Black Clouds and Blue Skies

 

         So many times I have heard people say “If you don’t like the weather in ______ stick around for five minutes and it will change.”  And it does.

 

         I was having lunch with some friends on Saturday.  We chose to eat outside as the air felt nice and warm enough to enjoy.  Carol and I both noticed black clouds hanging to one side, and yet the skies were blue with moving white clouds to the other.  Seems like the blackness pushed its way into the blue which caused a gray –

And OH . . .

So much wind.

Without warning, the wind blew debris over us.  It looked like it was black hail falling upon us – and twigs in our food.  We decided to move indoors right before it started to rain!

I remember feeling hot that very morning.

 

So we really have had warm and cold experiences within the matter of minutes.  I find myself dressing in shorts and sweat shirts figuring at least half of me will be protected.

Two Years

        Yesterday, while checking out my facebook memories, I was reminded that one of my nephews had been scheduled for baptism two years ago.  I thought it was strange that it would be two weeks into the month instead of at the beginning – but for whatever reason it was changed.  Gary’s baptism had been moved to the 7th and my oldest granddaughter were both baptized at the same time but in different wards.  I posted that it must have been changed due to revelation as that was the last baptism to be held for quite a while in 2020 due to the pandemic.

        My sister left a comment about the craziness of it all and I asked if she had read our brother’s post about his mention of a cat they call “Milagro” and about his late mother-in-law who had gone into the hospital with COVID.  Yesterday he posted many of the details about the next six to eight weeks – the devastation felt, the passing, the funeral.  He mentioned the memories both positive and negative and used the real names of his husband’s family. 

        2021 went by rather quickly – at least I thought it did.  But 2020 was soooo looongg as each month felt like a year.  Each month introduced a new set of problems.  Steven left facebook for a while.  He and his spouse went to Australia before the voting results.  I told him that he should just stay in Australia.  But they returned before Christmas – before a new wave of COVID invaded Australia.  Trump was still in office – never having been much of a president.

        COVID might be over, but we still have a new set of problems.  A possible World War III – thank you so much for that Vladimir Adolf Putin.  I thought it would be Trump that would have sent us in that same direction that you have chosen to go.  Did you guys learn nothing about history?  Why hurt the citizens – not just in Ukraine but your own country as well.  At least COVID was something that we were all fighting together.

Curiosity

 

Bonnie is barking

Wants to go outside

To bark at the neighbors’ dog

She sensed them

Or so she thought

Where are they? 

That’s not a dog.

She had seen the pigs before.

Gosh they’re getting fat.

Bonnie is intrigued.

Where are the dogs?

Wait a minute. Is that a . . .

What the heck is that?

Very unlike any dog that

I’ve ever seen. 

What kind of a dog is that?

Do I even know if it is male

Or female

 

Bonnie wants to play

Where Can I Turn for Peace?

          We have been trying to find a dog sitter to care for Bonnie at the end of this month.  Roland has been wanting to see the boys and had planned to do so by himself but Jai (aka Jenna) has spring break coming up and so thought we could all go.  But that would only give us a week.  Perhaps it would be better for Roland to go by himself?

         Taking Bonnie for walks lately has been quite bothersome on my part.  I do not have Jenna’s strength.  She’s broken from her leash/collar four times now – the last two were very hurtful.  I sliced my middle finger on my left hand when she tore out of her collar to bark at the dogs on the corner.  And then on Valentine’s Day my right thumb got damaged when she tore loose (this time in a harness) and chased a dog into somebody’s house.  Needless to say the tenant was NOT happy – and I don’t blame her.  The middle finger has healed but my thumb is still sore.

         Roland had suggested some ward members who have two larger dogs.  I told him I didn’t think it would work.  He called them anyway.  I walked Bonnie over and was correct about Roland’s suggestion is NOT going to work.  They happen to live next door to the house where Bonnie had gone inside.  Currently they have furniture all over their lawn and it is now raining spoiling what appeared to be nice furniture.  I think there is a domestic dispute – and not just with them.  Bonnie and I walked by at least three houses with obvious problems.

         Just as we arrived at the ward member’s yard, Bonnie took a dump while a brave cat approached her, but then the cat stiffened and hissed when Bonnie was done and took off. With the fence between the member’s dog and Bonnie, they were both tearing into each other. I still had hold of Bonnie’s leash when another cat approached and jumped Bonnie. Bonnie bit the cat.  She appeared to have feathers in her mouth, but it could have been fur.  It had come from the tenants yard.

         Okay.  I wasn’t about to cross by her yard again.  We went the long way home.  Now there are two circles to our west.  The outside circle overall seems full of unkempt yards whereas the inner circle for the most part has quite attractive yards that have been tended to.  We completed the outer circle and moved to the inner circle.  Five houses before we would cross the street and head towards home, we spotted a couple walking their dog.  I quickly turned Bonnie around and retraced the inner circle and returned home the alternate way.  I was quite worn out. 

