Sincerity

Sincerity is "The quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy." After a recent conversation with someone about the sincerity of birthday wishes on Facebook, I've had this word on my mind. We tend to get stuck in repetitive motions without always thinking sincerely about why we are doing what we are doing.

For example, in my faith, we are asked to minister to individuals in our congregation. When I was growing up this was called home teaching or visiting teaching. The expectation then was that you would visit the family or individuals once a month to see how they were doing. In April 2018, they changed the program and called it "ministering" and broadened the scope of what that looks like. I can be anything from visiting someone, going to lunch with them, taking a walk with them, or just a simple text or phone call and it can be as often as needed.

Some individuals have taken the road of, "Oh, good, I can do less," but more sincere individuals have seen it as, "Look how much more I can do!" This was exemplified in a movie my husband and I recently watched about a woman who was hired to care for a young man in a wheelchair. One of the things that stood out to me was the woman's sincerity. It was apparent at the beginning that the man was not interested in her being there but as she showed interest and her willingness to care he opened up to her and it allowed a great love to build.

While reading the book "Courage to Be You: Inspiring Lessons from An Unexpected Journey" by Gail Miller I was inspired. She said, "Love without service isn't love at all. It might be admiration, but it's not love." Service is wonderful and much more powerful when you add caring to the action. Gail also said, "What they appreciate most is a pure, two-word message: "I care."

Adding caring to the service and sincere love to the action will make all the difference. I chose these pictures because years ago my wonderful husband bought me roses which I loved and appreciated. My son was 4 years old and picked dandelions from the yard which I equally loved. The fact that they both loved me and cared about me made both gifts wonderful and sincere.

As you do daily tasks, recognize the importance of being sincere in what you do. This is a great time of year to slow down and be certain you are intentional in your efforts. As you do this your sincerity will shine forth and others will feel your love!

Why Isn't Grace Enough?

This question was posted on the Worldwide Unified Facebook group a few months ago, and it has been on my mind ever since. Many Christian religions believe all that is required is accepting Christ's gift of grace. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints accepts Christ's grace and also has a strong belief in the need for works in addition to grace as stated in 2 Nephi 25:23. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

I was thinking about this question again last week on Christmas Eve as I walked through a junkyard for the first time ever. My husband and I had some shopping to finish at the grocery store. He mentioned he needed to grab some parts for my son's car. I figured it would be a quick stop at an auto parts store, but I was wrong. I wore warm clothes but was dressed in nicer boots with a heel which was not ideal for walking around on the dirty, muddy, uneven junkyard ground. As I watched these men wandering around in grungy clothes I thought of how odd and out of place I must look.

 
I realized that while I felt uncomfortable there an upper-class businessman or woman dressed for a fancy party would feel even more uncomfortable there. The men in the yard would also feel very out of place at a fancy office party in their attire. In fact, even if they washed and dressed up they would likely still stick out like a sore thumb.

 
This is why work and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is required. As you scroll through the photos in this post you will see beauty can be found in the junkyard, but it is still a junkyard. Just as I didn't belong in a junkyard (other than to retrieve the parts) we can't live in beautiful places and still reside in a junkyard. It's not where the royal family of God belongs. We are literally sons and daughters of God, but we must learn the ways of God. Just as royalty is groomed for the throne, we must be groomed for the royal family of God.

 
As we are reminded in Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." Just as an Olympic athlete has to train for their Olympic Event or a concert Pianist has to practice for hours and hours we too must practice living the law of the Lord. If we don't we will never feel comfortable with allowing the grace of God to cleanse us enough to live in the presence of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. Our works will never cleanse us. Only Christ's atonement will do that! They will, however, teach us the proper way and prepare us to live as the Kings and Queens, Priests and Priestesses we were born to become.

 
Until that day we will rely on his grace and continue to work on becoming as he is!
I wish a Happy New Year to you all!


With Love, Marlies

Carried, Lifted, and Supported

When thinking of New York one of the first things that come to mind is the Subway. Of course, there is always the old-fashioned way of getting around on your two feet, but taking the Subway can save you time and energy. Another interesting way to get around New York is to use bike carriers. This is where a trailer with a seat for two is behind the biker and you sit and ride while you are carried around the city. Both modes of transportation bring to mind the importance of allowing others to lift you and carry you when needed. While there we walked 6 to 10.62 miles a day and climbed 23-30 flights of stairs some days. We did all this and we took the Subway often. I can't imagine how exhausted I would have been if I hadn't used the resources available! While we never used a bike carrier, they added an interesting dynamic to the city.  

