WHERE CAN WE EACH TURN FOR PEACE?

THANKFUL THE LORD HAS BLESSED US WITH A TRUE PROPHET

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.

Text: William Fowler, 1830-1865
Music: Caroline Sheridan Norton, 1808-ca. 1877

WHAT IS THE LAW OF THE GOSPEL?

I just finished listening to this. I sought Balm of Gilead for my tired soul and found it. As with other good an marvelous things, I wish to share it here too, with some of my favorite quotes. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

"Worthiness is honesty. With self, with God, and with Priesthood leaders. Worthiness is faithfully continuing to try as long as positive changes my take."  - Brad Wilcox


"The lie of this generation is: We cannot change.  Not only does that lie deny the upward reach within each one of us, Divinely placed, but it also denies the power of Jesus Christ. Not His existence, but His power in our lives!"  - Brad Wilcox

"At one point we were out boating on a lake and saw.... a group of young single adults, and they looked like they were very happy, with their alcohol, with their immodest swimsuits, with their tattoos, as they laughed and swore. They looked happy! Drunks can appear happy on the surface and in the moment, but the façade soon fades and it is replaced by regret, self loathing, and misery. That's what you see when they're not together with their friends."  - Brad Wilcox

"By refusing to mock that which is sacred and laugh inappropriately our perspective is broadened and we learn to see as God sees."  - Brad Wilcox

"Zion...is where the pure in heart dwell and where there is joy in countenance. By contrast, in hell there are no smiles!" - Neal A Maxwell

"God is the happiest of men. I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good natured being. He is a jovial person and a beautiful man."  - Heber C Kimball

"The Savior has not had among mortals a more faithful witness, a more obedient disciple, a more loyal advocate than Joseph Smith."  - D Todd Christofferson

"One great burst of effort won't be enough. Only a steady, ever-increasing effort will allow the Lord to take us to higher ground."  - Henry B Eyring


THE LAW OF THE GOSPEL IS:

* Avoid all light mindedness
* Avoid in appropriate laughter (irreverent, too loud, too much, crude, hurtful, etc.)
* Avoid speaking negatively of our leaders - 

     - Neither spirituality nor self-esteem can ever be found in tearing others down

     - Do not allow yourself to feel offended

     - Support our leaders, not blindly but through faith and prayer

* Do not take the Lord's name in vain
     - Do not swear using the Lord's name
     - Why? He wants true disciples to refuse to take His name in
          vain. not only because it is so sacred, but also because it has
          become written upon our hearts.
     - Blasphemy is usually the height of thoughtlessness - literally.

 I love my Savior, and I am so very thankful to have the fullness of the restored Gospel in my life. I can't imagine life without it. It gives my life meaning, fills it with lasting joy even in the midst of heavy trials or down days, it illuminates my path, a light unto my feet in the darkness of the world. It is my comfort and my shield. And it shows me the way back home to my Father in Heaven.

EMPTYING THE NEST IS FOR THE BIRDS

May I just say that I thought growing to be an "empty nester" would be a happy day - after having put in decades of raising kids and sacrificing all for them, I would finally get to focus on my dreams of oil painting, genealogy, etc. I thought it would be easy because I had things I wanted to do!

However, I am finding it is the hardest part of raising kids for me - letting them go. Not that I don't let them go, but that I DO let them go, because it's the right thing.

I don't like it! Not one bit!

I don't like thinking back to when all the messes and noises were being made...In a nostalgic manner.

I don't like thinking that, just as we all do, they will move on, away from Bob and me, away from our family home, and live their own lives, and get involved with their own, their spouses', and their kids' lives and we'll be just the "once in a while" thought of "Oh, maybe we should go visit Grandma and Grandpa". I will no longer be the one they come to when they have bad dreams. I will no longer be the one they talk with late at night, when everyone else is in bed and they have something on their mind or heart or just something exciting to share. I will no longer have to quell fears of "my friends don't like me" or "no one asked me to dance" or "so-and-so was really to me today" or "how do I ask a girl out?" I will no longer have those little opportunities to talk about gospel topics while driving in the car, or here at home, as things in life come up.

