Praise the Lord with a Prayer of Praise and Thanksgiving

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful.
D&C 136: 28,29

Well, it's come right down to the wire for those who will be preparing this year's Thanksgiving feasts!  Hopfully the shopping is done, the lists are made, and everyone knows who is responsible for what.  This year will be simpler than some for us, but it's all good.  Some years we have enjoyed large family gatherings, and some we have enjoyed a simpler  Thanksgiving on our own.   We have always had something to be grateful for, even in the years of sorrow.   Calling on the Lord with supplication brings us comfort and joy. 

And so, here's the yearly question:  Tomorrow is pie baking day.  I think we will be having the pumpkin, the apple, the mincemeat, and a chocolate cake.  So what is your favorite pie or dessert, and what desserts will be on your table?

clipart source

I Wonder When He Comes Again

Christus Statue Photo Source

Tonight we decided to watch episode 3 of season five of The Chosen.  I think I had started to watch the episode earlier this year, but didn't finish the episode, but after studying the lesson for Come Follow Me this week, the ending of this episode was very tender.  I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't watched this episode, but season five is based on the final week of the Savior's life, and this episode shows the Savior discussing with his apostles that no one, not even the Savior himself knows when he will return.  If you aren't familiar with  The Chosen, I highly recommend this series for everyone.  If you have seen the series, I would recommend rewatching episode 3 of season five.  

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered they children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Behold, your hous is left unto you desolate.

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. 

Matthew 23:27-29

I don't believe that all of the episodes of seson five of the chosen are currently available on Youtube, but you can watch this compilation of all of the scenes that make up the portrayal of The Last Supper:

And I the Lord, Remember Them No More

Currently in my reading of The Book of Mormon, I'm again reading in the book of Helaman.  As per usual, I find myself frustrated at how often, in the space of not many years, Helaman and his sons and others of those working with him in the leadership of the Church find themselves once again preaching the word of God, not only to the Lamanites, but also to the Nephites who have again gone astray and become prideful and wicked.   The contention of those times reminds me, and most likely others who read The Book of Mormon, of the world that we live in today.  Yes, I know that there has been evil and war and contention almost always somewhere in the world all during my lifetime, but it all seems to be commanding our attention almost constantly in recent years.   So I've been trying to focus on the verses where the efforts of the prophets have met with success, and the people in the land have repented, and they are living in peace:

And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in peace.  And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the church did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the people, both the Nephits and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the land; and thus ended the seventy and seventh year. 

Helaman 11:21

This time around it accured to me that all of these stories  of the "cycle" of  wickedness, repentance, righteousness, pride, and wickedness are evidences of God's great love for us in providing, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the opportunity for everyone everywhere who has ever lived on this earth to repent.   Over and over again, each and every day, we each make mistakes and are again in the need of repentance.  Hopefully we aren't making terrible and wicked mistakes that need repenting of, but I know that each day I make mistakes such as unkind thoughts or words, selfishness, laziness, or not listening to promptings or taking advantage of opportunities to help others around me.   But I do have the blessing of being able to reach out to my Father in Heaven in prayer each morning and each evening to check in with him, or anytime during the day, to ask for forgiveness and seek for guidance.  I have the blessing of being able to repent.  I am grateful for repentence.  

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.  

D&C 58:42

♫♪♫ Happy Birthday to our Latter Day Prophet ♫♪♫ # President Nelson 101

 

Did you know that the Lord's living prophet has his own YouTube Channel?

Did you know that the Lord's living prophet, Russell M Nelson will celebrate his 101st birthday on September 9, 2025?

How blessed we are to  have a source of truth, and a wonderful example of Christlike living here among us in this crazy world.   If you haven't had the opportunity to hear his words and counsel, I invite you to listen and follow his channel.   We need all of the light and truth and guidance we can get these days. 

In honor of President Nelson's 101st birthday, Time Magazine has published an article with a special message from our prophet:

♫♪♫  Happy Birthday, President Nelson  ♫♪♫  Happy Birthday to you !!  ♫♪♫

We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” from Hymns (English).

Text: William Fowler, 1830–1865

Music: Caroline Sheridan Norton, 1808–ca. 1877

1.

We thank thee, O God, for a prophet

To guide us in these latter days.

We thank thee for sending the gospel

To lighten our minds with its rays.

We thank thee for every blessing

Bestowed by thy bounteous hand.

We feel it a pleasure to serve thee

And love to obey thy command.

2.