Another lesson in being lifted comes from our hotel. The hotel we stayed in had two elevators and 26 floors with about 4 rooms per floor. On checkout day, one of the elevators was out of order. Imagine the headache when nearly one hundred guests (our choir tour group) checked out. With all my luggage in hand (my suitcase was NOT small) I waited over 15 minutes for an elevator that never arrived. Because of the delay and my concern that I wouldn't make check out in time, my son and I carried my luggage down 24 flights of stairs. It was exhausting and made me realize how blessed I am to be lifted, carried, and supported in life! Also, I CAN do hard things...but sometimes it's just nice to be supported by modern conveniences! 

You are remembering a moment before you were born

Today on my walk, I listened to the April 2024 conference talk by President Henry B. Eyring entitled, All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants. Speaking of seeing the Celestial Room for the first time I heard him say, "I looked up at a high white ceiling that made the room so light it seemed almost as if it were open to the sky. And in that moment, the thought came into my mind in clear words: “I have been in this lighted place before.” But then immediately there came into my mind, not in my own voice, these words: “No, you have never been here before. You are remembering a moment before you were born. You were in a sacred place like this where the Lord could come.”

As I contemplated those words I realized all who are on this earth were in that sacred place called the pre-existence. We each were obedient to our Heavenly Father. We all loved Him and felt His love for us. Just as a young child loves and follows its parents we also adored our Heavenly Parents and had a desire to follow them. The greatest challenge we face is remembering that desire when we are so bombarded and distracted by the things of this world. We must always remember!

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." -Helaman 5:12 

Cedar City Utah Temple Celestial Room

Don't Sit on the Floor

 Every place you go has rules that don't make sense and New York has one that made no sense to me, at the time. While waiting there were moments that benches weren't available. One moment was waiting for the Subway and the other time was waiting for others to finish up an event. When I heard someone say not to sit on the floor of the Subway I figured it was for sanitary reasons. Those floors look like they are rarely mopped. When we were in the neat and tidy building at One Vanderbilt and the security guard asked the kids to stand up I had to ask. Why was this a rule? I mean these kids were exhausted and there were NO benches. Why couldn't they sit on the floor and relax if they wanted to? The answer surprised me. In a city with so many people, in the case of an emergency and everyone running, the kids would not have time to get up. It was literally a rule because it could save their life. This made me realize that there is no harm in asking why. Sometimes knowing why makes it easier to be compliant! 

I chose to share this lesson from New York today because I watched stories about 9/11 this week and that lesson was understood on a deeper level. Some of those who died on 9/11 were trampled as people ran to safety. It's amazing how many changes came from 9/11. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to see the memorial while I was in New York!    

9/11 Memorial Pools

One Vanderbilt

Finding Myself

For nearly four years I was working in customer service and for the last two years I have worked five days a week. Three weeks ago I made a job switch to being a teachers aid and I LOVE it! For a long time I've felt lost and stuck. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I wasn't loving my life. Whenever I discussed changes with my husband I could sense the fear and weight he was concerned about carrying alone, yet I knew I needed something different. I knew I needed something that would give me more time with my boys but still allow me to help with the financial responsibilities of my family. 

I feel truly blessed to have made this shift. I've missed having the time to share my thoughts. I've missed having the mental energy to clean my house. Thank goodness for help from my boys over the last four years. Yesterday my husband asked where all this energy came from as I kept organizing and cleaning. I realized that while working only part time my energy was drained from trying to solve others problems and when I came home I had very little energy or ambition to give to my family or my home.

I am eager to give this platform some of my time and energy as well, because with this shift in my life I feel the sun is shining brighter. I have a greater purpose in my work away from home and I have a greater capacity to give to the people in my home. Thank you for supporting me in my efforts to bring sunshine and light to others! 

Next week I am looking forward to sharing some of the lessons I learned from my trip to the Big Apple back in May! See you then!

How's Your Streak?

