Are You Ready?

How do you explain to someone who has never been to the temple, what an impact it can have on their lives? It seems like the events that have been the most frightening in my life have led me to the temples. For example, last month I finally got up the courage to go to the doctor to discuss some symptoms that have been bothering me for the last couple of years. She suggested that I have some tests and a biopsy. The weekend before the biopsy I went to the temple with some friends, hoping for some peace and comfort. As I sat in the Celestial room, in a moment of quiet prayer, I didn’t ask for a miracle, I just asked for a calm feeling. Whatever was going to happen, I wanted to be able to accept it with peace. And I received that blessing. I was calm waiting for the biopsy. I was peaceful waiting for the results. I was filled with gratitude for the friends that stood by me waiting and rejoiced with me when the negative results came in.

I remember a song we learned while my children were going to Primary.

I Love To See the Temple

I love to see the temple,
I’m going there some day.
To feel the Holy Spirit
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young.
This is my sacred duty
Janice Kapp Perry

I’ve sung this song many times as my children grew up, However, I never thought about the last line. “I’ll prepare myself while I am young. It is my sacred duty.”
Even if we can’t go to the temple, we should prepare ourselves by living righteously.
It is what a loving father wants us to do so that we can live with Him again.

I remember when the church’s policy was not to encourage single women to go through the temple unless they were getting married or going on a mission. They also didn’t encourage women married to non- members to go through the temple. I could sense my mother-in-law’s sorrow at not being able to go to the weddings of her children, or going through the temple with her grandsons before their missions. But, when the time came that policies changed—she was ready.

I heard a television evangelist once say,
“ARE YOU READY TO MEET GOD?”
I’d have to say no. I want to spend more time with my family. But, preparing to go through the temple is a step on the road that I’m glad I have taken.

In the meantime I’m off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (also known as a retired chemist in New Mexico) I’m going to visit my dad, who is my wizard.

SUMMER HEAT

August, a month filled with meteor showers
Grasshoppers jumping around in the flowers
Birds winging west in anticipation
Of autumn vacations in off the wall stations.

August a month filled with sunshine and heat
When rubber heeled shoes all stick to the streets.
Lets go to the beach, swim in water so green
Enjoying the summer with hats and sun screen

July Already

Well, the year is half over! I have at least started the last of my goals I set for 2010. That is a first for me. How are you doing? My last two goals were to read Bleak House by Charles Dickens and to start writing my personal history.

I chose Dickens because I read a BBC list of one hundred books of which most people would only read six. I have read thirty-nine of them Most of them are Classics, and I decided I needed to upgrade my reading habits.

My second goal was harder. How do you sit down and start writing about your life? I’ve been to several funerals over the past few years where children have read out of their parent’s journals. What will my children know of my life? Not much from my journal. So many times since my mother’s passing I have wished I had asked questions when I still had time. My sister and some of my nieces have been trying to interview my ninety five year old dad to find out about his life.

One story that he told about his first job was amazing and interesting to me. A neighbor lady came over to see if anyone could climb up in her cherry tree to harvest the cherries. Every one else was off in the fields and neighboring farms gathering crops. My dad said that he could do it, so she hired him. He was five.

Looking around on the Internet I discovered a list of fifty questions that can be used to interview a family member to help them gather their history. I have started answering one question a day for my own history. The questions are below in case you want to start writing your own history.

Last time I was back in New Mexico, my sister gave me a set of photographs, which she had found at my Dad’s and copied for me. Some were to frame and make a five-generation picture of the important women in my life. It starts with my daughter, then me, my mother, grandmother and my great grandmother. There was also a brief history of my great grandmother, printed in the Provo Herald as she approached her hundredth birthday. How I wish I knew more about her.
Other photos were of my dad’s parents, and brother’s, which I will either put into a scrapbook or a collage frame.

I have also enjoyed over the last two years connecting again with my cousins. There are still more who I have never interacted with and I am looking forward to getting to know them too.

