Book of Mormon Sunday II- Alma 22-28

   The love of God, spoken of by Lehi, which he saw as the fruit of the tree, unto which he steadfastly hastened, knows no bounds and knows no limits. I think Lehi and Nephi saw in vision the glorious teaching of the Sons of Mosiah. It must have been such a bright spot in the future of their posterity. I marvel at those people placed in the right place, like Abish, who through God's power taught the Lamanite people.

    Alma 24:14 "And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations."

  Truly, God desires to enlighten all his children. But, some push him away and become full of the opposite to his abiding love. 

     Alma 24:30 "And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things."

  Before we read the chapters of retaliation and war, I marvel at the power given to these missionaries and at the power given to the Lamanites who opened their hearts and allowed their world to be turned upside down.

     Alma 25:17 "And now behold, Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner, and Himni, and their brethren did rejoice exceedingly, for the success which they had had among the Lamanites, seeing that the Lord had granted unto them according to their prayers, and that he had also verified his word unto them in every particular."

  The words of Ammon to his brothers bear powerful testimony of the greatness of God. He convinces me that the teaching of the Lamanites was one of the greatest miracles in the Book of Mormon.

     Alma 26:12 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

  What a marvelous miracle that these "savage people" would be softened by the power of God and come to even know his mysteries.

     Alma 26:22 "Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing -- unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance."

   The power of the open heart goes further as Ammon asks the Nephites to let their old enemies live amongst them. 

    Alma 27:24 "And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon; and we will guard them from their enemies with our armies, on condition that they will give us a portion of their substance to assist us that we may maintain our armies."

   And since opposition exists, the joy is tempered with the enormous sadness of the retaliation of the Lamanites, spurred on by the apostate Nephites. I hear the voice of Mormon, in these last verses, marveling at the words he has read and seeing the past in comparison to his own time.

    Alma 28:8 "And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever."

    This account of the teaching of Ammon is amazing.

Bringing In Spring

 
 During the winter months some things go fallow in my life. I stop cultivating my desire to walk outside, to explore in the woods and to throw open the windows. Everything goes inward during the winter months. But, I see change emerging and I want to bring Spring, in.

    Physically, I gathered up some of my early variety Rhododendron blossoms and put them front and center in the kitchen. To add more pizazz to my table I switched my off-white tablecloth for a more lively topping. Where did I get those cute dots? Well, the idea came to me when I was wrapping a gift for my granddaughter. You see, that is wrapping paper on my table. What? Not practical? It is if you have a sheet of plexi-glass on top, which we have to protect the light wood underneath.

   I can leave the table bare without freaking out about spills, or I can put different designs under the plastic for some variation.

    So that brings in spring physically, but, spiritually what can I do to bring in a new lightness in my life. I feel the need to put off the crash after work. When my piano students leave I tend to crash on the couch and watch TV. I noticed this week after work I just meditated a few moments. I recalled what happened and counted up the many nice events which made me feel good. Then, slowly, I started dinner and kept that mindful attitude. Tomorrow daylight savings messes up our inner clock but I intend to use that extra hour of daylight to avoid the TV. Bringing in Spring means lightening my view.  

Beauty Among Stones

I look for beauty in the everyday of my life. Sometimes beauty is scattered among the stones and it seems to fight to hold it's rightful place. Often it is the stumbling blocks that actually turn into stepping stones which give more beauty to life. Do I embrace this concept? Not so much....

      That is why I see so many rocks in my path. If only I could welcome the truth that every path which is lined with beauty also is anchored in the hardness of struggle. Hmm...just thinking.

Sunny Snow

  The words sunny and snow are two words we don't say much here in the Northwest. They are extraordinary and they make us respond in extreme ways.

Waking up to unexpectant snow makes us, Northwesterners in general, more tentative about going to work. It can cause us to run to the store and buy bread and candles. Sun, as well, can bring on a removal of clothing exposing our under exposed skin to the coveted rays. It can make us lazy and over relaxed. 

