Day 23

I am thankful for the scriptures and modern day prophets that give me guidance in my life. I snagged this from Vickie Jarvis, but I am thankful for the scriptures. I've been reading the Old Testament since June & Wow! I've learned a lot.

 

 I tried snagging a picture of the First Presidency. but every photo I tried to load off the computer was rejected. This picture of the Old Testament Student Manual was already on Picasa.

 

Reading the scriptures has ruined my recreational reading though. I tried reading The Red Tent, a book that has been on my reading list for quite a while. It doesn't follow the King James Version & I didn't like what I was reading. No wonder Dinah was only given a line in the scriptures.

More quotes

More quotes from my Old Testament reading from ReadTheScrptures.com

"You can share your testimony in many ways, by the words you speak, by the example you set, by the manner in which you live your life."

--President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, May 2005, 115

Old Testament reading schedule

Since I have finished The Book of Mormon & I want to continue reading the scriptures daily, I turned to www.readthescriptures.com & created my own schedule. I want to read the Old Testament by Dec. 31, 2010. I did the math & that is 214 days. So, rather than have to figure out just what I'll be reading, when, the web site will do it for me. I read the first reading assignment tonight, Genesis 1-4.

I love reading online, it is easier for me than trying to follow the little print in the book.

I still haven't blogged about my trip to St. Louis, but it is coming.

Is it spring????????

Still reading The Book of Mormon daily. I've only missed one day out of 62. I am so proud of myself. I have to admit the website, Readthescriptures.com did not help. It was actually the little booklet I snagged at work, Read The Book of Mormon in 100 Days.

I was diligently keeping track of my reading on a spreadsheet saved on the network. Nick kept warning us that the hard drive was iffy & we'd better save our stuff. Of course, I kept thinking about it, but never did it. Now it's gone, sigh, along with several other spreadsheets.

I have been keeping up on ReadtheScriptures.com, cuz I like the quotes that are given. The quote for today was quite appropriate.

"If we are well prepared, death brings no terror. From an eternal perspective, death is premature only for those who are not prepared to meet God."
--Elder Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, May 2005, 18

My mother is terrified to die. I don't know why. You'd think she'd want to be with her husband, children & parents. I'll have to admit, I'm not ready to lose her.

On another note, Mufasa killed 2 chickens Sunday. We didn't find out until Sunday evening when we took dog food over. Kim wanted us to get the chickens out of the kennel. It was dark, so we couldn't see what the kennel looked like.

Nick & I were afraid to go over to clean up the kennel. We are used to cats & expected total carnage - blood, guts & feathers all over. We were pleasantly surprised to see this sight. I only took one picture because Mufasa was so excited to see us, he kept getting in the way.

The chickens flew into Mufasa's kennel Sunday morning. He played with them, chasing them & grabbing them & shaking them like a big rag doll. They'd squawk & he'd let them go, chase them & grab them again. Once their necks were broken & they were dead, he left them alone. They weren't fun anymore.

We couldn't get a rope around him & so I squeezed my way into the kennel. Once I was in there, Nick held the door shut so Mufasa couldn't get out. I put disposable gloves on so I could pick the chickens up & put them over the kennel wall into the garbage bag Steve was holding. The kennel is 6 feet tall. I am barely 5'2", so it was a reach, especially to hold my arm up high enough to get the chicken over the fence.

We had a plan. I would clean up the chickens & Nick would hold the dog. Steve came out to help us. It was a clean kill, so I didn't need to pick up feathers & guts. I had taken a scarf to put over my face so I wouldn't smell the chickens & gag cleaning them up. Mufasa didn't bother me. He kept trying to force his way out of the kennel. I'm so glad Nick was there to hold the door. Steve suggested feeding the dog so that I could get out without fighting him too.

I cut my arm squeezing into the kennel. It is a 2" cut on top of my right wrist. It bled quite a bit. I took the scarf I didn't need for my face & Nick tied it on quite tight. I almost said something about not needing a tourniquet, but didn't want to incense him. I did need the pressure to keep it from bleeding. I cleaned it up at Mother's. It seems quite superficial, so I did not go into the ER to have it stitched. Don-Mike came home & took over bandaging it. It hurts tonight. I am so glad it was my right arm & not the left. The left is the one I have lymphedema in & it could be quite serious if that arm were to become infected.

Do what you can

More thoughts from ReadTheScriptures.com

"Remember, tomorrow is connected with today, and what we do with today determines the tomorrow."
--Marvin J. Ashton, "The Time Is Now", Ensign, May 1975, 85

Very thought provoking. Not something I want to expound on, just want to find it for future reference.

