Ponderize Week 2

Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.

D&C 88:124


What is "ponderize"?  The word was introduced to the vast audience of the 185th semi annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this past Sunday afternoon.  Devin G. Durrant, the newly sustained 1st counselor in the General Sunday School presidency of the church introduced the word to us in this way:

"I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it’s a combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization.  There are two simple steps:

First, choose a verse of scripture each week and place it where you will see it every day. Second, read or think of the verse several times each day and ponder the meaning of its words and key phrases throughout the week.  Imagine the uplifting results of doing this weekly for six months, a year, 10 years, or more."

The above verse is now posted on my refrigerator and on sticky notes on both my work and my home computers where I can refer to it periodically throughout the day, no matter what my day may bring.  So are you up to the challenge?   What scripture verse will you be "ponderizing" this week?  Does it have special meaning to you?
 
 

Ponderize

You may not be aware, but this past weekend a new word was added to the vocabulary of many.  What is the word?  "ponderize"

The word was introduced to the vast audience of the 185th semi annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints this past Sunday afternoon.  Devin G. Durrant, the newly sustained 1st counselor in the General Sunday School presidency of the church introduced the word to us in this way:

"I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it’s a combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization.  There are two simple steps:

First, choose a verse of scripture each week and place it where you will see it every day. Second, read or think of the verse several times each day and ponder the meaning of its words and key phrases throughout the week.  Imagine the uplifting results of doing this weekly for six months, a year, 10 years, or more."

This seems like a worthwhile challenge, so, yesterday after work I took a few minutes to search out and find the scripture verse that I would like to "ponderize"  this week.   I have chosen the following verse from the book of Alma found in The Book of Mormon. 

"Yea, and he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning."

--Alma 18:32

This verse is now posted on my refrigerator and on sticky notes on both my work and my home computers where I can refer to it periodically throughout the day, no matter what my day may bring.  So are you up to the challenge?   What scripture verse will you be "ponderizing" this week?  Does it have special meaning to you?
 

Weekend Recap

source www.lds.org

So the weekend is winding down, one of my favorite weekends of the year.  It has lived up to expectations.   It has been good.  A gentle kind of good.

Saturday was a bit hectic as all Saturdays usually are, but I did not set huge expectations for myself, so was able to enjoy what I felt impressed to do.  There was a bit of laundry to finish up and a quick trip to the store, but most of the usual Saturday chores were given a waiver this weekend.   I was able to sit in my own living room with my DH and DD1  and listen to the first session of the October 2015 Semi Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Of course I had my yellow legal pad to take notes of what was sung and what was said, and to note in the margins the thoughts and impressions that came to me of what I need to do in the next six months.  After the morning session DD1 and I drove up to visit my Dear Dad, leaving DH  home to deal with some pressing paperwork and a headache.   We did a bit more cleaning and visiting, and watched the 2nd session of the conference with Dad, then left him to review the session once again on a different television station while we headed down the mountain to meet up with Dear Mother in Law, Sister in Law and nieces for a traditional ladies night out at Café Zupa, returning home to watch and listen to the end of the Priesthood session with DH, followed by a TV show or two. 

Today, Sunday was even more laid back.  After showering and finding some oatmeal for breakfast, I settled in on the couch for another day of inspiration.  From 9:30 am to 4:30 pm we sat and listened to inspired counsel and beautiful music, interspersed with uplifting documentary, only getting up to stretch and grab a sandwich. This just may have been the longest single time period of my entire life that I have been stationed in front of the TV,   So by 4:30 I was ready for a nice little walk around the neighborhood, enjoying the cool air and the sunshine and visiting with a few neighbors who were also out walking, riding bikes with children, or sitting on the front porch enjoying the afternoon.   It has been a lovely day. 

So, what has most impressed me from all of the wonderful messages that I have heard?   The light of Christ is available for each of us.  He loves  us and knows our divine potential.   We are all sons and daughters of God who loves us and wants us to return to him:

 

Of course the reassurances from Elder Holland were heartwarming too:

 

 

President Henry B Eyring's words were directed specifically to me:

 Even though I have tried to follow this counsel throughout my life, I feel that I need to do this more sincerely, especially every week during sacrament meeting and every morning and evening in my personal prayers.
 

And who cannot feel the love and assurance from the counsel of our beloved prophet, President Thomas S Monson:

As far as specific direct counsel that will benefit us all, who could not agree that the advice from Elder Durrant is relevant to our time and our lives:

 

Elder Durrant specifically challenged us to do two small things each and every week, that are promised to bless our lives:

1.  Save an amount of money every week
2. " Ponderize" a verse of scripture each week

What does it mean to "Ponderize" scripture?  According to Elder Durrant it means 80% pondering and 20% memorizing.  Select a verse of scripture and post it where you will see it several times a day every single day and ponderize and treasure up the words of Christ to your memory and share the verse with family and friends. 

So, that is what I will try to do. 
Pray to know God's will for me. 
Save an amount of money every week.  
Ponderize a verse of scripture each week.    


Were you able to listen to October General Conference this weekend?   If you were, what counsel impressed itself upon your soul?   What changes were you prompted to make in your life?  What talks and messages would you like to review and listen to again?

Watch or Listen to your favorite talks

Sourced of memes

Favorite Weekends

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year!!   Twice a year, on the first weekend of April and again on the first weekend of October we gather together as a family to listen to the Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.    I will be missing many of my family members who now live  far away from us and are not here to sit with us as we hunker down at home to listen and eat and visit, but hopefully they will all be able to all have a relaxing and uplifting weekend as they make new traditions in their new homes.

