Laugh More

On our way home from Idaho we listened to a talk by Hank Smith on being happy.  He talked about a study that came up with 10 things that happy people do.  One of those ten things was to laugh more.

How does one go about laughing more?  Hmmm.  More puppet shows?  Naturally I think Princess is hilarious so that's not a bad idea.  We did do a puppet show on Monday and I'm pretty sure I at least chuckled.  It takes a lot to get a good belly laugh out of me.  I can still remember my cousins asking why I didn't laugh at the comics.  I just didn't think they were that funny!  Only occasionally did one catch my funny bone enough to get more than a chuckle. 

Perhaps to laugh more, I just need to practice laughing out loud instead of chuckling?  Does fake laughing count?  I asked one of my kids what she thought I could do to laugh more and she said I just need to go with our family philosophy -- if you are going to make someone laugh, it might as well be yourself.  I think that would require me figuring out how to be funny more often.  Perhaps I just need to wear the princess puppet on my hand all the time and THEN I would be funny :-). 

Feel free to help out by trying to make me laugh.  Just make sure you are following our family's philosophy so that, even if I only chuckle, you will laugh, which will create more happiness for you, and even chuckling more often is bound to help make me a happier person than I already am!

Fear is Easy

Fear is easy.  Not easy to deal with, or get rid of, but easy to choose.  It is easy for me to be afraid that I will be too tired tomorrow, and that I won't know how to deal with whatever comes up.  It is easy for me to be afraid that nobody wants to talk to me, and to be afraid that I am not good enough.  It is so easy to be paralyzed by the fear that if I choose something it will be "wrong".  It is easy to choose fear because then I don't have to move.  I can stay where I am because, while I might be miserable, this place of fear can give the illusion of safety.

If I expect to fail at the challenges I have tomorrow, then I won't be letting myself down when that happens.  Right?  And if I don't call anybody, then I won't have to risk that they might not want to talk to me.  And if I don't make choices to move forward, I can't be any more hurt than I am now, right?  No.  Not right.

Fear may stop us, but it doesn't protect us from life.  Being afraid of tomorrow doesn't keep it from coming, and not choosing to make choices to move forward is a choice to stay stuck, in fear.  Losing out on the good I could have is, in my opinion, being more hurt than whatever hurt I have now.

Faith is required to keep moving.  Faith that, even if I am tired tomorrow, and I don't know how to deal with whatever comes up, I will do my best and that will be better than not trying.  Faith that even if my efforts aren't perfect, they are enough to make a difference for good.  Faith that, if I call someone, then even if whoever it is doesn't want to talk to me, they will know they are thought of, and that is not a bad thing.  Faith that, if I make a choice, and it is wrong, I can then make a different choice!  It is so interesting that stepping out of fear can seem more scary than living in fear constantly!

Fear is darkness, and the Lord will help us out of darkness.  Psalms 119:105 says "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  We can use God's word to light our way.  We can choose to believe in Him, and in the light that He will provide if we just take that first step out of fear.

Dinner and a Walk

This is me at the restaurant holding a cow cup and doing a poor job of pretending I'm
going to drink out of it.  We took this picture for Tia but I never sent it.
Hopefully she'll see it here.  Why Tia?  She likes cow pictures and I guess that
translates into us sending her pictures of anything having to do with a cow!

Uncle Chris (Tia's Uncle) demonstrating how this cup should really be used.

Brian and Stephanie on our walk at the BYU-I gardens after dinner.

Chris and Tina during that same walk.

And Derek and me too!  The girl at the pizza place really liked Derek's shirt
which was his Cereal tee-shirt from our cereal themed Christmas tee shirts.

For our last evening in Rexburg we went to dinner with adult family members who live in Rexburg since the rest had gone home.  The restaurant was a little loud and we were having trouble finding the "right" dinner conversation, but we enjoyed our dinner and the peaceful walk after dinner!

Hikes and Tears

I like hiking.  Really.  I do.  But it is also true that for the last few years I haven't made it through many hikes without crying about being too slow and holding everyone else up.  Or crying because I'm too tired, and need a snack.

This is Ray, Jeff, Jenny, Stephanie (hiding way behind Jenny), Tina, Brian, Derek and Me
at the top of R mountain in Rexburg, ID

Here is a view from one side of the hill

Here are family members being only slightly dangerous, but I turned around and
didn't look after I took this picture because I tend to panic when other people are up high with the
possibility, however unlikely, of falling.

I was grateful on this hike for Stephanie, Brian, and Derek who stuck at the back with me.  Stephanie and I took turns saying we needed to stop for a break.  When we got back from this hike I texted my kids that I was proud that I hadn't cried.  I almost did.  But I didn't!

This is on our hike at Coffee Pot Rapids on July 5th after our lunch break.
This is my siblings and me.
Tina, Me, Ray, Jenny, and Brian

Sherie and Derek

Us trying to get more of the river in the picture.

