Monday 21 November 2016

Small and Wonderful Things . . .




"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.



Yesterday in church was our Children's Sunday School Annual Presentation.   Once a year, near the end of the year, all of the children in our Primary Program (children's sunday school) present to us, the congregation, a special Sacrament Meeting program in which they tell us and show us all that they have been learning for the past year.  It is one of my favourite Sacrament Meetings.  We have a massive number of children in our Primary, the largest that I have ever experienced in all of my years in the church.  It is so good to see the all together like that and to see what they have been learning.  They did a wonderful job yesterday.  So grateful for these amazing youngsters who are the future of our church and their parents who are instructing them well in the home as well as their leaders and teachers in the church.  Children from the age of 12 and under participate in our Primary program.  This year their theme has been I Know the Scriptures are True.  Each month of the year they will have been taught a new aspect around that theme and learn a new song, scripture, etc.    What a wonderful presentation they put on!






For a brief moment yesterday I lost my Mobile Phone.  I would not have been so bothered if it had been my old mobile.  It was such a simple phone and served a simple purpose and could have easily been replaced.  My new one is like a mini computer.   I bring it to church with me because I have all of my church info on it and it is so quick to look things up on.  (We have wifi at church.)  I remembered using it in the Adult Sunday School Class for the lesson, and then when we got into Relief Society and I went to get it out for the lesson there, it was not in my bag.   Talk about feeling panicked.   I had no idea where it had gone.   I left the room and went to the library and dumped my church bag out onto the counter in there.  No phone.  I felt sick and like crying.   It is worth a lot of money, although I did get it for free.  I do have a phone plan that I pay for each month which would continue for the next 22 months whether I had the phone or not.   I said a prayer and then went back out into the hall.  I looked into the Relief Society Room via the window in the door and I could see my phone sitting under the chair I had vacated a few moments earlier.  I have never felt so relieved in a long while.  Why I hadn't noticed it there when I was in there I will never know.  It was so obviously there.  I am so grateful that it was not lost.  I told Todd I need to get a special wallet to put it in that will not so easily fall out of my bag.

 

I think there was a Santa Claus Parade in the area that I come from this past weekend.  My oldest daughter Eileen had messaged me from the mall where she and Tim were waiting for it.   My youngest daughter Amanda posted this photo.  (I have erased a few people in the back who wouldn't want to be seen)   Maryn and Cameron watching the parade or at least waiting for it to start.  I don't know what that is on their faces, some kind of glow stick thing.  I am so grateful for these little snippets I get.   I, at least, get little glimpses into their lives that othewise I would not ever know about.

 

So grateful for the delete button in my e-mail.  As soon as I see the words Black Friday . . .  I press delete.  Not interested in anything at all which celebrates or participates in such a horrible  example of greed and gluttony, and which helps to bring out the worst in mankind.

I wish it was as easy to delete people who do the same thing, or who are hurtful/ignorant/mean-spirited, etc.  I have a few of those in my life and it never gets any easier to put up with them no matter how  much you try to ignore their actions or forget about them.  They rear their ugly heads periodically and can't seem to be erased!

I will never understand mean-spiritedness.  Especially from people who consider themselves to be Christians.  "Mean-spiritedness" and "Follower of Christ" are two things which don't really belong together, but I guess none of us are perfect.  I try hard to forgive, but it is difficult to forget when they keep behaving in the same way.  Its pretty hard to ignore most of the time.  On the outside I laugh and shake my head at the small mindedness of some people, but inside I confess it does rankle a tiny bit.



The impending Thanksgiving Feast.   We have two Elders invited for dinner on the day this year.  American ones and so I will be doing a mini feast for the four of us.   I look forward to it.  I might even get the Christmas Tree put up.   Its already up in our church vestibule and what a whopper that one is.  To the Ceiling.  I have never seen such a large one! I should have taken a photo.  Ginormous is the word!  And unusual to see it up before the end of November.




 Having a special someone to share all of this with, being able to hold hands in church, to reach out while we are watching telly and touch fingers, to hear him breathing as he lays next to me in the night.  Praying together.   The sharing of a life with someone special is a great gift from God.  May I never take this for granted.


And those are my small and wonderfuls for this week. My days are filled with an abundance of blessings. Maybe that is because I have a heart and eyes that look for them. At the end of the day it is the small things in life which truly matter the most . . .