         I was upset about Bonnie who really is a sweet dog with people but does not play nice with other animals.  I was also concerned with the houses I had passed in which a woman was crying at one, unnecessary language and raised voices at two more.  My emotions were “I’d like to help but I cannot let go of Bonnie” equal to “I don’t wish to get involved” – which is sad because it certainly is not what Christ would have done. 

         The more I walked the louder I hummed “Where Can I Turn for Peace?”  I really need to memorize the words.  I don’t know why I haven’t.

The Machine Does All the Work

 

        I don’t mind doing laundry as a whole. 

Sorting is no big deal.  Adjusting the knobs

and dials on the machine is also no big deal. 

Even the folding part I can tolerate. 

Returning the clean laundry to its rightful

place is the most unpleasant part of the

whole ordeal.  Still, I prefer it to

putting dishes away. 

Reminiscing my former West Valley Ward

 

Before moving to Oregon, the last ward (church boundary) I had attended was in West Valley.  As I think about it there were always activities – primary activities on both ward and stake levels, youth activities, adult activities, family activities, holidays such as Halloween, Easter, and 4^th of July breakfast. 

         There have been youth activities and dances on both ward and stake level – no primary activities that I recall – and I was in primary FOREVER thus you would think I would have noticed.  My last ward is the only ward I had been in where I hadn’t served in the primary for the duration.

         I miss introducing others through said activities.  In this ward we have some activities and LOTS of meetings – mostly on a stake level.  Each meeting I have attended has been less motivating than the one before.  I don’t think I’ll be attending anymore.  That’s a long drive which has normally cut into my bedtime I’ll have you know.   

What?????

 Last week when Roland left the house, it was always below freezing.  This week it will be in the low 50's.  Are you kidding me?  I am going to die come summer.  If I look at 40s and 50s as "no coat" weather, how am I going to survive 90 and triple digits.  I'm not.  My posts are dwindling as it is.  When they cease to exist (probably in the summer) than chances are looking good that I will too. (Well, I will exist, just not in an earthly form;  I am okay with leaving my body behind)

Appreciating Learning

 I'm grateful for the talents of others that have assisted in educating me.  

Feb 20 Diversity Talk part 3

 Here is the rest of the talk.  No links to provide for this one.  I had heard this example in an institute class I had taken.  Dee Hadley was the one who shared the Good Samaritan/six scenario example.

       Another example I have is a true incident that took place on the University of Utah campus.  Students who made their way to the institute building may have passed one of six scenarios – for example, there was a crying youth who’d been riding his bike but had stopped because the chain had come off and was looking for someone to assist with putting it back on. There was an older gentleman walking out of the library with a stack of books in hand – which he dropped.  There was a woman who tripped and fell. 

The students on their way to the institute building were having a test and their instructor had told them not to be late.  When it was time for class to start he shut the door and turned to the students who had arrived and said, “Congratulations.  You just failed your test”  for the old man with the books, the woman tripping, and the crying youth along with the other three scenarios had been staged.  Those who stopped to assist – if any – would have been late for class but are the ones who passed the test.  They had served with Christ-like love.  They were good Samaritans who hadn’t judged and served a higher purpose than being on time.

God wants us to embrace our diversities and become good Samaritans to everybody and not just those we choose to assist but those that we don’t understand or even like or know. We are all God’s children and He would like each of us to come and meet Him in His inn and fellowship one another and build each other up. 

with compassion, the Good Samaritan stops and binds our wounds with wine and oil. He will put us on his donkey and provide us shelter.

We need to focus on our good qualities and talents and learn from one another instead of focusing on the negative or what we don’t understand. We are not here to fix people according to our own definition but to help one another overcome any fears or doubts and work together at bringing one another to joy and light.  I challenge each of you to look at everyone with the same eyes that God does that we may lift one another and share and learn.

Feb 20 Diversity Talk part 2

This next part of my talk may sound familiar to those who have read past posts here and here

We are all made of many puzzle pieces, some more complex than others. Some might view others’ puzzles as near completion, but we don’t really know. 

Only God sees the entire picture. He knows what the puzzle pieces are and where they fit. Sometimes He will send people into our lives to help us find our puzzle pieces.

Many of us realize that our own puzzle may not be complete for ourselves, so why would we think it is for another? If I don’t know about all the pieces that are missing from my own life or what pieces will make me whole or tie me to somebody else,  what makes me think I can view another’s completed picture?  I can’t. None of us can. 

Only God can see the complete picture. He knows how we fit.

Each of us comes from different backgrounds.  There are some people who have adapted diverse cultures or traditions that may not be our own.  That doesn’t make them wrong.  It doesn’t make us wrong.  We really can and do learn from one another.  It’s not our place to pass judgement but to fellowship and love.

We should all know the parable of the Good Samaritan who came across a traveler who had been beaten and left in despair.  Others had noticed the broken traveler but had passed him by. They may have crossed the street to avoid him.  He was NOT their problem after all.  Perhaps they were too busy – or more likely too prideful.  They probably didn’t share common interests or values    so why bother?  Maybe he had deserved to be beaten.

