Good Timber

Intracoastal Waterway

A Poem Found, "Good Timber":  The photo is down at the shore on the Intracoastal Waterway, not far from the Mary Esther/Hwy. 98 location which used to be the home of some of my grandkids.  

I think this photo is Torin, my grandson.  Notice the "fence"?  Or maybe you would call it a guard rail?  It reminds me that fences can be made of wood, created to be a guide and a protection, as well as for keeping someone or an animal corraled.  

Torin is a young man, now, holding down a job in Orlando, and still great fun to be around!  Around Fort Walton Beach, this waterway is called "The Sound".  Torin is good timber.  The Sound represents to me all of the events that follow our life-lines.  Good, bad, and indifferent.  This is the test of good timber, the challenges, perhaps.

The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Boston, Massachusetts, southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas.

Location: Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of ...

Length: 3,000-mile (4,800 km)

Good Timber

by Douglas Malloch 

The tree that never had to fight

For sun and sky and air and light,

But stood out in the open plain

And always got its share of rain

Never became a forest king

But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil

To gain and farm his patch of soil,

Who never had to win his share

Of sun and sky and light and air, 

Never became a manly man

But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease,

The stronger wind, the stronger trees,

The further sky, the greater length,

The more the storm, the more the strength.

 By sun and cold, by rain and snow,

In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth

We find the patriarchs of both.

And they hold counsel with the stars

Whose broken branches show the scars

Of many winds and much of strife.

This is the common law of life.

This poem was printed in a church magazine many years ago; I had cut it out to save and re-discover.  If you want to see it on the Internet, put the title into Google.  Here is one such "hit".

 

 

 

Is watching history unfold a thing of the past?

I would suspect that so many folks have just tuned out when it comes to watching/listening to the daily news unfolding.  

We have the unique circumstance of choosing where to get the news; can we even obtain an outlet that isn't colored by interpretive reporting?

Is there a place that you can get unbiased news? Think about this: do you want the unbiased news?  Or do you want to filter your news through the coloring of one view or another?  Maybe you want to see history unfolded from the conservative viewpoint; where would you go, online, for that?  Which major news television offering tries to give both sides?

These are questions you might ask yourself and how much "happening now" or "breaking news" can you really take?!!  More on this topic, later.  And by the way, what happens to the stories that pop, instantly and then disappear...not to be found the next day?

Stake Conferencce Part Three

The next speakers, last night's session: Brother and Sister Hart (young couple with kids) spoke about morning scripture study in their family.

As our calendars get filled (not my personal situation at this time), have we remembered to put first things first?  What are our priorities?   Where do prayer and family scripture study fit in?  

The church's "new" guide, Come, Follow Me, and the adoption of the program in your own family can lead to blessings, the Hart couple explained.  They chose to get up a half hour earlier in the mornings to meet with their family members.  

Because they have been working to put the Lord first in their home, they feel that their "burdens" haven't necessarily become lighter, but that they have been strengthened significantly to bear those burdens.  (Mosiah 24);  Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the ^aburdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as ^bwitnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their ^cafflictions.

Suggestions from the Hart family:  Invite the Spirit to visit and abide with family members.  

Review D&C 88:124:  Cease to be ^aidle; cease to be ^bunclean; cease to ^cfind fault one with another; cease to ^dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be ^einvigorated.

Cultivate a desire for [spiritual] knowledge.  Direction via the whispering of the Holy Ghost will come as pray for guidance. 

 

Stake Conference Part Two!

Brother Anderson also talked of his granddaughter and the struggles that she had experienced.  She was blessed to receive support from a certain group or organization in Utah, which incidentally, was comprised of many Tongan ladies.  Fortunately, his granddaughter received assistance from this organization and progressed to the point that she felt well enough to put in her papers to serve a mission.  

She was advised that as a result of her past history in mental health challenges that she might not be invited to fill a regular full-time mission.  Another individual told her not to worry about that because the Lord would call her where he needed her.  

The response, the "call" came and Brother Anderson and all the family gathered around the computer, as his granddaughter was going to announce the results on Facebook Live.  Each person was invited to put in a guess as to where the granddaughter had been called.  Friends and relatives (over 100), filled her living room in Utah and others were watching on the Internet.  

Brother Anderson's guess was Oakland California mission, because he had been reared in that area and he knew that at that location, his granddaughter would find many of the Polynesian Saints and have the opportunity to "give back", in part, to those members, what she had received, in spirit, if not in kind.  See population of islanders in California.

