Busy Summer!

What a lovely week! Or couple of weeks, as the case may be!  On Saturday, I had Seminary inservice, where they introduced the new "Book of Mormon" Curriculum which is awesome! I am super excited for Seminary to start!

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on service (as a prelude to kicking off the “Summer of Service”). Have I told you about the SOS?  We are doing it instead of the Book of Mormon Summer Reading Program this year.  Usually we would kick off at the beginning of June, but the Bishop asked me to move it back a month, which worked out fine.  I have really come to LOVE speaking, so that part was awesome—I was a little worried about going over my time, tho, especially after last time!  However, I prayed about it, and they ended up putting me last, after a sister who was SUPER nervous, who gave an excellent but very short talk, and I finished exactly on time!  YAY!  Then, during Primary time, we had the Visiting Teaching Conference, so we had yummy food, a nice lesson and the Brethren took over our classes!

BigGirl, SmallDaughter, The WonderDog & I left for Maryland right after church.  We had a nice drive, with a lovely sight when we came over the top of a mountain pass in the evening and looked down on a cloud and a rainbow!  We got in to our dear friends Mr. T & Miss D’s house about 10:30.  Miss D drove a big (non-air conditioned) 15 passenger van full of teens (including BigGirl) down to EFY (Especially For Youth) on Monday morning. SmallDaughter and I just killed time until Miss D got home.  On Tuesday, Miss D wanted to do something fun for SmallDaughter, so we took her to a neat park and then to McDonalds.  In the playland, there was a life sized “Ronald” sitting on a bench, and Miss D was not sure if it would freak SmallDaughter out—but she walked up and kissed “him” on the nose, and draped herself over his lap!  We had a good time talking, and she had a blast!

On Wed morning, Mr. T & Miss D left for Boston, and I got a text from My Favorite Gentleman that they weren’t working at all, so I drove over to Richmond VA to get him.  We were in a huge traffic jam, because somebody jackknifed their boat trailer and the boat was tipped over on its side across all three lanes!  Keeping it interesting!  On our way home we drove through some historical byways—apparently much of the Revolutionary AND Civil Wars happened right there!  It was amazingly moving to be in the birthplace of the nation on Independence Day.  That is NOT easy country—especially with horses, wagons, etc.!  As we drove along a very beautiful, scenic road, I thought “uh, oh—two naughty little dogs on the side of the road!”—but it turned out that it was two twin fauns, very tiny (smaller than The WonderDog!), still with spots, grazing less than 2 feet from the road!

SmallDaughter got sick—I think it was food poisoning--on Wed night, and spent the night alternating vomiting and diarrhea, which was not fun for either of us.  We spent a very quiet Thursday!  (glad we had the house to ourselves—and the washer & drier!).   We drove around and checked out the beaches near Miss D’s, then went to some thrift stores.  We got some 100% cotton work clothes for My Favorite Gentleman (he can’t wear synthetics because of fire danger—natural fibers burn and blow away as ash, synthetics melt into your skin~!), a cool T-shirt for LargeBoy and a great pair of tennis shoes for SmallDaughter, who’s feet are finally growing!

Fortunately, her tummy felt better quickly, so on Friday morning, we got to go to the beach!  She LOVED it!  And, since it is on the Chesapeake Bay, it was perfect—only to SmallDaughter’s knees for hundreds of yards out, barely any waves (like 1 inch high!)!  

My Favorite Gentleman was super cute with her—even though he HATES being in the ocean (he doesn’t like the textures—hot sand, sharp shells, squishy mud, gross seaweed…but the thing that really gets him is the thought of what is in the water   “we are wading in whale excrement!”---he doesn’t even like baths because you sit in your own dirty water!).  They also had a great time making sand castles—MFG would make a PERFECT castle, all smooth and nice, and SmallDaughter would stomp it and laugh!  

After we came home and had baths/showers, SD & I took a nap (still recovering!), and then we were going to go see theWashington D.C. Temple (where we were married!) and go to IKEA, but first SmallDaughter dumped an entire economy size bottle of Comet Cleanser on her head, so we did a major cleanup!  And she got ANOTHER bath—much less sweet!

