A clean linen

23 April 2011, 11:31 am by Giggles
Categories: Family, Gospel

And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
Matthew 27:59-60

Thirty-two years ago today my grandma died. I was nine months old that day. My grandpa lived without her until 2001 when he was at last able to join her again. We had his funeral on my 23rd birthday. He had missed her that whole time and I can’t imagine a more joyful reunion on the other side of the veil. My other grandma died when I was four. This past October grandpa was able to reunite with her. Another joyful reunion I am sure.

I miss my grandparents. I have more memories of my grandpas then I do of my grandmas. I know they are all a part of my life. There are many things I do that remind others of my grandmas. Someone once even recognized me as being related to my grandma because of the shape of my nose. They are still my grandparents and I will be reunited with them again.

At our wedding we had several things made out of linen. The bodice of the dress I wore for the ceremony was linen. The center square on our wedding quilt was the same linen. And I made handkerchiefs for myself and both of our moms out of the same linen. On those I did white machine stitching the shape of a pansy. Just like the colorful pansy handkerchiefs I made earlier that year, it was a way for both of my grandmas to be with us at our wedding. Although I’m sure they were there in other ways as well.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
1 Shared thought

Held his peace

22 April 2011, 5:23 pm by Giggles
Categories: Education, Gospel, Life

But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Matthew 26:63

This week I was teaching my class about effective communication. We talked about “I” statements instead of “you” statements and how paraphrasing is a key skill to listening. We talked about nonverbal forms as well such as eye-contact and space. And then I mention how much is communicated with silence. At which point in the lesson I stop talking. And I wait. Until the students can start to feel the power in the silence.

There is the old saying, “It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove them right.” And there are times that might be true. But there are times where someone is ranting about something, and while you could open your mouth and prove them wrong in what they are saying, it is often better to remain silent, answer nothing, and hold your peace. Because they will eventually be proven wrong all on their own.

Twice in my life now, that I know of, I’ve had someone, in an effort to tear me down, spread rumors about me and how mean I am or something. Both times, rather than confront the person, rather than going around and actively trying to correct what was being said, I simply quietly, peacefully, went about my own life and eventually everyone the person told the rumors to realized the lies they were and they came out as bad as they hoped I would.

Hold your peace. It is often the best, and sometimes the only, answer.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
Share your thoughts

Not as I will

21 April 2011, 8:16 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Matthew 26:39

Prayer has long been a subject I have studied and tried to learn as much about as I can. It is my connection to heaven while I am in this life, I want that connection to be as strong as it can be.

I am not telling God anything he doesn’t already know when I pray, but there is a power in saying it, in speaking the words, in admitting, not to God, but to myself, what my true needs are and where my true gratitude lies. There is power in praying for others by name and there is power in knowing that others are praying for you.

I particularly like this statement about prayer from the Guide to the Scriptures: Prayer

The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that we must ask for in order to obtain.

Prayer will never change God. Prayer is meant to change me. It is my heart that is softened and molded to a more heavenly shape through prayer. One thing I have learned is that my will is not always what God has in store for me. It was quoted to me and I often quote it to others, “Man makes plans and God laughs.” Things happen in my life as they are supposed to, in ways that will bless me the most. Praying regularly helps to change my will to match His.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
Share your thoughts

To what purpose?

20 April 2011, 12:33 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel

There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
Matthew 26:7-10

WHY???

It’s a common question. Why do I have to do this? Why does this happen? Why does this happen to me? Why can’t things go right? Basically, “to what purpose” is all of this? They are questions of frustration and exhaustion. They are questions asked when the whole picture isn’t clear

There are several “WHY???” questions in my life right now. And I know in the end that the absolute worst I am imagining will not happen. I know that if I get started on a problem it gets solved a lot sooner. And I’ve learned from past “WHY???” moments that have “wrought a good work upon me” that if this doesn’t kill me it will make me stronger.

And hey, if it does kill me, at least I won’t have to worry about it any more.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
1 Shared thought

Ye took me in

19 April 2011, 8:15 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel, Remembers

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. …
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:35-36, 40

Being a missionary in Brasil was an interesting experience for me. But one thing that constantly amazed me was how often people took me in. They took me into their homes. They took me into their circle of friends. They took me into their families. It was such an honor to be welcomed the way I was, hands and hearts open.

The fourth house I lived in had a leaky roof, a bad leaky roof. It rained in our kitchen. It rained so bad we moved our fridge and stove into our front room. The landlord was dragging her sweet feet fixing it. And it was the rainy season, raining so much we started to joke about building arks.

One Sunday afternoon, after church, the men in the ward I was serving in came over, in the rain, and climbed up into and onto our roof and fixed the broken tiles in our roof. They were like little kids up there, having so much fun. They actually seemed disappointed that it happened so fast and our roof wasn’t in worse shape.

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Matthew 12:11-12

That they would care that much for us and take us in, meant so much to me. The great King will surely tell them that what they did unto us, they did unto Him. And they did it so freely and with so much pure love and joy.

The memory of that day still warms my heart.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
Share your thoughts

House of Prayer

18 April 2011, 4:30 pm by Giggles
Categories: Gospel

And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mark 11:17

I stress and worry. It’s what I do. And I know it isn’t the best for me. So I’m always looking for ways to calm down. I figure the “fight or flight” syndrome is a good reason why I run, I opt for flight. And doing yoga helps calm my breathing and helps me be aware of all the places I’m holding tension.

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;
Doctrine & Covenants 88:119; 109:8

I also pray for peace in my life, pray that I can find the calm in the world. One place I prayer for, and find, that peace is in the temple (that’s the Bountiful temple, where we got married). It’s a quiet, peaceful place, beautiful.

But lately, I’ve realized that while I do have stress and such, there is a lot of peace in my world as well. And I need to remember to be grateful for the peace I do have. Recognizing the peace I have been blessed with has helped me to find even more peace.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
Share your thoughts

Palms of Hosanna

17 April 2011, 6:40 pm by Giggles
Categories: Education, Gospel

And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Matthew 21:8-9

As it was prophesied in Zechariah:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zechariah 9:9

He is just.

Recently as I’ve been studying the scriptures it has struck me how often the Lord is described as equitable. “Equitable” is something we talk a lot about in education. We want to educate equitably and not equally. And by that we mean we want to give all students what they need to succeed rather than give them all the exact same thing. Some students will need more of this or that than others to succeed. But we are not going to hold them back simply because their needs are different than the needs of other students. I spend a lot of time talking about equity in teaching.

It is a comfort to me to think of the Lord judging me with equity. Any other way would not be just.

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:4

And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers.
Alma 9:26

And now I say unto you that well doth the Lord judge of your iniquities; well doth he cry unto this people, by the voice of his angels: Repent ye, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will come down among my people, with equity and justice in my hands.
Alma 10:20-21

I will not be judged against what others have done or the potential of others. I will be judged according to what I have done, according to my potential. I will not be given the heavenly support others need in their trials. I will be given the heavenly support I need in my trials.

He is just and equitable. Hosanna.

Palm Sunday – Palms of Hosanna
Monday – House of Prayer
Tuesday – Ye took me in
Wednesday – To what purpose?
Thursday – Not as I will
Good Friday – Held his peace
Saturday – A clean linen
Easter Sunday – Come, see
1 Shared thought