Toast

Jeanne 1 Comment

My daughter sent me a heart-warming text one Saturday morning: “I made Jim toast with butter and jam for breakfast. It made me think of Grandma. and miss her. Isn’t it a lovely thing how the people we love always stay with us somehow?” And then, another daughter replied, “Yeah, I think of her whenever I eat toast and jam too.”

Then I nostalgically added memories of her homemade Bear Lake raspberry jam, preserved in tiny canning bottles, to which one replied, “I had forgotten about her little bottles, I remember now. And so delicious! The butter makes the jam better.”

And then we all got sentimental and talked of traditions and families, and little things that make such an impact on kids growing up….and how love wraps around us all like a timeless, warm blanket..

She would spread the butter thick
And remove the crust
From the perfectly toasted bread
And spread the precious homemade raspberry jam
From her tiny bottles--
Her way of loving
In a way that stayed
Within grand-babies memories
Long after her passing.

And now, each piece of toast
Takes us back to her warm kitchen
To her love
And we are warmed
And we belong.

A piece of toast
Such a small thing
To wrap us together so tightly.

A couple of scriptures come to mind:  D&C 64:33--"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work."  and Alma 37:6--"....by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..."

Teton Respite

Jeanne 1 Comment

I had forgotten that Spring Break would provide a window of a few extra days without obligations, and, on a snap decision, we decided to extend our trip to Twin Falls to see Kids and GrandKids. We drove on roads we had never seen before. New vistas were so refreshing after so much isolation. We drove back into winter in Teton National Park. It was relaxing to have no schedule to follow. No set plans. And we were richly rewarded with a surprising variety of wildlife sightings. Bob penned this poem:

We decide to take a trip to our children and beyond.
We load up our golden van and then we're gone.
We look for all the miracles of life along our way-
Of birds & deer & antelope.  Then family makes our day.

We celebrate birthdays with those we love.  Then we are gone
On the way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is our song.
We fly across the valleys, mounts, canyons, lakes & streams.
We watch all the living miracles along lakes as rivers sing.

We find a special place at Antler Inn to stay 3 days.
We took off to see the Elk Refuge.   To our surprise that day
Thousands of Elk spotted the meadow right in front of us.
Swans, geese & big horn sheep came close within their trust.

We then drove to the Tetons and saw moose, deer & fox,
Coyotes and bald eagles in 3 days in different spots.
We looked for the buffalo & bear (our summer friends).
We left before we saw them, but we will come again.

Debris

Jeanne 1 Comment

Last weekend was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I was impressed with a challenge given by Russell M. Nelson, President and Prophet. He spoke of the renovation taking place on the Salt Lake Temple. Apparently there is considerable excavation as they dig down to the foundation, and much debris to be screened for historical finds and then the remainder to be throw out as trash.

Our lives accumulate debris. I hope it’s not as bad as I sometimes see in every corner of my house…lurking unfinished projects, ‘things’ I’ve long forgotten why I saved them in the first place. Going through them is usually overwhelming, and exhausting to be prioritizing so many things at once. Do I really have time for this? Am I still interested in that? Why do I have so many of those? and, Oh, is that where that is!

President Nelson challenged us to identify debris in our lives and eliminate it. Just like cleaning up a discouragingly cluttered room, the thought of looking inward for a clean-up, is not exactly exciting. It would be interesting to see how we spend our time each day. We all have things we consider of supreme importance, and I suspect they aren’t cleaning the house, or games on our phone, or watching TV, or reading facebook posts.

I suppose the first step would be to identify what those really important things are and if we are really getting around to them, or, are you like me, and keep saying, “I’ll get to it next week….” I’ve said that about a couple of projects for more than a year now. So, I’m going to try to clean up. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to involve some habit breaking and changing, and that’s hard.

I need to post a poem about it. But I don’t have one. Do you? Somebody post us some lines about our debris.

Listen to the General Conference message on www.churchofjesuschrist.org

WHY FISH

Jeanne 1 Comment

For some people, it’s fishing. Some really get into gardening, or walking. Some of us travel. Photography, art, singing. Hobbies. My Dad always said that everyone needs a hobby. His was building radio-controlled airplanes and then flying them. He also played the guitar and taught me. That became a passion for me for many years. What is it for you? What beckons you? What is it that is so compelling that you even forget to eat?

