Saturday Stories

 Saturday . . . the end of the week. Most people's first of a two day off weekend. Time to relax and do not a lot if anything at all. Time to have a bit of a lie in, extra kip, an indulgent breakfast, and to catch up on all of the news of the previous week.  I think a little good news helps to cheer anyone's day!

Here are my Saturday Stories for October 26th, 2013.



Of course this week the big news was the Christening of Prince George at St James Palace.  The Duchess of Cambridge looked stunning as always!   She is such a pretty girl and they seem such a sweet couple.   Love them to bits.   They were showing one of the official photos on the telly, showing the Queen seated with Prince Charles to her left behind her and Prince William on her right holding little Prince George.   This is a very unsual photograph in that there is the present Monarch in it along with three future Kings.   It has been more than 100 years since something like this has been seen. The last time was in 1894 at the christening of Edward VIII, at which the future King was cradled by Queen Victoria!

 

Mom was to see her Vascular Doctor this week and he removed that part of her toe which had been affected with the narcosis/gangrene.  He froze her toe and did it right there in his office, removing her toe nail and all of the affected tissue and scraping away part of the bone, which I suppose he kind of had to do as otherwise the bone would have been exposed.   There was a bit of infection building in it so I guess it had to be done.   Mom had also been experiencing quite a lot of pain with it and it had been keeping her up some nights.   We are hoping now that real healing can begin with it, although walking will be a bit awkward for her for a while.  I like this photo of her, my self and my brother which was taken before her operation in April.   I am so grateful for that time I had to spend with her prior to her going into hospital.  Things are very different now.  I wish so much that I could do more for her, but it is difficult living so far away, and I am grateful that my sister can be there with her.  My mother is too.  This is an answer to prayer for me as, at first  . . . my mother had not been really warm to the idea of anyone living with her on a permanent business, and was a bit upset at all the changes.   Things have settled in beautifully though and I am very thankful for that.



Earlier this week on our Family Home Evening night we watched this film called Ephraim's Rescue.  It was really good.  It is a true story about a simple man who was called to do extraordinary things.  Ephraim’s Rescue relates the story of Ephraim Hanks: a rescuer of the Martin Handcart company.  When the Mormon pioneers were travelling West to Utah, a large number of them pulled handcarts across American to get to their Zion in the West.  One of these groups, the Martin Handcart company left too late in the year, contrary to the advice they had been given, and Winter arrived earlier that year as well, and so they were caught un-prepared and suffered a great deal.   Men were sent by President Brigham Young to rescue them.  Ephraim Hanks was one of those men.  Amazingly he had seen this all in a dream prior to the event.   It was an amazing film and deeply inspiring.  This film was shown in theatres in American, but unfortunately the only way you will get to see it over here is by purchasing it.



LDS Church apostles and leaders of other faiths increasingly are cultivating relationships with one another, a process recently accelerated by shared concerns over religious liberty.  This past Monday saw what once might have been considered a unique speech at BYU,  given by an Evangelical leader in which he said that while Mormons and evangelicals are divided theologically, they share "common concerns and urgencies" about "unprecedented and ominous" attacks on religious freedom.

"I do not believe that we are going to heaven together, but I do believe we may go to jail together," said R. Albert Mohler during a speech to nearly 400 students and faculty in an almost-full Varsity Theater in the Wilkinson Student Center at BYU.

That is somewhat of a turn for the books, and quite heartening!



I found this video earlier this week.  In Union Square, NYC, a group of missionaries for the church found a unique and novel way to share the Gospel and the Plan of Salvation with passers-by.    They did a huge chalk drawing of it on the ground.  It looks like it attracted a lot of attention and discussion.  Way to go Missionaries!  What a unique way of sharing!



I read this article earlier this week about three small things which can bring about big results.  
If you really want to make a difference in someone’s day, try practicing the following three kindnesses.

1.  a kind word
2.  a genuine smile
3.  a thoughtful gesture

These things have long been my practice and it was nice to know I was not alone in my thinking.  You can read more here if you so wish.  It just might make you smile.  

That's it for today.  I have come up with a bit of work this weekend, so that is good.  We can use the extra little bit of income for sure.   Also on the good news front, our car did not do too badly on it's MOT!  God is good.  We only needed to replace a bulb and some other small thing, which didn't cost very much at all.  I am sure the power of prayer helped!



A thought to carry with you through today . . .

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
~Humbert Wolfe

We've been told we are in for a wild storm this weekend.   Time will tell!

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . a delicious steamed Marmalade Pudding with a Grand Marnier Custard.  Easy and fabulous! 

Have a wonderful Saturday!