Transformation at Millsite

So many times Jenna and I have gone to Millsite, I feel like I am seeing it for the first time.  The elements change and often causes a new feel.  But there has been reconstruction.  A new fence was added.  Trees were removed and new ones planted.  This is Millsite last year, this year in October and on Veteran's Day

Dec 22, 2016

Dec 22, 2016

Perhaps you will recognize some of these pictures from this site    

October 10, 2017

When we returned to the park on Veteran's Day, I took even more pictures

What Do Pineapples and Prayer Have in Common?

(Pineapple Members, 2016)

            Some people are blessed with learning from others' examples.  Unfortunately it seems there are more who just don't get it and have to figure out things for themselves.  Still there are some who go through trials and still appear to be clueless.  Allow me to share an example.

            When I was a youth, I remember seeing ads in the classified section inviting youth to earn money picking pineapples in Hawaii.  The ad itself was marketed in such a clever way that youth believed not only would they be earning money, but would have an opportunity to tour Hawaii as well.  I remember a bunch of Patrick's friends decided to fill out applications and asked him to join them as well.  My brother, Patrick, has always been logical and decided he would wait a year.  If things worked out among his friends, surely they'd want to return.  If things did not work, well, Patrick had spared himself.

            What the classified ads failed to mention was that picking pineapples is hard physical labor. I honestly don't know anyone who returned for a second year. 

(Picking Pineapples in Florida, 2011)

My sibs and I have been fortunate enough to weigh our options, find others with similar experiences and learn from those experiences - especially if we can spare ourselves from pain - be it emotional or physical.

            I realize that is not the best example of what I am trying to convey.  I'm certain there were many that may not have appreciated what they had gotten themselves into at the time, but may have had a deeper appreciation for the experience they received - though maybe not at the time.

Mareeba Gold, 2016

            Whether we choose to pick pineapples or not doesn't seem relevant to our salvation - not in the same way as turning to drugs or alcohol or something immoral.  Not like joining the service or giving a child up for adoption.  I think the latter examples are more inclined to stay with you and perhaps even haunt you more than the pineapple picking decision would.

            As I had mentioned in a previous post, I am currently reading The Children of Promise series by Dean Hughes.  I am just finishing the third book in the series "Far From Home".  So far I like how he starts each book so if you haven't read the books from the beginning, you can still follow who the characters are.

            World War II is nearly at its end, but the events will have forever changed the lives of those who lived during that time.  Some had been excited to sign up to join the cause - to fight for their country - whatever country that happened to be.  It had been glorified and certainly sounded more exciting than it was.  Even newsreels only touched the surface of how it really was.

            The character named Bobbie writes a letter to her sister-in-law. It is very short.  There is one sentence that really stood out for me - one I think that each of us can relate to:

            "I used to think if I prayed hard enough, nothing bad would ever happen, but now I understand life is all about surviving hard times" - Dean Hughes (1998, p 388)

            I think often are expectations are quite different from the reality that we face. We're not alone.  We can and should turn to the Lord to receive guidance and personal revelation.   Personal revelation is between God and the individual.  There are some who make decisions and appear to have given no thought to the decision whatsoever.  Take me, I agreed to marry Roland after only three days.   I know there were many in my family who thought I was making a mistake accepting a proposal of marriage and now wonder if any of them had felt anything other than apprehension. It had been my personal revelation to accept his proposal.  I was guided by faith not intimate desires.  There was apprehension on my part as well. 

             I know that my brother Corey had a tough go at his attraction to same sex.  As I mentioned in my last post, we all experience being in Gethsemane.  Corey's longest time in Gethsemane was while he was an active member of the church.  His life was a struggle.  He prayed constantly.  He received a personal revelation to embrace his gayness.  Not possible?  Because it goes against what we've been taught.  Of course we're going to question it.  He did.  For many many years.

            Personal revelation isn't restricted to any one religion. After excommunication, he has continued to receive personal revelation and is definitely happier than he ever had been.  Hard as it may be for some people to believe, some people have to leave the church in order to get out of Gethsemane.  Some people have a different mission and because the personal revelation is between the individual and God, who are we to question?  And yet we do because there's always concern - especially when it seems to go against what we've been taught all of our lives. But sometimes Heavenly Father allows us to experience situations that we may not understand at the time, but there is purpose whether we accept on faith or not.

            On the other hand, there are some choices made that don't include the Lord.  Often there is sorrow and devastation, but we can still learn from our mistakes or better yet, from the mistakes of others.  That's why we have biographies and scriptures.  That is why each of us may be called to give a talk and share our experiences.  That is why we fellowship on another - so we may learn from the lives of others.

            Yesterday I read this thought that my youngest son posted to facebook two years ago:

            "The greatest moments of stress people have faced in their lives have led to the greatest accomplishments or failures that brought experience and change. Learning...g from mistakes or looking back on trials conquered is why life is so exciting. Do not live your life scared or afraid. Living with optimism is what makes life great living any other way is not really living. from mistakes or looking back on trials conquered is why life is so exciting.  Do not live your life scared or afraid." 