I'm sure that you can guess where his granddaughter was called to fill a mission.  She would be serving a full-time, English speaking mission in Oakland California!  

Attention to Conference

I took quick and incomplete notes at the recent (yesterday) Stake Conference.  I had failed to eat properly during the day and arrived at the conference feeling humble and a little weak!  

However, I was looking forward to enjoying a spiritual feast and was not disappointed.  Besides that, I shortly learned that one of the major themes of the conference was "Family History"!  This is topic I love so dearly and I engage in almost on a daily basis.  

The first talk was given by Joe Anderson, a counselor in the Stake Presidency of the Fort Walton Stake.  He must have fasted before the meeting because his attitude and talk was totally a spiritual experience!  He talked about Toothpicks!  The whole thing about synergy.   

A recent (2016) talk at the Women's Conference, illustrates and alludes to this eternal principle... [Actually, the talk was about "Agape"].  Elder and Sister Renlund presented this talk.  
 
 “One in charity” can be used as an exhortation—encouraging individuals to be unified and to join with others, such as the newly introduced “I Was a Stranger” initiative. When we think about this phrase as an exhortation, we, as individuals, are strongly encouraged to voluntarily join together to help those in need. Our desire is to be charitable, but we want to do so in a unified effort. It builds on the concept of synergy, that many can do more than the sum of individuals. For example, 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 8. Now, I’m no mathematician, but 8 is clearly more than the sum of the individual parts."

So, Brother Anderson/or President Anderson, if you prefer, was telling about when he was instructed (in school science class?) to create a device made wholly by toothpicks and seeing how much weight that device could hold.  I'm not describing this accurately, but you get the idea, right?!!


Elder Renlund: Synergy occurs because the capacity of the five grows as they work together and because they qualify for heaven’s help. As we work together, our capacity grows, and we are able to accomplish even greater tasks in the future.

Brother Anderson's other point was that together we prop each other and "others" up in the worthy goal of helping mankind.  Luke 10:2: The ^aharvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

In another book of scripture: Exodus 17: 9-12 of the Old Testament, there is the story of Moses and Joshua and Amalek...when Moses held up his hand, Joshua prevailed in the fight with Amalek.  When Moses' s hand got tired and lowered, Joshua would not prevail.  

 9 And Moses said unto ^aJoshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the ^brod of God in mine hand.

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses’ hands ^awere heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur ^bstayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

The members of the church should support one another in doing the Lord's work. We are called to the work by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Is Communism Really Dead AND Are Socialist Countries a Threat?

First article is a little dated, but true principles are true.  Sometimes we are relieved or think all is well, but what really happens is a group based on destroying capitalism hides behind one mask and then takes on a different appearance pretending to be not so harmful in nature.   The names and terms change as those who would harm the American Way seek to sneak past you and I with tom-foolery.

1.  http://www.raythomas101.com/communismdead.html

2.  Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Repression, Terror by Stéphane Courtois (Author).

3.   http://www.breitbart.com/california/2017/05/09/california-may-allow-communists-work-openly-state-government/

4.   https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/26703-how-the-violent-hard-left-antifa-movement-copies-communists-in-weimar-republic-germany

Meanwhile, back at the State Department

Daniel Greenfield reports on this crazy idea that someone had at the State Department.  To welcome known agitators and sponsors of terror organizations to sit down and be treated in a civil manner is beyond the pale.  The State Department needs to come down hard in defense of Israel.  And this isn't the way.  Read for yourself.

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/267650/state-dept-hosted-cair-and-hamas-front-group-daniel-greenfield#.WZui9cEEp6w.twitter

Tortilla Soup

...the movie!  For ladies like me.  Perfecto!  I don't need hot and hungry and over the edge all the time, but when I do, I like movies like this one.  The whole cooking thing at the beginning of the movie was seductive, with a capital S.  My biological father was a short order cook, but Hector Elizondo exceeds my highest expectations (I know, he probably isn't a chef in real life)...anyway...this role was written for him.  His quiet, understated manner is a perfect backdrop for the tangy and entangled love stories in the movie!
At my age, I really see things differently---I may not have lost my ability to smell or taste food, but appetite is always there waiting in the wings for something good to happen, something that will wake you up.   In this case, the movie!

social justice gimmick and other remarks

• http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/267110/15-hour-cost-worker-paychecks-125-month-daniel-greenfield

“You’ve got to watch out because at some point you run the risk of harming the people you set out to help.”