I will no longer have someone to run errands for me either! haha.

No sir. I do not like this business of kids growing older and leaving home and building their own lives away from their Mama.

Yes, I'm happy for them. Yes, I'm excited to see what the future holds for them. Yes, I pray like crazy that their spouses of choice will fit in nicely with our family. Yes, I look forward to Christmas with my kids, their spouses, and all their kids here at "Grandma and Grandpa's".

But can't they do all that while staying single, young, and at home still?

They're very selfish creatures, aren't they??

Sniff. I guess I'll go paint, or do genealogy or something like that. Sniff.

 My once-upon-a-time, when we used to have kids that loved going to the zoo when it wasn't "just for little kids"

BEFORE AND AFTER

It just struck me today, the huge contrast of a missionary's face as they leave to enter the (2 yr) mission - full of innocent confidence, thinking they are fully ready for the mission, full of the "fire" to preach the gospel - vs. the missionary's face as they come home from the mission - humbled by great trials, having a greater faith and testimony that was forged in the "fire" of the mission life; meek and much more submissive to the Lord and His will. Leaving as a child and trying to look like an adult. Returning as an adult and feeling like, and having learned more how to be, a spiritual child fully dependent upon the Lord. There is no other experience in this world and life that can provide this intense of a learning curve, like a mission.

I sure love my returned missionary son!

MORMON WOMEN ARE INCREDIBLE!

Whether we are pioneers or not, Mormon women stand out. Not because we climb the corporate ladders, though we certainly have or share of those kind of Mormon women. Not because we win grand prizes either. Mormon women stand out because of our heritage. From birth or via baptism into the "fold", we become one when it comes to service, perseverance, stamina, and charity, which is the pure love of Christ.  I've been around many moons, as they say, and have seen many different types of people and women. I've never met a group of women, that no matter where in the world you go, they are willing to roll up their sleeves and just get to work on WHATEVER it is that needs doing. Volunteering and working and serving others - with absolutely zero thought for self or for reward or payment of any kind - is part of our DNA. I don't mean only the DNA that is inherited, but also the DNA that becomes part of a woman when she joins the church and becomes part of the "body of Christ".

Therefore, when I read this article, by a non-Mormon, about Mormon women and how awesome we are, it caught my eye, and made my heart - not proud, but thankful!  Thankful to belong to such a fabulous organization of and for and by women in the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints! 

Yes... Mormon women, especially our pioneer women, were and still are INCREDIBLE. I have been the beneficiary at their hands many times, and I hope that some of them may yet be beneficiaries at my hands along the way too.

Isn't that what life is really about?  Serving each other. Isn't that what truly brings lasting joy to us, when nothing else can? Serving each other. Isn't that what Heaven is made of?  Serving each other. Yes. That is what Heaven is made of - people who serve each other.

The article starts out:

The consummate author of the Western experience, Wallace Stegner, penned "The Gathering of Zion: The Story of the Mormon Trail." He was quite enamored by the “suffering, endurance, discipline, faith, brotherly and sisterly charity” he discerned from the diaries, letters and reminiscences of the early Mormon pioneers. In his introduction for the book, which was published by the University of Nebraska in 1981, he also notes their “human cussedness, vengefulness, masochism, backbiting, violence, ignorance, selfishness, and gullibility.”
Yet he cannot find enough superlatives at the conclusion of his prologue where he writes, “That I do not accept the faith that possessed them does not mean I doubt their frequent devotion and heroism in its service. Especially their women. Their women were incredible.”

... to finish reading it, click HERE.

