It's the Little Things that Count

I just found some more notes from the District Conference that Elder Cornish spoke at.  He asked us, how many of you know what happened 100 years ago?  We all knew that it would have been 1915 but no one knew the significance.  Turnrs out it was the end of World War I.  The war to end all wars.  It was a big deal 100 years ago, but now no one even thinks of it.

He then went on to do a little math.  He said that if he had 5 children, and each of them had 5 children, and each of them had 5 children, etc for just half of the millenium (500 years).  How many descendants would that be.  93 trillion!  How many of those will care about the little things that you did?  Like keeping the commandments, being faithful to your spouse, being sealed in the temple, etc.  Those little things WILL matter a lot to all of those descendants!

The little things are the big things.  We need to wear our Christianity with our sleeves rolled up and our work clothes on.  We need to let others know that we miss them, we love them, we need them.  We need to love like Christ loves.

1 Nephi 16:29-small things can bring about great things.

Your obedience shows that He can trust you.

We miss you.  We love you.  We need YOU!

Choices

Some choices are easy to make, others are more difficult.  Grandpa has figured out a way to make some choices very easy.  He has two hangers.  Each day, he takes a tie off of one hanger, wears it and at night he puts it on the other hanger.  After a while, all the ties have been moved to the second hanger and the first hanger is empty.  Now he starts over and just grabs a tie, wears it and puts it on the other hanger.  This way he doesn't have to think and he doesn't get caught wearing the same tie two days in a row!

Other choices can be just that simple.  If we just decide to make good choices every day, life is simple!  Choose to read your scriptures.  Every day.  Choose to say your prayers.  Every day.  Choose to not lie.  Or steal.  Or break any commandment.  Every day.  Life will be so much easier and you will always be happy!

We love YOU!  Be happy!

The Sabbath

Today is a perfect day to write a post about something I have wanted to since August 9, 2015 (Kristi and Max's birthday's!)

We were privileged to be in a District Conference with Elder J Devn Cornish.  He is a member of the 70 and the Area President.  He was visiting Barbados.  What a wonderful talk he gave.  Here are the highlights:

The church is a hospital.  We are all sick.  We come to be healed.  Be more patient and forgiving to others than they deserve.  We need the same from God.

This is a new day in Barbados.  The spirit is rising.  Angels have been sent to help.  Follow the council of President Herrington.  He holds the keys to this area.

(Elder Cornish was a neo-natal Dr and saw lots of babies born.)  Babies come to earth with complete personalities.  We lived before we were born with someone who created all and knows us.

We can receive revelation.  Take a blank piece of paper and a pen.  Pray like you really mean it.  Ask, what do you want me to do differently today?  What to fix, change or help?  Then listen and write it down.  It may scare you, but he will reaveal to you as long as you are willing to write.

Being happy is not easy.  Sin is the only thing that can take our happiness away.  Follow Jesus.  Sometimes we don't know where to start.  Here is one way:

He was in a General Authority training meeting after conference last April.  This is a common occurance and usually there are several topics brought up that the Brethren want taught to the members.  The Presidency and the 12 fasted and prayed for months in preparation of this meeting.  Their question was, How do we strengthen our members?  The only answer that came was, "Keep the Sabbath day Holy."

This commandment is as old as creation.  Even God took a day of rest.  Elder Nelson talked about the Sabbath day in the April Conference.  He speaks Spanish, Portugese, Russain, and Chinese.  He was one of the inventers of the heart/lung machine.  He would not study on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is not about lists of what to do or not to do.  It's about loving God more than loving yourself. 

We must show God how we put him first and ourselves second.  It will be different for each person.  Ask Him how you are going to do that.  He suggests that if we are quieter, respectful and worshipful, we will have reverance.  Until you know reverance, you will not get revelation.  Decide what you can do to make a sign between you and Him.  It might be giving up something.  It might be adding something.  Make the decision today.  We were then promised that He will change and bless everything in our lives.

It was a pretty powerful sermon!  I knew that the emphasis was on keeping the Sabbath day holy, but the reasoning here makes a lot of sense to me.

I just thought I would share.

We love YOU!