The math, here, is so simple that even I can understand it.  Raise the wages.  The employer will compensate by cutting a worker's hours.   Or by cutting the number of workers.
I just love

...reading Greenfield; he has a way with digging down to the truth.  I just wish kids and others, nowadays, would realize the damage that socialism can do.

• William J. Conway says, :

Venezuela’s decline is the inevitable endgame of socialism, told by the deterioration of its streets, the abuse of its opposition politicians, and the use of the military to maim and kill Venezuelan children as young as 14.

1.  https://plus.google.com/108709180471526832566/posts/PaWjnTcGbrU

1.  http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/06/12/visual-portrayal-socialism-venezuela-20-photos/

We Have to Seek the Lord to Find Him

Sometimes, the circumstances and trials in our life leave us feeling quite isolated and alone.  We believe that God lives and have a testimony that there is a Gospel Plan and yet, we stumble.  We feel lost when things don't quite measure up to what we think of as our ideal life.



Why?  What is it that we are supposed to learn from failure, disease, new situations and the surprises that is our path?!!

Just listened to a talk from a young woman on BYU television in a devotional address that she made regarding just this topic!  Though her disappointments were not mine, it is sure that we have all had disappointments.

I loved the quotes that she used.  Be sure to look for them in the transcript link above.

In searching for that transcript, I discovered the website : BYU Speeches.  Thankfully, I now have a source for many other inspirational talks.  An Easter gift that I can really use, right now.  Remember, Christ perfectly knows our burdens; look for His comfort, His understanding His empathy!

Renewal and Thoughts of Easter

“We shall rise from mortal death to have life everlasting, because of the atoning sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior.”

My dad with his mother, my Grandma Hall.

Easter Bonnets:  In first grade, the teacher set out crepe paper, cardboard, crayons, and scissors.  With her help and the help of a teacher's aide, we made our hats and adorned them with bows and thought them beautiful.  I'm not sure what the boys did; maybe they got to make Easter baskets?  I love the idea of an Easter Parade, a show of hope and celebration.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_bonnet)

Hot Cross Buns:  I left home at the age of 17.  During those first years away, responsible for setting up my own household, I begin to experiment with recipes and cooking.  I read magazines and became inspired and educated by the presentation of food on Easter.  I had never heard of hot-cross buns.  I knew about Ham, Potato Salad; I had grown up with that fare.  I determined to add making the yeast buns to Easter Dinner preparations.  (http://people.com/food/best-easter-hot-cross-buns-recipe/)

Easter Chicks:  I'm not sure that I understood the spiritual significance or connected the significance of little new-born chicks at Easter.  They had been dyed different colors and were furry and warm and chirping a lot.  I don't remember what we did with them after Easter.  We didn't live on a farm, really, though Mother did raise chickens for a while.  We had a garden, too, in the Spring.  I remember a summer of picking beans.  The rows had been criss-crossed, so that we could pick in the shady tunnels, from the inside.

As a young child, I may not have realized the significance of all the trappings of Easter, but as I grew older, I began to associate the gift of new clothes (pastel colors) with the idea of the Resurrection.  And as the years passed, I realized that my Mother, who had lost a child before I was born, who had lost her mother in a car accident...that Easter, though a time of hoping to be reunited with loved ones, down the road, was also a time of sadness and loss, for her.  One Easter morning, she was on her way to Church and just down the dirt road from our house, she saw my sister's dog, runned over and stretched out in the middle of the road, dead.  Her heart was softened, the tears hot and bitter.  She never did make it to church; the grief and loss had completely overtaken her.

  “It is our firm belief that [the Atonement] is a reality,” he testified, “and nothing is more important in the entire divine plan of salvation than the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We believe that salvation comes because of the atonement. In its absence the whole plan of creation would come to naught. … Without this atoning sacrifice, temporal death would be the end, and there would be no resurrection and no purpose in our spiritual lives. There would be no hope of eternal life.”^{2 (President Howard Hunter)}

^{Read Also: Why We Wear New Clothes at Easter}

Saturday is a Special Day

There is a children's song that we used to sing in Primary; it goes like this:

Saturday is a special day, It's the day we get ready for Sunday.  (Primary Children's Songbook)

 So, Sunday is the sacred day.  But spiritually and physically it is more than okay to start preparing on Saturday for the "Holy Day" of "peace and rest".  