 

Are your friends and family like mine? Do you get daily texts revealing the New York Times' latest Wordle or Connections game someone has played? It's the worst when you've got a good streak going and you forget to play, isn't it? Sometimes I get a streak of three or four days...and that's when I'm actually trying. I'm much better at keeping up with my DuoLingo streak as I try to learn Spanish. My current steak is 144 days, but that's only because they give you streak freezes so you don't actually lose your streak when you forget every now and then. 

With all these streaks we try not to lose, it got me thinking. What if there were a streak for saying daily prayers. Would we be better at remembering to pray? What about scripture study? If your phone sent you a message telling you not to lose your streak would you make sure to pull out your scriptures and read at least a verse or two every day...you know, in order not to lose your streak?

Is this not what the parable of the ten virgins is all about? You can miss a day here and there, sort of like Duo Lingo's freeze streak. Maybe it's not a "perfect" streak, but it's consistent enough to keep your streak going. It's consistent enough to build a reserve of oil for when the Bridegroom comes! I hope that when you get those reminders "not to lose your steak" you will ask yourself how your "scripture streak" and "prayer streak" is going. Then we will be more likely to be prepared for the time when our Lord and Savior returns! 

We will know Him!

 It's been a bit, but I am still here!

I wanted to share an experience from my weekend that brought a smile to my face and light into my life. When I was a little girl (kindergarten and younger) I had a best friend who I adored. Her family moved to Florida and later my family moved from that small apartment as well. I've thought of this friend over the years. She was dear to me. The man in this photo below is her father today. I haven't seen him in nearly 40 years and yet it only took me a few moments in a chance meeting in his store to recognize him and ask him if he was who I thought! What a fun reunion it was!

Today in Sunday School as I thought of the Tree of Life leading us to Christ I thought of this experience. After 40 years I still knew my friend's father. I realized just as I knew him in an instant so we will know Christ when he returns. In Philippians 2:10-11 it tells us, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

As I contemplated the scriptures, I realized we already know Christ! We knew him before we came to this earth, and we will know him again! Knowing him is not a question. The question is do we remember him now and do we live so when he returns, we feel worthy to be in his presence. Not because we are worthy, but because we've remembered! We've remembered that only through him can we become worthy! I hope when I meet him that I will know that I used his atonement enough to be comfortable in the presence of his love. I want to continue to partake of the fruit of His goodness. I want to partake of his love daily!

Helaman 5:12

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

How Great Shall Be Your Joy!

 The scriptures in Doctrine & Covenants 18:15-16 says, “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!”

I’ve heard it said that the one soul you need to bring is yourself. Typically, when you think of this scripture you think of missionaries and the souls they teach and bring into the gospel. Today while hearing this scripture at the homecoming of a missionary in our family it hit me a little differently. What if those other souls it’s referring to are my children?!? 

I’m always working on my relationship with my Savior! The truth is I can only teach my children how to find Christ. They have to build that trust and relationship with their Savior themselves. I hope that they will follow my lead because if I can bring all three of these souls unto Christ my soul will surely be filled with joy! ❤️❤️❤️

Happy 4th of July

"Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”"
The Star-Spangled Banner 3rd verse (Francis Scott Key, 1779–1843)

"Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine."
America the Beautiful 3rd verse (Katherine Lee Bates, 1859–1929)

While singing these songs in church this week I was touched! How blessed we are to live in a country with such amazing freedoms! I am so grateful for that freedom, and I hold it dear! God Bless America and the men and women who have sacrificed to make sure it remains a place of freedom! 

Happy 4th of July!!!

Off the Path

I enjoy hiking! A few days ago, my family and I were hiking at Capital Reef National Park. While hiking the trail to Cassidy Arch my family and I got a little lost. As you can see from the middle photo above there is a rock stair path with some rocks in front of it and loose rocks behind that. We should have turned to the right at this point. We were hiking along and visiting without paying much attention to the path. Instead of turning to the right we went straight and ended up continuing off the path for a bit. Thankfully my husband saw people on the path above us and realized that we needed to be higher up. We found a way to get back on the path and finish our hike to the final destination of Cassidy Arch. The view of the Arch was well worth the distance and climb!

