The hand of the Lord

This is too good not to share. Yesterday, Thursday, Nick drove to Logan to pick up his money from the credit union. His SSI check is direct deposited & so he gets it the day before the first of the month. He told me he was going & I thought, since he was going to Logan, he would take the '09 Impala. No, he took the '92 Camaro, ( not sure on either of those years, but it's close enough on both of them ). He called me telling me he was stranded in Logan & would I come & get him. I figured there was enough time to go get him & be back in time to take Mother to get her hair done.

I was not dressed & I had not taken my pills. I hurriedly got dressed, took my meds & ran to the Conoco to wash the windshield of all the bird poop &, of course, to grab a refill of Mt. Dew. He called to see where I was when I was at the Conoco. He told me he was bored. I told him I'd be there as fast as I could.

I drove past ComputerWise & thought Nick had probably planned to go there. As I was driving along, I thought, "If it were me, I would start walking." Actually, I thought, "If it were me, I'd take the bus." But, I also knew Nick wouldn't be comfortable taking the bus. It is just not something he would do. So, I saw someone walking & looked over & there was Nick. He was about 2 miles from Wal-Mart & the credit union. I got over into the next left turn lane & made a legal U-turn & back on the highway. He had made it to the Logan Keller Tire driveway. I picked him up & took him to ComputerWise.

We went back & clocked his walk, 1.9 miles & it was .4 miles still to ComputerWise. I thanked the Lord that I had seen Nick. That He had put the thought in my mind that Nick might be walking & I would need to watch for him.

We came home. Nick said he was going to try to start the car before he & his dad would try starting it by pushing it & popping the clutch. Since it's a standard transmission, we figured that would work. Reminded me of an experience Nick & I had with my little blue Toyota Corolla up Mink Creek back in the late '90s, but that's a whole other story. It also made me think of the movie Little Miss Sunshine, where the family had to push their hippie van & pop the clutch with the whole family running along & jumping in.

So, we had this all planned out. Nick & I would go back to Logan & meet Don at the credit union when he got off work. Nick & Don would push the car & I was going to be the designated driver & pop the clutch at just the right moment. Don met us & Nick decided we would push the car toward the Kohl's parking lot, not toward the street. He told me to get in. At least I wouldn't have to run along & jump in. I really didn't know what I was going to do, besides pop the clutch.

I said a quick, simple prayer & reminded Nick he was going to try starting it before we did any pushing. He got in, turned the key & the little car just purred to life. "Oh, thank You Lord." Nick got in & roared off. The last I saw, Nick was turning onto the Wal-Mart street toward HWY 91. He hurried home & didn't hit one red light!! Don & I were each in our own car following behind. I kept watching for a little red Camaro alongside the road.

Tonight he was telling Zach (Kent) that a bolt had fallen out of the starter on Wednesday. It's amazing the car even started.

Pray always

Today I am thankful for prayer - answered & unanswered.

The guys took Little Lizzie ('99 Malibu) into the garage to have her fixed this morning. Don-Mike told me to clean out the front seat because they were going to have to take the entire dashboard out to get to the heater core. Since I am short, I have to have the seat pulled up close to the steering wheel to reach the pedals. So, I also knew the seat would have to go back. I took an empty box out & started piling stuff in it. Front seat wasn't bad, but the back seat & floor is.

I have this abject fear that someone will be hiding in my car or climb in it. Before my mission, so that made me in my early 20s, an old man climbed in my car in Logan. He wasn't watching what he was doing, talking to the man he was with. The other man went to the car next to mine & the old man, opened my car door & climbed in. Another time, I pulled up to a light on North Temple & 3rd West in Salt Lake & Mark Peterson, our upstairs neighbor was waiting for a bus. He ran out to the car. Scared me so bad, I did have the presence of mind to unlock the car door. He jumped in & I drove away. I have also seen someone climb into a car, lay on the floor & the driver didn't even know she was there.

I think I must have read to many murder mysteries. But I feel safe, coming out of the Citizen late at night, knowing that no one can possibly be hiding in my car. It's too messy. Don laughs that my car is the only one passenger car he knows that isn't built for only one passenger.