Put your house in order, at least to the extent that you know you have something ready to wear for church and you know where your shoes are.  I even dumped my purse out on the carpet last night and only put back in, the things I would need in my purse to attend church.  Maybe that seems a little weird, but it's a woman thing to do.  As I left this morning (Sunday), I also threw in a Rice Crispy Treat and a cheese stick in case my blood sugar started dropping.

"Peace and rest":  Rest from your normal routine, from loud television shows, from conflicts and stress.  Rest from the "everyday", worldly cares.  It actually is a relief to not have to go shopping!

In Sacrament meeting today, someone was bearing their testimony and in her words, I could feel the effort she was making to drop her burdens at the feet of the Savior.  She had had a busy, crazy, stressful week; she had ended that week in tears and I could feel her searching for peace as she spoke.  

It is the Savior who can pull us through those hard times, through adversity and troubled waters, through grief and pain.  We (I) so need a day to be reminded of this, to be reminded to look up to the Heavens for strength, inspiration, and rest. 

Here is what I jotted down on my church bulletin as I listened to the soul's plea as the sister worked through her grief and came out on the other side.

I wrote, "Things to do on Sunday":  

• FamilySearch indexing 
• Write a missionary
• Scan family pics to put on FamilySearch
• Read the scriptures or talks from conference
• play uplifting and joyful music 
• Write in my journal (I don't have a journal, but I have a booklet that could become a journal.
• Pray for our soldiers and sailors (my granddaughter is in the Coast Guard.
• Pray for those who weren't able to make it to church this Sunday
• Send someone in the ward a birthday card or an inspirational happy card or whatever kind you feel like they need.
• Make a plan to do your visiting teaching.
• Touch bases with family.  If they are far away, call or Skype.  If they are closer, eat a meal together.  Reach out to family members or those who live alone.

This was fast Sunday and since I'm a diabetic, I don't fast the 24 hour way.  Someone suggested that I fast in other ways.  For example, I thought about not watching any television that would detract from the spirit.  Not go out to a store or dine out.  (I don't usually do this anyway on Sunday, but sometimes I do, so I guess I am still needing to work on that goal as well as others).

After writing these thoughts down, I will go back and put in a few pictures so as to make it more vibrant and shareable.  Hope you have a Happy and Fulfilling Sunday. 

Remember, if you need to take a nap or have some private time, add that type of goal on your Sunday To Do List, too!







 

Dated but Timeless "How to LIve a Successful LIfe"

President Tanner is deceased, but he had a great sense of humor; spiritually, he was a giant whose words can touch hearts in every dispensation.

https://youtu.be/7xIvFgRhI10

Scriptures: Search, Read, Ponder, Pray...and SHARE!

How do I feel right now, tonight?  

A moment of panic when I found out that not only does my daughter has Type A influenza, but her baby girl also has it.



 

An evening of feeling very tired, exhaustion of a spiritual or physical dimension? 




A desire to feel better tomorrow, a hope for strength (mental and physical), the belief and growth of belief that my Father in Heaven will not fail me.  

I looked for scriptures in the Topical Guide using the phrase "living water".  Here is the first one that caught my eye.

John 7:37:  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 

Christ is the living water!  The source that never goes dry.  I was thirsting this evening for relief, for peace, and for strength, also.  By turning to the scriptures, I asked and received the reassurance that God is in His Heaven, that "all is well".  God loved my children first,  and perfectly.  He does not expect me to be in all places and be all things to all people.  

 STUDY QUESTIONS
1.  What do the scriptures have to say about fear, depression, and other negative feelings that are part of our current experience ?
2.  Did Christ experience thirst, exhaustion, rejection, disappointment, and concern?  When and Where?  
3.  Is disease a physical malady or a mental and spiritual unwellness?  Or both?
4.  What part does hope play in our healing?  Is it enough to believe in Christ's power to save?  Where does faith come in? and Why do we want to develop faith?  

Other living water scriptures:

• 1 Nephi 11:25
• Revelations 21:6
• D & C 63:23 

A New Way to Look at the Book of Mormon

I think I want to begin a new project as pertains to my Book of Mormon study:  Read it as if it were the first time that I ever put my eyes on it.  (In some parts of the Book of Mormon this may be true, though I believe that I have at some time or another, read it through at least once--but do we read/inhale every word, normally----or do we "scan" through some passages, quickly, already)?