            Turn the Lord when you need comfort and include Him with big decisions and listen to Him and act upon faith.  Continue to pray and be guided in righteousness.

Credits:
Hughes, D. (1998). Far From Home. In D. Hughes, Children of the Promise (p. 492). Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.

Picking Pineapples in Florida. (2011). Retrieved from clippix etc: http://etc.usf.edu/clippix/picture/picking-pineapples-in-florida.html

Pineapple Members. (2016, December 17). Retrieved from shadowverse: https://forums.shadowverse.com/index.php?/profile/1341-pineapple/

Ripe for the picking, another Mareeba Gold pineapple grown and marketed by Pinata Farms. (2016, December 20). Retrieved from abc news: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-21/mareeba-gold-pineapple-sweet-success-built-on-flavour/8138354

Somewhere Between Eden and Gethsemane

        A garden, by definition, is either a cultivated plot of ground or a gathering place such as a park which is generally adorned with plants and trees.  I guess I have never considered the definition until quite recently.  We had our Stake Conference this weekend, and one of the speakers mentioned two specific gardens found in the scriptures and discussed the symbolic differences between them.

          The Garden of Eden, as mentioned in Geneses,          is outlined as a paradise.  We see paintings of fruit and vegetation, peace and waterfalls, a beautiful place where everything is tranquil.  I guess it represents a kind of perfection.

          The Garden of Gethsemane, as portrayed by each of the gospels, does not have the same appeal.  Paintings often depict a drab setting with perhaps a few barren-looking trees, a hard rock or boulder, uncultivated dirt - it appears to be the opposite of the Garden of Eden.  There is no tranquility.  It represents hardships.  It represents trials.  There is sadness in Gethsemane and it takes faith to endure just being there.

          My youngest son seems to live in Eden for the most part.  He allows discouraging thoughts to roll off his back.   He tries to coax others to come into Eden by waving to them and showing them what the garden has to offer. Sometimes I have questioned whether he has been to  Gethsemane.  I know he's seen it. I don't know he's willing to leave his comfort zone to physically pull others out of Gethsemane.  I could be wrong.

          My middle son fluctuates between the two gardens.  He seems happy and content with one, but then something will set him off and he will mope around in the other.  And then there's my eldest who unfortunately has spent too many years in the Garden of Gethsemane and continues to delve deeper into the garden instead of trying to get out.

          Often his way of thinking (or lack thereof) remind me of John Steinbeck's character "Lennie Small" from Of Mice and Men.  Lennie is sweet for the most part, is seen as uneducated and slow-minded.  He doesn't mean to be harmful to anyone, but sometimes he gets frustrated and defensive when he is unable to communicate his thoughts to others.  I don't think that Biff is quite that far gone, but he tends to forget things he once believed. 

        Often our conversations are (and have been) like beating our heads against a brick wall.  I do believe that he would become bored with Eden in a matter of time, but I don't enjoy watching him struggling in Gethsemane, and I don't know how to help him.  Nor do I know how to comfort his mother-in-law who has visited Gethsemane more times than I have.

          I understand the need for trials.  I understand the need  for peace.  I'd like to see all of my children find their common ground between the two gardens.  I'd like that for everyone.

May This Tie You Over

There are many thought swimming in my head . . . some floating.  Few words are connecting into something I may post.  So let me share these two songs to tie you over until I am satisfied about posting what's on my mind.  Thank you TriumphRainbow and Jeffery Walsh for your contribution by posting to YouTube:

Keeping Halloween Safe

I think it's great to be able to go downtown and have the children move from business to business.  The city takes caution to reduce traffic situation at this time

I did not take as many pictures of trick or treating this year as I had the first year that we had moved to Myrtle Creek.  The library was supposed to offer a party from 2-4 before the trick or treating even started.  I couldn't understand why it had been planned so early as the majority of school kids don't even get out of school until after 3:00 (middle school are the first to go to school, and then the high schoolers and then the elementary - and returned home in the same order)

When Jenna returned home yesterday, she changed from her buttercup outfit into one that resembles Harley Quinn.  We went downtown to the annex, but the building appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time - as it had the beginning of this year.

We then went to the library to enquire about said party.  I took more pictures of Jenna and some of the library staff. 

Just some of the many volunteers that support our library

We then went to the baby park behind the library

and returned to the house to get Roland and Jenna changed her outfit into a ladybug - but did bring along her "Halloween Spirit" for when it got dark and colder.  But ended up not wearing that one at all.

Tommy's passed out little ice cream cones and the Elks Lodge offered games.  It was a fun night for her.

inside Elk's lodge

fire truck and city hall

set of footprints on Broadway as businesses were open beyond the post office

Remember the Positive

Every time your children do something wonderful, write it down.  

