Tonight I read a very insightful comment on Facebook, of all places, about relationships in our lives. I have been thinking about it ever since I read the comment. One of my favorite authors on relationships is Dr. Henry Cloud. He's writing another book and he's going to be discussing the power of people in our lives - for good or for bad. For the rest of the day I have been thinking about the people in my life who have influenced me. 

Here's what Dr. Cloud said:

"So much goofy psychology is out there about "self-help" and being "self-made," and how all your power is in yourself, etc. as if others have no power in our lives. Sounds nice, but the reality is that from the "womb to the tomb," we depend on others in our lives in a million ways. When that goes well, so does life. When it doesn't, life can be more than difficult. The truth is that people have enormous power in our lives, because that is how God designed us. We get strength, life, correction, support, modeling, happiness, teaching, motivation, inspiration, help, and on and on from relationships."

When I was younger I was guilty of allowing other people's weaknesses to influence how I felt about them and about myself. I allowed their weaknesses to impact me more than I realized was always helpful for either me or for them. It caused me a lot of worry and lost energy. I hope that I am past that stage of life. 

I am deeply grateful for the people in my life. I really don't know if anyone has been an influence for bad. I'm so happy to be able to say that! There are some relationships that are amazing and wonderful and I can cry for joy just thinking about them. Other relationships are sadly broken and it's all I can do to keep holding on with faith that they will improve. If it wasn't for the blessings of the Atonement, and the healing power the Savior has in my life, I don't know how I could be so hopeful for the broken relationships. 

I hope to not be anything but positive about life and relationships. Since Harvey and I have made another move, there are lots of new people around us - at church, neighborhood, etc. I don't mind moving, and we truly are thankful for the blessings that have attended this move. It's yet another opportunity for me to reflect about starting another phase of my life - and rejoicing at the opportunities to develop more friendships. And like that cute little song goes, "Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold." I love both gold and silver!

This is a test. Who reads this blog? If you do, and unless we've already told you - we're moving. Yes, we're getting our house ready to put on the market. It's been wonderful to live in Albuquerque, but it's time to move on. We're heading to the sunny skies of Arizona. Specifically we're looking to live close to the new Gilbert temple.

After we get settled in Arizona, we plan to embark on another adventure - a mission. A full time mission - so, like Harvey says, "It's all good". It is all good. I've been dragging my feet about leaving on a mission for the past 2 years. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving our beautiful home here. But when we emptied out the rooms to re-carpet last spring, I looked around and the thought occurred to me, "It's just a house." That was the seed that was planted. Little did I know then, after the new carpet was installed and I was somehow motivated to go through the entire house and clean out every drawer, cupboard and nook, that I was already getting ready to move. It's been so easy to pack up the boxes. We rented a storage unit and we're having a good time putting boxes in it.

Stay tuned - it's going past the, "I Hope They Call Me On A Mission" stage to "We're So Excited About Going On A Mission"!!

Why move to Arizona and then leave? That's a good question. Arizona will be a good "home base" for us ; we may go on more than one mission if we're lucky. Beyond that, there are a lot of other things that have precipitated this change for us - and, again - it's all good! I just can't bear the thought of leaving all of our things in storage and then have to come home and find a house. Home prices are increasing in the area where we want to live and we'd like to be able to afford the house we'd like to live in.

That's our blog for today! Cheers!

What it's all about

Recently I re-read a great book by Stephen Covey, "The 8th Habit." There is one section I am so glad I read again. The caption reads, "Being loyal to those not present." I want to remember this great point, so I'm going to record it here.

"Being loyal to those not present is one of the most difficult of all the deposits. It is one of the highest tests of both character and the depth of bonding that has taken place in a relationship. This is particularly the case when everyone seems to be joining in on bad-mouthing and piling on someone who is not present. You can, in an unself-righteous way, just speak up and say, "I see it differently," or "My experience is different," or "You may have a point; let's go talk to him or her about it." By doing so, you instantly communicate that integrity is loyalty -not just to those absent but also to those who are present. Whether they acknowledge it or not, all the people present will inwardly admire and respect you. They will know that their name is precious with you when they're not there. On the other hand, when loyalty is a higher value than integrity in that you give in, go along, and join in the bad-mouthing, so, too, will everyone present know that under pressure and stress, you would do the same regarding them."

