quickly slid her finger along the penciled li

  She didn't let what she didn't have stop her. She found a paper towel and a pen.   She wasn't afraid to share her feelings. She wasn't worried about her art skills and she generously gave me long eye lashes and a crown.   Once again I am reminded why we are supposed to learn from our children. They give love freely.  Elder Jack H Gauslind Jr taught, "I am persuaded that much of our love is confined to mere lip service and dreams of good deeds accomplished, but true love must be expressed in unselfish acts of kindness that bring others closer to our Heavenly Father." Don't wait for the perfect day and perfect way.  Share your love freely with what you have. 

My daughter shared this from her mission Thai week: Something spiritual that happened this week was with our friend Francisco. We had been explaining God's plan and the purpose of life, and where we go after death, and Francisco asked where bad people that try to follow Christ go. We explained if you're trying to follow Christ, you aren't a bad person, and asked if he had the desire to be baptized so he could become clean of his sins. He started crying and said yes, and didn't know that it was possible to repent, and if was a super beautiful moment. I'm really grateful for the chance I have to invite others to come unto Christ, and I know that Jesus Christ is our savior and through Him, we can all be saved. Repentance. It's not a punishment.   It's a beautiful gift.   A process that restores our connection with Heaven, paid for by Jesus Christ.   It's about hope. It's about redemption. It's about love.   And sometimes I need to be reminded of tha

  In December, when my birthday came, a dear friend sent me a gorgeous bouquet of tulips. She knew that tulips are not only my favorite flower, but have exceptional meaning to me. And that the gift not only made me smile for days, but reminded me just how well she knows and loves me. Personalized gifts are like that.   They can elevate, uplift, soothe and bring joy.  Any parent who has ever sacrificed to give a special gift understands that.  Matthew 7:11 reads, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" Why?  Because we are loved and known personally.   More than we can truly fathom.   But when we make the effort to see the touch of the divine in our lives, we will begin to see evidence of that personal love. Evidence like tulips on a winter day. 

  Years ago, while serving as PTO President at my children's elementary school, I was tasked with cleaning out and updating the files.   And there were more than 80 years of files!  It was a bit of a treasure hunt and took me way longer than planned because I spent so long walking through the memories told by the files crammed full of receipts, meeting notes (with parliamentary procedure ensured), photos, news clippings and more. The scrawled cursive writing turned to typewriter notes, than mimeo blue, then more typewriting complete with telltale blobs of white out and finally the early computer printouts, floppy disks and then memory sticks.   In the midst of this I found a particularly intriguing fundraiser plan from a time which predated not only water bottles, but also water fountains..... Here was the plan.  They would serve "extra salty popcorn" for free at the meeting and then charge 5 cents for a dipper of water.  It proved to be a profitable fundrais

  6:10 every morning, Monday-Friday. They sometimes complain about the early hour.  They tease each other and sometimes they fall asleep.   But they come. These teens gather at my house for seminary.  We spend 50 minutes learning and studying scriptures together. This year we are studying the New Testament.  And this week we were reading in Luke 1:46-55 which has the passage known as Mary's Song. "My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." Some of my favorite words of scripture.   We read and discussed how Mary used words to share her feelings and testimony.  But that we can also share our own "songs" in our own way and I challenged them to consider how they best share their love of the Lord. I set out some simple supplies and thought the kids would probably do some quick sketches and move on.   Instead I was greeted by this: "Do you have a guitar?"  "Can we use the piano and harp?" &

  I know several of my readers in this group have suffered through pregnancy loss and specifically stillborn children, so I share this with prayer and love to them all.   A good friend of mine was excitedly anticipating the birth of her granddaughter any day.   But this week, after her daughter noticed no movement from a baby who had been extremely active the day before, they rushed to the hospital where it was discovered her precious baby girl had no heartbeat. She was stillborn several hours later and my friend and her daughter spent several hours crying  and holding their baby.  Then they began the excruciating process of planning a memorial for their little one.  How do you fit into two hours what should have been a lifetime?  We were all heartbroken for them and yet knowing our grief could in no way compare to what they were and will be walking through.   But as I was talking to her today and listening she explained that she was so grateful for knowing that this angel was now danc

  "Ahh, man!!! I wanted goldfish!" "Not the animal crackers, open the Ritz!  Please!!!"  Third grade snack time is a small but necessary time of the day when school starts at 7:30 and the last lunch shift isn't until 12:10.  They get a light snack, just a few crackers to help tide them over until lunch.   Only as a guest teach, I wasn't aware of class protocols and these kids were going to try and coax all the extras out of me they could.   But then the Special Ed Para spoke up.  "They only get a few and they don't get to pick." "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." It was said in a whiny mocking voice.   "Hmm, I said.  I would expect third graders wouldn't need to throw a fit but what do you suppose we could say instead?" A quiet little girl spoke up from the back.  "I know!  You get what you get and you're thankful for it."  Enthusiasm for her idea spread like wild fire and as I made my ro

  When things go wrong, and they will, who do you turn to first? When you are seeking help and inspiration do you turn to the Lord first? Or only as a last resort when other things fail?  Is your foundation built upon the wisdom of God or the wisdom of the world?  Do my scripture apps or my social media times get more air time?  Do I begrudgingly approach God? Or do I as usual taught in Proverbs, run to him? Joseph Smith, speaking of the contentious religious debates of his time, could well have been describing our day. "In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?" Perhaps religious revivals were not so very different from social media battles. So what do we do? Where do we turn? Proverbs 18:10 spells it out clearly.  "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth

  I was teaching first grade today and they were learning about the word "powerful". As I wrote it on the board, I underlined the "ful" suffix and connected it back to power and explained it meant full of power. Then I asked them about other words with that ending. "Thankful!" One boy called out. "That's full of thanks," a classmate added. "Joyful is full of joy!" exclaimed an impish blonde girl from the carpet.  "Helpful is full of helping." "And beautiful is full of beautifulness?" One boy jumped up with excitement and shouted, "I've got one.  Dinnerful is full of dinner!" I chuckled and congratulated them on their good word detective skills.   But later found my self asking these simple questions:   What is my heart full of?  What would those around me say that they see and feel overflowing from me?  Am I peaceful?  Resentful? Joyful? Dreadful? Graceful? Awful? Grateful? H

  Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous waiters.   Not that they worked in hospitality, but that they literally waited for their prayers to be answered for decades. They wanted a child. But while they waited they kept all the commandments.  And kept their covenants. And served in the temple.  In Luke 1:6 it reads, "And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." They were BOTH righteous - working on it together. I don't think that it means they were perfect.  In fact the Latin root word for blame comes from "blaspheme” (“to speak in a disrespectful way about God or other things considered sacred”). They didn't put a time table on sacred promises and blessings.   They didn't abandon God or give up on themselves.   Even when they had consequences- like Zacharias being dumb after doubting God's ability to fulfill- they still kept the faith.  And like happens so often,  thei

  Kidney stones, flu, covid, flood waters from broken pipes, divorce, $2200 car repairs, baby needing surgery, goodbyes, cancelled flights, and an unexpected death.   These are all things that have happened not to me, but to those close around me in the last week. Which can and will provide difficulties, discouragement, pain and suffering.  It's one of the collective experiences of humanity. And YET..... thanks to our Savior those things aren't eternal.   They still hurt.  They knock the wind out of us.  They can bring us to our knees.  But they aren't forever.  As Joseph Smith was taught in D&C 121:7: 7My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; 8And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. 9Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands. In the midst of the trials, I see the friends standing