Derek sitting up high at the rock pile where we eventually turned around and went back,

On July 5th, as we trekked along Coffee Pot Rapids, my nice niece Naomi carried my lunch in her backpack.  I meant to bring a snack for my pocket too.  Oops.  So at around at a little after 12 my head started to pound and I thought perhaps I should eat.  It is so hard for me to stop a whole group of people and tell them I am hungry, especially when everyone else appears to be fine!  At 12:20 or so I asked Chris to get those ahead to have Naomi pass my lunch back.  We ended up all stopping and eating, and there even ended up being a rocky place by the river where most of the group was able to sit while they ate.  I sat on a log on the trail with Chris and Brian and Derek and managed to only let a couple of tears slip out.  That was pretty good! 

And then we kept going, and got to the rocky area, and I thought we were going to scramble over those rocks and keep going -- and I was done.  We still had to hike a couple of miles back out!  Derek said he would stay with me -- and then I cried.  I sometimes feel like I'm holding him back.  Not that I'm sure what is so awesome about hurrying ahead, but still.  Tina and Chris and a few others hiked a little more, but only because Tina and Chris thought the kids had gone ahead, when really they had climbed up and out of sight.  The rest of the hike went just fine.  I hiked behind Jenny and Tina and was able to chat with them a bit.

One of these days maybe I'll get over crying when I get tired, or hungry, or feel like people are having to sacrifice their fun because I'm slow, but I guess it wasn't that day!  So, I thought about reporting to my kids that I didn't quite make it tear free this time, but I didn't.  I just told some of them about it later.  For most of the time it was a lovely and fun hike, and so we'll just go ahead and remember that part!

Tina, Me, Ray, Jenny and Brian

Fireworks!!!

This is some of my awesome family.  Dan is in the front and then Emma, Charlie and Seth
Jenny is in the blue coat, my Dad seems to not notice when it's cold, and Mom is wrapped in the flowery blanket.  Ray is standing next to Lori and Derek's head is poking out behind Charlie AND
Stephanie is back right.  We are sitting in front of Brian and Stephanie's house.

This picture had me thinking of my cousin Cristy who, if I remember right,
notices when grammar is incorrect.
Brian is standing in the road with Jeff and Owen huddled around the fireworks that haven't
been lit.  We are seeing the backs of Seth, Charlie, and Emma.

Our fireworks were good at emitting sparks, and we enjoyed cheering for them, and for the ones shooting into the sky behind us, lit by the neighbors.  We could also see big ones at a distance -- but not in this picture.  It was a happy 4th!

Independence Day Program / Here We Have Idaho

Chris, my Mom in the white jacket, the back of Caleb's head, Jenny, Me, and Derek

At 7:30 a.m on July 4th Derek and I and a few family members went to an Independence Day program outside of my sister Tina's church.  The chairs were metal and therefore felt like we were sitting on ice blocks, but the program was great.  Someone posted the colors of The United States of America and the national anthem was sung by a girl with a beautiful voice.  She sang 2 verses, including my favorite which says, in part:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

There was a dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence,  and afterwards 13 people representing each colony stepped forward one at a time accepting the Declaration in behalf of their state, and shooting their muskets.  Then there was a very well given speech, and we ended with all of us singing God Bless America. 

There was one other thing.  Before we read the declaration of independence we "sang" the Idaho State Song -- a cappella.  Those of us from Utah didn't know it, and those from Idaho -- mostly didn't know it.  Or at least couldn't follow the complicated melody without accompaniment.  And then, there were the words.  I'm afraid we thought they were amusing though I am sure they were not meant to be, and I do feel a little bad about how much entertainment they provided for the rest of the day.  The chorus is:

And here we have Idaho
Winning her way to fame
Silver and gold in the sunlight blaze
and romance lies in her name

I guess we weren't convinced that there was much romance in the name Idaho.

All in all, it was a great program, and I think there should be more good programs like this one on Independence Day to help remind us what we are celebrating, and how much we have to be thankful for.

Life Isn't Fair

It is easy to see life as unfair.  If we take to comparing, we can easily find ways that life isn't "fair" to us, or to someone we love, or even to strangers.  Some people are healthy, some are not.  Some have lots of money, some are poor.  Some seem to be loaded with visible talents, while others have the quiet talents that may go unnoticed, even by them.  When we are feeling sorry for ourselves it might help to remember that life was the most unfair to Jesus.

Jesus came down, lived perfectly, was treated awfully, and then suffered for all of the sins He never committed.  We came down, and we do not live perfectly.  We sin on a regular basis, creating some of the unfairness for those around us, and yet, we do not have to meet the demands that justice would require. Christ already did that.   He gave us the gift of repentance and resurrection because He loves us so very much.

So, when we get stuck noticing how unfair and uneven things are around us, we can take comfort that Christ understands unfair.  He can be empathetic, comforting and helpful.  He suffered unfairly, and in so doing made it so that if we turn to Him fully we can be assured that the demands of justice have been met, and we will, in the end, have rewards that we do not deserve but that we will be very, very thankful for.

*Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

A Patch of Sunshine

This picture is of a patch of sunshine in our piano room.  There is joy to be found in the little things, and I love when there is a patch of sunshine in this room for me to sit in when I am eating my breakfast and doing my morning study.

