Happy 4th of July!!

Hope you had a fun fourth! We just got back from a trip to Chicago so we didn’t celebrate much. We did go to the ward 4th of July breakfast which is always fun.
Besides the wonderful pancakes, and orange juice we had the treat of Lincoln Oliphant giving a talk on the constitution. I think it is so much fun to actually be here in the DC area on this special day.

It seem like the books I chance to read are starting to have a theme. I pick a random pile of ten for each month, about six months ahead, not paying particular attention to which month it will be. For Easter the top book was on the life of Christ. For July there was a biography of Dolly Madison, through her letters, during the war of 1812, and First Ladies, by Margaret Truman. Unintentional as it was, I enjoyed the timing of reading those topics. It’s wonderful to read about history where it happened.

I got an interesting e-mail today. It was titled,The Pope said, “What would Jesus Blogg?
The Pope wants his flock to get online and start blogging. In a recent announcement, Pope Benedict XVI extolled the virtues of the world wide web saying, “Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world!”

A recent article in the Smart Set points out that religion’s embrace of emerging technologies extends back further than the current, blogg-loving pontiff. The Gutenberg bible was cutting-edge media for its time; and the clothespin, the wheel-driven washing machine, and the circular saw were all invented by the industrious Shaker Christians. … Golberg, the author, also shows how the story of Noah’s ark could be considered a parable for the benefits of embracing technology, before it’s too late”.

I remember a couple of years ago being encouraged to put our testimonies on line and share them with the world. Considering some of the things I have seen people write on U-tube, Face Book and their bloggs, I think some uplifting comments would be helpful. I decided to do this. I get surprised every once in a while to find out that someone read it.

When I think of all the technological advances that have happened in my lifetime, not to mention that of my parent’s, and grandparents; I am grateful that I am here to enjoy them. I don’t think my children can imagine life without computers, cars, or electricity.

What is your favorite invention or advance that has happened in your lifetime?

Have a great summer

SUMMERTIME!

I Want to go wandering
By mountain streams,
Picnic in the forest
With the elk watching,
Chase butterflies through the meadows.
This is my dream.
This is my fun.
This is my memory.

I finally got a picture on. How do I flip it?

Yummmm!
Blue corn tortillas, shredded chicken, green chile sauce, Mexican cheese, adobe walls, Sopapillas, good friends, it’s nice to go home again.

I just got back from another trip to see my dad. I haven’t been since November. He fell and gouged his arm, needing more care. He still doesn’t want to go into a nursing home and we don’t know how to convince him that he needs more help. Somehow it just doesn’t seem right to tie him up and toss him over my shoulder. After an earnest prayer for an answer, I had an interesting experience. At church that Sunday I had been asking my former ward members if they knew of anyone who did elder care. I was looking for someone who would just live in his home and help when needed. He’s still self sufficient unless he falls, or needs to go somewhere.

In Relief Society, the president announced that a member of another ward in the Stake was looking for a room or apartment in town for the summer. His wife will be in England and then they will move to Arizona. I hope things will work out. A home to live in, in exchange for cooking an evening meal and mowing the lawn seems fair. Of course, one of them being a Republican and the other a Democrat might lead to interesting conversations!

In D&C 112:10, we read, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: says,” Every honest and sincere prayer adds another piece to chain-mail armor… One of the most important ways to clothe yourselves in the armor of God is to make sure that prayer—earnest, sincere, consistent prayer—is part of your daily lives:

President Thomas S. Monson said, “As we offer unto the Lord our family and our personal prayers, let us do so with faith and trust in Him. Let us remember the injunction of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews; ‘for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ If any of us has been slow to hearken to the counsel to pray always, there is no finer hour to begin than now.”

There have been many times in my life that my prayers have been answered. I have a testimony that God loves me and will answer my prayers, if I but ask. I don’t always like the answer but I know He gives them. And looking back I can see the blessings I have received from the experiences I have been given.

It was a long slow trip back to Virginia in the rain, but as we flew over the sites and monuments of DC, it was nice to come home again.