Some times our family gathers with extended family members to watch or listen to the General Conference.  Sometimes we will meet with family on Saturday evening after the main sessions and go out to eat together.   Several times we have been fortunate enough to secure tickets to attend one or more conference sessions in person.  Some years in the past I have had fun cooking and baking while listening, preparing favorite fall foods like Cinnamon Rolls or Apple Crisp.  Sometimes we gather to play board games after listening to the sessions.  It's all good.

For me the most important part of the weekend has always been spending time with my family, and listening to the men that God has called as prophets for this particular time.  Prophets that live and speak here on the earth today.  Do you have any particular questions or concerns or problems that you are facing right now?   I know that I do, and that most people living in this crazy beautiful world right now do too.    

I  encourage you to take some time this weekend to think about a few of the things going on in your life that you might be concerned about.  Pray about your questions and concerns, and then take the time to tune in and listen to what the prophet and the other speakers during conference have to say about your particular concerns and topics.   Hunker down, listen, and feed your spirit.  I promise you won't be sorry that you did.

Click here to find out where and how to watch and listen to General Conference.

What Have I Been Missing?

Most days I try to take a walk around the campus where I work during my lunch break, and I generally walk in pretty much the same area.  So, yesterday when I noticed these pale lavender and white flowers for the very first time in my remembrance, it made me stop and wonder, what have I been missing?   I know I have walked past this very planter many times in the past few months, and it is obvious by the size of the plant that the flowers have been there all season.  So why have I not noticed them before?

(source: Star in the Sky wallpaper, unfortunately not my own photo)

 

Several evenings ago I spent an hour or so after work digging grass out of my backyard vegetable garden (a regular on-going battle).   As the last bit of light was fading from the sky, I lay back on the lawn and watched the first stars of the evening gradually appear in the darkening sky above me.  It was a beautiful, calming sight, and I realized that this was the first time all summer that I had taken the time to lay on the lawn and look at the stars.  Why don't I do that more often? 

 

Work, family, church and community obligations.  Household chores and yard work.  Errands, shopping, and entertainment.   TV and the Internet.  There are so many things to capture our attention every day and every week.   How often do I take a few minutes to just enjoy what is around me?  To stop and smell the roses in my very own yard?  To relax on the grass and enjoy the night sky?   What have I been missing?

The Sunflower

 

Quite a number of years ago, a dear friend gave me a packet of sunflower seeds to plant in my garden.  This was back when some of my children were still somewhat interested in at least planting the garden each spring, so we planted the seeds in several of their individual 4 X 4 foot garden plots, and the seeds grew into huge, healthy, plants that produced multitudes of gorgeous pinkish purple sunflowers.   We saved many of the seeds, and salted and roasted them, and there were still plenty for the birds.   As the birds came to the plants and feasted, many of the seeds fell to the ground where they remained during the winter, and the following year sprouted and grew, not into the huge pinkish purplish blossoms, but into the beautiful, ordinary, yellow blossoms that you see all over our area this time of year.     For several years we allowed the plants to grow, until they threatened to take over the entire garden, and we relegated them to grow only along the northern edge of the gardens.   I still leave several plants each spring (even though they require a fair amount of work to clean out each fall) as I still enjoy their bright loveliness in my hodgepodge of a garden.  

Today we heard an analogy of the sunflower; how during the long night time the petals of the sunflower blossoms droop, till the sun rises over the horizon each morning, and the sunflower lifts its head to the warmth and light of the sun.   Throughout the day the sunflower follows the sun as it moves across the sky from the east to the west, gathering as much energy from the source of light as it can until the evening when the sun sinks once again below the horizon and the petals of the sunflower again droop, waiting patiently for the source of light and strength to return.

We, too, have a source of light and energy and strength:  The Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ,  by Harry Anderson

Source

 

 

Am I following the example of the sunflower?

 

Am I keeping my face turned towards the source of light in my life?

 

Am I taking the time to pray morning and night and throughout the day?

 

Am I taking time to read his word through the scriptures?

 

Do I have pictures of him close at hand to remind me to keep him central in my life?

 

Do I have pictures of his holy temples close at hand to remind me of the way back home?

 

Salt Lake LDS Temple

Source 



Family

Nearly twenty years ago on Saturday, September 13, 1995, President Gordon B Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints presented The Proclamation On the Family to the world during the annual meeting of the Relief Society, the women's organization of the church.  I remember listening as he read, and knowing how true and wonderful these words are, but had no idea how vital this document would become as the world's ideas and practice of traditional family values has changed.

I'm very grateful for my family.  I'm grateful for my own dear parents and the example they have set over the years since they first created our family when they married back in 1949.  I'm grateful for my own dear husband, who has always loved me, supported me in so many ways, and treated me as his equal partner in our marriage.  I'm grateful for the talented and loving dear children who have joined our family, my siblings  my dear in laws, and all of my extended family members who strive to have happy and successful families.   None of us are perfect, but I can honestly say that our family is the greatest blessing and support system in my life.  I'm grateful for this guide that has been given to us from God, through his prophets, to help us hold fast to what is good and true in spite of confusion in a troubled world.

Since some may not be familiar with  The Proclamation On the Family, I'm including the words of the proclamation below as found at https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-and-church-history-student-study-guide/the-worldwide-church/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng



Before President Gordon B. Hinckley read “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” at a general meeting of the Relief Society in September 1995, he said: “With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, rs, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history” (“Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World,”Ensign,Nov. 1995, 100).

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

1. “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

2. “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

3. “In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

4. “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

5. “We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

6. “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and father—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

7. “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

8. “We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

9. “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society” (Ensign,Nov. 1995, 102).