So often in life we are careless and it's so easy get distracted and lose sight of the covenant path. Often times we see that we aren't where we are supposed to be. We see that we need to be on a higher path, but we don't know how to get there. This could mean that we don't reach our desired destination of Life Eternal with our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. Thankfully, it doesn't have to mean that!

 After studying the crucifixion of the Savior as well as his resurrection the past few weeks I am reminded of the joy that comes from knowing that no matter how far off path we get there is always hope! Christ has paid the price so we can always return to the Covenant Path. It is true that it's important we are mindful of the twists and turns that may confuse us, and it always helps to keep our eyes focused on the pathway in order to return. Yet the joy and the good news of the gospel is that when we get lost we don't have to stay lost. Our Savior will always help guide us back to the path if we are willing to accept his gift of the atonement and follow him. I am so grateful for my Savior! 

I know that he lives and loves me and because of that I know that he loves you too!

The culture of the church

 

While listening to a Podcast on my afternoon walk yesterday, I heard the phrase “The culture of the church.” The woman continued on to talk about how the culture of the church has a tendency to be very black and white. As I thought on her comments, I started to focus my walk on the colors I saw, and I couldn’t help but take pictures.

Too often the culture of the church is very short sighted. They tend to see right and wrong, good and bad, virtue or vice, worthy and unworthy. The beauty of the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ is that it is full of beautiful color! Christ can take all people who choose to come unto him, wherever they are, and make so much more of them.

He adds the color. He washes away the darkness and the mistakes and turns us into a beautiful colorful garden. He can make good of any difficult situation. I’ve seen him do it in my life as well as others.

People in the church or the culture of the church will always get it wrong because they are imperfect. They can’t see the world and its people as clearly as Christ in his perfect love and understanding sees it.

When you see things that bother you or hurt because of the culture please don’t think that is the gospel. Redirect your focus on Christ and his doctrine for it is he, not the church, who is mighty to save! As we focus on Christ, he can open our eyes to the beautiful color in the world around us!

 

This thistle plant found a way to thrive against all odds, and so can we! The 2023 youth theme for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

This plant I saw yesterday reminds me of that truth! With faith and good works God will perform miracles!!!

#persistence #seethegood

The Gift to Hear

My husband and oldest child and I love watching the tv show NCIS. On the show one of the main characters, Gibbs, talks about his famous gut. His gut tells him all kinds of things. A person’s innocence or guilt, whether or not someone is being truthful, or lying, etc. NCIS calls it Gibbs gut, another may call it intuition. It may be many things too many people, but to me it is the still small voice or the gift of the Holy Ghost. This was a gift I received at the age of eight when I was baptized. It is a gift that I cherish! 

Some may doubt or question this gift or play it off as my own thoughts, but I know that I have been blessed to hear the spirit speak to me. What has the spirit said? Well, many things over the last 35 years. Too many things to count them all. I'd like to share some of those prominent thoughts that the spirit has shared with me. 

The spirit has protected me. It directed me to cancel an appointment with a tv repair man. I wasn’t sure about that decision until I scheduled with another repair man and told him about the previous appointment. When I told him the name of the company his expression led me to believe I’d made the correct decision. Another time around 2:00 am the spirit told me to get up and lock my front door. I was religious about locking my door, but sure enough the door was unlocked, and someone was sitting in a running car in front of my apartment. They were gone the following morning, but it was evident to me that this random wake up was not a coincidence. 

My physical health has been cared for by this gift. For years the spirit spoke to me of my gluten intolerance, and I ignored it. No lie! I kept reasoning with those impressions as to why they couldn’t be, but sure enough my gut health was out of balance and cutting out gluten for many years was the answer to my problem. Now that my gut is healthier, I can process gluten on my own. Another time when I was having an irregular menstrual cycle and the spirit told me to take a pregnancy test. I thought I was going crazy. Why would I suspect pregnancy especially when I was on birth control? When I decided to listen and found a positive pregnancy test, I sought medical advice. I learned that I was pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy and because the fetus was not in a viable position and a risk to my own health, I was sent for surgery the very next day to have my fallopian tube removed.

The spirit has helped with others. It was there to guide me when one of my dear friends was brave enough to come out to me. It was as if I knew all the right things to say to let her know that no matter what I would love and accept her! The spirit spoke to me just recently as I was headed to bed. It let me know I needed to check on a son. Because of the spirit I was able to be there for my child to provide for his needs. 

