Here is a great idea for a date night treat published on a blog I sometimes read...

A quick desert for two entitled ~ 5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

I suggest you add vanilla ice cream and 2 spoons put in a rented or owned video for a simple date night idea, and you don't even have to leave the house (which for me right now is a given... cause I can't even stay out of bed for an hour at a time yet)... it may not be everyone's idea of great but it struck me as a winner!

water please...

Wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to inconvenience others??? In the last week as I have been recovering from surgery I have periodically needed something, but was in too much pain to move or just felt bad enough that I wished I had a little robot so that I didn't have to inconvenience my family members who have been helping me...

Today I am finally feeling like my abdomen has not just been hit by a baseball bat... (and I mean a really big hitter, going after a home run...) I was as prepared as anyone could possible be for my hysterectomy, and yet the pain levels I have dealt with have been much greater than I was ready for... even a week later blowing my nose takes psyching up for, coughing is nearly impossible... and sneezing create a fear stiff enough to make me go into panic mode... because I am so afraid of the pain... It still requires all my energy and personal determination to get up for a glass of water... to use the bathroom... and to even eat. I dose day and night... but it's not been a restful-like dosing... more like hoping for the bad thing to go away, but feeling it there, just below the surface...

At least today I can say that the pain is at last starting to fade... I am taking a lot less pain medication now (over the last 24-48 hrs) and I am hoping that will also help my body to feel better... I do not tolerate pain medications well, they cause unusual reactions in me that others do not always have... so while they are necessary, I use them, but I am always more than ready and very willing to cut back and/or give them up entirely. I think it is a situation where they tend to build up in my system and leave me feeling groggy and irritable...

Anyway, I am starting to come up for air... to all my friends and family that have expressed good wishes and said prayers... thank you...

feasting on the Sabbath...

Even though we realized there was a chance we would be taking this week off from class I spent some time working on the lesson earlier in the week, before surgery... then when it was obvious on Friday after I got home from the hospital that expecting to feel up to attending church only 4 days after a major abdominal surgery was an overly ambitious goal... [chuckling] I called and arranged to take the week off... Sometimes I am so dense...

Nevertheless I kept working on the lesson and this morning I thought I would share a few areas that I explored in my personal studies...

Sister Allred's General Conference talk from last October is a wonderful overview for anyone just learning about the temple... I am sending it to the members of our class, as this week's "absent teacher" handout... I wanted everyone to have something new to lift them during the next week... We have all been enjoying this class so much together and I feel sorry to miss the enrichment my own spirit enjoys... Our class discussions have been really wonderful each week.

I also want to share here a talk President Faust gave almost 11 years ago. This talk is one that I have carried around for a while in my PDA... and it is especially speaking to me the last few weeks as I work at preparing myself over and over to help others learn about their own goals for temple attendance... to better understand the temple's importance in my own life... and to reach out to my own husband and children in love and devotion. Temple covenants have and should help me to connect my heart to each person I love more fully...

I remember in particular that this idea (the following quoted text) really jumped out at me when I first heard it given in April 1998... and as I was reading and studying the last few days... and thinking about family challenges that I know are being faced within my immediate and much larger/more extended family... I am overwhelmed by by Heavenly Father's love for us... He gives us the tools to love everyone we come in contact with... personally I realize I spend most of my days thinking these tools are harder to use than they really are...

Elder James E. Talmage affirmed that the true believer, “with the love of God in his soul, pursues his life of service and righteousness without stopping to ask by what rule or law each act is prescribed or forbidden.”

In a world where we and our families are threatened by evil on every side, let us remember President Hinckley’s counsel: “If our people could only learn to live by these covenants, everything else would take care of itself.”

Faithful members of the Church who are true to their covenants with the Master do not need every jot and tittle spelled out for them. Christlike conduct flows from the deepest wellsprings of the human heart and soul. It is guided by the Holy Spirit of the Lord, which is promised in gospel ordinances. Our greatest hope should be to enjoy the sanctification which comes from this divine guidance; our greatest fear should be to forfeit these blessings. May we so live that we may be able to say, as did the Psalmist: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.”

at home to recuperate...

I will be more polly-normal in a few days... until then I am taking some time off. I am going to plug in a movie or two and veg through this irritating post-op pain... it's a bit harder to get around without all those special extras like a hospital bed with handles to use for repositioning... not to mention on demand help when I needed it... When you have to interrupt a loved one's current task... you tend to second guess your own needs... I really appreciate all the love and prayers directed to our family...

My family and friends are terrific, and I know I will heal very fast, and I already feel some relief in some areas! ;)

the day after...

You always forget how hard that first time standing UP is going to be after abdominal surgery. (I use the term "up" in it's loosest translation...)

