Reliable Transportation

I'm grateful for reliable transportation, and also for two legs and two feet that can take me where I need to go!

Prayer and Personal Revelation

 

I'm grateful to be able to communicate with my Heavenly Father through prayer every day and throughout each day. I know that he loves me, and that he loves you too! If we take the time to prepare and listen, he will guide us in all we do.

Lunch Break

 

 I'm grateful to have a lunch break where I can take some time to rest, eat a sandwich or some leftovers, grab some chocolate, switch out the laundry, go for a walk, and just sit and enjoy the sunshine and the birds singing.

Wonderful Friends and Neighbors

 "Hello neighbor!"  is the cheerful greeting I regularly get from one of my next door neighbors.  How blessed my family has been through the past twenty plus years to live next door to this wonderfully kind and always helpful neighbor and his large and equally wonderful wife and family.  If this were the only wonderfully kind neighbor that we have, we would undoubtedly still be very blessed, but there are many people in our neighborhood who are equally kind and helpful and who have been good and positive influences to my children.    I love that we live in a nice comfortable home with a fairly large yard on a fairly quiet circle in a fairly diverse neighborhood for our city.  We have neighbors of varied backgrounds and beliefs and lifestyles, but right now especially I can say that everyone  gets along and respects and enjoys one another.  We get together for little pot luck or ice cream socials several times a year, and can almost always count on someone to come and help us out if we ever get in a bind.  Hopefully we are at least half as good neighbors as they are to us.

We are also very blessed to belong to a church congregation that several families on our circle and many of our more outlying neighbors also attend.   During the past eight months of COVID 19 restrictions, we have not been meeting regularly as a congregation in our neighborhood chapel, but have been worshiping as families in our own homes.   Recently the congregation has begun meeting for the weekly Sacrament Meeting worship service with masks and social distancing seating for those who are comfortable meeting in person.  Because in our family we are considerably at high risk, and one of us works in a fairly high risk job and uses public transportation  most days, we have elected to continue worshiping here in our own home.  Last week for the first time, we were blessed to listen to the Sacrament Meeting via Zoom, and today we were able to listen to the Sacrament Meeting and also to meet with others from the congregation for a Sunday School class, each of us participating or listening from our individual homes.  What a blessing to once again see and listen to our good friends and neighbors, to hear of their challenges and grief, and also to hear of the blessings and faith and testimonies many of them have experienced in the past few days and weeks.  Though we are forever grateful that we can worship at home as a family, we are also very grateful to have the blessing of once again gathering and worshiping, even though virtually, with our good friends and neighbors.

"O Remember, Remember" --- A Month of Gratitude

November is here once again, with the reminder to cultivate thankful hearts and to look for the good things in life.  Gratitude can be an antidote for many of the ills of life.   As we begin this month of Thanksgiving, I have been grateful to once again listen to the talk that inspired the title of this blog . . . Random Thoughts and Tender Mercies, wherein I attempt to look for the good things in life and and recognize and remember God's kindness to me.    I don't do nearly as good a job as I would like, but especially in November I try to make a special effort to recognize and record the many blessings that have come into my life. 

In October 2007, President Henry B Eyring, then serving as second counselor in the first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints asked us to take the time to identify, record, and remember the blessings and mercies that Heavenly Father sends to each of us on a daily basis.  

"My point is to urge to to find ways to recognzie and remember God's kindness . . . you might pray and ponder, asking the questions:  Did God send a message that was just for me?  Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children?  I will do that.  And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love, will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him.  I testify that He loves us and blesses us, more than most of us have yet recognized.  I know that is true, and it brings me joy to remember Him.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

You can watch and listen to the entire talk right here:   O Remember, Remember

To the Children of the Church (and to the Adults)

Christ and the Children (Christ with the Children), by Harry Anderson

"Dear children, our Heavenly Father sent you to earth at this time because you are some of His most valiant children.  He knew there would be much wickedness in the world today, and He knew you could be faithful and obedient . . . . I promise you dear children, that angels will minister unto you . . . "

This talk was given in the April 1989 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by President Ezra Taft Benson, prophet of Jesus Christ.  It was directed to the children of the church, who are now adults.   Perhaps you remember listening to this message when it was given 30 years ago, or reading it later. It was read aloud during the conference by Elder Thomas S Monson who was a counselor to President Benson at the time, as the prophet was not strong enough to stand at the pulpit for the entire duration of the talk at the time. 

"To the Children of the Church" was referenced in our church's current "Come Follow Me for Primary" curriculum/lesson/study guide content for the past two week's period, and is still so touching and relevant for both adults and children today.  You can listen to and read this wonderful message here: To the Children of the Church

My Favorite Things About September

 

My very favorite things about September all come from the garden.   Granted, my garden's size and quality has been diminishing bit by bit over the past few years since the kids all left the nest and I started working full time.  The time and effort necessary to keep the very invasive lawn grass away and the soil nourished and the other weeds and snails and birds and cats and even racoons from taking more than their share just isn't available to me any longer.  But I still try every year.  I love the spring and digging in the dirt, the battle against the odds, even the hot summer sun and dry weather of our state.  So I'll keep on trying for as long as I can, planting and harvesting what I can.  It has been especially nice these past weeks to enjoy tomato sandwiches with my lunch since I am now working from home indefinitely.  There is the added bonus of being able to take a few minutes during my lunch break some days to water the flowers or pull a few weeds or pick the lunch time tomato straight from the vine.  The first planting of beans is starting to taper off, and the second planting isn't quite ready yet (yes I am slower and slower with planting every year as I fight back the forever encroaching very invasive variety of grass that surrounds the garden area.) but we still had enough green beans and our very first zuchinni of the year for our dinner tonight.  The squash was exactly perfectly sized and fresh and tasty! As were the green beans.  And of course, what is the end of summer without sunflowers and zinnias to brighten the shortening days?