And another one:

Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept of your effort."
--Gordon B. Hinckley, "Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You," Ensign, Nov. 1989, 94

Reading The Book of Mormon is a goal I actually thought I could achieve, but reading 144 books in 1 year?? That is actually "far beyond my capacity to achieve."

I am enjoying the Kindle4PC that I downloaded from Amazon.com I enjoy reading books on the computer. I can make the words bigger for my "old" eyes.

Everyone says how wonderful conference was this time. I didn't even listen or watch it, my bad. But, I'll read it, or watch it online. A Facebook friend, Muriel Garvis, posted this about conference:

Yes, and you can see all the conference as they keep an archive. Just go to the church web site. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Right on the front page you can see the video stream. You may have to download the program they suggest but it was so good. There are actually lots of other videos that the church puts out on this site.

Power of God's love

Another quote from readthescriptures.com. I am including this because of several incidents that happened today, both at home & at work.

"Filled with his love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others."
--Elder John H Groberg, "The Power of God's Love", November 2004 Ensign pg. 9

Nick was "cycling"  today. No, he didn't go out & bicycle, it was too cold & windy for that. Nick is a rapid cycler.

A cycle is the period of time an individual takes to go through one episode of mania and one of depression (or hypomania and depression).

A person can have bipolar disorder & only cycle once in a lifetime. Nick, however, has bipolar II. He can cycle several times in one day. Sometimes I have a hard time distinguishing between the Asperger's & bipolar, sigh.

Here is just one incident from a day that seemed fraught with "incidents." Nick was fine with me & just a few minutes later, he was "snippy" with Don. Don came back out of Nick's room & sat down at his computer in the front room. I tried to talk to him about the episode with Nick, but he said he was tired of being made to feel stupid. He  just sat at the computer with his head in his hands for a long time.

I am glad that I have two days off & that it is not a week with 2 production days. I don't think I could handle it.

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.

When things go wrong ...

"Remember that faith and obedience are still the answers, even when things go wrong, perhaps especially when things go wrong."
--Elder David E Sorensen, "Faith Is the Answer", May 2005 Ensign pg. 72

A thought from ReadtheScriptures.com Sometimes after having read 2-3 chapters of my scriptures, I don't feel like reading their thoughts, but if they are short, I will usually read them, & sometimes, like this one, it is so profound, I stop, read it again & then snag it to share.

Reading The Book of Mormon

So why am I reading The Book of Mormon when I should be reading the Old Testament?? Why am I observing Lent anyway? It's not something The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "does".

Well, for one reason, I've almost always marched to my own drummer. I'm fascinated with other religions. I studied for a year with the Jehovah's Witnesses. The bishop knew Mother & I were studying with them. Jehovah's Witnesses are more like us than different. I've since wondered if they aren't an off shoot of Mormonism.

In the 13th Article of Faith we read:

... If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Is Lent "praiseworthy"? A habit is supposedly created if we do something 21 times. Some studies show that it can take up to 2 months to create a habit. So, 6 weeks is a good stretch. By the time the 40 days of Lent, plus 6 Sundays, or 46 days is over, I should be well on my way to having scripture reading become a habit.

Now, how come I'm not following this year's course of study for Sunday School??? Well, that's simple. I hold the keys to the library, LOL. Don & I both do. We spend our Sundays in the library & do not attend Sunday School. Frankly, my dears, I forgot that was the course of study.**blush**

One day at one of my cancer check ups, Dr. Broadbent & I were talking about scriptures. I don't remember now what it was, maybe I blogged about it. But he said the only thing he remembered about Primary was when he was 8 years old, his teacher asked the question what "keys" Joseph Smith held. It was multiple choice & one of the choices was the "keys to the library", which he chose. He said the other kids snickered & the teacher had a hard time holding her face straight at his answer. He was embarrassed & still remembers it 60 years later. I told him I hold the keys to the library.

So, when the booklet for reading the BOM came in to the bookstore & I saw it, I snapped it up. I have a booklet like that floating around here somewhere, maybe, but I knew I wouldn't find it. I also have one of those Sunday School booklets with the reading assignments for the Old Testament floating around somewhere. I would be more apt to find it, than my old copy of the 100 days of BOM. But why would I want to do something so easy? LOL

Lent update

I couldn't post without at least tooting my own horn. I have read out of The Book of Mormon every night since Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17. I know that Janelle is reading with me. I know Sheila & Janene are also reading daily AND rooting for me. There are 8 days down & 32 to go.

Now, what should I fix for supper???

Avoid contention

On Wednesday I posted a quotation from Elder Groberg about avoiding contention, specifically:

"... avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others."