When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us

And threaten our peace to destroy,

There is hope smiling brightly before us,

And we know that deliv’rance is nigh.

We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

We’ve proved him in days that are past.

The wicked who fight against Zion

Will surely be smitten at last.

3.

We’ll sing of his goodness and mercy.

We’ll praise him by day and by night,

Rejoice in his glorious gospel,

And bask in its life-giving light.

Thus on to eternal perfection

The honest and faithful will go,

While they who reject this glad message

Shall never such happiness know.

The Tough Little Tomato Plant

 For the past several years I have been starting some of my garden plants in the basement laundry room using a warming pad and two grow lights.  I don't have a huge amount of space, so have been a bit limitted on the number of plants I can grow, but have had a bit of success starting plants from seeds harvested from tomatoes, peppers and squash from the local grocery stores, along with some purchased seeds.  

One day this past winter as I was doing a load of laundry, I noticed a little sprout delicately clinging to the rough cement in the drain from the water softener.   I took a photo of said tomato sprout before planting it into a a little blue pot and placing it in my kitchen window.  

This little seedling was carefully nourished all winter long, and was the first tomato planted in my garden this summer.  I've watered it and pulled the weeds, and the little tomato plant has now produced two very fine ripe tomatoes that we will eat for our dinner tonight  . . . our first ripe tomatoes of the season.  

This photo shows a tomato from another plant purchased from the local Lambert's nursery (the larger one) that was planted a week or so later, along with a few squash, cucumbers and green beans also harvested today.  

How does your garden grow this summer? 

Giving Machines -- An Impressive Innovation in Charitable Giving

 

Hello Kind Friends,

It has been quite a while since I have posted on any of my public blogs, but realized that I probably haven't ever, or at least not recently shared one of my favorite new holiday traditions -- visiting our local Giving Machines with our family and selecting several items that we can purchase and donate to worthwhile charities, a great way of loving our neighbors.  At times in the past our family Christmas Budgets have been very tight, but now with the family all grown and me working full time, I'm really enjoying being able to share what I can, especially during the Christmas season as we honor our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We can change a life by donating shoes, a meal or even goats! The Giving Machines are now in their eighth year, and are found in many different cities and locations all over the world.  All donations go directly to both local and global charities around the world, with all administrative costs being covered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.   

Have you seen a Giving Machine in your area?  Check to see if there is one near you.  There are even digital versions of the machines this year.  Check out the video below!

My Favorite Part of Fall

        

We often share answers to ice-breaker questions at the beginning of staff meetings at work.  For the most part I enjoy this practice since it helps us to get to know each other a little bit better, and it makes for a fun and interesting few minutes in a sometimes stressful work day.   This last week the question for the day was "What is your favorite thing about Fall?"   This took me a few minutes to decide, since Fall really isn't my favorite season.  Yes, I enjoy the cooler weather and the beautiful colorful leaves.  There is some excitement with back to school and finding new treats in the garden.   Halloween can be fun, but I don't like to celebrate the gory or wickedness or evil in the world, so I usually don't do much other than share some treats with family and co-workers and children in the neighborhood.  I might put out a scarecrow and some pumpkins on the front porch and hang my old witchy door decoration up on Halloween. 

    So what was my answer?  Celebrating family birthdays, since we have a few September and October and November birthdays.   The week of Halloween has been "birthday week" for many years, and we always over indulge on cake and ice cream and then Halloween treats too.   And this year's fall birthday season is already off to a good start since we were able to celebrate DD4's birthday this past week.  The celebrations are a bit more low-key these days since there are fewer of us living close by, so we had a dinner and cake and ice cream and presents with DH, and DD1 and DD2 and DD4.    I ended up baking two different cakes since the first one fell apart while taking it out of the pan, so dinner ended up being a bit later than planned, but I thought the cake turned out pretty cute!

Since then I have realized that my favorite parts of fall are our church's semi-annual Stake Conference (which was this past week) and the Semi Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is traditionally held the first weekend of October, which is this coming weekend.    Both events include uplifting messages and music from church leaders, and they are the real highlights of my year.  The spring conferences often coincide with the Easter Season, which is also wonderful in and of itself, and the fall conferences add comfort and hope to a time of year that is often hard for me as the days become shorter and the temperatures colder.  

Here is a YouTube trailer message for this year's October General Conference, including a message from God's current living prophet:

Here is a link to where you can watch General Conference on October 5th and 6th:

Ways to Watch or Listen to General Conference