A Season of Thanks - part 4

Today I am thankful for work.  Good old-fashioned work.  The philosopher Korsaren said this about work: 

If you are poor, work.  If you are burdened with seemingly unfair responsibility, work.  If you are happy, work.  Idleness gives room for doubt and fears.  If disappointments come, keep right on working.  If sorrow overwhelms you and loved ones seem not true, work.  If health is threatened, work.  When faith falters and reason fails, just work.  When dreams are shattered and hope seems dead, work.  Work as if your life were in peril.  It really is.  No matter what ails you, work.  Work faithfully - work with faith.  Work is the greatest remedy available for both mental and physical afflictions.

Today we built a dog house as a family.  It was frustrating at times and inspirational at times.  It was a great teaching opportunity and it was fun to watch my boys use power tools. And it was another opportunity to Keep Breathing.

Oak Park

Nov 5 - Friday

Today I am thankful for the time I spent living at Oak Park in Boise.  I met some wonderful people there.

Today, while I was in the temple, I ran into a couple that was in our ward in Boise over 10 years ago.  I wish I could remember their names, but I am horrible that way.  I did "talk" with them though, which was amazing because they are both deaf.  We had the deaf branch as part of our ward years ago.  I was able to talk with them in sign language and they understood me!!  It was a neat experience.

I also spent time this afternoon talking with a good friend, Crystal.  She lived by us in Boise and when we moved to Nampa she moved to the same neighborhood 6 months later.  I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to get to know her over the past 14 years.  She is going through some really rough times right now and has been diagnosed with 2, possibly 3 types of cancer.  She continues to take care of her family and to work overtime to bring in enough money to meet their needs.  She is an inspiration.

I learned so many life lessons at Oak Park.  I learned about being poor and humbling myself.  I learned that for every stereotypical welfare household there are also many welfare homes where the children are loved and cared for and the parents are amazing, wonderful, intelligent people who just happen to be living through a rough time at the moment.  I learned that some people will NEVER grow up.  I learned that when someone is hurting and can't fight back against the person who hurt them, they will often attack whoever is closest.  I learned that just because someone spreads nasty rumors about you, most people who matter won't believe them.  I learned that it's important to tell my story FIRST... instead of waiting for the rumor mill to stretch and distort the truth.  I learned that a family with nothing can be incredibly happy.  I learned that hot tubs and Haagen Daaz go great together.  I learned that 3 of my best friends in the whole world are amazing people and I will hold them in my heart forever!!

And I've learned to Keep Breathing.

Nov 4 - Art Thou Greater Than He?

Today I am tired.  So very tired on so very many levels.  Today I am thankful for my new book, "5 Scriptures That Will Help You Get Through Almost Anything" by John Bytheway.  I am thankful for the perspective and the scriptures that help me. 

One thought from the book that I especially like today is a quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, "Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!"

Christ has suffered more than us all, and has overcome.  Through His miraculous atonement we can overcome not only our sins, but our griefs, sorrows, pains, oppositions, and betrayls. 

"The Son of Man has descended below them all.  Art thou greater than He?" (D&C 122:8)

 Through it all just Keep Breathing.

A season of Thanks

With Thanksgiving approaching many people begin to reflect on the blessings of the past year. This is my attempt to focus on the many blessings that I have been given. I want to post each day this month and explore at least one new blessing each day. I'm a few days behind, so this post will have to be a catch- up =).

November 1 - Monday

I am so very grateful for Becky Grover. She is absolutely amazing. She is a wonderful wife, mother, friend, and best of all for me - counselor. She fulfills her calling and goes above and beyond what is expected. She is much more patient than I am, and I would be lost in my calling without her. Today Becky gave me the blessing of truly sustaining me.

