Author: Jeanne

Born in southern Idaho. Attended Brigham Young University. Worked as a transfusion service medical technologist at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah for 45 years. Married Robert & have 3 children, 7 grandchildren.

The Advent Calendar

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When I was a child, I first discovered the holiday advent calendars: a pleasant picture with small ‘doors’ to open, labeled 1-24, referring to the days in December. I remember how excited I was to open each one. One of my favorites displayed various woodland creatures behind each door. For some reason, those images absolutely delighted me. Now, most of them have a small chocolate behind the door, which could also be delightful.

I’m thinking that life is like an advent calendar. Each day, there is a door labeled with that date. I imagine–behind each door is a delight. I think of it as a message from God that He loves me and is caring for me, and is there to help me. If I open the door, I feel that same warm joy that I felt seeing those woodland creatures so long ago.

Life really is like that. If we but look for manifestations of God’s love for us, we will see them, feel them, and recognize them every day. It’s such a simple effort with such monumental payoff.

Grand kids…Now that’s a manifestation of God’s love!

2016-11-0002-start-small-start-today-360p-engDownload

Jesus, Lord

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Jesus, Lord, please lift our tired soul.

Christ, Savior, please help us to be whole.

We know Thee by life’s beauty, balance and harmony.

Our faith grows through Thy sacred words, the scriptures help us see.

Dear Lord, Great King, please open up our mind.

Master of eternity, help us to not be blind.

Please lift us by Thy undying grace, ever home to Thee.

Please teach us what we must do to grow eternally.

Creator, Master builder of all we hold most dear.

Son of God, help us to grow more worthy to come near.

Please help us learn more of Thee each and every day,

And as we do, please help us walk more in Thy Holy way.

Jesus, our greatest teacher, please help us understand

The greatness of Father’s wondrous, eternal, sacred, holy plan,

So we may live worthy to join Christ’s gospel song.

Please give unto us the Holy Ghost, so we can grow more pure and strong.

Graceous light, O Great Jehovah, let us give milk unto Thy lambs.

Only Begotten by our Father, help us find those lost from Thy hands,

So all may learn Thy wondrous truth and grow truly free.

Please help us Lord, to be good shepherds that Thy sheep may grow eternally.

PEARLS

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Pearls start as a grain of sand,

Withing the oyster shell.

The oyster slowly smooths the grain,

From this a pearl grows well.

We each have irritations

That grind upon our soul.

If we pray and strive to understand,

Pearls of wisdom grow.

A few days ago my daughter presented us with this glittering oyster shell ornament for our tree.  It is a good reminder of the value of irritations, troubles, frustrations, etc.

video about trials

Can We Be Prepared?

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Can we be prepared for famine, floods, fires and other forces that test our grain?
Violence, greed, pollution, dishonesty, and pornography all try our heart & brain.
Can we prepare for disaster, like our FATHER’S awesome fire?
When high winds carry infernal flames through our homes we much desire?

Can preparation help all these disasters that come in different ways?
Only our testimony of JESUS CHRIST, helps us through our darkest days.
We can learn from the HOLY GHOST, how to choose our safest path.
Only through our LORD’S true church can we grow strong through heaven’s wrath.

When we’ve felt the flames of wrath and lost all that we own,
Our hearts are stretched beyond ourselves, as we lose house or home.
Our tears flow more free for others grief; we see through deeper eyes
The heart-torn pain of strangers caught in devastation’s cries.

Disasters come in many forms: tsunamis roar, to lightning storms,
Volcanoes erupt, freezing rain, famine’s starvation, to war’s dark pain.
Please, LORD, help us to have eyes to truly see
The suffering of all caught in these last days tragedys.*

Remember, every trial we face is here to help us grow.
From war we learn the true joy in peace, from hate, we see love’s glow.
From the loss of precious loved ones, we can learn true empathy.
For others caught in sorrows song, our LORD’S charity gives us clarity.

We thank Thee LORD, for sorrow; it helps us past our pain.
We thank Thee, LORD, for heartache; it gives us deeper grain.
We thank Thee LORD, for clarity to see, taste, touch and feel,
That when trials pour upon us, we can serve, help and heal.

As oceans over jump their bound and armored insects roar,
On air fields and on freeways, we see men’s faces soar.
As jets and choppers shoot fire down at souls on land and sea,
We see the faces of those souls in the armored dragons of insanity.**

As earthquakes in diverse places increase, as heart attacks do grow,***
We hear John’s revelations play upon our heart, mind and soul.
May we remember JESUS CHRIST, and pray each dawn through eve,
And be prepared through these troubled last days; May we give love and receive.****

* Matthew 5:44
** Revelations chapter 9
*** Matthew 24:6-8
**** Luke 10: 30-37

The devastation of the camp fire in Paradise, California, has been foremost in our minds lately. I’m sure it has to do with our family, who were evacuated, and then learned of the total destruction of home and property. We live in a world full of pain and suffering, but we cannot allow this to immobilize us and to take away our hope. May God strengthen us to be His hands.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-05-22-o-remember-remember?lang=eng&_r=1

This world is full of Problems

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This world is full of problems;
On that, we can agree.
The answer’s very plain to me.
I have a remedy:
Be generous with a kind word.
Let compliments be heard.
A hug can say, “You’re thought of!”
And patience speaks of love.
Do try to go the extra mile.
Show kindness with a smile.
Let someone talk and really hear,
Just give a listening ear.

The thing that I am thinking of–
is CHANGE THE WORLD WITH LOVE.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-06-2150-love-your-neighbor?category=topics/criticism&lang=eng

Icebergs

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How much do we really know about anyone else? We just see what that person allows us to see, or feel comfortable revealing. There is so much beneath the surface.