   Thus we can see that extremes in our lives bring on unusual behavior. I struggle with "keeping my head" and staying steady. One answer to better balance is less "futurizing". I learned that word in a yoga class. While I had closed eyes the teacher gave us a gentle direction to stop our minds from running ahead in time. It struck me how much I live in the future and I became more aware of "now'.  Right now I am watching the sun melt off the snow and recalibrating my plans for the day. My life may be composed of oddly shaped rocks, which don't stack up well, but nonetheless I can stay steady by being in the "now".

Book of Mormon Sunday II- Alma 15-21

    As the story continues I am again reminded of the strong friendship forged between Alma and Amulek. After facing death together, seeing others die for their beliefs, and constantly finding ways to teach the gospel, these two men are strengthened by their bond through the Lord.
  Alma 15:18 "Now as I said, Alma having seen all these things, therefore he took Amulek and came over to the land of Zarahemla, and took him to his own house, and did administer unto him in his tribulations, and strengthened him in the Lord."

  The believing saints, who withstood persecution, begin to live "in the manner of happiness" and are strengthened by the spirit.

   Alma16:16 "And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming --That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God."

   Meanwhile, the story of the sons of Mosiah continues. They meet up Alma and tell of their mission experiences.

   Alma 17:2 "Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God."

   These verses give account of how these missionaries prepared themselves. This preparation gives fruit to a strong abiding love, which I think makes them so successful.

   Alma 20:26 "And when he saw that Ammon had no desire to destroy him, and when he also saw the great love he had for his son Lamoni, he was astonished exceedingly"

  One of the biggest miracles in the Book of Mormon is the conversion of the Lamanites. And this miracles had it's roots in the desires of Lehi and Nephi who prayed diligently for their posterity. Nephi saw his brother's people in vision and surely this period of time was sweet for him to see.

Alma 21:23 "And Ammon did preach unto the people of king Lamoni; and it came to pass that he did teach them all things concerning things pertaining to righteousness. And he did exhort them daily, with all diligence; and they gave heed unto his word, and they were zealous for keeping the commandments of God."

New Exhibits for First Friday Art Tour

     On the first Friday of every month the local galleries change up their exhibits and everyone stays open late to invite everyone into town. I visited in the quilt shop to see the quilt exhibits and to appreciate the new space.

    The new shop has open space for tables which allows classes to go on right in the store. My favorite quilts were varied in subject and hues.

                    The black background just makes these colors pop. The pieces in this quilt seemed countless.

         Frogs are in the middle jumping between strips of coolness and those beady eyes are around the entire edge.

                    This quilt was inspired by the old photo which was framed off to the left. So whimsical!

                     For all of you who refuse to wear shoes, this quilt is a red carpet for your favorite foot attire.

                                          The cupcake fad may be fading but this quilt showcases every flavor.

   I liked the artist who went for switching up an old design and piecing these in a new combination.

This quiltshop always amazes me with their artistic design and innovativeness. I couldn't imagine this business having longevity but I have been wrong so far. There are quilters coming to this shop from hundreds of miles away.

I purchased some music fabric to make a new covering for my baby grand and I hope to show it off in the

 near future.                 

About Bumblebees and Crows

Happy March!

There are some things that I don't know that I can't do and telling me will just mess me up, so shh.......

     I still am a young crow at many things and need to follow the old crows who have mastered the skills
I want to learn. I have learned that if I hang around enough old crows I start thinking I can do it, too.

The Crows

 The old crow is getting slow.

 The young crow is not.

 Of what the young crow does not know

 The old crow knows a lot.

 At knowing things the old crow

 Is still the young crow's master. 

 What does the slow old crow not know?

 --How to go faster.

 The young crow flies above, below,

 And rings around the slow old crow.

 What does the fast young crow not know?

 --Where to go.