Whenever your children do something that makes you upset, refer to the list of actions you've admired.

Focus on the good things.  Don't dwell on the anger or sadness.

Happy Halloween!

Jenna met a friend at a second hand store yesterday.  They were searching for costumes to wear today.  There are three of them that will be dressed as the power puff girls.  I took pictures of Jenna in various costume that she thought might work for Buttercup.

This morning she left the house dressed in the 2nd outfit of the three.  One strap had broken, but she said it was because she was the tough one.  If it is cold tonight, she will be dressing up as the ghost of Christmas future.  Hot costume to wear.  I don't know what she'll wear if it is nice out.

Dr. So'n'So Needs a New Car . . . Can We Schedule You for an Appointment?

           In this post I talked about going to the doctor specifically to get a Z-pac.  I had failed to mention that as long as I was there, I mentioned a stomach rash that I hadn't noticed was there until after Labor Day.  The doctor gave me a prescription for some cream which seemed to sting at times, but did/does seem to help. 

            Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it as it became a bigger concern for her than what I was actually there for.  She said she wanted to see me within a week.  I had to postpone the appointment and perhaps should have just cancelled altogether.  I really have not been satisfied with the clinic overall.  Or this particular doctor . . . And I'm even less impressed with the pharmacy that said they'd have my order ready in less than an hour and still didn't have it when I returned SIX HOURS later . . .  and the doctor said she would put 1 refill on the Z-pack.  I guess the pharmacy didn't get the message.

            So I return to the doctor ten days after my first initial appointment.  She asked to look at my stomach rash again and said she wanted to do a biopsy but did not have time right then.  Are you kidding me?  You ask to see me next week and I can see the rash is not the bright red that it was last week and you want to charge me just to look at it today and have me come in again?  Not going to happen?  I had already told her that I am not made of money.  So she did a biopsy.

            I still itch off and on, but to tell you the truth, the only part of my stomach that hurts right now is beneath the scab of the biopsy.  I am healing.   I'm fine.  I had all the lab work done and am told that things look pretty normal.  I am ecstatic that I am not diabetic - nor was anything said that I really need to watch my sugar intake (which I KNOW but the fact that it wasn't even mentioned . . . wahoo!)  but I'm told they may need another biopsy.  I told them that I would not be available until January.  Come on!  We've got holidays coming up.  We have other expenses.  I got my Z-pack.  My smoke-caused headache is gone.  I can't afford to run to the doctor's because she may or may not need to take a biopsy for something I bet I don't even have.  So January it is . . . maybe. 

            I think what's happening really is that there is need for more fancy updated equipment for the center or something personal for the doctor like a new house or a car.  Well, I'm not paying for it - not right now anyway.  I mean, I guess I should appreciate them taking precaution and preventing a future problem.  Well, I am too - only more with my bank account's health rather than my own.  I'm fine.  I feel fine.

Park and Pics

These were taken at Evergreen

The beds are no longer dry

sad

LOVE the fall!

So Unmotivated Right Now

For the last four mods
I have had only one
assigned class
which in a way
has been nice.

I noticed with this last
week, I was never asked
to do a survey in order
to continue with my class

On Monday I start
another accounting class
This one will focus on
Taxes.  Good thing
I'm only getting one.

Taxes.  I hope that
I will understand and
stay focused.  Perhaps
one day I will
actually be able to
do my own.

Apparently Spelling Doesn't Count in that Incredibly Long Run-on Sentence

I have recently come across a pile of papers waiting to be sorted.  There were a lot of homework assignments or notes from both Jenna and me.   I copied a few of her stories to read through at a more convenient time and threw the hard copies away.  She doesn't have the best handwriting, and her spelling is atrocious. 

Turns out I copied three partial stories.  One was about Emily Rogers, a teacher who wished she had well behaved students and seemed to get her wish - but her "wish come true" turned out to be somewhat eerie.  I love Jenna's imaginative description:

it was silent like a cheetah eyeing its prey waiting for the right moment to pounce.  It was sort of creepy. 

She had also  written a story about a character named Latisha Cannon who didn't enjoy math and also made a wish not to have it anymore and how the world seemed to change when math was no longer a part of it.  Both Emily and Latisha woke up at the end of the story.

Some of her errors made me laugh, but after a while I was appalled that she hasn't been learning how to spell or use punctuation correctly.  I know that cursive was removed from the schools.  Was spelling as well?  I get that grammar can sometimes be difficult, but surely she knows  that a sentence has to come to an end eventually. 

It is certainly convenient having spell check or even Grammarly which will catch the errors that a person may have spelled correctly, but the word needed has a different spelling.  For instance she had written "loan star state" instead of "Lone Star State" in her story about Wanda - no last name, but only story title.  It was called: Wanda and the Rain Stick

She didn't wake up at the end.  Not much of a plot.

I'm happy for the opportunities I've had to further my education and understanding.