Years ago, I had all my children by C-Section... each one was a bit harder than the one before... nevertheless it's been nearly 19 years since Son2 was born... and... WOW... let me just say that it is a good thing that I was not actually expecting that much pain getting up after or I would have chickened out, for sure... he he... OH... and thank the heavens for a wonderful doctor that believes in pain medication on demand after this procedure!!!

All in all, I am doing okay now, it's just that first time, that is the worst... now I am just moving VERY slowly and carefully. I really appreciate all the prayers and offers of help once I get home... I know they have made/will make a world of difference... and, I selfishly ask you to keep up the good thoughts...

...Mom made it just fine through surgery. More later from her as she feels up to it.

personal note...

After many months of issues, (years actually) lots of research, and several doctors opinions... my hysterectomy is finally taking place this afternoon... Originally hubby and I wanted this surgery to happen in November, then the target date was moved to December... unfortunately because of his accident we had to postpone that date to the end of February or early March...... The decision to again revised the date to "now" was made possible only 2 weeks ago, because hubby is doing so well again and is back to working his regular schedule...

It is anticipated that I will only be in the hospital 2 days/nights... nevertheless because of some specific health risks I have, that time frame may be just a bit longer... It is my intention to get messages out, via my phone and/or kindle, and with the help of my family... I have spent some time and energy the last little while setting up and testing out mobile update options... my family will help me update this blog and other networking options (email and facebook)... the first info those interested will receive will be a short message that everything went just fine, as expected... someone will certainly text family/close friends who we have that contact info for... Later as I am feeling more awake and no doubt in need of a distraction, I will try to pass on more info...

We have lots of hope (my doctor feels especially confident...) that this surgery will eliminate several pressing and chronic issues I have been dealing with, for these many, many months... but in any event, my female problems are simply creating so many variables we don't really know where they end and my disease issues begin, so this is a step that will separate all of that, and help define our questions... most importantly we hope that this step will give us more answers in the long run... We feel that this is the right choice for me... and I will personally be very glad when it is all over.

Thanks in advance for the prayers that will be said...

feasting on the Sabbath...

This week as I was preparing to help teach the temple prep class again, I was re-reading a few dedicatory prayers from some of the temples that I have been to or would very much like to go to... I found the Dedicatory Prayer from the Nauvoo Temple to be so poignant, and thought I would share with anyone that was unaware that these prayers are available for study.

Prayers that are given at temple dedications are revelatory in nature... I need to remember that...
Photo: © 2005, Scott Cannon./link
(...written in advance of posting)

From hubby

This was the outside of the gift bag that hubby used to deliver a Jasmine candle and card, plus another treat... He is very sweet... always...

~posted by mobile text

to quote...

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

to quote...

~ Oscar Hammerstein II

A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it,

A song's not a song 'til you sing it,

Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay,

Love isn't love 'til you give it away!" -

to quote...

~Celine Dion

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through through it all

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you

[Chorus]You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me

be my valentine...

We don't do much for Valentine's Day, normally... we both see it as a made up holiday to sell stuff neither of us need or want... We try throughout the year to express love and affection daily, so really... who needs society to tell us when to show our love...??? Still hubby is off the next two nights so we are going to dinner tonight for a date night... and my next few days of days of posts will be Valentines to him... just because I can...

Everyone else (all 2 or 3 readers... he he...) can take a break... [wink]

snow!!!

I know that for those of you that get LOTS of snow this is not a big deal... but for us this is quite a bit of snow... We got approximately 6 inches total in the area that we live in (AZ high desert)... and according to the radio the roads are snow packed and extreme care is encouraged.

The roads were slushy and slick when Hubby went to work last night at about 8:30 pm... the equipment that our county has for snow removal is limited so it took him a while, driving between 10-20 mph all the way. I am still waiting to hear if he is going to Son1 & Sweetee's to sleep, since they live very close to where he works... I suspect his relief may have been late this morning, a lot of people in this area are CA transplants and they don't know how to drive in the white stuff, and they also never give themselves enough time to get places when road conditions are unusual... Kind of irritating...

Here are a couple pictures out our front door about 7:15 this morning...


Last night there was only a 2 hour delay reported for the schools, but I am wondering if they closed them, as I said snow removal is slow, we just don't have enough equipment because while we get snow, it doesn't usually stick...

UPDATE ~ Picture out the back window about 8:15 am; schools closed.


Final update 8:45 ~ Hubby home safe and headed for bed. Sun is out and melting as I type... He had a great time driving home from work this morning... he knows what he is doing/learned to drive in MN/UT... but there were lots of nuts off the roads between here and work he said... we will stay home and snowed in, thank you very much...!

feasting on the Sabbath...