I share these things to a few reasons. Sometimes we forget to listen to our Loving Father in Heaven who truly wants to speak to us. Another reason is that I never want to forget or have my boys wonder if the spirit ever speaks to me. Why do I share this with you? Because at times the spirit speaks to me and asks me to share messages of hope and encouragement. This is one of those times. I feel I’ve been called to speak truth for my Father in Heaven. This page is partly an answer to that call I feel he has for me. I hope that in following the spirit that the Lord is able to reach the individual He needs to teach. If that soul happens to be you, please know that God loves you and desires to speak to you as well. I hope you will take the time to listen!

Abundance

At the beginning of 2022 I decided abundance was going to be the word that I would focus on improving for the year. Life happened and I forgot to focus on abundance. When inflation started to pinch out that feeling of abundance this fall, I saw my reminder and started to wonder how I was going to find any abundance in my life. Christmas was coming. Challenges and trials were closing in, and abundance, felt like something others were blessed with. I felt like the more I tried to find abundance the less abundant my life was. I was trying to find it, but like many things we chase, I felt abundance was fleeting.

Weeks went by and with a tiny glimmer of hope it seemed that Christmas might just turn out okay. It wasn't that we were poor, or that our kids would go without, but it certainly didn't feel like the abundant Christmases we had experienced in the past. I just felt that finances were tight and we were stuck. After weeks of searching for abundance the Lord taught me a lesson in trusting him.

The last day of school, before Christmas break, my high schooler was going to drive to school so that if he wanted to come home early he could. The students were given the option to buy their way out of class in order to raise funds for charity so we wanted to give him the option to buy his way out of class. Being my introverted child, he was NOT interested in attending the high school assembly at the end of the day. With a potential snow storm coming that afternoon we decided he would just take the bus to school that day. As I finished up work I got a text from him. He was telling me he might need a ride home from school. I thought it was odd, but figured it wouldn't be a big deal to swing by the high school on the way home. As I pulled up, here he came with this giant 50" tv box.

What in the world is he doing with that? Did he win that? How? I opened the van and he slid the tv in and hopped in. I started asking my questions and he told me of how his teacher had bought raffle tickets for the students in his class so he had one raffle ticket in the drawing. They pulled a name for the drawing and the student wasn't there so he would forfeit the tv. They pulled another name and when he heard his name he thought, "wait was that my last name?" He ran down the stairs to claim his prize and sure enough it was his raffle ticket they had pulled. 

Hundreds of other names and some kids had many entries and yet, my son, with his one and only ticket. The son who was only there because of a pending snow storm, came home with the free tv. After I got home, I had to head across town to make a purchase. As I was driving I was thinking about all of the improbability around him winning. Then the thought came into my mind. 'Marlies, if I can do all of this to help your son win a free tv do you really think that I won't help you get through this rough time?'

 

Tears came to my eyes, and suddenly all of that abundance I had been seeking was right in front me. I may not have won the lottery, but in my mind it was close enough. I don't know what the Lord has in store for me, but what I do know is that he gave my son a tv. Maybe just maybe the whole point of him winning was just so the Lord could tell this worried mother that he loves me and that everything will be all right. The truth is, I think it will be, because God loves me enough to give my kid a free tv. 

 

 

Can a ROCK Make You Feel God's Love?

 As my son and I were walking along the trail and back to Bloomington Lake I noticed a variation in the coloring of the rock. I love to find life lessons around me and most especially in the natural world. I decided to start photographing the rocks. Some might think taking picutures of rocks is very odd. For me I found a lesson in these rocks.

I asked my son what these rocks were made of and he replied, "minerals." I then asked him how big those minerals were. He answered that they were "very tiny." He even remarked that he could see some evidence of iron and copper in the rocks. I then asked him if the tiny minerals in those rocks mattered. Do those minerals make a difference? He agreed that they did. If those tiny minerals can make a difference in the way that rock looks to us just imagine the difference we, as tiny and insignificant as we may feel we are, make in the lives around us.