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” 
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

My thoughts today are too much to write on Facebook. Plus, the blog is somewhat more private so whomever is out here in "blog land" reading this may find what I have found to be useful.

Our lesson in Sunday school class today was on the law of consecration. The teacher asked, "What is the thing that keeps us from being obedient to the law of consecration?" Harvey and I both raised our hands, but were not given the opportunity to contribute our thoughts. There's something truly wonderful about having years to consider things - like the law of consecration and I really wanted to share my thoughts. So I'm sharing it with you!

It is my opinion that the thing which keeps us from living any commandment or law is our lack of ability (for whatever reason) to truly and absolutley feel Heavenly Father's love for us. The more love we allow ourselves to feel from Heavenly Father, the more that love we feel gets spread from our hearts to others' hearts. That love can't help but grow. I have experienced this in my own life, over time.

Consider all of the scriptures about our hearts, broken hearts, etc. It all fits as far as I can tell. I love this quote from Elder Spencer J. Condie:

A heart filled with love has no room for discouragement, doubt, fear, hatred, vengeance, envy, lust, or greed, because a heart full of love is full.

The law of consecration is the opposite of greedy, envy, lust and all those other undesirable traits, isn't it? 

By the way, this is an amazing talk from which I gleaned the quote! Elder Condie spoke about 7 ways we can tell that our sins are forgiven. 

Here's the link: 

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1884

Here's to Zig Ziglar

My son, Jeff, posted this on Facebook. I think it's "blog worthy", so here it is!

You are at the top when:

1. You clearly understand that failure is an event, not a person; that yesterday ended last night, and today is a brand-new day.
2. You have made friends with your past, are focused on the present and are optimistic about your future.
3.You know that success (a win) doesn't make you, and failure (a loss) doesn't break you.
4. You are filled with faith, hope and love; and live without anger, greed, guilt, envy or thoughts of revenge.
5. You are mature enough to delay gratification and shift your focus from your rights to your responsibilities.
6. You know that failure to stand for what is morally right is the prelude to being the victim of what is criminally wrong.
7. You are secure in who you are, so you are at peace with God and in fellowship with man.
8. You have made friends of your adversaries, and have gained the love and respect of those who know you best.
9. You understand that others can give you pleasure, but genuine happiness comes when you do things for others.
10. You are pleasant to the grouch, courteous to the rude and generous to the needy.
11. You love the unlovable, and give hope to the helpless, friendship to the friendless and encouragement to the discouraged.
12. You can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, down in compassion and up with gratitude.
13. You know that "he who would be the greatest among you must become the servant of all."
14. You recognize, confess, develop and use your God-given physical, mental and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind.
15. You stand in front of the Creator of the universe, and He says to you, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Zig Ziglar 1926- 2012

Almost May!

I have to admit that I don't have anything earthshaking to report. But every time I go to the blog to look at everyone else's - yes, I do look at the blog list to see who's posted something - I see my last post, "Happy Easter". Well, it's time to move on since Easter was weeks ago.

Harvey and I were called to be the managers of the Home Storage Center - that's a new title for the former "Cannery". We're very excited for this calling, which is actually an update for us in our Church Service Missionary assignment. Our former assignment feel apart and nobody could help us resurrect it - it was really quite sad. Hallelujah - we just found out last week that some great friends of ours have just been called to be the area coordinators for all Church Service Missionaries, which includes us. We are thrilled! We are hoping nobody else will have to go through the experience we had this past year.

After being the shift coordinator on Thursday morning at the temple for the past 3 years, I was released. It was such a special experience. I was thinking about it the other night and I realized I have been in so many presidencies that I stopped counting. But it's been since I was 17 years old, when I was the Laurel class president, that I've had the title of "president". Not that a shift coordinator is a president, but it's a kind of "the buck stops here" type of a calling. I learned so many wonderful things! I had some amazing people to work with - including 2 sets of temple presidencies and their wives. I will always treasure this experience.  I love working in the temple and I'm so grateful that I get to continue serving there while also serving at the "HSC" with Harvey.