The Temple was (of course!) amazingly beautiful!  We had some fun walking around on the nature trails and looking at the flowers (even though it was crazy hot and humid!), then we went to the visitors center.  SmallDaughter’s favorite part was the elevator!

My Favorite Gentleman had never been to IKEA, so it was quite an experience for him!  He still isn’t sure how he feels!  SmallDaughter loved the meatballs (which are one of her VERY FAVORITE foods!)  She ate all of hers, and half of mine!  Then we went home, and she crashed, and My Favorite Gentleman & I watched TV together and listened to fireworks, and enjoyed each other’s company!

On Saturday, I got everything cleaned up and packed, and as soon as BigGirl got back, we left.  She had an amazingly good time at EFY.  

Her testimony is stronger, she is feeling buoyed up and more self assured, and she made some new friends and learned a lot.  I am SO glad!  I would have enjoyed staying longer, but they didn’t get back until after 1:00, and we had a long drive!  We got home safely, and enjoyed being back in our own beds!  We picked up LargeBoy from BestFriend’s house.  He mostly spent the week helping Dad on our house, and doing various service projects.  He is pretty excited that his hair has gotten big again.  (Faster, this time—it’s been less than a year, and it is HUGE!).

SmallDaughter didn’t have riding on Monday, which was fine by me, since we had oodles of boys here, so there was a LOT of loud.  In the morning we all had our Dentist appts, and SmallDaughter was SO GOOD!  She sat in the chair all by herself!  I didn’t have to hold her or anything!  And she brushed the teeth on the little stuffed dragon (he has “people teeth”, and they use him to show proper brushing technique!), and then used him for a pillow!  We all had an “all clear” report, so that was excellent!  In the afternoon, BigGirl had her 4-H “picnic and filling out fair cards” meeting at the park in Plymouth.  The sad news is that our 4-H leader Hazel—who is in the middle of her 50^th year as our club leader--had another stroke and is blind, and not doing well.  The meeting started out on a somber note, and then the clouds rolled in so it was quite dark and menacing (with lightning!), and then the heavens opened—and we got about 4 inches of rain in an hour!  It was epic!  And I wasn’t willing to go out in it, so we just waited in the park shelter!  The town 25 miles away from us got 14” of rain in June (which is 2” more than Idaho’s average YEARLY precipitation!) We only got 7”—but that is still almost twice our normal for June, and it hasn’t stopped!  It is hot, humid and wet—which is doing great for my garden, but the boys can’t mow, so the back yard needs a baler, and I can’t check the bees when it is windy, rainy or threatening rain, so it’s been WEEKS!  From the outside of the hive, it looks like they are doing well!

I am enjoying my walking club at the library—mostly it is just me and Stephanie, who I have wanted to get to know, so this is great!  And, yesterday she wanted to know about bees and Mormons!  She kept apologizing for asking so many questions, but I told her my three favorite things to talk about are:

1. SmallDaughter, Special Needs & Service Dogs,

2. the Gospel

3. Bees, and Honey
so we hit 2 out of 3!

(and we usually talk about SmallDaughter & The WonderDog, so we are good there!)

In the evening, I went to Cub Scout Committee Meeting and sewed patches on LargeBoy’s scout shirts.  He leaves for the National Scout Jamboree on Sunday, and he needs 2 full uniforms, each with approximately 6 million badges sewn on.  I am slowly making progress.  Today I have to sew BigGirl a “Spiderman Apron” for her skit at Girls Camp.  I am also making a batch of deodorant and homemade laundry and dishwasher detergents as an experiment (the deodorant works great—we will see on the others!

BONUS KITTEN PIX!

(Yes, she is still at our house, why do you ask?)

)

Book of Mormon Talk

I gave a great talk in church today. I'm not bragging--since all the remarks, and the way to put them together were all given to me. It is pretty interesting to be a tool, sometimes. A tool in the hands of a master--awesome!

