Beneath the Wraps

                 When we are baptized we take upon ourselves the name of Christ – which means we will do our best to follow his example. The purpose of the sacrament is that it allows renewal of covenants made at baptism.  We have sacrament meetings so that we can partake of the bread and water – which in itself does not require the entire time we are at sacrament meeting but rather a fraction. Every sacrament meeting which I have personally attended has had an opening song, opening prayer and announcements followed by a song for the sacrament, the sacramental prayers and the passing of the sacrament.  That is until yesterday.  Because the ward had decided to broadcast the meeting for those unable to attend in person, the sacrament was held at the end of the meeting. Once a month the congregation are invited to bear their testimonies – express their gratitude for the gospel, share their faith, etc.  Yesterday j...

   Today we watched a YouTube video that my daughter-in-law had sent a link for.   The video itself was only up for two hours but shared the primary program of one of the wards in Syracuse.   The video itself was just over 20 minutes and we were able to watch our granddaughter perform her part along with several others.      Throughout this pandemic I have been quite grateful for the creativity and talents of others as they share parodies or bring so many together to perform in ways that they are not able to do in person such as these   Memories by One Voice Choir ( here ) Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 ( here ) Family Lockdown Boogie ( here ) Coronavirus Rhapsody ( here ) as well as many countless others. Thank you to so many who have shared their talents and for the minds behind modern day technology which has made this all possible

                  President Nelson created a video ( here ) which many have watched and have accepted the challenge. Facebook was flooded with posts of gratitude.   How wonderful that was to read such positiveness on the home page rather than backlashing, politics, the virus, etc.   Many of the posts were written by people from my past – some who have not been on facebook for years, some of which I had no idea I was even friends with.   How great it was to connect with gratitude.         I had started this month posting the 30 days of gratitude creating some new thankful favorites and perhaps duplicating what I had posted last year ( here ) but will not make a comparison until later on.          Jenna tried to accept the challenge but may be feeling as grateful as Corrie ten Boom had been for fleas (see here ) and had written: ...

just before 5:00 p.m.  It gets dark early Ever since we moved here, I had been hoping to turn the back porch into a game room.   We’ve had contractors come give us estimate but have never gone through.   I don’t know why all of the sudden Roland thinks we can afford it now. Their trailer remained in our driveway for four days The first counselor in our bishopric does that sort of work, and had come to our house to give us an estimate, but told Roland it would be wise to get the roof fixed first.   After all, the house was built in 1993 and probably has not had a new roof in all that time. until they moved it out front  Granted, this is really not the best time of the year to be roofing.   They started a week ago yesterday.   They had planned to return on Monday to do the skylights but the "storm" came.  The wet weather kept them away on Monday and Tuesday.   We weren't expecting them Wednesday as it is the day befo...

The only association I remember having with the name “Ebenezer” was the character Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”.   Thus when I saw that word in “Come Thy Fount” ( here ) I questioned its meaning. I have looked up the word and have done some research as to why the Hebrew word Ebenezer translates into “stone of help”.   Evidently, it has something to do with the ark of the covenant and the gratitude of the Israelites who had lost but gained back into custody.   Samuel evidently raised a stone as a symbolic gesture.   This was done in recognition of receiving assistance from God. Then I questioned what might have possessed Charles Dickens to give his character that same name.   Was it because Scrooge had the feeling of a stone?   He didn’t appear to be at all helpful to anyone in the beginning of the story.   According to the Mierriam-Webster the word Ebenezer (which generally is capitalized) has two meanings. ...

            During my entire lifetme, I don't recall having been invited into someone's circle to hang out because they really wanted me to.   Oh, there was the time when Crystal and Jennifer had invited me to hang out after elementary school - and seemed genuine about their request.   I couldn't imagine why they would invite me. But it was just the one time.   It never went anywhere.        For the first time that I can recall, I am now a part of a intimate circle of four.   They have requested my presence.   They would invite me even before they got to know Jenna - whom everybody loves.   They admire her.   She's fun and somehow I seemed to have made that reputation for myself   - that I, too, am fun to hang with.        Perhaps it's the state.   I was raised in Utah - small town that somehow grew bigger with every...

        My brother had posted the above photo to facebook earlier this month and I thought it I would try doing these myself.   Day Three says to have lunch with someone you admire or run into today.   The chances of me "running into" anyone other than Roland would be slim - though he is someone I do admire.   I suppose I could have just had lunch with him but  I actually chose another to come have lunch with me.           Aurelia lives   45 minutes away and I said that we could meet halfway - though I'm really not familiar with what eating places are offered half way.   It turns out that she had two appointments in Myrtle Creek and so had planned on being in town anyway.   Gosh, what gratitude she expressed for my rather simple meal.   Well, actually not the meal itself, but the incentive I had taken just to invite her.   I am grateful that I had as we both ...

            The RS presidency was in charge of the activity.   The theme was on gratitude.   I didn't raise my hand when our president asked for volunteers.   I was helping another sister sort toiletries that we had collected to put in bags to send to the women's shelter.   I don't know how many volunteers she ended up with, but her demonstration didn't actually go as well as she had hoped.             To each sister (and the two Elder missionaries who happened to be there) she gave each a small rock and a candy kiss.   She told each to put the rock in her (or his) shoe and walk around, but to please enjoy the candy.   The idea was "to enjoy the candy so much that you didn't think about the rock in your shoe."   I'm afraid I would have focused on the rock more than the candy.         ...

Recently my brother Corey experienced a problem with his car.   Instead of complaining about it, he wrote a list of   things that he was grateful for about his situation.   He posted his list to facebook.   I tried sharing his post with my friends – though I think the only ones who might actually have an opportunity to view it are those that Corey is friends with already.   I just really like the attitude he has incorporated into his life. He was grateful that his car had died in the parking lot and not on the crowded streets of Las Vegas. He was grateful that the break down didn’t happen on the way to taking Joh or himself to work.          He was grateful to get roadside assistance through his insurance. He was grateful that the weather was not typical of this time of year, but much cooler to wait in than the normal July heat. Neither he nor Joh were on a schedule in which they had to b...

         My brother-in-law’s sister had returned home from a lesson on perspective (I think) and posted a thought about her best and worst Christmas – both which had taken place in 2005. It was a great thought, and I asked permission to share it on my blog.   She said that her understanding was that it was up for Church publication and it would be best if I did not share.   I figured when it was published in Ensign magazine, I could refer to the link.   But I don’t see any evidence of publication thus far.          I saved a copy to my own personal files, but seem to have misplaced the ubs or it somehow got deleted or something.   I’ll find it eventually.   Meanwhile I have my own thoughts about one of the longest days of my life (starting out with a trip to the Medford Temple and ending with waiting for Greyhound)          Ju...