A week ago Thursday, Nov. 4, I lost $30. I was sad because I was going to use it to pay part of my storage shed rent. I had to borrow from Mother to pay it. I looked & looked for the $30, but could only remember having it at the Subway. I decided it was lost & I'd never find it again. I had been praying for help in finding it. Then when I decided it was lost, I prayed that whoever found my $30 needed it worse than I did.

I found it today, behind the driver's seat on the floor. It was covered up. I shouted for joy & immediately thanked the Lord for finding it for me. When I got to work today, there was another $30 pinned to my copy holder with a magnet.

Never assume ...

Wow! This quote kind of hit me. I picked it up from ReadtheScriptures.com

"Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord. Never hesitate to get on your knees in some private place and speak with Him. What a marvelous and wonderful thing is prayer. Think of it. We can actually speak with our Father in Heaven. He will hear and respond, but we need to listen to that response. Nothing is too serious and nothing too unimportant to share with Him."
--Gordon B. Hinkley "Stay on the High Road," Ensign, May 2004, 114

 I had completed my reading assignment & was requesting another assignment. Last night I almost forgot to read. I was closing the computer down & remembered. Whew! I've come this far & haven't missed a day. Lent is over this week. It's so much easier to read online. The text is so much bigger than the book.

It doesn't seem like I can get away to kneel at "some private place." I pray wherever I am, driving, contending with my grown children, ... I have done this for years. Usually, the only "private place" is the bathroom. I remember I knelt at the toilet to pray many times in the mission office when I was on my mission.

I try very hard to listen to the response from my Father in Heaven. There have been times when I have written the responses I have received, knowing I'll forget if I don't.

Another baby blog

Dave & Tanya's blog for their baby Jonah opened a whole new addiction for me - blog surfing. Is there such a thing? I "subscribe" to & read way too many blogs. And one blog leads to another.

One journey sent me to Little April Rose, a young single mother, whose unborn daughter is diagnosed with Trisomy 13 and Holoprosencephaly & isn't expected to live through the birth experience. This young mother, "B," is amazing. A few weeks ago she started a prayer register, if I may call it that. People were emailing her ASKING for HER prayers. So, she started "His Will Wednesday." Through yesterday's entry I found little Gwendolyn Strong who has spinal muscular atrophy or SMA. I have buttons for both of these blogs in the sidebar on my blog.

I try not to read through them all at once. I admit, I did Dave & Tanya's, I couldn't stop reading. Little Gwendolyn is 20 months old & since I didn't find her until tonight, there are almost 2 years of entries to read. Her parents celebrate each month's birthday, as children with SMA don't usually live past 2 years old.

Through a cousin's blog, I found a really cool website. Janelle writes:

I tend to read the emails that come to my inbox. I read my blogs. I read my facebook page. But I struggle "finding the time" to read the scriptures. I just forget. So this site sends me an email with the days scripture chapter. I can read it or listen to it. Then tomorrow it sends me the next chapter. Today it took 6 minutes for it to read the first chapter. If I have the time to spend 10 minutes on facebook (at least), 10 minutes on blogs (multiple times a day) and however many minutes on email, then I have the time to read 6 minutes a day before all of that.

So, I subscribed to Read The Scriptures & decided I'd "read" the Doctrine & Covenants, since Don & I are in the library & don't get to Sunday School, Relief Society or Priesthood. I tried listening to it, & found that I'd just as soon read it to myself. So, today I read the first chapter of the D&C.

I haven't really kept up on my "moving" since May is over, but I'm still thinking of it & still don't park close to the door, unless I have Mother with me. I walked the stairs at the clinic on Tuesday, but took the elevator down with Mother. June's habit is drinking water. Ewww :( that's a toughy. One I try ever few months, but Lent taught me something. I can focus on a "habit" for a set period of time. I've also kept trying to make it to bed at midnight & most nights I do pretty good.

Moving in May, 5/1

I did it. I walked for 15 minutes today. I took the kitchen timer with me to work. I was almost a half hour early, can you believe it? So, I set the timer for 7 minutes & took off. I didn't walk fast & didn't have to stop & rest either.

I decided to walk around the Benson Park, what used to be the City Park back in the day, before the City of Preston decided they didn't want it any more & gave it back to the LDS Church. I got clear over to the Oneida Stake Academy at 6 minutes & 30 seconds, that's 2 sides of the park. I stopped & took a couple of pictures of the Academy.


