Stronger Through Him

  The children of Israel are in peril and the Red Sea is parted. They are thirsty and Moses strikes a rock and water pours forth, providing relief for their parched souls. They are hungry and God provides manna.  Only they don't know it is.   In Exodus 16:15 it says "for they wist not what it was".   They don't recognize the gift before them and the prophet clarifies for them that it is bread for them to eat. Its even called manna which means unexpected gift from heaven.   I completely agree with these thoughts by Antoine R Ivins: "I can't bring myself to believe that those people were in any greater need of divine help than are people in our day. I can't bring myself to believe, either, that they were any more dear to God their Heavenly Father, as his children, than we and our fathers and grandfathers (and mothers and grandmothers). And I can't bring myself to believe that we are any more unworthy of the aid of God than they were. So to m...

  I'm feeling a little convicted tonight.   I've studied about the Children of Israel who were freed by God's power through the leadership of Moses and Aaron, and yet seemed to murmur and complain at every step along the way.   At one point I found myself thinking about the irony that they were sometimes complaining about the very thing that blessed them (or at least some aspect of it).  How very human.  Murmuring is one of the easiest things to do in the moment.  And the least fruitful.  And the internet has feeds of millions of murmurings as testimony to the fact that we are no different today. But I am only responsible for me.  So I checked my own feeds, conversations, texts and even thoughts and prayers for evidence of murmuring. And sure enough, I am also guilty of murmuring about the very things a loving Heavenly Father has given me.   I complain about side effects of medicine that is actually prolonging my life. I comp...

  It probably wasn't raining when Noah started building the ark.   I'm sure there were many times when it did start raining and he would wonder if this was it.  I wonder if at those moments he began to panic a bit and swing his hammer a little faster.  Or if he just continued in steady obedience.  Regardless, he did as he had been instructed.   He prepared.   We have been told to build our own "arks" both through temporal storage and wise stewardship and spiritual self-reliance.  This is a commandment I have personally kept to various degrees at various times.  It's a commandment that brings a sense of peace in knowing the calamities of the world don't have to impede our ability to provide for our children.  It's a commandment I saw modeled well by my parents and many good examples. But it doesn't just bring peace.  As Sister Barbara B Smith said, "Noah and his family must have been able to plan and provide in suc...

  Tonight my daughter, Kyrie, and a group of her friends went for wings night at Buffalo Wild Wings.   There were ten of them and they ordered 45 wings at the B1G1 special rate as well as a few other things. They waited for almost thirty minutes before their waitress came back and said she hadn't been able to read all her handwriting and asked to clarify.  Another 30 minutes went by and finally a different server brought their food out but with more than 200 wings!! They were told it would be worked out and started eating.  They finished eating but were presented a bill for almost $300 - nearly double what they had ordered. Some of her friends said they shouldn't tip the waitress but Kyrie said it was obvious she was young and new and didn't feel it had been intentional.  So she told the others to leave the cash or venmo her the amount they had actually ordered and she would take care of it. Then she asked to talk to the manager.  The manager e...

  One of the skills we work on helping our students (and teachers!) develop is the ability to be still and really listen.   To choose what they are focusing on. To actively calm.  This is a skill that comes more naturally to some than others, but all can build it over time. One key way I illustrate and teach this principal is to actively calm and listen for the quiet hum of the fluorescent lights.   At first the kids won't notice it,  but as we collectively quiet, it becomes more noticeable.   And then an amazing thing happens.  The more closely you listen, the further you are able to hear as your brain zooms in on that task and moves energy from others.  For example, you might now also hear  the water in the pipes, students in the hall, and even individual voices from neighboring rooms.   Keep listening and you may hear the other sounds of a school building- the tick of the clock you didn't know made noise at all.  T...

  Yesterday I was returning home from an errand and caught sight of a majestic pair of swans floating together on the pond across from the house.  In our nine years here I have never seen them there before.  I pulled into the driveway and told Ella to grab some shoes and come with me to see and I grabbed my camera. It took a bit of waiting in the brutal wind, reminding us that winter hasn't officially departed yet, as the swans alternately plunged their heads down into the water I assume to fish for nourishment.  But I was able to capture a few images before conceding to the cold and returning home. Ella casually asked if I could send the pictures to her and I did, not thinking much about it. Then today I had a couple different people tell me what a fine job she did teaching her young women lesson at church.   It turns out the swans timed their arrival rather perfectly.  (Isn't that the way the Lord often works??!!)  She was buddied up wit...

 Thursday I woke up to a strange sensation.   I wasn't groggy and felt clear-headed.   When I stood up I felt almost elated and it took me a moment to realize why.   Nothing on my body hurt.  I was pain free for the first time I remembered in months.   Two days earlier we had been watching my leg swell and swell and swell, wondering when we needed to head to the ER. Now I headed down the stairs and found myself skipping. I ate breakfast and nothing came back up. At work, projects that I had been plodding along trying to complete for weeks I was able to wrap up in an hour and quickly whittled down my to-do list. I found myself running and chasing with kids at recess and felt like I had sunshine coming from my soul. I was laughing and just happy to be alive. Over and over again I took in with some surprise the way in which I could stand up and sit down unassisted, open a bottle lid by myself, or take in a full breath of air with ease.  Human bodies are q...