I saved a life today

Well, each of us did!  And it was really a blessing when we really needed one.  We have been going through some hard things.  Really hard.  And it has been constant for over three months.  It gets to be a little wearing.  Today, for me (Gremma), I just had to leave the office.  I could not do one.more.thing.  Grandpa came home for a little while and we decided to go for a walk along the beach.  It was almost sunset and there are some nice places to sit and think and enjoy the beauties that God put here for us.  We sat there for a while and then started walking back.  We came across a lady with a baby turtle in her hand!  Just to give you a little background, turtles come up on shore between May and October to lay eggs.  These are pretty good sized turtles.  I have not seen a mama turtle yet, but we see their tracks quite often and I would guess that they are about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide.  Anyway, they try to find a place to lay their eggs and then swim back to sea.  Several weeks later the eggs hatch and the babies must find their way back to sea.

Tonight, there were a bunch of little turtles who were on the wrong side of the boardwalk.  I don't know how the mother would have been able to cross over the rocks and the boardwalk and dig a hole in the very hard ground there.  But she must have!  Because there were a dozen or more trying to find their way to safety.  There was a young woman there who was searching for them.  She found one and gave it to Grandpa and we hurried to the ocean to let it live.  It seemed pretty grateful!

Grandpa had to go back to the office but I stayed.  And looked.  And looked.  And looked.  Finally the lady found another one and handed it to me!  What a wonderful feeling to be given a chance to help something so helpless!  That would surely die if someone did not reach out a hand to save it!

I hurried to the ocean and set it on the sand.  It scurried to the water and swam easily out to sea.  Hopefully it will grow up to be a good turtle.

This experience didn't really change my day, but it did change my attitude.  I went from feeling like a failure, to feeling like I had done something very worthwhile.

Now please don't think that I am unhappy.  We still know we are supposed to be doing this.  But it is hard.  Very hard.  I am just grateful that the Lord allows these little moments of brightness to carry us through.

The church is true and the book is blue.  I know that.  I am grateful for it.

Please always remember that we love YOU and are so grateful for your faithfulness!

 Just look at that cute baby turtle!

 OK, here you go, now find the water!

 You are almost there!

Swim, buddy, swim!

 This is what they would have had to climb over, then cross, and then get over a lot of big rocks before getting to the ocean.

I tried to take a picture while I was carrying him to safety.

Hugs

This was a hard week.  We had twenty new missionaries come in and 21 go out.  That meant a LOT of work!  We fed, we transported, we taught, we laughed, we cried and we hugged!  I really needed this hug. Max was baptised on Sunday and "He who has no name" was born on Tuesday.  We got the call at 6:00 am.  We were so happy!  We had to leave at 8:00 am and did not get home until 11:15 pm that night.  We got to Skype with Heidi and the "new baby" for a while.  It was so wonderful!  And so hard!  I want so desperately to hold him myself!

The next day was when the returning missionaries were here.  They were all at the Mission Home when we brought some food in.  These two Sisters (Riley and Tenney) came running up and gave me a huge hug!  I did not want to let go of them.  It was the hug I wanted to give the new baby and Max (and all of my grandchildren!) but couldn't.

It made me realize how full circle life is.  I was here helping and hugging someoene else's grandaughters.  It made me grateful that in 6-18 years, some other Sr Couple will (hopefully) be able to help and hug, not only "He who has no name", but any and all of our grandchildren who serve missions.  It's very possible that we will be dead and gone when that happens, but I know that they will be watched over, just like we watch over these wonderful missionaries.

We are so grateful for the plan our Father has for us.  We know that we were led here to do this work at this time.  Even tho it is hard and we are missing things like baptisms, births, and Priesthood ordinations, we know we are doing what we are supposed to be doing.

And we know that you are too.  We love you all so much.  We can't wait to wrap our arms around you!  But until then, we will be doing what the Lord has asked us to do.

Always remember that we love YOU!

Work!

Work, work, work!  That is all we have been doing lately.  (It seems).  There is so much work to be done in the new Mission Office!  And we are all the Lord has to work with right now.  We are doing our best, but sometimes we feel inadadequate and over whelmed.  Each day when we go in to the office, we have a little devotional.  We sing, we pray, we have a little thought or scripture that we talk about.  Most of the time they are on patience, or endurance.  We know that we really don't have the skills we need to do this job, but we also know that the Lord has blessed us with abilities beyond our own.  While things have been hard, we have seen his hand helping us.  It is wonderful to know that he knows us and loves us.  We love him too,  and will continue to do all we can to further this great work.

Judging by the amount of papers on the desk, who is the hardest worker?!!

We love YOU!