A thought to carry with you . . .

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 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: 
for thereby some have entertained 
angels unawares.” ~ Hebrews 13:2
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Spiritual Enlightenment

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Pulled Beef Tacos.


May the week ahead of you be filled with many small and wonderful things. Along the way don't forget . . .

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And I do too!



10 comments:

  1. In nice and early today !..think you must have just sent your faithful daily blog...I hope you know how grateful I am to get such lovely words. As you so rightly say there is so much hurtful things being said these days, it's just horrible. Again like you I just can't understand hoe people can call themselves Christians and then write such hateful things or are so intolerant, that's certainly not doing our Lords work here on earth. It is nice that you get the occasional glimpses of the wee ones....I would love to have been at your service yesterday I love it when children take part, they give their full hearts into doing it...unfortunately we no longer have children in our church it's sad but there are so many other things that they want to do on Sunday's ...our new minister has two little ones only 2 and 1 she brings them with her sometimes with her husband ! A couple of our members love to keep them happy at the back of the church, so you never know one day more will arrive...When is it Todds treatment starts ? Hope all is going to plan and that today will be a nice one for you both...it is extreemly wild and wet down here this morning...Masy is lying with crossed legs as there's no way she will go out in that rain. LOL

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  2. Those tacos look great. However, another we are not allowed is pulled meat of any kind. Maybe one day.

    It would have been wonderful to see the children's presentations. They always bring a smile to my face.

    Today we went to Costco. I left disappointed. They didn't even have maple syrup in stock. So many basics just were not there. So many things were not cheaper as well. Somehow nearly $500 worth of stuff fell into the cart. Will had four books for gifts and mum likes expensive foods too. I bought myself an Ott light too.

    God bless your day and have a good one.

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  3. Thanks so much Sybil. I am sorry that there are no children in your church. Praying that you get more. Children are the future of any church. It can't just be us older ones, or eventually the churches will die out and we can't afford that in this day and age! I think we must have about 45 children in our children's Sunday School program and yes, it is noisy on Sunday mornings, but it does the heart good to see and hear them. Cold and wet up here as well! Todd is on hormone treatments at present and they are sucking all of his energy dry. He will have his prostrate seeded before Christmas and then radiation in the new year. It is at times like this I realise that he is 78 because no matter how active he always has been, his age makes it all the more difficult to cope with a setback like this. Thankns for your love and prayers. xoxo

    Thanks Suzan, so sorry about the pulled meat. Oh well. I love Costco, but don't have a membership. That's probably a good thing because if I did I would probably spend a bomb in there. Love and hugs. xoxo

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  4. I read my post back and it was pretty selfish.

    Maybe you can take me to costco in England because I think the membership is international.

    Love you.

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  5. Don't worry about it at all Suzan. Yes, we could go to Costco, but there are so many other things I would rather do with you than go shopping. A cup of herbal tea, a piece of cake, a hug and a good gab come to mind! xoxo

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  6. Marie..if I lost my phone I would feel sad..it's so od a roundish flip phone that does nothing except call and receive..but I am on aplan of $15.00
    That's all..if I lost it..I would never have that.
    I did order a new camera..I feel guilty a bit..
    Oh well..
    On IG..I cannot believe the photos taken from phones..a couple of the IGs I follow..all phone..and MAGNIFICENT..

    Wow.
    People that are unkind..I have known some too..w/ my newly quite solitary life..well 6 years..I hardly ever meet any.
    When we holiday..it is always the same people we see..and gratefully they are all so nice!

    I used to shop on Boxing day w/ my girls..we all don't need much anymore..so we don't go..it was never a zoo though like TV shows for Black Friday..

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  7. It is hard to ignore people who hurt you. Delete delete delete and keep close to those you love ....your little ones are so sweet

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  8. All my photos for the most part on Instagram are taken with my phone Monique. I got it specifically for that purpose! It takes better photos than my camera! I am in love with it now. I have had a busy afternoon. Will reveal all soon! Love and hugs. xoxo

    Its so true Linda. Thanks. I love all my wee ones and am so excited when I get a photo of them. Hope your day is going well. Rainy, cold and windy here! xoxo

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  9. Good Morning,

    I saw this on a blog I follow and thought that it might be of interest to you.

    http://contentinacottage.blogspot.com/2016/11/to-serve-them-all-my-days-dvd-set.html

    ReplyDelete

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