Pretty Little Things

  I don't live big but I like a few pretty things around me to remind me that the world is beautiful and I am lucky to be alive. What do you have on your shelf to remind you?

 Candle holders from Germany, little square plates with bees, I picked up visiting a friend, coasters I 

                           got from my daughter-in-law this Christmas, and bold red bowls to brighten my cereal.

          Ruebezhal wood sculpture from Silesia, Germany, a vase from a a local potter, shell and rocks
                     from the sea, and a Shannon Hale saga on the shelf, Princess Academy. I like her yarns.

         A hanger for the mantle with music theme and a beautiful red vase from a recent flower gift.
                And while having a planning meeting I took a snapshot of my friend's window sill. So sweet!

             Last but not to be missed, here are some things I could not pass by on the way into the grocery store.

                                                                                         
                                                                                             Too early?

My Town at Night

 Ma ville est aussi belle que Paris
    Yes, I think my little town looks as charming as Paris in the night. Well, it wasn't really night, but still dark at 6:00am this morning. I am an early riser and have been since my Early Morning Guests started coming 7 years ago. I was just coming home from dropping off "mein Man" when the lights begged to be photographed.

         This greeted me out the front door. A moon, we don't always have a moonlit morning.

                      The art gallery held some lovely orbs of red which invited my eyes to stay a while.

       The flower shop is still dressed for Christmas because our town wants to keep that warm spirit throughout chilly January.

     Penguins are still playing on the ice blocks, and why not? January is cold and frosty enough.

   
   Lights are turning on for the Breakfast crowd and The Tannenbaum is still aglow. But the mostest, bestest, place at 6:00am is here.

                     Need I say more? Good Morning! And it is indeed.

Book of Mormon Sunday II- Enos-Words of Mormon

      Would you buy a book entitled "How to Pray and Stay Awake"? Enos certainly has a few hints in that direction. He prayed with all the energy of his heart, both day and into the night. He was rewarded with a gift that only the power of the Atonement can give. His sins were removed and he felt them lift for good.
    Enos 5 "And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away. And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole."

     I had a recent conversation with a friend about knowing your sins are forgiven. She was disturbed by the scriptures relating to the final judgement. Her question was if Jesus remembers your sins no more why are you then judged by what you do and say in the final judgement. I tried to tell her that the events in our lives, like this experience of Enos are on the right side of the "ledger". At the final judgment wouldn't this statement of Enos be sweet evidence of the goodness of the Savior Jesus Christ? To be judged by our repentance is not a negative. In the final judgement He will be our defense attorney and his pleading for us will show how we desired him and gave our heart to HIm.
   I am comforted to know that there are some, even in the wickedest times, who are not stiff-necked. They are often the reason why God Stays the hand of destruction.
    Jarom 4 "And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith." 
    Amaleki is one writer in this long succession of family members who hold the plates and have stewardship to write the events of their days. He seems enamored with the first Mosiah. I suspect he followed with the people of Mosiah and knew first hand the faith that this leader exhibited. 

     Omni 13 "And it came to pass that he did according as the Lord had commanded him. And they departed out of the land into the wilderness, as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord; and they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness until they came down into the land which is called the land of Zarahemla."

  Leaving with Mosiah seems to have strengthened Amaleki and he gives us a fervent testimony of the power of the Atonement to save.

    Omni 26 "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

  Why does Mormon show up in this section of the Book of Mormon? This sounds like the end of the Book of Mormon. This book is placed here to explain what we have just read. Mormon has been abridging many records. After working on the large plates of Nephi he finds a smaller group of plates with words of Nephi and Jacob and he likes them because of the teachings of Christ which they contain. He is including these smaller plates "for a wise purpose". That purpose does not reveal itself until 1828, when Joseph Smith loses 116 pages of translation through Martin Harris, (D&C 10). These smaller plates, which Mormon likes so much become the first part of our present day B of M. The translation of the larger plates ends to prevent deception by those who stole the 116 pages and we are promised that if we read and follow the teachings of what we do have now, the other plates will come to light at a later time. Wow! It took me almost 30 years to fully get this story and I am sure I explained it badly. If you are confused don't give up, what kept me from understanding was pure laziness. I just did not read with intent to understand. But this section is important to me because I feel the power of the hand of God in our lives. His power transcends time and circumstance. If God can inspire Mormon to do a work  which will affect Joseph Smith's work then it is plausible that our ancestors lives, their righteous works might affect us. and looking forward what we do now, the lives we lead, the records we keep,  might have an affect on our posterity. I believe it does. 
    Here are some sketches I made about this same block of scripture. 