Today has been a contentious day. Tonight I read about Laman & Lemuel assaulting their brothers. Nephi & Sam had angels come to their rescue. I don't know who came to Don-Mike's & Nick's rescue. Nick came in the house & called his counselor & he told him to go over to his office. And he did. This is a biggie. Just a few years ago, someone would have gotten hurt. Of course, there were hurt feelings & tears. Days like today I try to stay away from Mother so she doesn't hear about what's going on. What's going to happen when the house is finished & she comes home? What's going to happen when these 2 young men are living under the same roof again???

Laman & Lemuel, even Sariah murmured.  I did some murmuring today too. Days like today I wonder why I ever cried because I couldn't have children. The Lord knew what he was doing when he gave Don & I only 2 children. I can't imagine having 4 more children.

Tender mercies of the Lord

Today's reading assignment was 1 Nephi 1-2. The question is: How have you experienced the tender mercies of the Lord?

My aunt Luana has been wanting to type her life history. She started typing it & lost her file AND her handwritten histories. I told her that I would be glad to teach her how to use her computer. So, two weeks ago we started. Her first assignment was to learn mouse control. Now, the best way to learn mouse control is to use the mouse. I assigned her to play Spider Solitaire. She hates it. One of the first things she said today as I walked in was how she hates the game.

We didn't have a class last week because she had some things to do. She played Spider Solitaire for 2 weeks. Instead of going over after Mother & I had lunch today, I asked if I could go over before I took Mother to have her hair done because I wanted to attend the hospice conference this afternoon at 1. I didn't get out of bed until 10:45 & I was supposed to be to Luana's at 11. I made it at 11:15. I was running late & forgot, until I got there, that I was going to take a box of papers. We used to do that when I worked for ISU teaching Monsanto employees. I used it when I taught outreach classes for Success Institute too. It's just a really good visual to have a box of loose papers & you can't find anything because they're not sorted or filed. Computer files can be like that too, unless you file them in folders.

I decided I'd just use a shelf of her computer desk to illustrate my point. I asked if she knew what was on the shelf. She said no. She got up & started sorting through the papers there. She found her histories!!! She said she has looked all over for them.

We were both excited over that find. Her assignment this week is to read about file management, computer terms AND to type on her history.

RS special interest group

"Filled with his love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others."
--Elder John H Groberg, "The Power of God's Love", November 2004 Ensign pg. 9

Another quote from Read the Scriptures.com

I'm off to another reading group. This time at a neighbor's house. They're reading something about Abraham Lincoln. I didn't read the book, just found out about the group at the first Let's Talk About It.

Fat Tuesday 2010

"Ours is the responsibility to show our gratitude by the actions of our lives." 

-Thomas S. Monson, "Gifts", Ensign, May 1993, 59

Today is Fat Tuesday, the end of Carnival or Mardi Gras & Lent begins tomorrow on Ash Wednesday. My decision was to read the scriptures daily for Lent. My cousin Janelle said she would read the scriptures with me.

Our bishop has challenged us to read The Book of Mormon by Memorial Day. OK, I checked that out, it is 104 days. At work the other day the bookstore had a project from one of the LDS wards. They had brought in a booklet, "Read The Book of Mormon in 100 Days" & wanted it copied & stapled to give to their Young Women. The new value of Virtue's Value Project is to read the entire Book of Mormon. I have a booklet somewhere that our ward Relief Society did a few years ago, but I can't find my copy. I took one of the booklets back to the copier & copied it for me & a coworker.

So, Janelle, Lent begins tomorrow, Feb. 17.

Reading schedule for the first four days for the BOM follows:

1. Read Preface (Title Page), Introduction, Testimony of Three Witnesses, Testimony of Eight Witnesses, Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith
2. Read Brief Explanation, 1 Nephi 1-2.
3. Read 1 Nephi 3-5
4. Read 1 Nephi 6-10

There are also thoughts & questions to ponder & places to write your responses.

Reading, reading, reading

I've been reading in The Book of Mormon every day. Yesterday at work I had to change desks & am now back in the editors' office. Not my favorite place to be, sigh, but necessary. I had nothing to do, wonder of wonders, & so I checked out the books on the shelf on my desk. I found this really cool book called Creative Typography. I also have a cookbook that I checked out from the Citizen. (There are several boxes of books, videos & CDs that are "demo only" & some advance reader copies.)

Today I stopped in at the library because I wanted to see where these 2 books fit in the Dewey Decimal system so that I could add them to my Dewey Decimal mini challenge. It almost looks like they are both in the 600 series.

While I was at the library I thought I'd get a schedule for their lecture series, Let's Talk About It, this winter for the calendar for the newspaper. Instead of just the calendar, I got a reading kit of 5 books. The topic sounds interesting, We Are What We Eat, food.

The lecture/discussion for the first one, Choice Cuts, is a week from Thursday. The book is going to be slow going. It's an anthology, billed as "A Savory Selection of Food Writing." There are 452 pages, so I broke it down into 56.5 pages a day.

