Light

Count Your Blessings - Day Thirteen

I suppose it is fitting that on Friday the Thirteenth our local high school put on its fall play "The Walking Dead" based on the television show of the same name. Our son, Dandylion, played Dr. Jenner at the CDC in Atlanta. He did a great job. But the play as a whole was, well, horrible.

The English teacher, new to the school this year, wrote and directed the play. I told TopDad that I am extremely grateful Dandy is our youngest and we don't have to support any more garbage like this.

What does this have to do with Light? Just this:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

When we follow Jesus and understand God's plan of happiness for his children we will remember with Paul that "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." (1 Thes. 5:5)

And from the Book of Mormon:

For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. 

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.  (Moroni 7:16-17, 19) 

At the play the students in the audience were cheering and applauding wildly. I was totally disgusted. Not only was the subject matter awful, the play was full of swearing and using the Lord's name in vain.

If this is what passes for entertainment we are in far worse shape as a nation than I thought. For myself I'm so grateful for the Light of Christ, for the gospel, His grace, love and mercy. I'm thankful for the hope of a better world.

 

 

Weather Forecasts

Count Your Blessings - Day Twelve

Have you ever heard of The Children's Blizzard? Here is the dust jacket synopsis from the book of the same name:

January 12, 1888 began as an unseasonably warm morning across Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, the weather so mild that children walked to school without coats and gloves. But that afternoon, without warning, the atmosphere suddenly, violently changed. One moment the air was calm; the next the sky exploded in a raging chaos of horizontal snow and hurricane-force winds. Temperatures plunged as an unprecedented cold front ripped through the center of the continent.

By Friday morning, January 13, some five hundred people lay dead on the drifted prairie, many of the children who had perished on their way home from country schools. In a few terrifying hours, the hopes of the pioneers had been blasted by the bitter realities of their harsh environment. Recent immigrants from Germany, Norway, Denmark, and the Ukraine learned that their free homestead was not a paradise but a hard, unforgiving place governed by natural forces they neither understood nor controlled.

The Children's Blizzard, by David Laskin is a fascinating true story, heart wrenching, and heart warming. I highly recommend it.

We are so blessed to have high tech weather forecasting, and rapid dissemination of those forecasts through radio, television, internet, even phones. Yesterday a violent storm passed through our area. We were under a tornado watch in our town, and just north of us where our daughter was working a tornado warning. I'm grateful for the miracles of technology that keep us safe. Iowa is the only place I've ever lived where the weather has the ability to make me feel nervous.

Photo taken earlier this year (see the date!) Tornado season is April through November

Marines and Other Veterans

Count Your Blessings - Days Ten and Eleven

The Marine Corps birthday was yesterday, November 10, they turned 240 years old! Today is Veteran's Day when we honor those served, and especially those who died while serving our country.

My family is full of Veterans. My father served in the Army Air Corps at the end of World War 2. My husband put in 30 years, (almost 26 of them active duty) in the Marine Corps. His father served in the Navy; his grandfather served in the Army. Our daughter served four years in the Air Force; our oldest son is currently in the Marine Corps Reserves; our third son is currently at Army Recruit Training preparing to serve in the Iowa Army National Guard. Various uncles and cousins have served in the Navy and other services. Two of my brothers served in the Air Force and one in the Army. My brother-in-law served in the Army during the Viet Nam war, a nephew is currently in the Air Force, another nephew served in the Army also. (I think that is everyone.)

I am grateful for all who serve in the military to protect us and our liberties.

"Lt. Lehi's" USMC Graduation 2014 - He's the second one from the left.

Senior Missionaries

Count Your Blessings - Day Nine

Last night we got a phone call from a full-time senior missionary at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, telling us that our son had attended church that day on base where our son is at Army Recruit Training. The Elder told us that our son is doing well and sends his love.

What a sweet man to take the time call us and let us know he'd seen our son. We talked for about 15 minutes and found that he and his wife have much in common with my husband and I. We look forward to meeting them when we go to Mr. Movie's graduation.

My parents served three full-time missions. First to Spain, Las Palmas, which is the Canary Islands; then to Portugal Lisbon North; then they served a year at the Family History Center in Salt Lake City. Our family was so blessed by their service.

Now my oldest brother and his wife are preparing to serve in the Michigan Lansing mission, leaving January 4, 2016. Exciting times for them.

We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet!

With the world in commotion on almost every topic under the sun, I'm so grateful to have a living prophet on earth to lead and guide us on the path of righteousness following the Savior.

When The Family: A Proclamation to the World was read in 1995 at the Relief Society General Broadcast, I wrote my feelings of gratitude in the form of a hymn text.

How Blessed We Are

By Rozann W. Thoelke

How blessed we are to have a guide

A prophet of the Lord

To lead us in these latter-days

Of famine, drought, and sword.

With strident voices on all sides

He speaks a calming word

To cheer us and encourage us;

The Lord, our prayers has heard.

He calls to us “Repent from sin.”

And asks us to do more

To live the gospel in our homes

Rich blessings are in store.

We pray for him to lead us in

The way of righteousness.

He has not faltered, nor yet will

Let’s follow and be blessed.

These words fit the tune of God Moves in a Mysterious Way, Hymn # 285.

Twenty years later my gratitude has grown a hundred fold.