Novemeber 2 - Tuesday

Today was the Pinewood Derby. I am so thankful for leaders who love the boys and take care of their responsibilities. I'm thankful for Cub Scouting, that gives boys a place to have fun and learn and be boys. I am thankful for the mom who did an emergency paint job on her son's car and rushed it to the church when he had forgotten it. I am thankful for the Boy Scout who lent his car to this boy so he could have something to race until his mom got there.

I am also thankful for my husband, for priesthood blessings, for a morning of quiet reflection and alone time, for clearance racks and $10 off coupons, for random strangers who jump start my car, for my Daddy who I can call anytime about anything, for LDS bookstores and their owners, for Activity Day leaders who LOVE what they do, for sons who begin and end my day with pure joy and laughter.

November 3 - Wednesday

I may add to this later, but so far this morning I am grateful for Rabbit Flowers. I found this flower/weed on my walk this morning. This is a flower that I have loved since I was a young girl. The little purple flowers remind me of rabbit faces and ears. Right across the ally from where the rabbit flowers grew when I was a girl, was the patch of blue forget-me-nots and lily of the valley. This was my special place where I would gather flowers and then draw into my own private world where no one could hurt me and feel the love Jesus had for me. I could smell the flowers and pet the "rabbit ears" and feel that He had created these just to remind me that He was always there for me.

Finding one today, in November, after the frost was my little miracle. Jesus' way of reminding that that He is always there for me, even now. I was able to draw back into that private world and feel safe again.

I am grateful for rabbit flowers, for walks, for a husband who rescued me from my walk when my joints could go no further, and most of all for a loving Heavenly Father and Savior who watch over me and provide rabbit flowers along my path throughout my life.  I'm grateful to just Keep Breathing.

Kerrie TV: "Keep Breathing" Live Performance

Keep Breathing

I have found a new 'favorite' Christian artist... Kerrie Roberts. Her music is so soulful and I just love the messages. I heard her song No Matter What on the radio the other day and went in search of what other songs she might have. My absolute favorite is called Keep Breathing. The lyrics are especially meaningful to me right now... 

Keep Breathing lyrics

by Kerrie Roberts

You wait in darkness
For answers that you can't see
You know what you deserve
And your wondering why your life is
Not what you thought it should be
When the knife breaks
Your heart still aches
How can you face the day
You just

Keep breathing
you'll make it
Don't give in
You're not done yet
Sometimes all that you can do is
Keep breathing and believing
Don't let go
Just hand on tighter
A little longer
When you feel like your dying
Keep breathing

Don't give up
Don't give in
No you're not done
Don't give up
Don't give in
Don't let go

When every moment
Is almost more than you can take
You've got to know some
Tomorrow will bring you a breakthrough
Is the reason why
You got to get through the today
When the knife's gone
You will be strong

Keep breathing
you'll make it
Don't give in
You're not done yet
Sometimes all that you can do is
Keep breathing and believing
Don't let go
Just hand on tighter
A little longer

With every breath
You're bringing hope
You're letting go of all your doubts
When nothing is easy
You got to keep going
Even when you don't know how
You don't have to know how, no

Keep breathing
you'll make it
Don't give in
You're not done yet
Sometimes all that you can do is
Keep breathing and believing
Don't let go
Just hand on tighter
A little longer

Keep breathing
you'll make it
Don't give in
You're not done yet
Sometimes all that you can do is
Keep breathing and believing
Don't let go
Just hand on tighter
A little longer

Keep breathing
Don't give up
No you're not done yet
Don't give up
Don't give in
Don't let go
No you're not done yet

I just love this message of enduring just a little longer. 

In Psalms 30:5 it says... "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." I don't know how long this night will last, but I do have faith that the morning WILL come. I am so grateful for the scriptures and for inspired music that sings the thoughts of my heart. Someday when my children are raised I want to write and perform music again. I miss that part of who I am. I LOVE being a mom, but I want to be true to my spirit and my talents that I was given as well. Ahhh... but one trial at a time.