This reminds me of a picture my brother had shared to his Facebook feed.  He had taken a picture of a homeless man bent over in humiliation with a cup outstretched in his hands.  Although my brother had taken the photo in December he had not shared the image with anyone until he posted in June with these words:

“I saw a homeless man whose figure felt so tragic, I wanted to capture it because it was such a haunting and sad image to me. I really second-guessed whether I should do so because it felt cruel of me to take a photo of this man's misery like some sort of exploitative tourist. But there was something pathetic, and yet also filling me with a sense of compassion, about the man's posture, that I wanted to safeguard the image as a reminder to me that there are people in low places in life, and it behooves us to stand up and take notice and help each other, if we can.”

He goes on further to compare the image in the photo to a homeless cat that had wandered into his yard:

“ we remarked how it feels like he wants to be loved and held . . . but still is a bit guarded in doing so, as if the world has so abused him and tossed him aside, that it is a challenge for him to trust and learn to love again.

“I do not know what traumas this little guy has faced, but I know he has, and it is taking time for him to adjust to a life that is different than the one he had. . . .we discussed the parallels of foster kids or recovering addicts or war veterans or anybody, really, who has experienced trauma or betrayals or disappointments and is trying to heal.

“I wish at times that we could really see into each other's hearts and intimately know the burdens and pains that make us who we are and how we act. I think if we could see deeply into each other's souls, we would be more compassionate, patient, and understanding with one another.”

Feb 20 Diversity Talk part 1

 

The two conference talks I finally settled on were “Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity” by Elder Quentin L Cook (here) given in October 2020 and “Room in the Inn” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong (here) given in April 2021.

Elder Cook started off his talk by relating a story about the Kane family who had traveled from Pennsylvania with Brigham Young and company. One day the Kanes were visiting with Thomas and Matilda King and their family in the King home in Fillmore, Utah. As the Kings and Kanes were sitting down to their dinner, there were five Native Americans who came into the room.  Matilda King spoke to them in their dialect and one of their guests, Elizabeth Wood Kane, asked about what had been said. 

Elizabeth learned that Matilda had told the group that she had prepared a meal for the Kane family who would be eating their meal first and that the other five would have to wait but assured them that she had another meal for them cooking over the fire.  Each received the same meal and the same amount of food. Elizabeth had been impressed with the compassion Matilda had to do the same for all that entered.

Unity is enhanced when people are treated with dignity and respect, even though they are different in outward characteristics. Although outward appearance may seem easier to identify, there are inward characteristics as well.  We are always going to find people that think differently than we do or worship differently than we do or may have different values or seemingly no values at all.     

We are all children of God regardless of our backgrounds, whatever challenges we may have faced and what walk of life our path has led us to.  We are ALL equal in His eye.  He doesn’t label us his brown children and white children or his Mormon children and Jewish children and so forth. God wants ALL of His children to return to him and desires for ALL to come to Him in His inn.

I have a granddaughter who appears to be on the chunky side as well as academically or perhaps socially challenged compared to some of her peers.  Recently the school she attends celebrated the first one hundred days of school.  Each child was told to bring 100 items of his or her choosing.  Ally chose Band-Aids as it is a product that she uses on a daily basis and because “she has some really cool ones."

Ally has a rare disease called Kabuki syndrome which requires her to receive two shots per day. Her mom had figured that Ally will go through over 120 Band-Aids a month on average.

 She says, “My girl is a warrior. She is strong. She is brave. She recognizes that she is different but let's it be known that being different is okay.”

 There are some of us who embrace the differences, and then there are others who feel threatened or afraid of the unknown – why that man has a different skin color, why a parent would allow his or her child to dress a certain way – but until we really get to know a person, we don’t know what makes them tick – and even when we do learn something that makes up part of their personality, we still don’t know everything.

Will Jeopardy be put in Jeopardy Again?

         I did not go into detail about the cancelled R.S. activity in this post.  I had suggested it before but it had always been on the back burner either due to the weather or stake activity that took precedence or lastly, the pandemic. 

https://jeopardylabs.com/

     We had scheduled the activity to celebrate the RS birthday but also a category for St. Patrick’s sounded fun.  We had planned to meet for the activity on a Saturday.  We had discussed whether to continue with it or not – but hey, enough is enough already.  Let us play the game that I had prepared – more than one time.  But no.  On Thursday the prophet announced no more meetings.  We stayed home for the next six to eight months and the game was living in the closet all that time.

https://www.steelecreek.org/churchathome-daniel

     Thus I wonder if we will have to cancel again.  I finally brought the game home to reprocess everything.  March 17^th is on a Thursday which is the same night we have decided to hold RS activities this year.  I don’t know what kind of a turn-out we’ll have. 

     So this will be today’s post and I will follow it with three posts on diversity as I relate the talk I had given in Church on Sunday.  Stay tuned.