STATESMANSHIP CLUB OF NORTH TEXAS SPEECH COMPETITION 2014 - "FOCUS ON THE FOUNDERS"

Our Emily participated for the second year in this Speech Competition on the Founding Fathers. Each participant must select a Founding Father from the list provided that year and give a 2 minute, judged speech. There are three adult judges (familiar with the requirements) who serve as voluntary judges. It's a fun event, and the kids learn some interesting facts about interesting Founders!

This year, Emily's speech was on John Hancock.  Her speech is printed below for your enjoyment. (I'll see if my code will created the link! Keep your fingers crossed!)

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DID YOU KNOW I'M AN ANGEL?

 Well... I'm not really.  Far from it! But it sure feels incredible when my grown son says I am!

As previously mentioned, our son, referred to as Elder Nine while being a missionary, is serving a two-year voluntary mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are so proud of him for choosing to do so and for serving with all his heart, might, mind, and strength.  We surely miss him, but we wouldn't want him to be anywhere else, doing anything else, but where he's at and helping to bring others unto Christ if they wish.

Each Monday is the only time he is able to email home. That is the missionaries' "P-day", preparation day, in which to do their personal stuff like shopping, write home, clean the living quarters, etc. Last week my birthday was on Saturday. Elder Nine forgot to mention anything about it in his email. I really wasn't expecting him to remember. Particularly because he had a horrible past 2-4 weeks, and when I say horrible I mean stuff that induced so much negative stress he was feeling ill and had to, well, stay close to the restroom. I can empathize with that kind of stress.  Well, imagine my surprise when on Tuesday, while I was checking my emails, an email from him pops up! He had remembered my birthday and had gotten special permission from the Mission President to email me and wish me a happy birthday for my special (50th!) birthday! I was elated! What a perfect gift for me! :)

His short email, titled HAPPY BIRTHDAY! said:

"I got a couple spare minutes to type this up for you mama!! I LOVE YOU!!! Happy Birthday to my favoritest mama in the whole wide world! :D Thank you for being such an incredible angel of a woman. I dedicate the song "Angels" by Randy Travis to you right now...so go listen to it :) Thank you for being my guide, my example, my friend, and never failing support. There is no love like a mother's love, and especially no love like yours. I love you dearly.

"I have to keep it short...I hope my words are enough even though they are not!"

I could barely finish reading it, as my leaky faucets made my vision blurry. Words every mother dreams of, but never expects, to hear. Here is my payment in full for all the years of raising him and those years of pure H, E, Double Hockey Sticks,  we went through when he was suffering from food behavioral allergies, and we didn't know what was causing it for 3 years (no thanks to the 7 doctors/specialists we took him to! And great thanks to the internet and the God-given intellect to do my own research and find the problem and solution!)

Of course, I immediately opened my iTunes and found the song, which I already had, and listened to it...... and listened to it, and listened to it, and listened to it.... while weaping buckets of tears. Tears of gratitude, tears of love, tears of joy, tears of dreams and hopes being fulfilled, and tears of missing my son and longing to wrap my arms around him and hold him just one more time.

His gift was so beautiful to me, I wanted to capture it somehow, so I could come back to it time and time again as the years go by, and remember this special love. So I decided to make a video of it using pictures of Elder Nine and me throughout his growing up years. I tried to "match" the pictures when I could to the lyrics in some way, or to events that happened in our lives that can be described with the lyrics. So here is the video. It helps me flesh it out when I can share with others, especially with other missionary moms, who fully understand what it's like to send your child out for 2 years, with very little contact, and just entrusting them 100% to the Lord's hands via the Mission President and his wife.  It's not like sending them to college, or any other place. This is sacrificial offering of our children for a love and cause greater than our own... our God, and our brothers and sisters in this world who deserve to be offered the opportunity to come to know their Father in Heaven, how to get back to Him, and the lasting joy and peace that knowledge brings.

I hope you enjoy the video.  Happy 50th birthday to me! One I shall cherish always.