I can feel the promise of Malachi 4:6 “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

As we think this month about strengthening our families and homes, what better way is there than to get to know them better?



1. What is your full name? Why were you named this? Did you have a nickname?
2. When and where were you born?
3. How did your family come to live there?
4. Were there other family members in the area? Who?
5. What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?
6. Were there any special items in the house that you remember?
7. What is your earliest childhood memory?
8. Describe the personalities of your family members.
9. What kind of games did you play growing up?
10. What was your favorite toy and why?
11. What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?
12. Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?
13. Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?
14. What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?
15. What school activities and sports did you participate in?
16. Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?
17. Who were your childhood heroes?
18. What were your favorite songs and music?
19. Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?
20. What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?
21. Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?
22. Who were your friends when you were growing up?
23. What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?
24. Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking? What were your favorite foods?
25. How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?
26. How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?
27. Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?
28. What do you know about your family surname?
29. Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?
30. What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?
31. Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?
32. Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?
33. Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?
34. Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?
35. What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?
36. When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?
37. What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?
38. Where and when did you get married?
39. What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?
40. How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?
41. What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?
42. How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?
43. Why did you choose your children's names?
44. What was your proudest moment as a parent?
45. What did your family enjoy doing together?
46. What was your profession and how did you choose it?
47. If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
48. Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
49. What accomplishments were you the most proud of?
50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

SUMMERTIME

I love the buzz that greets the air
On early summer morns.
It makes me think of childhood,
The picnics and the storms
The hikes up in the mountains
And fishing at the lake
The bike ride for an ice cream
The day I lost my brake.
From weeding Mother’s garden
To mowing Daddy’s lawn
I loved the summer evening
I loved the cool sweet dawn.

We got to go back to New Mexico in May to attend our daughter’s graduation. It was fun and we are proud of her. The next week though she was feeling like she had nothing to do. After working so hard to finish her classes, taking finals, and making sure that all her paperwork was in—she had nothing to do. I told her to write a poem and to use the word balloon. This is what she wrote.


BALLOONS
My life is a hot air balloon.
It’s been sitting on the ground
For quite a long while
It’s been pretty,
And Impressive.
People admired it
But ultimately
It did nothing.
The basket was full,
Of sand bags,
And a picnic basket,
And me.
The sandbags all had names:
Difficult classes,
Difficult teachers,
Depression,
Guilt,
Loneliness.
One by one, I threw the bags away.
I flung them out.
They were heavy,
And I felt triumph every time.
I remembered my grandma
And told each and every one
To "go jump in the lake!"
There are no more bags of sand
To hold me down,
To hold me back.
I'm high in the air
And I have a picnic,
But absolutely no idea where to fly.

Lots of days I feel like she did. There are many things I could or should be doing. I just don’t know What! Where! When! Why! How! There are too many choices and no direction. I met a friend of hers while I was visiting. As we talked, he told me about his philosophy. Every Week he tries to do one thing he has never done before. It could be trying a new food, or going someplace he has never been; studying a new subject, or using a new vocabulary word. I think this would be a fun exercise. There are, after all so many things that I have never done. I have a friend who
just started a blog. A niece has started writing
a poem or a story each week. One of my neighbors has never taken her kids to the Public library.So what new and adventurous thing am I going to do? Last week I sat down and had a conversation with a stranger. This is something I’ve not been comfortable with, especially when it involves politics or religion. Next week I’ll go have a colonoscopy. This week I’m going to learn how to scan photos onto my computer. What new adventure are you going to do this week?
Do you ever get horripilants

At the same time we should plan things which will add to our lives and the lives of others.
Neal A Maxwell cautioned us against a “frantic heedless busy-ness… that often crowds out contemplation and.. leaves no room for renewal.” He likened thoughtful intervals between our tasks to the green belts of grass, trees, and water that.. interrupt the asphalt,” and he said that when we “plan some time for contemplation and renewal,” We will feel drawn to our work instead of driven to it.
Hope you have a great month.

