Doing Hard Things!

I got back home on Tuesday after spending time with my grandchildren in El Paso and in Fountain Hills. We had so much fun together celebrating a birthday, playing, and decorating Halloween cupcakes.

Gens and his mother, the Witch!

I was home for a couple of hours when the phone rang with bad news, the kind of news that makes a mother heartsick. I knew I had to do something or I would just feel sad, sad, and more sad.

Wednesday morning I took a friend on a hike in the Catalinas (love being out in the desert mountains, so cleansing) and Wednesday afternoon I congratulated new moms at the Women's Center, and visited a friend in the hospital. Thursday and Friday mornings I did my chaplain work at NWMC. This week there were a few patients who had been diagnosed with inoperable cancer who were seeking spiritual help and guidance. This "ministry" is so fulfilling, and even uplifting as I hope and work to bring comfort and peace through the spirit to those in need.

These were the easy things I did to feel better and make sense of the challenges in my life.

The hard thing was to run in a 10k race I hadn't trained for and dealing with a body that has been existing on fats and bad carbs for too long. But I had to do it. I had to get out there and sweat, feel pain, and work hard. And I did. I'm not sure, but I might have been one of the last to cross the finish line! I will admit I walked a lot.

The race was the 28th annual Oracle Run. Lot's of hills. (The picture to the right is me!)

I love running downhill, and I stink at running uphill. Right now my life is on an incline where I have to work hard to get to the top, but if I trust in the Lord, He has promised me that He will help me make it to the summit where I can then begin my descent, the validating part.

Families Should Be Forever!

Nick and Linda Goodman Family--1997

I sat and watched a civil case at Superior Court this week about a son who was counter-suing his mother who had sued him for $58,000. The law suit was for payment on a truck and money borrowed, and the counter-suit was for money the mother owed for work done by the son. They went back and forth, back and forth, when the judge finally said, "you need to take this out of court and sit down together as mother and son and work it out." Both sat in their seats shaking their heads like, "never!" I don't know what the outcome will be nor do I really care, but it sure got me thinking about the tragedy of this family being torn apart. There has to have been some time when this mother held her little baby boy, hugged her young son, and loved him. What happened?

I have seen other families being torn apart lately. I have a feeling that Heavenly Father is very sad when this happens. He is not pleased when mothers, fathers, children are at odds with each other, or when they are separated or separate themselves.

I met a young expectant mother of three whose husband was deported. I don't know where you stand on the immigration issue, but I know where I stood until I met her. This family should be together.

Divorce is running wild, even among the believers. No doubt some circumstances warrant this, but "can't we all just get along?"

I shared in my last post that the talks and spirit at General Conference chastened me. I searched the scriptures trying to find out why. One of the talks said if we want to be like Christ then we have to know who He is and what He says. I was prompted to read 3 Nephi which is about His visit to the Americas after the crucifixion. He teaches the people His new laws such as "love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you." Also, "whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." And much, much more about loving, caring and forgiving each other.

I've certainly read this before, but there's new meaning in these "new laws." My experiences of late suggest that families must follow them if they are to succeed, and love each other the best way possible. Perhaps it begins with mothers and fathers.

The Refining Process

There was a story in the October Ensign about a young couple from Panama who were trying to get to the Guatemala Temple to be sealed for Time and All Eternity. If something could go wrong, it did, before and during their trip to Guatemala. The young man telling the story considered their experiences a "refining process."

I watched and listened to four sessions of General Conference this year. And as always it was wonderful, but this year I felt something different than I had in years past. I'm not sure why, if it's because of what I'm doing or not doing, or where I am in my life, but this year I felt "lacking"; I felt chastened. I'm still trying to figure this out by listening to the talks again, and reading the written word. I do appreciate the scripture: "For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." Being refined is painful, but necessary for our greatest good.

Craftiness!

I apologize for the quality of these pictures, but my camera broke and I'm taking these with my phone. The lighting wasn't very good. I have been in a mood to create lately, so I thought I would share what I've been making.

I have had some harvest fabric for a long time and decided to make a couple of throw pillows to add festivity to our harvest home. The fabric pumpkins in front of the pillow are covered toilet rolls! They are cute, easy to make, and I love to decorate the house every fall with these fabric pumpkins. The pink splotch you see is a burp cloth. I found some flannel lying around in my fabric bin, got a pattern online, and voila! The white cloth is a dresser scarf with Halloween patches, glitter, and spooky characters that I painted. Not professional, but fun to do. Next is the beginnings of a crocheted scarf. I decided that I waste a lot of time just watching TV and should be productive so I re-learned how to crochet. The bag of granola next to the scarf is a homemade recipe without any oil, and I must say it is delish and much healthier than store bought.

This is Sam (1st grandson) and a little friend of his from his 6th birthday party--theme: robots. I made a robot for him out of cardboard boxes, added stuff and painted it silver. It was so fun to put together and has inspired me to be more creative with gifts to my grandkids.

I have added another dimension to the creativity and that is I'm giving everything away to others. This is not a noble act, it's just a fact that I don't need more stuff in my home, but I still want to feel that fulfillment of creating something. So who knows, you might be the recipient of a homemade craft from me!