A Very Thankful Day...

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone, and our celebration was wonderful, surrounded by our Ward Family and friends.  I took Candied Yams, a combination of how my mom used to make them and how Dean's mom made them.  They were delicious and a huge hit.  I mashed the yams with butter and browbn sugar, poured them into a baking dish and covered them with brown sugsar and a nice layer of the little marshmallows.  I put them in the oven @ 350 degrees and baked only until the tops of the marshmallows were golden brown.

I also took some homemade Cranberry Sauce...always a favorite at Mickelson, Henderson and Davenport Thanksgiving meals.  The rest of the meal was supplied by other Ward members.  There was everything from Turkey, Dressing, Gravy, Yams, Green Bran Casserole, a delicious Corn dish made like Potato Au Gratin, a variety of Salads, Rolls and delicious Pies.  It was a feast of food and a feast of friendship.

It is hard to believe that another Thanksgiving has come and goner.  Last year at this time, we were enjoying the Holiday with Eliot and Tamiya in Colorado Springs and "The Lion King," Broadway style in Denver!  Next Year?  Who knows where we will celebrate.

Now, with 29 days lefdt until Christmas, we will focus on the Celebration oif a miraculous birth and LOVE!

Happy Holidays!

Thanks-giving...

How is it that we can live in "the best of times" and at the same time live in "the worst of times?"  As my daughter, Kim, reminded me recently, "our day has been prophesied."  The Prophets of old saw our day and they saw tumultuous times everywhere in the world.

But, they also gave us a key and a promise.
``````````````The key is that we follow the Prophets, spend every single day reading and pondering the scriptures, keeping the commandments and basically, living righteous lives.
`````````````The promise is that we will be blessed to be able to get through these troubled times and return home to our Heavenly Father, which is the ultimate goal of our journey through life.

I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of these things and how grateful I am today for my parents who taught me "to question with boldness" and take my questions to the Lord, who will answer them and give me peace in my life.

I was pondering the other day remembering another tumultuous time in my life.  I was but a small child, age 2, when WWII threatened to come to our shores.  The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor!   It was December 7, 1941. As the war with Japan wore on, their reconnaissance and fighter planes flew over the entire west coast of the United States.

We lived in Santa Monica, California, and I remember black-outs and planes flying overhead and huddling in our living room with nothing but a candle for light.  The sound of the planes scared me, but I had a loving mother, just like a mother hen, who took her children under her wings, comforted us and told us to pray.  When we prayed, we received comfort.

My dad was an Air Raid Warden and when the sirens sounded, he donned his hard hat and kissed his family goodbye and went out the front door into the darkness.  I was scared for him!  He was our strength and our protector...and he was protecting us by monitoring the streets and skies and doing his job.

My parents were the salt of the earth.  They were my examples that I patterned my life after.  Families are the core unit of this country and we need to protect our families at all costs.  I would give my life for my family.  As I walk the path at the end of the road, I have a lot of time to look back and this memory was just one of many that I don't want to forget.  My stories, though personal to me, need to be passed on to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  I love you all so very much.

Give thanks this coming Thanksgiving Day for family!

Thanks-giving...

How is it that we can live in "the best of times" and at the same time live in "the worst of times?"  As my daughter, Kim, reminded me recently, "our day has been prophesied."  The Prophets of old saw our day and they saw tumultuous times everywhere in the world.

But, they also gave us a key and a promise.
``````````````The key is that we follow the Prophets, spend every single day reading and pondering the scriptures, keeping the commandments and basically, living righteous lives.
`````````````The promise is that we will be blessed to be able to get through these troubled times and return home to our Heavenly Father, which is the ultimate goal of our journey through life.

I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of these things and how grateful I am today for my parents who taught me "to question with boldness" and take my questions to the Lord, who will answer them and give me peace in my life.

I was pondering the other day remembering another tumultuous time in my life.  I was but a small child, age 2, when WWII threatened to come to our shores.  The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor!   It was December 7, 1941. As the war with Japan wore on, their reconnaissance and fighter planes flew over the entire west coast of the United States.

We lived in Santa Monica, California, and I remember black-outs and planes flying overhead and huddling in our living room with nothing but a candle for light.  The sound of the planes scared me, but I had a loving mother, just like a mother hen, who took her children under her wings, comforted us and told us to pray.  When we prayed, we received comfort.

My dad was an Air Raid Warden and when the sirens sounded, he donned his hard hat and kissed his family goodbye and went out the front door.  I was scared for him!  He was our strength and our protector...and he was protecting us by monitoring the streets and skies and doing his job.