Let me encourage you to get up every day and focus on what you do have in life. Be thankful for the blessings of the little things, even when you don't get what you expect.            Victoria Osteen

The Symbol of Our Worship

By Harry Anderson
used by permission from:
churchofjesuschrist.org

I have seen a lot of Christians wearing a cross, and I know that in most Christian churches there are prominent displays of the cross.  It has been considered the symbol of Christianity.  But, even though I am a Christian, I was taught when I was young that we do not wear the cross.  Why?  Not because it is wrong.  I admire those who wear the cross to declare their Christianity, or to remind themselves of grace, and of how a Christian should behave.  I have thought before, what can I wear that would show that I am a Christian and give me a reminder of grace and gratitude, and that I should be acting as a follower of Christ?

And then I happened to see a quote by President Hinckley.  He had been asked why we don't have crosses in our buildings, and he said it is because we worship the living Christ.  He was then asked what the symbol of our faith is and he said,

"...the lives of our people must become the most meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship."

He didn't say that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we had already arrived at having our lives be an expression of our faith, but that our lives must become the most meaningful expression of our faith and a symbol of our worship.

So what do I have to remind me to be a Christian?  Well, I do have a couple of tee shirts, but most importantly I have the chance to write His law upon my heart by studying and consciously choosing to follow His law and to seek His will.  As I do this, I hope that my life will become the symbol of my worship of Jesus Christ.

*Quote from The Symbol of Our Faith by President Gordon B. Hinckley

Failed Communication

A bucket of roses

It was a bit of a rough morning for one of my boys yesterday.  He was tired, and had chores he did not want, one of which was dead-heading the roses.  He has done this before, and I explained again that you cut off the dead roses so that more will grow.  What did he hear?  "Cut off all of the roses, or no more roses will grow."  Then, because wasps or bees hovered too close to the row of roses I expected him to work on, he started on the climbing roses.

Imagine my shock a few minutes later when I went out and found beautiful red roses strewn all over the ground.  I asked why he had cut them off, and he explained and was so upset that he had done it wrong.  I assured him I wasn't mad.  I was disappointed because I love those roses (though I didn't mention that), but I wasn't mad.  It was a hard morning for him already, and he wasn't doing it wrong on purpose.

I went and got a bowl of water and put a few of the pretty flowers in it so we have enjoyed them inside for a day.  The roses will eventually grow back.  There won't be as many until next Spring, but they will come back.  It is so easy to have miscommunications!  I am always glad when I feel like I haven't mishandled the miscommunication!

It is still green, and there are still pretty
roses tucked in there in places.
No real damage was done by a good boy who was trying to help
a good bush!

Covenants and Grace

I was listening to the Christian radio station today, and thought I'd better be very clear about something.  God wants us to make covenants, but that does mean that we are earning our way to heaven!   We are saved by grace, and we should also be changed by grace.  Covenants help us on the road to being changed by grace -- they mark the path back to heaven, but no matter how hard we try, if we insist on working our way to heaven, we are going to fail.

Working on becoming more like Christ is not the same as earning heaven.  Following Him by making covenants with Him is following His example and is for our benefit.  I think we will be a lot more comfortable in heaven if we aren't just saved by grace, but changed by it.

Covenants

The Jordan River Temple
where Derek and I made covenants
over 31 years ago!

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we believe in making covenants.  We promise to do certain things (like keep His commandments, and be willing to take Christ's name), and God gives us promises in return (that we will have His Spirit with us).  Recently, I have taken the time to think -- can I remember all of the covenants I have made?  Can I name them and explain them?  Can I recognize and explain what blessings I get from keeping them?  In asking myself these questions I decided that I do not remember enough, and so I have been working to remedy that.

A covenant is a promise -- and how can I keep a promise I can't remember?  And if I basically remember what I promised, but haven't taken the time to contemplate what it means, and how I could keep my part of the covenant better, then there is certainly room for improvement! 

I have enjoyed reading about the covenants I made at baptism, and going to the temple to listen carefully to the covenants I made there.  Heavenly Father loves me.  He loves you.  He gives us covenants for our benefit, and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn about and keep my covenants knowing God will keep His part, and He will give me the opportunity to repent when I fall short.

I Am Trying to Remember ....

...to try things -- but if they don't work -- to try something else.

That is a brilliant quote from my journal.  It is so easy to get into bad patterns without realizing it. 

Maybe I'm trying to keep my house plants alive by watering them when they start to look desperate, and I think to myself, "I keep trying so hard, and they just keep dying!" without ever stopping to think that I should work out a better watering schedule for those tortured plants.

Or, when I get sad, I often isolate myself from people hoping I can just work my way out of sadness myself.   I try this same thing over and over, and if it didn't work the first 3,000 times, there is a good chance it isn't going to work today either!  Generally when I am sad, the solution is to be with people -- not to avoid them.  By isolating myself I do avoid being embarrassed by crying "at" someone, but I don't get feeling happy faster!

So, I just need to remember, to try things (solutions), but if they don't work, to try something else.  Eventually, something will work.

*Photo by Pedro Kümmel on Unsplash