Each soul is like an iceberg that flows upon life’s sea.
We see the tip and think we know just who that might be.
But like earth’s flowing icebergs, the part we see is small,
Compared to the immensity that’s hidden beneath us all.

Within every person are parts we do not see.
They hold uncounted feelings within both you and me.
Few ever see these hidden things of each soul,
But they are real within us, and determine how we grow.

Each soul needs a true friend to know how they really feel;
To have someone who really cares is something that can heal.
An ear to hear, an eye to see, a heart to understand,
Can melt the coldest heartaches within each woman or man.

We each need loving friends to help us through our day,
To try to understand us and our deeper ways,
To care enough to listen to all our troubled thoughts,
We all need the warmth of God’s pure Son within God’s melting pot.


http:///www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-06-015-dominoes?category=social-media-shareable-videos&lang=eng

Crossing Thresholds

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Crossing Thresholds

Unlike all previous posts, I inserted a text document. Just click on the above link and open the document. I’m curious to see how this works for you, and would really appreciate feedback. I suspect that you will not like this new “easy for me” style–too many clicks. Let me know.


I cried when I viewed the following link that shows a married couple and how they dealt with physical obstacles. I think that mental obstacles are also demonstrated. To me, it shows the unspeakable things that dwell deep inside the heart. No words are spoken because it doesn’t need any. Love trumps everything, doesn’t it?

www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-06-010-enduring-love?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013&lang=eng

Stopped in Time

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Here’s another poem about time and nature, and is appropriate right now because we’ve been spending time in our tent trailer in Wyoming, drinking in the scenery, the quiet, the wildlife, and especially the lack of schedule.

Whenever life stops us in our flow,
Or we chance to travel slow,
As we’re given time to look and be,
We strive to understand God’s wondrous eternity.

Whenever we stand still among life’s hurried throng,
We watch all life about us, and listen to their song:
Now is the time to grow, here is the place.
Within this test of life, we all need some quiet space…within the human race.

Within each momentary pause, we find upon this planet,
We strive to warm our heart, from hardned icy granite.
There are deeper meanings, that feed our troubled soul,
With humble meditation on God’s truth, we can grow.

We can find peace in a mountain, or while driving down a road,
Or clouds can lift one’s eyes, worried by a heavy load,
Or what about a river’s song, as it goes flowing by,
Or in each young child’s freedom, as they play beneath the sky?

For speed and power are empty goals.
They leave a hole within our souls,
Where love, truth and gratitude
Can keep a soul from being rude

And set us truly free to forever grow.

The link below notices that the more we see things, the less we see them….

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-11-23-thanksgiving-daily?category=mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2010&lang=eng

On Restoring an Old Photograph

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I’ve been thinking of how quickly time slips away, leaving us surprised that our children are no longer babies, and, in fact, have babies of their own! This poem was written by my Aunt, Sherrel Burgoyne:

An old photo
lovingly folded in a apron pocket
cared for too much
looked at too often

until the creases of love
became cracks
and try as I tried
I cannot restore

child of joy
splashing in water and sun
I want to believe
every day on this earth was happy
every dream that you dreamed came true
laughter and love followed your life

where did you go
did you slip into one of the cracks?

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-06-012-moments-that-matter-most?category=topics/family&lang=eng

Let Go

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Several events over the last week have led me to the thought of “Letting go.” A friend of mine was blind-sided with the death of her husband, who is younger than me. As I put myself in her place, I realized how fortunate I am to have the companionship of a husband, even if it’s just sitting side by side watching tv. Think about it: How often during the day do you rely upon interaction with your spouse? Just knowing someone is there is priceless. It must be really difficult to let go of that season in your life.

On a note (not quite so somber as the last)…my grandchildren. Before they moved out of state, lived roughly a mile from our home. In 5 minutes, I could be there. In many ways, they depended on that. I drove them to school. They came by the house after school and I drove them home; sometimes stopping a McDonald’s if they hated school lunch that day. They were a big part of my time and life. And then they moved. 3 l/2 hours away. It left a hole that I still struggle to stop tripping over; and that hole was really big last week when they started school…a new school. I wanted so badly to be there and do whatever Grandmas do to make things better, or, at least to think you’ve made things better. It’s painful. I worried. I prayed. I fasted. I worried, and then I worried again. Then they got sick, and some had to miss school. I realized that I had to ‘let go’, just like I did before when they left.

I remember those days. I’d sit in the car and play the Mormon Tabernacle Choir verse of ‘How Firm a Foundation’…feeling the words: “Fear not, I am with thee, Oh, be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand….” I’d play it loud and could almost imagine heavenly help descending upon me, not just from God, but from dear ones now departed who also cared deeply.

I have often confused control with security. Let go. Let go.

The frosty autumn nights
Bid the tree (glorious and alive)
Let go their precious golden leaves
That in days past, bid them survive.

In spring, the fledgling bird will grow
Now the mother tries her best
To prod it from the nest.
Let go.

We hold our babies close,
And treasure every show.
They now seek new horizons,
And we painfully,
Let go.

Our beloved ones, we cherish
And the winds of age do blow
Now they pass thru death’s door,
As our hearts are broken,
And we let go.

But hearts are healed
When we come to know,
A loving Father,
Will never
Let go.

This short video below helps me to let go. It helps me to trade fear for faith, and helps me remember that, even though I will be required to let go, I can be confident that God will never let go of me.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2017-01-0004-live-by-faith-not-by-fear?category=social-media-shareable-videos&lang=eng