It is so easy to think that what we do or stay doesn't matter. It's so easy to be calloused or cruel to those around us without even thinking about it. It's easy to become lazy and indifferent in our actions. It's easy to believe the negative voices that tell us that we don't matter or make a difference. Oh, how much difference we can make when we show up as our best selves. Giving all that we can. Sometimes that effort and ability isn't as strong as other times, but we still can make a remarkable impact when we bring our gifts and talents to life and help others. We can still be a light in the darkness.

Never forget that you matter to this world. Never forget that you matter to others and NEVER forget that you matter a great deal to GOD! He loves you! I hope the next time to see a rock (especially a colorful one) that you remember that God placed all those perfect minerals together to remind you that he loves you more than you can imagine! 

See the Dirt

Learning from Family History

See the Dirt

 I love how family history stories can help you when you need them. I've been wondering how to help my boys get better at being more thorough in cleaning the house. Then the other day I thought of my 3X Great Grandmother, Lydia Pilch Thrower. Her granddaughter, who lived with her, said, "She taught me to see dirt, for she said, 'If you see dirt, you will clean it up."

As I thought of this lesson I decided to try it out on my boys. I went through the house and showed them the dirty spots that they weren't seeing. I reasurred them that they were still doing a good job and told them it's easy not to see all the dirt all the time. This last week my youngest was so excited to show me that he had cleaned the soap dish. You can see that they both needed a good cleaning. 😉 He was so happy to have gone the extra mile and cleaned the extra dirt without being told to. 

I'm so thankful for the knowledge we can gain as we learn from those who came before us. What a blessing that I have some many histories and wonderful people who I can learn from!

Storm Clouds Make Beautiful Rainbow Skies!

 

When I walked out of work today I looked up and saw the cloud on the top left of this collage. It was such an amazing cloud that I had to stop and take a photo. In fact the sky was so beautiful I swung by the soccer fields near my work so I could take more photos of the beautiful sky. I always wonder if people think I am crazy pointing my phone at the sky. Ha ha

As the day rolled on, I saw the beautiful storm clouds move in. I didn't use to think of them as beautiful. In fact the loss of sunlight used to make me gloomy and grumpy. Thankfully events in my life a few years back taught me to look for the joy and the magic in all things. Including storm clouds. Over the last 4 years or so I have come to LOVE storm clouds. They are so fascinating and have the most beautiful shapes and textures.

The best part of my day came when I realized that those beautiful clouds, turned storm clouds, became that most beautiful sunset. I was driving home and I was dying to get there and capture the constantly changing and evolving sky. I was thankful to catch the end of it. These beautiful clouds reminded me of the blessings that can come from the storm clouds in our life. Without those clouds the sunset would not have been so beautiful! Yesterday those literal storm clouds brought about answers to a prayer in my life. No! Not a prayer for rain like you might think. 

I had been praying for the last few weeks for help to find my sunglasses. I had looked everywhere I could think of and they were nowhere to be found. They aren't special or expensive sunglasses, but I liked them and when I gave up and went to purchase another pair I was sad to see that I didn't like any of those. I decided to put the task on hold and take a look another day.

Last night the ladies at our church had a garden party in one of the church member's backyard. When I was about to get ready and go, it started to rain and I kept waiting for them to cancel the garden party. They didn't. I went, and as I walked out the door I decided to grab my rain jacket just to be safe. When I got there and I folded my arms as they said the blessing on the food, I noticed and odd shape in my chest pocket. The very rain that I had been cursing because I was worried it would ruin the party was the answer to my prayer to find my sunglasses. Without that rain I never would have thought to check that pocket for those glasses. Without an event with a prayer on the food I still might have missed that the sunglasses were there. My prayer was answered and the garden party had just a little rain right at the beginning. The rest of the evening was lovely.

I'm so grateful that the Lord 

knows what he's doing 

when he sends me rain clouds! 

Sermons from a Sunday

Birthday Lesson's

for a Granddaughter

Today is the 135th birthday of my Great Grandpa, Ezra Kunz. While I was sitting in church today my Family Search App sent me a notification about his birthday. That reminder made me so happy. I sent it on to my son and got a smile from him as well. I did know my grandpa, but I don't really remember him since he passed away when I was only five. After a moment of happiness, remembering what I know about him, the Lord took the opportunity to teach me a sermon through my grandpa. 