This talk was the preparation for next week: the kickoff to the Summer Book of Mormon Reading Program. This year should be AWESOME! I have some great prizes and incentives, and the whole focus has changed from "racing" to see who can complete the reading to helping each other so EVERY SINGLE MEMBER is strengthened and enriched. Even SmallDaughter. And--as I pointed out in my talk--if she is participating--nobody else has any valid excuses! (since she can't read!)

I have to go let out Miss K's dogs--since she is down in the city, awaiting a grand-baby at any second!

If you are interested, here is the outline of my talk:

Where we are:

Our ward has 383 members

Average 30% attendance

VT 85

HT 33

Endowed Members:

E.M who don’t have an active Recommend: 41

Callings that can’t be filled

What we WANT:

Return to Heavenly Father

Inactive Members are OUR Brothers & Sisters

Look Around:

Who’s missing?

We NEED them

We LOVE them

Our Goal:

A ZION People

Moses 3:18

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Our Problem:

The gap between

KNOWING and DOING

What happens when we close that gap?

4 Nephi 1:16

And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

Satan’s Deceptions—

“If I can’t do it perfectly, why bother trying?”

The Lord’s Plan:

Isaiah 28: 10

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Baby Steps—

Do we spank a baby when it falls down?—NO! We cheer every effort, every improvement. That is how the Lord feels about us!

Our Problem:

Comparing Ourselves/Judging Others--Flip sides of the same sin.

Quotes from Elder Uchtdorf:

Comparing Ourselves

I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.

Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.

And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.

It’s wonderful that you have strengths.

And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses.

God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

Judging Others

This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following:

Stop it!

It’s that simple. We simply have to stop judging others and replace judgmental thoughts and feelings with a heart full of love for God and His children. God is our Father. We are His children. We are all brothers and sisters. I don’t know exactly how to articulate this point of not judging others with sufficient eloquence, passion, and persuasion to make it stick. I can quote scripture, I can try to expound doctrine, and I will even quote a bumper sticker I recently saw. It was attached to the back of a car whose driver appeared to be a little rough around the edges, but the words on the sticker taught an insightful lesson. It read, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.”

We must recognize that we are all imperfect—that we are beggars before God. Haven’t we all, at one time or another, meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? Haven’t we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy—to be forgiven for the mistakes we have made and the sins we have committed?

Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? My beloved brothers and sisters, should we not forgive as we wish to be forgiven?

YSA Ward Sermon:

“Everybody Sucks at first”

When you learn to walk, learn to play the piano, learn to drive—you don’t expect perfection at first. Why do we expect more of ourselves where the gospel is concerned?

Alma 37: 7

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

Our Problems:

Hesitancy, fear & Procrastination

Alma 37: 40-41 (about the Liahona)

And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

Ways to Overcome them:

Prayer

Good Tools

Support

Start where you are—Don’t wait!

Next week we start the BofM Challenge.

EVERY member is included.

There are rewards and incentives. Not Bribes, blessings—Which I get to give!

There is NO WRONG WAY TO DO THIS!

You are welcome to listen to it on your ipad or computer.

If you miss a day, pick up where you are, and keep going—we stumble, we don’t fail.

Commit to help someone else.

Special Prize for sharing a copy of the BoM

Our Goal:

Every Member reading the Book of Mormon

Stake President’s Challenge (for each of us to get a new copy, read the entire book and mark in red all of the Savior’s teachings).

SmallDaughter was invited by her class and included in their reading challenge.

What is your excuse?

There is NO wrong way.

We are not racing to be first,

we are working to be Zion

Help someone else—class, HT, VT

A good time to restart.

Our Problem: Panic at how big the job seems!

“By the yard, Life is hard—

By the inch—it’s a cinch”!

The Savior never asks us for the Grand Gesture—He already did it!

He lived a perfect, sinless life.

He wants us to do small things--repeatedly.

He paid for all of our sins

He wants us to keep trying—every day, and to encourage the people around us.

The Result:

All of us commit and work together, as individuals, as families, as organizations, as friends, to focus on 3 small things this summer:

Pray

Read the Book of Mormon

Report our Progress

Miracles will happen

In our ward

In our families

In our lives

The Spirit will teach us the small things we need to do to bring back those that are missing, to heal our hearts, and increase our Ward Unity.