My parents were the salt of the earth.  They were my examples that I patterned my life after.  Families are the core unit of this country and we need to protect our families at all costs.  I would give my life for my family.  As I walk the path at the end of the road, I have a lot of time to look back and this memory was just one of many that I don't want to forget.  My stories, though personal to me, need to be passed on to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  I love you all so very much.

Give thanks this coming Thanksgiving day for family!

The Gospel of Love...

I am writing these words because of what is happening all across America and even the world since our election of 2016.

Acts 1:8  "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth."

Jesus Christ, the ambassador of peace, the one who preached LOVE in His Gospel, commanded His Disciples to first, "...receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." and second, "...ye shall be witnesses...unto the t uttermost parts of the earth."  His was truly a Gospel of Love.

The Disciples (Apostles) carried out their mission, and the world repaid them with death, and Paul was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos.  The world, for the most part, was not ready to receive this Gospel.  Today, we send emissaries (missionaries) of Christ to all the world, and still some are not ready to hear.

For more than 2,000 years, the Gospel of Love has been taught in nearly every corner of the world, and still there are those who choose hate over love.  Why?  Not because they are influenced by others (though there are those who also preach the Gopel of Hate), but by that power who made it his mission to thwart the mission of Jesus Christ.  His name was Lucifer in the Heavens, before the world was, and he has taken upon himself the name of Satan to rule in this world.

It is a battle that began in Heaven and will continue until that great and powerful Day of the Lord when Jesus Christ returns to usher in a New Millennium.  Most will cry, "At last!"  But still some will cry, "No-o-o-o!"

Though we are not officially called upon to preach to the world Christ's Gospel of Love, we can certainly be examples to others.  But be prepared for opposition, "for there must needs be opposition in all things."  Receive it graciously, with Love, and with compassion.

I belong to a Church that believes in supporting our elected officials, whether it be Local, State or Federal.  We recently held an extremely controversial election, with heated discussions coming from both sides of the aisle.  We believe in the rights of the citizens to have their opinions and beliefs, but we do not encourage Hate speech or demonstrations.

Our Twelfth Article of Faith states: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."  In other words, we believe in accepting the peoples choices, even though we disagree.  We believe in praying before an election (my own belief, anyway) and accepting the outcome as God's will for the people.  He is the only one who is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-powerful.  We will learn from this election process, just as we have learned from ALL of the selected Authorities in the past.

I agree that there is corruption in the "Kingdom," from the top ,trickling all the way down to the bottom.  This is Satan's work and we must be vigilant in crying, "fight him!"  History is full of examples of wicked "Kingdoms" and the people have always managed to figure out how to rid themselves of their oppression.  From the Bible to European history to American to the history of any country on the face of the earth, the cycle has repeated itself over and over again.  But, what have we learned?  Nothing, except that there is a cycle...perhaps this time, we can handle it differently.  I don't think we will.

We can try.  Paul tried, Noah tried, Moses tried, Jesus tried, George Washington tried.  Do you know why "Jesus wept? " It wasn't for Himself, but for His people.  He knew there would be millions, perhaps billions of people who would not get His Gospel of Love.

Today's world is proof that there are those who oppose the message, but there are more who accept it.  Whose side are you on?

What If...

I have this picture on my screen and I smile every morning as I open my computer and this picture smiles back at me.  This morning, as I looked at the smile on Jesus' face, the thought came to me...what if Joseph had fled to another country when he learned of Mary's condition?  What if Mary, given her circumstances in a time when a single, pregnant woman would be stoned and banned, decided to go away somewhere dark and find someone willing to abort her child?  Where would mankind be today?  History would have been changed. forever

What if that little one you are about to abort, the "nothing but tissue" lies others have told you, was destined to be the greatest leader to ever live upon the face of the earth?  What if he or she was destined to be the next  greatest Musician, Poet, Artist, Architect, Philosopher, Teacher, bringer of Peace or Leader of the Free World, or yes, even a Prophet?  I can only imagine what our Country would be like without a George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,  Abraham Lincoln, Edison, Ford, General Eisenhower, and the list goes on and on and on.  I can only imagine!

The giver of Life made our first parents great promises and a helpful warning...that life in the world would not always be easy.  He gave them the Garden of Eden so they would "remember home."  And then he gave them their proving ground.

Please, those of you who seek to throw precious life away, seek for the "easy path," or think "your lot is hard," raise up your eyes to the Heavens and rejoice for the Angels are watching.