Is it even important to read every single word, or rather to just pick and choose themes?  So what I am desiring, is this:  I want to see the words, the intent, the spirit of the book, as if I were a non-member and see how it affects me.  I am sure, or fairly sure this is impossible, as I have been steeped in the gospel for nearly my whole life.

Maybe what I want to do is just get a fresh look.  "Dig About the Roots" and TRY to imagine the import the message of the Book of Mormon for me and for mankind and womankind, in general.  I need oxygen and I need to refresh or even re-set my relationship with the Book of Mormon.  My spiritual relationship with the gospel of Christ needs fertilizing, sunlight, the "Light of Christ", and in general, a fresh perspective.

We say in the Genealogical Society board meetings, sometimes, that we need "fresh blood" in the membership.  We talk of how we can attract those people that will come into the leadership and "stir things up" a bit--bring new ideas, new ways of looking at things.

I do not plan to discard the knowledge and relationship that I've already acquired with the Book of Mormon--I just plan to give those roots, a bit of oxygen and search them for ways to refresh my testimony...search in ways that will lift me to new understanding.

The best way of course to accomplish this is to apply the discoveries of disciple-ship to my daily walk.  Bring the principles forth and liken them to my situation.  Example:

And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof; and we will pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the fire.

"Trim up the branches" = pruning.  Right?  So I can eliminate from my life those things which are less useful in obtaining spirituality, yes?  Cast into the fire those practices in my life that impede my spiritual progress.  Sometimes I practice this principle by self-correcting my course.  For example, I am partially successful in not reading a novel when it begins to go into way too much detail about the love life of a couple.  I just toss it in the trash bin if the language is too salty, the scenes too hot and steamy...etc.  What about my own language?  Is it appropriate and meaningful in good ways?  Or do I occasionally sink to promulgating confidential information?  Am I a gossip?

So application of the principles of righteousness in the Book of Mormon have to be customized to our particular personality and challenges.  That is why we have to read the scriptures over and over and over; we change, we forget, we need new experiences to understand the import of the revelations that await us in the teachings of the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and other sacred writ.

So my plan is both to approach the Book of Mormon from "where I am coming from", but also from the "where is God coming from" and how the Book is a "shaker and mover" in the lives of investigators.

Links:

• How to Study the Book of Mormon

• Blessings Resulting from Reading the Book of Mormon

•  http://religionnews.com/2015/06/15/how-to-read-the-book-of-mormon-s-l-o-w-l-y/

• Ways to Study the Scriptures

• Book of Mormon Study Guide

• That Good Part

• How to Effectively Study the Book of  Mormon (9 ways)

I hope that one of these links will help you and me to accomplish our study and build our testimony of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Christ.  

I'm feeling discouraged about the political scene right now.  From the media I get the impression that it is a foregone conclusion that Hillary R. Clinton is considered to have the best chance to be elected President.  She and her husband and associates have put in years of work and effort and chicanery to cultivate the place that they are in today.

They represent the "one-world" viewpoint.  However, I don't just hold them responsible...(Former) Governor Jeb Bush and others in the Republican Party let their party down this time because they didn't attend the Convention and they haven't supported the people's candidate, Donald Trump.  I they will be sorry.  We only have 99 days left in this campaign.  Where are there voices for "less government", now?!!  Senator McCain can be forgiven; he isn't a spring chicken after all.  However, there are so many who failed the RNC in their attempt to produce support for...(Not for Donald Trump, but for the party in which we had put our hopes, for the platform that represents

an option

to the left wing, liberal, socialized viewpoint of Hillary and her Crew (pirate crewe, that is)!

No Christians Allowed: 100% Muslim Syrians Admitted Since June

No Christians Allowed: 100% Muslim Syrians Admitted Since June



This is pretty incredible!

The True Nature of Anger

Here to Help | Mormon Channel

Here to Help | Mormon Channel



I plan to read one account each day, just to remind me there is hope on the horizon when someone reaches out a helping hand.  I hope to be in some little way that person who helps someone, even a little.

FHGuide: Get Started

FHGuide: Get Started  



This is an amazing resource for those of you who have never used a guide for your research.  But if you need a plan or would like a review, then this is for you.

In addition, it is FREE.  Since this is one individual's "baby", he has provided a place for donations, if you find the guide useful or want to encourage efforts like this one.

Take a look and let me know what you think.