You see I have been struggling lately. Not terribly, but I have been a bit frustrated and impatient with paying off my husband's surgery from 6 months ago while paying for the medical expenses of my son's broken arm back in May. I've grown accustomed to having a little extra and these things have made our finances tighter than I would like. Because of all this I feel like I can't live the grand life I want to live and give to my children. It's left me frustrated.

Grandpa Kunz lived during the depression and there are many stories of how my grandfather struggled to provide for his family. One of those stories, told by my Great Aunt Thekla is her recollection of gathering weeds with her mother from a field near their home. They were gathered in order to make a stew for the family supper. As I sat in church thinking of my grumblings of feeling like a "poor pauper" I realized that I was more rich than I realized. I also realized that no matter what you are lacking in wealth and influence in worldly ways, you make up for with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My grandpa may have truly been a "poor pauper" but his examples and influencial stories live on. He lived a long and decent life. He and my grandma had been married for 75 years when he died. They raised a good family and he had a wonderful testimony of paying tithing to the Lord. A testimony that had helped my testimony of tithing to grow.

I was also blessed by an unspoken sermon this morning in church. My friend was speaking in church and her 4-year-old daughter wanted to be on the stand with her mom. She was very unhappy with her dad for telling her she couldn't go up on the stand. As she was laying unhappily in the isle a mother and her young son from the other side of the chapel discretely slid across the large row of pews in the middle of the chapel so they could sit across the isle from the young girl. I saw as the mother, who was new to our ward (congregation), encouraged her son as he shared some of his crackers with the little girl. The young girl then began sharing her snacks with the boy. My heart was warmed as I watch these young children serve and lift up one another. What a blessing it is so be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in church and from my family.   

Truly I am rich in Christ!

Blessed Honored Pioneers!

A few weeks ago, I saw a post about Green Flake and the new monument that was revealed today at this is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was with hesitancy that I posted about my connection to Green Flake even though I see his name and get excited about my family connection to him and his posterity. You see my 3X great grandpa was a slave owner. That statement of truth carries a lot of weight all on its own. Green Flake just happened to be the slave of James Madison Flake, and James happens to be my 3 times great grandpa. Green was his slave until the day when James broke the chains of his family’s past that held other men and women captive for many generations.

How brave of James and other slave owners to have the faith that they could make that change and trust that the Lord would bless them for it. How brave of Green Flake and other former slaves were to step out into a life that their families had not known for many generations. These men and women changed history and for all of them I am truly grateful!

There are people that want to skew this history and focus on the sins of the men and woman who were slave owners and the oppressions that were endured. But when we focus on the shame, we miss the opportunity to focus on the triumph of not only the families like the Flakes in courageously turning from the teachings they learned for generations but also the triumph of the new life that was forged by men and women like Green Flake.

It was best said in the speech today by Mauli Bonner, “Telling a pioneer story is never easy. It’s a hard story to tell. Many suffered. Many died. We don’t tell their stories to make the Missourians who forced them on to this trek feel bad or shame them. That’s not why we tell it. We tell it because these pioneers endured something incredible for what they believed. For religious freedom. We tell the stories to celebrate those who endured something that we’ll never fully understand, and it’s no different with our African American pioneers. We don’t tell the stories of enslavement to cause shame or guilt or pain. We tell the stories because they are true. Because they endured it and because we all have the opportunity to draw strength from them. Can we not draw strength from them?”

Mauli shared the African Proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” As God’s children we still have a way to go. We must come together so that we can lend our strength to one another on this lengthy journey through life. We must be willing to talk of these hard truths so that we will not repeat them. As Mauli said, “It’s a hard part of our history, but we have to remember it. We have to learn it and never forget it. And then what do we do with that knowledge? We teach our children. We allow them to come up in a world where they’re not going to be blind sighted by history. They’ll be able to be taught it at a young age so that we can truly be the inclusive community that we want to be.”

I cannot think of a better way to honor my pioneer ancestors than to be there today. I was honored to give my respect to a man who was such a blessing to them. I was grateful when I was able to speak with a few descendants of Green Flake who were there to honor their ancestors. How blessed I am to live in a time when we can give honor to these deserving pioneers. For no matter the color of their skin, they are also children of God who gave an honorable and deserving sacrifice to build up the kingdom of God. These blessed, honored pioneers!