Sopaipillas
Sweet Fried Cakes

4 cups flour 4 eggs
1 tsp. Salt 1 cup sugar, divided
2 tsp. Baking powder water or milk
4 TBSP. Fat (lard or shortening ) fat for frying
1 tsp. Cinnamon

Sift flour with salt and baking powder to make a dough that is neither stiff or soft. Let dough stand for ½ hour. Roll out 1/4 –inch thick. Cut into 1,1111/2 inch squares and fry in deep fat util brown. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon. As the sopaipillas are fried, drained and still hot, roll in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

JUNE

June nights
Hot and breezy
Summertime
Living easy
Butterflies
Flying free
Picnics
Just the ants and me.
June days slip away
Summertime’s
Come to stay.

Gardeners

Ah, May.
The flowers are in bloom, the birds are singing, and everyone is just itching to get out and plant. We stopped today to stretch my husband’s golfing muscles, sadly unused during the winter months and to pick up flowers to plant on the patio.

Now thirty of my fifty flower boxes and planters are full of pansies, roses, petunias, tomatoes, peppers, onions, strawberries, and peas. One planter has pepper onion and tomato planted in one box. I thought it was funny when I bought a new pepper called “Salsa” so I have a planter filled with most of the ingredients for my own salsa.

Because we have a wrap-around terrace, we put the patio table and the flowers where there is sometimes shade and the veggies in the full sun warmed by the brick building. When company comes, my husband takes them out to show them the "south forty”

What is it about a garden that makes people stop and talk to each other? At the nursery we were complimenting each other on choices, and saying “Ooh where did you get that??
At church we say “Have you planted your tomatoes yet?” You should come see my hydrangeas” People are more willing to stop and talk in parks and gardens.

One Christmas my mom and dad gave us each a garden ornament. It was a cement book with a garden quote on it. Mine said “You’re closer to God in a garden than any place else on earth.” And after all we started in the “Garden of Eden!”

My sister’s says, “To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”

Some other thoughts I found about gardens are,
“Always try to grow in your garden some plant or plants out of the ordinary, something your neighbors never attempted. For you can receive no greater flattery than to have a gardener of equal intelligence stand before your plant and ask, "What is that?"
- Richardson Wright

When gardeners garden, it is not just plants that grow, but the gardeners themselves.
- Ken Druse

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.
- Vita Sackville-West, 1892 – 1962

Our prophets have told us to plant a garden, even if its just a tomato plant in a pot on the balcony.
So grab a trowel and join the fun! It’s May

Spring

The fragrance of May
Is the essence of spring.
The music of May
Is the song the birds sing
The flowers of May
Springing up from the earth,
Bring the promised renewal
The blessesd rebirth.

Flash of Light

The other day I had a strange thing happen to me. I was planning on going to the temple that morning with a friend. I got up and turned on the computer to check my e-mail. Then I turned it off in order to leave for the day. A few minutes later there was a flash of light as the electricity turned off and then quickly on again. A disembodied voice said, “Stand by for further instructions!” Wow! Scary stuff! I assumed that it was Comcast turning on the computer or TV. Or maybe it was Verizon resetting the phone after the electrical shut down. I’m just not use to voices beaming down from the nether sphere. Could it have been a message from one of my dearly departed love ones?
How would you like it if we could get special instructions beamed down to us when we needed them in our lives.
WE CAN!
One of our Relief Society lessons in March was from a talk by Julie B. Beck, the General Relief Society President. There are scriptures that encourage us and help us with difficult times in our lives. Check out D&C 20:47,`Alma 32:27,2 Nephi 32:4-5, D&C 101;16. If we have questions—We can get answers! Or we can just wait around for the FLASH OF LIGHT AND THE VOICE!
Years ago, when my first husband was diagnosed with cancer, I had an interesting experience. When he had to undergo surgery, I would fast and pray, and read the scriptures. When the scriptures I read gave me peace, I knew things would be ok. When they gave me strength, I knew we were going to have to fight, and have faith.
General conference is this weekend. We can, as the hymn says “Come Listen to the Prophets Voice and Hear the Word of God”.

In this month’s issue of the Ensign, President Monson says, “The holy scriptures adorn our bookshelves. Make certain they provide nourishment to our minds and guidance for our lives.” (The Mighty Strength of the Relief Society,” Ensign, Nov 1997)

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -- Albert Einstein