I REALLY MISS ART.... TIME TO PICK IT UP AGAIN

I saw this on the internet while I was looking for something else. Its cuteness factor stopped me dead in my tracks and I couldn't help myself. I HAD to draw it.   Enjoy. ;-)

MEXICAN LASAGNA GIVES ME ALL THE HAPPIES!

So... I loath to cook. Usually, the only time I'm in the mood to cook is in the Fall. Something about Fall that just screams for yummy, warm, homemade meals. The rest of the year, it is something that I rather not do and which I rather ignore, or at best "put up with".

Therefore I refuse to cook anything that isn't SUPER EASY and FAST.  Oh yeah... I HATE getting hot too; mainly because it makes me sweat. Ick. Cooking makes the whole kitchen and house hot also. So, not much of a cook.  That said, I must toot my own horn and say I just have the "nack" for cooking, because I am a freakishly GOOD COOK.  Not many folks say they are better cooks than their mothers, but I am. I don't say all this in a boasting manner. I say it in a manner that simply acknowledges that the Lord has blessed me with this gift - and I'm probably being a very unprofitable daughter by not being more grateful for this gift. Shame on me. (My Mama was a good cook, by the way.)

So today, I just felt like homemade Mexican something - and I also had to make something to drop off to a member of our ward who just got out of the hospital. I figured I might as well just make two of everything. So I did.

Here is the dish I made.  Well, dishes, as you'll come to see below.

Remeberifier:  You can always tweek your recipes. You don't have to follow these exactly. Play around with it, add different ingredient that you/your family might like! That's what I do ALL. THE. TIME. (when I do cook!) ;)

MEXICAN LASAGNA

Preheat oven to 350º

Spray an 11x17" baking pan with non-stick spray


In a large pot of water, boil 8 chicken breasts. (I use skinless/boneless, but if you use whole, then remove skin after boiling).  Shred the chicken when it is done boiling and set chicken stock and half of shredded chicken to side.



Ingredients:

4 boiled chicken breasts, shredded

1 C sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

3/4 C shredded "Fiesta Blend" cheese

3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C salsa

1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles (I prefer Hatch brand)

1 Tbsp Onion powder

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp dried cilantro

1 tsp ground chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

12 corn tortillas



Preparation:

* Blend chicken and all other ingredients, except corn tortillas, in a large bowl until well mixed.

* Arrange 6 corn tortillas, slightly overlapping, in bottom of baking dish

* Top with half of the chicken mixture

* Layer another 6 tortillas over that

* Layer with remaining chicken mixture

* Top with shredded cheese of your choice (I use a mix of "Fiesta" and cheddar)

* Cover with foil and bake for 30 min.

* Remove foil, and bake for another 30 min.



Cool for about 10 min. before serving.



Now - remember that chicken stock and half the shredded chicken on the side?  I used it to make:

SUPER EASY CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Ingredients:

chicken stock (left over from boiling 3-8 chicken breasts; about 12 C)

4 chicken breasts, boiled, shredded or cubed into small pieces

2 Tbsp chicken-&-tomato flavored Knorr Suiza granulated bouillon

2 cans corn

2 can beans (red, pinto, black, or combination of these)

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans' worth of diced zucchini or yellow squash

1 C salsa (optional)

1 (4oz) can Hatch chopped green chiles

3 Tbsp minced garlic powder, or minced garlic

3 Tbsp onion powder, or minced onion

1 Tbsp chili powder

3 Tbsp dried cilantro (or 5 Tbsp fresh, chopped cilantro)

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Cummin

3 Tbsp fresh lime or lemon juice


Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a large pot (about 2-4 gal. size) on the stove..
Bring all ingredients to boil, stirring, then reduce heat, stir, and simmer for about 15 min.

Let cool about 15 min.



Stir and serve, garnished with sliced avocados, shredded cheese of choice, crushed tortilla chips.



All ingredients are approximate (as I usually just eye-ball my recipes), but it's pretty close to what I follow.

DELICIOSO!!