Then took off again. I walked clear over to South State Street, down to the Danish Gates, aka the park entrance, aka as the entrance to the dentist offices & a short cut to the alley. Through the entrance & seriously thought about sitting on the bench. Actually, I started noticing benches over at the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD) bus stop on First East. There's a nice metal bench there. Then, as I came around the corner from East Oneida onto South State, I noticed the flower boxes that line the street are all nice places to sit, plus a cement bench just outside U.S.Bank. The last bench is the one in the middle of the entranceway. But I didn't stop & rest. I walked down the alley & back to where I started from with 2 minutes left. I walked around the sidewalk at the South Stake Center & made it back to the car in 15 minutes. I was beginning to wonder if my legs were going to make it.

I got seriously dizzy later. It made me worried as the world just kind of slipped on it's axis as I was making a left turn from West Oneida onto North State. I started praying to the Lord to let me get Mother home. Then I ate, went back to work & again the world kind of slipped. When the alarm clock went off at 6 p.m. for me to pray, I prayed.

Nick told me that if I couldn't remember why I had set the alarm to pray, just pray my own prayer. So, last night I did. I prayed Don-Mike would make it home safely from Orem, Utah. Tonight, I thanked the Lord that Don-Mike had a safe trip to Orem & back. I also prayed for my health. This is an extra prayer from my bedtime prayers.

Mufasa

A huge, powerful, male lion, Mufasa is the King of the Pride Lands at the start of the Disney movie, The Lion King. The name "Mufasa" means "King" in the Manazoto language.



We are dog sitting a huge, powerful, male Newfoundland named Mufasa. Since I don't have a picture of Mufasa, I found this picture of a dog named Sandy on a blog. I'll try to replace it with a picture of Mufasa. I have never particularly cared for dogs. We had a little terrier/poodle mix named Nikki, that I dearly loved, but I left her with Mother & Daddy when I went on my mission & moved away from home. I have always been deathly afraid of big dogs. And huge dogs? No, way. But Mufasa is such a love. I NEVER thought I'd say that about a dog, much less a huge dog.

He makes me tired, literally. This afternoon Don-Mike got a couple of bales of straw from Nancy at Big J's. She used it for decorating. He asked if he could have a couple of bales & told her why & she said yes. So, he brought it down, dropped it off & cut the twine. I had put the rope on Mufasa, & tied him to a post of the kennel while I was spreading the straw out in the kennel.

Nick came down to talk to me. He doesn't like Mufasa, says he is allergic to him. Anyway, he wanted to go eat. So, I got out of the kennel with Nick's help, but I left Mufasa tied with the rope. I wasn't sure how I was going to get the rope off of him through the kennel. He wasn't being cooperative with Nick there. I decided I'd go back later & take the rope off of him.

Don-Mike & I can deal with him, but Nick & Don don't want to help. Anyway, I went down to take the rope off of him tonight about 10 p.m. Don-Mike had gone home. I was going to ask him to go down & help me, but I hadn't heard him say good night. I was in Nick's room using Eddie's computer & had my back to the door & my hearing aid turned off, when he left.

I didn't know how I was going to even see to do it, much less do it alone. The light had been unplugged because Nick had moved it & Mufasa had chewed on the cord. I had removed that section of cord. Don-Mike has his shop light down there. He had 2 extension cords on it. One short one & one long one. Mufasa had chewed on the short one. As Nick said, "It's a good thing it was unplugged."

I took the car down behind the garage & trained the lights on the kennel, then walked down, plugged the extension cord into the light, walked back to the garage, plugged the light in, walked over to the car & turned the lights off, then went to feed Mufasa & water him. I didn't take him out for a walk today, so he was anxious to get out & run around. Anyway, I had no clue how I was going to get out of the kennel. I stood there & prayed, telling the Lord that I couldn't do this alone. I was hoping that maybe Don would come down. But I was standing at the gate & telling Mufasa "NO." I don't know a lot of dog commands, we have cats. Suddenly, I thought of & said, "Sit." He sat. I was amazed. Having success with that command, I thought I'd try "Stay." He wanted out really bad & was whining, but I told him I needed to get out & he had to stay in the kennel. I got out, with just a minimum of pushing him to stay in.

I immediately thanked God & Mufasa. But tonight, I'm just exhausted.

I hope Lynnette, Mufasa's owner, comes up Saturday. They can take him up to their property in Glendale & let him run.