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. 

 

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Although this was a bit of a sad weekend in many ways, it was still filled with blessings. Faith, family, friends. Home. Health. And much, much more. I have a great deal to be thankful for.

I have been enjoying my daughter's company. We get along very well together. I can see that we are very much alike in a lot of ways. No surprise there. I am grateful for a daughter who enjoys spending time with me and who loves me unconditionally. That's the way family is supposed to be.

 

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We were greeted yesterday morning upon waking to the news that our dear Prophet President Russell M Nelson had passed away during the night.  He had just celebrated his 101st birthday earlier this month. Although, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we were all saddened by his passing, we are comforted by the knowledge of where he is now, and that our church is still in very good hands. We have our Fall General Conference this next weekend, so it will be interesting to see if a new President will be in place by then or not.

In the meantime, we celebrate the life of President Nelson.  He was a great man and taught us a lot about becoming better people and loving others in a more celestial way. I was privileged to meet him in person when I was serving my mission.  He did a special meeting at the Preston Temple in Chorley for all of the Missionaries in the England Manchester Mission. There were more than 200 of us.  We were told before the meeting that we would be allowed to greet him in person and shake his hand, but not to engage him in conversation as there were so many of us that it would take too long. But President Nelson, then Elder Nelson was not a just hand shaking kind of a leader. He not only shook the hand of each missionary but took the time to ask us each a few questions about ourselves, like where we were from, etc. and he thanked us for our service. He reminded me very much of the Savior in his desire to reach out to the one, no matter how much time it took away from other things. He impressed me as being kind and caring, and you felt that you were in the presence of greatness. I cannot explain it. There was a special aura around him and his wife. He emanated love. I will always be grateful for the opportunity that I had to meet with him in person.

 

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Going to church and being able to partake of the Sacrament yesterday morning and bear my testimony was an important part of my day yesterday. Church was really lovely. I always enjoy fast and testimony meeting very much. It is always so uplifting to hear others bear their testimonies and to share my own.

Sadly, when I got home, I was greeted with the news of the shooting in the church in Michigan.  This was a terrible thing.  They are now saying that 4 are dead and 8 have been wounded, not counting the gunman. There may be more found as they search through the debris.

I hate that we live in a day and age where we cannot feel safe even when simply in the act of worshipping our God, but I am grateful to live in a country where I have the right to worship as, how and when I wish to do so.

My heart grieves for the families who have lost loved ones and for those directly affected who surely have lost a piece of their innocence and trust.  These types of things should never happen.  Violence in any place of worship is unacceptable.

I am grateful for my faith and the way that it sustains me, even in the face of great evil and evil doings. The scriptures tell us that in the latter days before the return of the Savior that men's hearts will wax cold, amongst other things. These happenings are a sign of the times. It is more important than ever to look to our faith and turn our hearts and eyes heavenward.

This is a photograph that my sister shared with me of how low the river is.  In my lifetime I have never known deer being able to cross it on foot, only ankle deep in the water.   We have had some rain however and God willing we will have more.

On the positive side, after six long weeks, the Long Lake Fire is now considered to be under control, which is good news. Although still burning, it is not growing and responding well to suppression efforts.  Fire crews will continue to be onsite to watch for hot spots until the fire is extinguished completely or winter conditions arrive. If it is not out by the time winter arrives, they will still continue to monitor it, although it should not be a threat during those months. Hopefully we will have a winter with a lot of snow and precipitation, and the fire will be extinguished in its entirety. 

 

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At one point over the past week my television stopped working. I could not get it to go onto anything. I was in a real quandary as to what to do.  I then thought to myself.  I am just going to unplug it and leave it for a while and that is what I did.

I plugged it back in about 10 minutes later and everything worked just fine.

That is like us sometimes.  We can get to the point at times where we can feel very overwhelmed and like we are drowning in all the things of life which can work to keep us down. That is when it's time for a reset.  Time to unplug and just put aside the things of the world for a bit.  I think just about anything will work again if you just unplug it and leave it for a while.  Even us.

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*To live

is the rarest thing in the world.

Most people exist. That is all.

~Oscar Wilde  • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。

 In The English Kitchen today . . .  Cheddar Crusted Chicken. Quick, easy and delicious!  We really enjoyed this!

Sorry I was absent on Saturday. I had forgotten that I had promised to take my dad out for breakfast and he likes to leave really early.  We had a nice time together, but I didn't have the time to post anything here. Some days are like that!

I hope you have a lovely week.  Whatever you get up to, I hope you are blessed and find joy.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!