I sat down this afternoon & made up 11-12 spreadsheets to keep track of my reading this year. I am reading three books at once, but don't think I'll make my 12 books this month. I keep trying to tell myself that if I just finish one mini challenge of 26 or 24 books or 2 of the 10 or 12 books, I'll be ahead of 2009.

I should be able to finish the Dewey Decimal challenge. The cookbook says it is 641.8 right by the ISBN number, so there is the 600 series. BOM will fit nicely in the 200 category, Religion. Creative Typography will fit in the 000 General Category under News Media, Journalism & Publishing. Choice Cuts can go in 800, Literature; and the biography I am reading will fit in the 900 category, Geography & History.

I have done my scripture reading, read at Choice Cuts & I have a headache. I'm going to take my meds & go to bed early.

What should I do for Lent?

Last year is the first year I observed Lent. I tried getting to bed by 11:30 every night. I went back & read last year's post & I knew at the beginning it would not work. I valiantly tried & it was a long six weeks.

A friend & I were talking about Mardi Gras. I wanted to know when it was this year because Easter is early this year. She didn't realize that Mardi Gras was linked to Lent.

Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Ash Wednesday is Feb. 17 this year.

Mardi Gras has to end on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. This was decided during the Nicene Council held in 325 AD. I took the following from a web site on Mardi Gras

These festivals - some of which can only be described as drunken orgies - existed across most lands that were being overtaken by the Christian Church, and like many other holidays and rites, the Church sought a balance between the old and new. Understanding that the party was not going to stop, the church placed limits on it, decreeing that it could not start until the finish of the Christmas holidays and had to end on the day before Ash Wednesday.

The finish of the Christmas season is the end of the 12 days of Christmas or Epiphany on Jan. 6. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is generally the last 5 day weekend before Ash Wednesday.

I've been thinking about things I could do for Lent again this year. I debated about posting a question on Facebook, thinking, what are my LDS friends going to think when I'm asking for ideas on Lent. I decided I didn't care, so I posted this:

Any ideas on what to give up for Lent?

There are 16 comments. Among those things suggested is worry, stress, doing dishes and laundry, TV, mountain climbing, exercise, money, computer games. One person suggested giving up bread or soda. She has given up both for a diet she is on. Someone else said, "I say give up soda."

A friend in Australia said:

lol... I usually give up alcohol but I've already given it up (trying to be healthy - I'm on Day 9 :) So don't know what I'll give up . You can always not "give up" anything as such but give money or time to a cause .

 There it is again, you don't have to give up anything. I had forgotten that little fact.

A friend in New York State said:

I once gave up tv...that was tough!

This same friend commented:

I like the idea of doing something, instead of giving something up. It's all about sacrifice, so if you are doing something that you don't normally do, that is kind of a sacrifice. Sacrifice the time you would have spent doing something else that you normally do to do something new - to benefit someone else, or to pray more, etc.

There was a fun little discussion that went like this:

• Jenny: my occasions of near sin? so I am leaving my family and going to a cloistered convent for 40 days. Oh wait, that probably is not a sacrifice.
• Kathy: Jenny can I go with you?
• Star: Oh Oh me too can I come?
• Jenny: LOL, yes
• RaNae: Add me to the cloistered convent gig, LOL.

To which I replied:

Love the ideas. Add me to the cloistered convent gig, LOL. I can't give up TV, I don't watch TV. Last year I tried to give up late nights, but that sucked. I couldn't do it, LOL. Stress & worry are great ideas, but don't know how to do that. My eyelid twitched for like 2 weeks solid, now I'm back to the migraines.

Mountain climbing, dishes, laundry, I can't give up something I don't do, LOL. I'll keep thinking. Keep sending ideas :)

After Monica's & Kathy's comments, especially Kathy's, I started thinking more about positives. I thought about listing things I'm grateful for. I thought about prayer. Kathy said to pray more. Prayer is something I do several times a day. The other night we were having a major meltdown. I just sat here very quietly. I was doing my usual praying. Sometimes I wonder if it is even prayer, it's incomprehensible. Nick was looming over me & I said, "I'm not ignoring you. I'm praying."


I thought of another friend that reads her scriptures every night before she goes to bed. I've sat in hotel rooms, me on the computer, she reading her scriptures. I know I'm lax in reading my scriptures. I went for months not even knowing where my scriptures were.

I've decided. I will read the scriptures daily. In fact, while I was still thinking about it, I went in to the scripture sight & changed my reading assignment. And started today. I know, I know! I'm a month early. But hey, this is supposed to be a lifetime habit is it not? I used to read my scriptures all the time, so I'll just get a head start on it.