Trying for a Thankful Thursday

No matter how tired I am, I am thankful for my family!

This morning when the alarm went off I was in the middle of a dream.  I don't remember the dream, but I always start shaking all over when I'm woken up during one, and I have to work hard to turn off the alarm without dropping it!  I was not excited to get up.  I have a mild headache and a lot of work to do.  I was a bit out of it and after my prayer I tried to find my glasses and couldn't.  I didn't realize until I left my room that they were already on my face!

My morning prayer was not long.  I remembered it was thankful Thursday, and so I tried to just be thankful.  It is really hard to feel thankful some mornings, but I did my best, and I promised to try to be grateful today, and so I will.

Today is Gethsemane day in Easter week, which is a good reminder of all I have to be thankful for.  Jesus loves me.  He paid for my sins so I can repent.  He understands hard days and sends comfort.  He made it so that I can be with my family forever.  He conquered sin, and death.  I am thankful for Jesus, and for thankful Thursdays to remind me to look for the good in the day, and to open my eyes to the pile of blessings that I have.

This is from lucydickensfineart.com
It's titled: Gethsemane -- His Will

The Jesus Room

Not too long ago Derek and I went on a date.  When we left we had no inside projects lined up. When we came home, we had decided to paint the piano room, the hallway, the kitchen / dining / family room, and the guest room.  Kayli said we aren't allowed to go out anymore when we have ideas.  We had decided just to do an accent wall in the piano room.  As usual there are not before pictures -- only after pictures.  Kayli helped me with this during her spring break.

When my father-in-law saw it he said, "Is this the Jesus room?"  I guess it is -- but its official label has always been "the piano room" and will probably remain the piano room.  The furniture used to be arranged differently, and Jesus' picture was above the piano.  Things have changed a bit, and we have a couple of things left to do, but this room is mostly done.  It is currently holding piles of pictures from the hallway, which has its first coat of gray.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jog

Picture of Trevor from facebook (Thanks Haven!)

Last week we were in St. George welcoming home our nephew Trevor from his mission in Brazil.  He might have gone to the market there, but I seriously doubt it was to buy a fat hog (in case you recognize the nursery rhyme title).  He did mention having a pig's ear put on his plate once.  He couldn't tell us how it tasted because he lost his appetite.  Missions are good, and they are challenging.  Trevor learned Portuguese, and how to get along with various companions.  He learned how to share the gospel with as many people as were willing to stop and listen, and I'm sure he learned a lot of things that I am not aware of.

The message he gave in his homecoming talk was very similar to the one he gave before he left.  It's all about family.  Every person on the planet is a son or daughter of God and therefore they are our brothers and our sisters.  It is our job to love them even when they aren't really lovable, and to help them to learn where we all came from, why we are here on Earth, and what happens after we die.  We get to teach the great plan of happiness to all who will listen, and we get to love no matter what.

It was really fun to see Trevor.  His hair still looks perfect every time I see it, and he still plays the piano with impressive skill.  He still is good at listening to Dan, and at being kind and cheerful.  We are glad to have him home again, but we are also very thankful that he went.

Dan Talks at Pack Night

Dan explaining, in great detail, what his group had made out of their bag of recyclable stuff .
It's hard to see here, but like the other groups, they decided to make a robot.

Dan still talking

And talking some more.

It is interesting to watch Dan in front of a group.  He is not shy (most of the time), and the more laughs he can get the better!

Getting In and Out of The Box

Leadership and Self-Deception was the book on my book list for March.  I finished it quickly.  It is by The Arbinger Institute who also wrote The Anatomy of Peace, which I read previously.  These books present ideas that can be life changing.  I love them.  Some of the same ideas are in The Bonds That Make You Free by C. Terry Warner, which was a life changing book for me.

All of these books talk about getting "in the box" toward someone or "out of the box" toward someone.  I am not going to try to explain these ideas in this one little blog, but I will give you a quote from the book that gave me something to think about.

"...no matter what we are doing on the outside, people respond primarily to how we're feeling about them on the inside."

Tuesday's Trip to the City Center

Tuesday morning Derek, Kayli, Connor, and I went to the Provo City Center Temple open house.  When Jake was a baby and we were still dragging around his oxygen tank, we went to the Provo Tabernacle for stake conference one Sunday.  At least I think it was stake conference.  The tabernacle was a beautiful building.  It was built in the late eighteen hundreds.  It was sad when all but the outer walls burned down in December of 2010, but the temple that resulted from that tragedy is very beautiful.

I love this stained glass picture of Jesus.  It is more beautiful if you are there standing by it.

For those of my friends who live far away, it is worth your time to look up images of the Provo City Center Temple.  You can see pictures of the beautiful inside, as well as pictures of the tabernacle after the fire, and the amazing reconstruction that turned it into a temple.

Feeling Fragile

Last week I was having one of those weeks where I felt a little fragile.  I was doing all I could to hold myself together, and sometimes I even succeeded! Unfortunately, a lot of the time I was a little over sensitive, got discouraged easily, and felt like the simplest things might break me (or make me cry).  Even so, every day had good things in it too, and I tried to remind myself that the fragile feeling always goes away eventually.

There were helpful things on these days.  Derek is always kind and patient.  I had an entertaining book to read.  I could still find humor in things that could have been frustrating, like a mysterious black greasy trail all through the upstairs of my house, which a little investigation showed was made by me, or the two buttons that fell off a new shirt right before I was supposed to be somewhere.  It was helpful to have kind friends to talk to, and young women who smiled at me while I led a musical number they were singing.  And, when I remembered to get the mail, I had a thoughtful gift from a thoughtful sister.

There were more good things in my days than I have listed, one of which was having a Thankful Thursday to remind me to notice my blessings.  I know that being grateful helps everything, and yet I was surprised to find that it helped me feel less fragile too.   I do find it discouraging that I seem to be prone to having bouts of feeling so breakable, but I find it encouraging to know that I really won't break, and I can get through those fragile times with the help of those around me, and with a little gratitude.