I woke up this morning and it was raining, but still the birds were singing.  I knew the sun was shining somewhere, because there was light in the sky.  My home was warm and full of love because we have been given so much within a world that chooses darkness.  Today, my brain still works...though there are signs that it is slowing down.  My eyes still see, though not as clearly as they used to.  My ears still hear, though dimly.  I am still able to walk across a space without stumbling into a chair or walking into a wall, though my limbs are showing signs of the effects of age.  And I am so grateful that my fingers can still find the correct letters on a keyboard...a memory track set in place when I was but a young teen.  And the thoughts in my head can be transferred through complicated brainwaves to the tips of my fingers.

God is SO good!  Please stop your disrespect of Him.  Give Him the honor and love that He gives to you each and every day.  Together, we can make a beautiful world again.

Here's Hoping "America Can Be Great Again"...

The election is over...the votes have been counted, and we have a new President Elect!  I must say, this has been the craziest 18 months I can ever remember and I can honestly say I am SO glad it is over.  This is the second Presidential Election that I "sat out" on.  I just could not wrap my head around either candidate.  I am not a Democrat, so it was "Never Hillary" for me (and for many other reasons, as well.)  But, being Democrat was not the key issue with Secretary Clinton!  I voted for JFK, way back when, and he was a Democrat.

The hardest choice for me was Mr. Trump.  He just didn't seem sincere enough for me.  But, he did step up to the Bar and looked and sounded very much like a President last night when he accepted the country's vote of confidence.  I will continue to pray for him.  I will continue to pray he will do the things he has promised to do and make Americans proud of him and make our Country great again. I pray we will be able to see the "Shining City on a Hill" return and with respect. We have far to go.

Let us make our Country a Model of Christian Charity.  Turn in your Bibles to Matt 5:14 and read what Jesus had to say about the shining city.

God bless America...we have far to go.  And President Elect Trump, many Americans will be watching you.

So Much To Do About Nothing,..,.

 

 

 

We have an election coming up in our Country for the President of the United States, and I must say in my lifetime (and I have voted since the age of 21...some 14 times!)  There have been good candidates and there have been some not-so-good candidates.  There have been some candidates who seemed to have been made for these times...and they were; and there have been candidates that should never have held the office in the first place.

Makes one sit back and ponder what the fuss is all about.  The people will go to the polls and the people will choose their next President.  In my lifetime,  have not seen the country so divided as to who will be their choice.  The prideful and the rich will vote in troves for Sir Donald Trump, while the middle and lower class...those who like their free goodies and don't want to lose them will most likely vote for thr Queen, herself, Hillary Clinton.  The vote is pretty well divided nearly 40:40:20%.  (The 20% are the rest of us who just aren't willing to "settle" for the lesser of two evils...however, if we don't...she will get the vote!

So, here am I, I says to myself, I'm in a conundrum!  Da*^ if I do and Da*^ if I don't.  And so I look at history...not just our history but world history and even Biblical and Scriptural history.  When a King or ruler in Biblical times followed the Commandments of God and was fair to the people, and when the people in turn were of the same mindset, everything went well.

However, there have come along from time to time some Kings and Rulers whose only objective was the throne and power and the people were made subservient.  Their religion was squashed and they paid their allegiance to the King.  They were in Slavery, so to speak.

World History has repeated the pattern as well.  Henry the VIII of England; Napoleon of France; Caesar of Rome; Hitler of Germany; and the many Communist regimes around the world.  I wish I was an Historian, I could have been far more knowledgeable here, but you get the picture.

What we are heading for is what we have bought, paid for and wrapped in a perfect package for all the world to see.  Somewhere, some 100 or so years ago, we started a Progressive ball rolling that has been picking up momentum from day one and no one has stopped it.  Why do the people want Hillary for President?  Because she represents everything they have been spoonfed from diapers on up...Progressivism is the wave of the future and they are told it is good.  And these new Millenials have bought it hook line and sinker because they have been careully taught in their schools and Universities across the country.

And why do the rest of them want Donald Trump?  Well, it's because he is just a cardboard copy of Ms.Clinton...only he's taller, better looking, funnier at times, and still a Progressive.  They are the same.   Only, because he is a Billionaire who promises big things, he is different.

And so, we have a choice.  We choose a crooked Progressive, a foul-mouthed Billionaire, or one of the other Independents running on their own tickets (which screws things up royally in the end.)  Vote for Trump and pray...Vote for Hillary and she is a shoe-in...don't vote, they say that is a vote for Hillary, bur I don't know...maybe yes, maybe no.

 

 

My philosophy...Pray for Inspiration; Vote your Conscience; Pray that whoever is selected to be our President for the next four years will not run our country over the cliff.  Be Prepared for the worst; Stand Strong in the coming Storms; and never, never give up hope as long as you can still see the sun rise every morning and set every night.