Flying High

Just look at that kite fly
Under the clouds, over the trees
Nearer, farther, nearer, farther
Ever higher flying free.
I love the longer days,
Scented nights
Summer brings new games to play
Happy children running in the sun
Restless teens wandering aimlessly,
Happy to dream.
Happy to be.

I Love the Rain

It’s raining today. I looked out my window at the depressing grey morning. What am I going to do today? Well, I won’t have to water the 62 containers in my garden!
I love the rain. Maybe it’s because I spent most of my life living in an arid state. Sometimes though, I wouldn’t know it was raining here in Virginia if I didn’t see the wet cement on my patio. Virginia rain is a lot quieter than New Mexico rain. Living in the mountains of Northern New Mexico meant living in the lightning belt. Rainstorms were loud and bright with multiple lightning strikes and thunder booms. And the raindrops were huge. It was like being hit by large wet nickels. I remember taking my daughter up to my bedroom where two walls were window walls. Tall pines were swaying in the wind and we felt the electricity all around us. We lay on the bed and I read stories to her. Now she loves thunderstorms and finds a place to read during them. It brings back memories.
I laugh at people with umbrellas. It doesn’t seem like the rain is hard enough to bother. A few seconds out in it before ducking into a building and I hardly get wet. Of course, I don’t have to race to the Metro and off to work. My husband loves his umbrella!
When I visited Hawaii, it rained every day and I didn’t even notice. Suddenly I was just wet. The sun didn’t even get clouded over. A light mist descended and then disappeared.
I think of adversity like rain. Sometimes we get hit with big wet nickels. Sometimes it’s bearable and if we hurry to get out of it, it doesn’t bother us much. Sometimes it affects us lightly and then is gone. Sometimes it floods and we’d better hike to higher ground. But like the mist in Hawaii, the small solid drops of continuous rain in Virginia, and the drenching slaps of water in New Mexico; adversity makes things grow.
A couple of weeks ago we had a Relief Society lesson from this April’s Conference
It was All Things Work Together for Good
By Elder James B. Martino Of the Seventy
“We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.”
Elder James B. Martino said, “When I was young I looked forward to the spring of the year. As the weather warmed, I was ready for baseball to begin. Like most young boys, I would wish that I could become a great baseball player. I am reminded of a story about a very young boy with similar dreams. With the desire to become the next mighty ballplayer, he decided to go outside and practice. He held the baseball in one hand and the bat in the other, and he threw the ball into the air. With a wish to hit the ball as far as he could, he took a great swing, but the ball fell to the ground without even touching the wood of the bat. Not to be denied, he went at it again. As he was about to throw the ball in the air, his determination grew as the thought of a powerful hit came into his mind. But alas, the results were the same. The ball lay on the ground. But as any good ballplayer knows, you have three strikes before you are out. He concentrated even more, threw the ball in the air, and gave the mightiest swing he had ever attempted. As the ball again fell to the ground, the tears began to swell in his eyes. Then all of a sudden a great smile appeared, and he said, “What a pitcher!”
Each of us will face trials and tests, and as in this simplistic example, it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness. Each of us will face adversity no matter where we are. We are taught in the scriptures that there “must needs be . . . an opposition in all things.”1 We will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them but how we face them.
The Apostle Paul taught an interesting lesson only a few years before the Saints in Rome were to face some of the most violent persecution of any Christian era. Paul reminded the Saints “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. Our trials come in many forms, but each will allow us to become more like the Savior as we learn to recognize the good that comes from each experience. As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.
As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, “all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God.” I bear a solemn and certain witness that our Father loves us and He sent His Son to show and pave the way for us. He suffered, He died, and He was resurrected that we might live, and He desires that we “might have joy,” even in our trials of life. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
In his poem, A Rainy Day, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes,
‘Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each life some rain must fall
Some days must be dark and dreary.
Enjoy the sunshine,