For now I'll just Keep Breathing.

counting my blessings

Well, this has been an eventful week and I don't know quite where to start... First I guess I should say that David went up to Scout Camp for the week because the ward couldn't find leaders and he doesn't have a job yet. He took the laptop and cell phone and has been applying for jobs while in the mountains. He has been completely accessible by phone and internet and so he even had a job interview on Tuesday. He was hopeful that he would get the job with Idaho Power, but he heard yesterday that he didn't get it. 

That was hard for him. 

It is hard when you know that you are doing what you need to be doing and the blessings that you want don't seem to come when you want. But the council from Elder Dallin H. Oaks sums up our attitude right now:

"Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing." ~ Dallin H. Oaks, October 2003 Ensign 

 And then the scripture that keeps coming to me this morning is in Isaiah 55:8-9 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." ~ Isaiah 55:8-9 

I know the Lord will bless us, in His time, with the employment that we need to support our family. In the meantime, we have been so blessed this week. I am trying to hold back tears even as I type this. 

We had some friends invite us to go to Yellowstone this week while David was up at camp. Of course we don't have money to take a vacation, but they offered to pay our gas and hotel even. We would just have to come up with food. We would be driving a few members of another family, so it wasn't like a charity case. Even so, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with going. I just thought this was because of my pride, so I kept delaying giving them a firm yes or no about going. 

Well Monday evening I had a late night call from my brother, who had made some VERY poor choices and needed to be rescued. Melissa and I found him and got him home safely. I felt more strongly than ever that we should NOT go. I thought that I needed to stay in town for my brother. I called and cancelled. Now ever since the first mention of this trip I have had the lingering thought that if I went that something would happen with our car and that there would be an accident or a repair. When the situation with my brother happened I thought that I must be overreacting about the car and that the real reason for staying home had to be for my brother. 

Well I found out on Wednesday, and then again last night that the real reason was actually the car. On Wednesday I went to get gas at Costco and the attendant noticed that my rear tire was REALLY low. I went and had it filled and they said it had a slow leak. I hadn't noticed it at home, and I can only imagine what could (and probably would) have happened on the highway on a 6 hour trip. There are some hairy curves and hills between here and Yellowstone and it would be my luck to lose the tire on one of these curves. But that didn't happen because I listened and stayed home. 

To further emphasize the fact that we are being watched over, we had another incident with the car last night. After a day long trip shopping in Boise, we got home and the car was leaking coolant a little - no big deal. It was over 100 degrees yesterday and it didn't really phase me. Then I went to practice a musical number and when I pulled into the driveway I noticed that the little leak was now coming faster. I popped the hood and sure enough the radiator hose had a huge split in it and was spewing coolant all over the place. If I had been on a long trip when it burst, the engine would have been ruined. 

As it was, I spent the evening pulling off the old hose and then trying to find a new one. Carol gave me a ride to Schucks and they matched prices w/ another company to save me $15. I put the new hose on this morning and it worked great. The temperature was stable and everything looked good. Jonathon and I washed the car inside and out and then he called to schedule his driving test.

... Now this is where my faith started to waiver. We went out to take the car for an official test drive and to vacuum it out before his test. The car wouldn't start. I just wanted to cry. This was my moment of feeling a little like Job. Carol came and jump started the car and it works great.

I have had time to reflect and realize that every trial we have had this week was minor compared to the loss of life or loss of a car that could have happened. We truly are blessed. 

I know that the Lord will provide employment for us and that He is blessing us continually in so many other ways. The key will be to keep from getting discouraged and to appreciate and thank Him for all the blessings we enjoy. I will need to read Elder Dallin H. Oak's article this week and keep his council and this scripture in mind as we continue this journey. 

I am amazed at the tender mercies of our Lord. He is truly my Savior. He rescues me not only from my sins, but from my struggles and my trials. He has blessed us this week with so many personal miracles. 

And to add the best blessing of all, my newest niece Rebecca was born this morning at 3:15 am and is healthy and all is well. All is well, all is well, and I will just Keep Breathing.