Fishing brings us to lazy rivers, streams & bayous, or lakes wide & deep,
Or sand & waves, or oceans wide, with dreams where large fish sleep,
Where small & large, thick & thin, black to white, fish wish to stay,
With live bait, flies & lures, we fish night and day.

And when at last, we catch a fish, from a bass to silver king,
We have a fight from great to sleight, that makes our spirits sing!
Some fish for food, some fish for sport, some catch & then release.
Some fish to relax in our Creator's art.  God's canvas brings us peace.

As we hold this life force within our own two hands,
It's up to us to free that fish, or cook it in a frying pan.
If I decide to keep this fish & take it's life away,
I take it's life reverently & before we eat that fish, we pray.

We thank God for all the miracles of fish to meats on land or sea,
From fruit to nuts, peas to melons; all here to set our taste buds free.
We thank God for everything we smell,  touch, taste, hear, sense & see.
For the Gifts to talk & walk, & sing praises unto Thee.

We are grateful for every living thing:  mammals to birds, shrimp to fish.
We thank God for Jesus the Christ.  He grants us each worthy wish.

Innocence

Jeanne 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking about our society and how we relate to each other. I see tons of mistrust, judgement, apathy, anger, depression, hopelessness, sadness, pain, disappointment, discouragement, and the list could go on. You’ve seen it too.

We could all argue about the causes of all this, and we all have different solutions. And it all just makes me tired and want to go to bed and forget it all, but, when I’m trying to go to sleep, I keep thinking about it. Wondering.

There are some days that I never laugh or even smile. But, there are some days that I do because of what I see.

I see my grandson. He always has a smile for me, and he hugs me in his own special way. We point to noses in his animal books. We laugh at the pig puppet. He squeals when I chase him. He says words that I don’t understand, but they are sweet, and they are innocent–totally accepting. He doesn’t know about COVID. He’s never been bullied. He doesn’t even know what country he lives in. He doesn’t know that you need money. He doesn’t know what the plan is for the day.

He lives in the moment and loves it. New objects are a delight. Old ones are too. Anything you plan is fine. I see a peace and calmness in his face, and, for a few minutes, all the world is great, and problem free, and happy.

I just can’t thank God enough for this precious miracle in our lives. Blessings really do come in little packages.

Gratitude

Jeanne 1 Comment

This is the last and 5th psalm of Thanksgiving:

Gratitude is the gateway to Christ's pure charity.
Let's strive to be grateful for all we know, taste, touch and see,
Like rainbows & different flowers, insects, mammals, reptiles, 
birds, fish, lands and sky,
Let our hearts by filled with gratitude, and let us share it by and by.

#givethanks

Be Grateful

Jeanne 1 Comment

Psalm #4 

Be grateful for each pain we have that gives us greater light.
Heartaches from our dear ones can help us gain insight.
Let us be more grateful, for everything we learn and see.
Remember, just past death's door, we join in God's eternity.

Giving Thanks

Jeanne 1 Comment

This is the 3rd psalm of Thanksgiving….I think I missed a day. Yesterday I was feeling a bit down, you know, when everything goes wrong, and you can’t seem to focus on anything, and you don’t feel like doing anything, and you feel guilty for it?

And I thought about gratitude and knew that was the gateway out of my depression…But….Knowing something and doing it are 2 very different things. It’s easy to be grateful when you feel good. Tell me what you do to be grateful when you don’t especially feel like it?

Let us try giving thanks when life burns and stings.
Through many kinds of emotions, God's hope gives us wings,
To fly above life's turmoil and feel God's healing Son,
And warm us & friends, as we grow and live as one.

The Gateway

Jeanne 1 Comment

This is the first of 5 psalms of Thanksgiving, one to be posted each day for the next 5 days.

Gratitude is the gateway for all who truly see.
Grateful eyes see past life's woes into eternity.
When we see & hear through all life's trials, with all our soul & heart,
We do become more clear & true, as gratitude becomes a  practiced art.
The true joy & gratitude are found in the simple things of life.