Moving the Stagnant Chi

    Each morning I rise and feel my body groan with being upright and moving for the first time. I feel like all the joints and muscles are stuck. I have decided that this is the stagnant Chi which has collected in the body while sleeping. My yoga teachers have, over the years, tried to describe how it feels to move Chi, the Chinese word for energy, around in the body. I didn't get until lately. After doing yoga for 30 minutes these stuck places become lubricated and they start moving more smoothly. My right knee, which has little or no cartilage left, seems to buzz with energy. The pain is gone and with that, a new feeling of gracefulness emerges.

    I find it yoga amazing. I crave the stillness it brings to my soul and the balance it offers to my body. When I roll out the mat my body knows it will be gifted with release. The only slightly sad side is that I must do it everyday to get the joy. No days off for good behavior and no promise of arriving at the pinnacle of perfection and never having to do it again. I learned that lesson years ago when my daughter took a ballet class at PNB one evening in the summer. It was a walk-in open class. I watched through the window and saw one of the principal ballerinas taking the class. Afterwards I asked my daughter why she would be in a open class. "They take class every day, Mom." What? After years of practice they haven't arrived in the Land of Perfection?
    Note to my body: I love you enough to do this everyday. The Yoga Journal's 21 Day Challenge starts Monday. We are onboard!!

Are You An Eggspert?

       Becoming an Eggspert at the scripture mastery scriptures is a lofty goal. First there is learning the references, then getting acquainted with the wording, then knowing the meaning, then understanding the context to this scripture. This takes all year and it's so much more fun to do it with games.

    My new Eggspert toy places a button into each student's hand and allows them to light up an egg as they answer the question. If they don't answer in 15 seconds the other students have a chance to press their buttons.

    It is so comforting to see open scriptures and alert students who periodically lapse into hilarious laughter.

In Our Weakness We Receive Strength

    The Piano Guy, my husband, has some new hobbies which involve teaching some new skills to the grandkids. It might have been inspired by a segment in the movie "Parent Trap".

  In the movie the two sisters do some fencing at summer camp. Of course their moves are highly choreographed and over the top exciting. He brought out the gear on a recent visit while we were babysitting.

   There is an amazing feeling of power that comes into a child when they have a foil in their hand. Power without purpose or direction. The Piano Guy has a high security ethic and so the combatants had to be dressed in the full protective gear. This, of course was cumbersome and awkward.
   "I want to fight without the gloves," one insisted.
    "No, the armor covers those parts of your body which could easily be hurt," said the kind Grandpapa.

The two youngest were obedient and had a friendly match using some techniques that helped them be defensive while the Grandpapa came towards them.

The two oldest watched and a certain swagger grew inside the oldest as she began goading her brother. The image of the movie played before her and she recited some of the lines which started a smoldering resentment in her brother. 

" I am not wearing the second glove," said the brother defiantly.

"Then you must keep your hand behind your back," the Grandpapa said firmly.

The combat began slowly and elegantly until an offensive move by the sister scraped the exposed hand of her brother. A howl grew out of his chest and the offended brother reacted without caution threw the foil pointblank at his sister. Now there were two children crying and hurling angry words at each other and the Grandpapa closed up shop.

Power does not come from having a foil, it comes from understanding our weakness and listening to the words of our master. If protection is provided then using it, in submission, even if we are unaccustomed to it's weight and purpose is the right path. We must understand our weakness to receive strength.

Book of Mormon Sunday II- Jacob

   The book of Jacob is short but it has powerful sermons. In my opinion Jacob is a no nonsense guy. He had a difficult childhood with trial and adversity due to his family's exodus from Jerusalem and due to his brother's conflicts. 

He states things as they are and is firm in his own convictions. Jacob saw the Savior, Jesus Christ and is his fervent witness. His messages are stern with a call to repent. He also testifies of the power of God to change lives.
   Jacob 3:1 "But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction."      

   As Jacob highlights the weaknesses of his people he assures them that in their weakness they will see the power of God more surely.

   Jacob 4:6 "Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."

    Using an image of Isaiah, Jacob motivates his people to repent, today, while they can see the arm of God extended towards them. It is true that in a state of humility we see the power of God much more clearly. 

    Jacob 6:5 "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts."

     In the last chapter of Jacob we have an account of his confrontation with Sherem, an anti-Christ. Jacob gives full credit to God in making him strong enough to combat the rhetoric of Sherem. 

    Jacob 7:5 "And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken."

    Surely Jacob demonstrates the power he receives through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

  

Here are some of the ideas I have gathered so far in my reading.

Recap On the Strenghtening Power of the Atonement-

The Atonement of Jesus Christ gives:

Mighty power unto deliverance from physical and spiritual bondage

Physical and Spiritual Power to do God's will

Power to receive insight and revelation about things as they were and as they are, and as they will be.

Guidance to proceed through our trials

Ability to see God's love in our lives

Freedom to Act and Not be acted upon

Power to make us clean and sanctified
 Hope in the future, for us, and for our ancestors, and our posterity

Power into our soul to combat anti-Christian philosophy
Remission of sins and power to be free of the guilt