Life is good. A few weeks my post on Facebook pretty much sums up how things are going: So happy. So grateful I could cry. So contented with everything. That's me. That's my life. I love it. 

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter program today at church. One of the speakers told a personal story that I would like to record here. When he was a missionary, we'll call him Elder S. from this point in the story (probably about 10 years ago) he was at the MTC with a group of missionaries traveling to be in the same mission. One of the other missionaries did not like the rules and Elder S. was the opposite and wanted to be obedient. So they had a difference of opinion frequently.

Fast forward to the end of this Brother's mission - Elder S. was called to be an assistant to the mission president. His companion was experiencing a major problem with his feet and was going home for further treatment, Elder S. was meeting with the mission president to discuss who to assign to be his companion. He said that when the mission president suggested the Elder who he had known as the rebellious Elder at the MTC, he questioned the mission president. When the mission president confirmed that this Elder was the one he had in mind, Elder S. told the mission president what had happened at the MTC and expressed his concern about the other missionary's desire to do the work. The mission president then made a very important point. He said something to the effect of (I didn't have any paper and pencil with me to write down what was said exactly in the talk), "Would you like to see what effect the power of the atonement and repentance has made in the life of this Elder?" Then Elder S agreed. He did see a vast change in the other Elder's life and was grateful for the opportunity to serve with him.

I'm thankful for Easter. I am so grateful for the wonderful day that it has been. It's a great blessing to attend church and partake of the sacrament each week, but particularly on Easter Sunday. From the wood and nails on Calvary the Savior built our mansions.

Patience - that's what I've been thinking about this evening.

Which one of us hasn't felt called upon to exercise patience in our lives? I'm guessing nobody. I know I've had my share of times when the only good choice I felt like I had to make was to be patient. Did I want to do that? No. Was it fun? No. Was it easy? No. Was it lonely? Yes. Was it worth it in the end. Yes! So I have a strong belief in the benefits of being patient. But it took a long time to realize the blessing part of this important eternally valuable part of this mortal journey.

Tonight I started thinking about patience in a different way. I love that the word endure means to stand fast, to stay steady, to hold still. Isn't that what patience is all about? I think so. Somehow I think that our lives are more connected with others than we sometimes realize. I believe that if person A made a good choice it could bless the life of person B. So what if person A isn't acting on that good choice? What can person B do about it? Harvey and I have experienced being the person B part of the equation in one of our callings. We have felt like a good response to the inactivity on person A's part is to be patient. We're learning a lot about patience in this calling and when we started doing the calling we had no idea that this would be part of it. There has to be some value in patience, especially when we have other ideas about how things are supposed to happen.

Another example that comes to my mind is when someone is waiting for the person they love to make the marriage choice. It's hard to wait; but when you love that person and you know they're right for you, you will find the patience to wait. I talked to a friend today whose son took 3 years to make a marriage decision. His then-girlfriend knew he was the right person and she patiently waited. Was it worth it? Yes, they are happily married today!

The world really doesn't teach patience. What are some of the cliches we hear? There are certainly plenty of them out there. But what is heaven all about? Patience. Think of all the good lessons that come about when we learn to be patient.

The hardest lessons I have learned in my life have also been a part of the greatest forthcoming blessings. I'm grateful for the hard lessons. I love being around patient people. I hope that I can become one of them.

Welcome to the new year! Isn't it wonderful to put up brand new calendars and to think about all that we can accomplish in 2013!

Recently I read an article about making choices. The author, Debbie Ford, presented the following questions to ask ourselves when we are making choices.

1. Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or will it keep me stuck in the past?

2. Will this choice bring me long-term fulfillment or will it bring me short-term gratification?

3. Am I standing in my power or am I trying to please another?

4. Am I looking for what is right or am I looking for what's wrong?

5. will this choice add to my life force or will it rob me of my energy?

6. Will I use this situation as a catalyst to grow and evolve or will I use it to beat myself up?

7. Does this choice empower me or does it dis-empower me?

8. Is this an act of self-love or is it an act of self-sabotage?

9. Is this an act of faith or is it an act of fear?

10. Am I choosing from my divinity or am I choosing from my humanity?