Thursday, February 28, 2013

Saying Good-bye to a Good Home

So, we moved our stuff on Saturday with the help of 30 ward members, however, we couldn't sleep in our new house until we closed on Tuesday.  Which means, we slept on the floor in our empty house for about four days.  Good times.


On the final night in our old house, we had a fun FHE with our neighbors playing hide & go seek and sardines in our empty place.  Perfect for finding hideouts!  We swung on the basement swings one last time and said our "I love yous," to this wonderful home and called it a night.


That morning after the kids went to school, we decided to leave behind a little message from us to any future occupants to find some day.


We hid it in a secret compartment.


It feels good to know that a little piece of us is still a part of that house...the best part of us really, our testimonies.  Simple but true...that families are forever.

Our special family saying is, "I love you forever, no matter what."  

During the move I've been able to tell my children, "I love your forever, no matter what, and no matter where."

The Lord has truly guided this entire experience and made it very sweet for us.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Moving: a Priesthood experience

Moving has been an amazing testimony-builder.


Last Saturday, 30 members of our ward (and a few of Steve's cycling buddies) showed up at our house to move us to our new home.  30!!!  I was blown away by the turn-out, but also touched when I saw the way that everyone worked happily together.  I stopped to snap a few photos, and I'm glad that I did, because I was able to capture the smiles on the faces of those who were joyfully serving together.

These wonderful friends, moved us into our new house in just 2.5 hours.  It was so incredible.  There was lots of laughter and happy conversation.  There were two "bucket-lines" formed - one coming down from the second floor.  The other coming up from the basement to the truck.  Everyone knew their job and did it...and seemed so fulfilled.


The spirit let me know that I should take note...that this is the Priesthood in action...men and women working together to lighten each other's load.  Although most of the movers were men, there were women who also helped move and who watched our children and the children of the movers so that the husbands in the family could steal away for the morning to help our family.  This is how the priesthood works.  This is the way that God intends for us to go through life...not struggling alone in our work, but doing it together with joy.


This Christlike service was amazing in and of itself.  But what made it even more amazing was that I know that many of those who helped us that morning, didn't stop there. They went home and served their families.  Then some of these same people came back and brought us a meal.  And that same family also, went to a neighbor's farm to help him do farm work because the father in that family had suffered an aneurism and was unable to do his farming.  The neighbors in that area have been doing this man's farming for five weeks now.  This same service-oriented family also babysat for relatives that evening...they just never quit.  And they will never quit being blessed either.

More details to come on our moving experience...right now, I've got boxes to unpack!

By the way, this was post #1,000...woohoo!  The Gospel is true!

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Monday, February 4, 2013

Aren't We All Beggars?


I've got to admit that I just have too many plates spinning to really blog today.  With a new baby and a house to move in a few weeks, and a car in the shop...we are living out of boxes, and trying to make do. 

Still I can't pass up an opportunity to say that the Lord has really helped me out during the last week.

It's interesting how alive one feels when we are really high or really low or really worried or really in need of assistance.  And what a difference the tone of our prayers take on when we are in these situations.

Last week, I was praying for Heavenly Father to help me out with something.  It was an urgent prayer.  It was a forceful prayer that then turned into a "Please, please, please, please, I'll do anything" prayer.

As I pondered my situation, the words of this scripture came into my mind, "For behold, are we not all beggars?  Do we not all depend on the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?"

Touche, I thought.  I too am a beggar.

Of course, what I was praying for was not riches, but it might well have been, because that was how much I cared about the outcome.

I continued to pray throughout the afternoon and petitioned the Lord to grant my desire.

I look up the scripture above and continued to read a verse prior to it, "And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish."

I thought, "Message received."  And I earnestly promised to do a better job of giving to others in need...out of our abundance.

Shortly after that, my prayer was answered...and in a good way.  I was so happy and so relieved and so thankful.

I wanted to be sure to thank the Lord with prayers of the same urgency as I did while asking for his help, but try as I might I wasn't able to find the right words.

Then the spirit brought back my own words to me.  "If you desire more spiritual knowledge, write it down."  I had been telling my girls in Young Women's this during our last two lessons...that they can receive further inspiration as they write in their journals.

Having little time, I grabbed my journal and jotted down the impressions that I felt.  Then I glanced back at my computer screen which contained the verses of scripture that I had been reading.  

It said, "And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins.  And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain?  Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.

"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives, and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another."

I realized then, that the "substance" that the Lord was asking me to impart was forgiveness of others.    That was the message that I was to hear loud and clear.  A message that I might not have fully comprehended had I not written it down.

I am thankful for this experience, and as I round out writing this my 999th blog post, I am thankful for the many times over the last four and a half years that writing and pondering have brought me awareness of the truth that God has waiting for me.

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