My feast this week comes from studying two peripheral topics I was lead to, which are related to my lesson for Sunday... I have to share, that while I usually feel inadequate as a teacher... teaching is often a vehicle for which the Lord uses to teach many of us the most... Preparing a lesson is a great study tool...

This quote is not something that I will use in class (mostly because we always run out of time just covering the lesson material, so there isn't time to introduce much extra material, and I don't want to confuse or sidetrack our discussion...) But I will possibly include it at the end of the handout I make to send home after class each week for personal study. I like to send home the list of scriptures from the manual, because sometimes we can't get to all of them in class... I encourage class members to re-read through them again during the week, as a follow through in preparation for the next week...

Also, I want to note this quote in my journal... and I want share it with family and friends... I consistently find, that the more I study... the more I trust in the Lord, the more I remember that the gospel is a safety net for my heart and mind... The more I understand that the subjects I study dovetail one another, to help me gain understanding...

True Faith

“The just shall live by faith,” we are told in holy writ. I ask again, What is faith?

Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father. Without all three—first, absolute confidence; second, action; and third, absolute conformity—without these three all we have is a counterfeit, a weak and watered-down faith. Let me discuss each of these three imperatives of faith.

First, we must have confidence in that which we cannot see. When Thomas finally felt the prints of the nails and thrust his hand into the side of the resurrected Savior, he confessed that he, at last, believed.

“Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

Peter echoed those words when he praised early followers for their faith in Jesus the Christ. He said:

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

Second, for our faith to make a difference, we must act. We must do all that is in our power to change passive belief into active faith, for truly, “faith, if it hath not works, is dead.”

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley raised a voice of warning to the Saints of this Church as well as to the world at large. He uttered that same warning last night at priesthood meeting. He said: “I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order. So many people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings. … I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people.”

Brothers and sisters, when these prophetic words were uttered, some faithful members of the Church mustered their faith and heeded the counsel of the prophet. They are profoundly grateful today that they did. Others perhaps believed that what the prophet said was true but lacked faith, even as small as a grain of mustard seed. Consequently, some have suffered financial, personal, and family distress.

Third, one’s faith should be consistent with the will of our Heavenly Father, including His laws of nature. The sparrow flying into a hurricane may believe that he can successfully navigate the storm, but the unforgiving natural law will convince him otherwise in the end.

Are we wiser than the sparrow? Often what passes for faith in this world is little more than gullibility. It is distressing to see how eager some people are to embrace fads and theories while rejecting or giving less credence and attention to the everlasting principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is distressing how eagerly some rush into foolish or unethical behavior, believing that God will somehow deliver them from the inevitable tragic consequences of their actions. They even go so far as to ask for the blessings of heaven, knowing in their hearts that what they do is contrary to the will of our Father in Heaven.

How do we know when our faith conforms to the will of our Heavenly Father and He approves of that which we seek? We must know the word of God. One of the reasons we immerse ourselves in the scriptures is to know of Heavenly Father’s dealings with man from the beginning. If the desires of our heart are contrary to scripture, then we should not pursue them further.

Next, we must heed the counsel of latter-day prophets as they give inspired instruction.

Additionally, we must ponder and pray and seek the guidance of the Spirit. If we do so, the Lord has promised, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”

Only when our faith is aligned with the will of our Heavenly Father will we be empowered to receive the blessings we seek. (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Shall He Find Faith on the Earth?,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 82)

(...written in advance of posting)

friends...

Most of us have friends... and most of us lean on those friends from time to time... It's one of the things that friendships are made of... it is a good thing... and often friendships become so important to us, that those friends become as close as family... It is a really nice thing that happens, sometimes...

Last evening we spent some hours having dinner and visiting with Son1 & Sweetee... no special occasion, just an evening together... It was a nice break and loads of fun... We laughed A LOT... (the men talked shop... which tends to happen when you get a nurse and a nursing student together...) we talked about houses, mutual friends, and extended family... we caught up on members of Sweetee's family which has become an extension of ours, it's really nice... we talked about a few plans on the horizon... jobs, school, food, pets, and a dozen other topics... It was so much fun...

We have done this with our other kids too... occasionally we can get most of the family in one place... but we have to take these opportunities to get together a few at a time, because we are all busy and scattered a bit right now...

I realized as we were driving home that for me, my ability and comfort in leaning on my family for support and love is growing... as our children grow and mature they are a frequent source of strength and emotional support... They are there to pray for us and we are gaining so much from that relationship... At some point children become not just family members but good friends too... What a lovely thing that is... I also recognize that not all families have these blessed opportunities or relationships...

In another time, I remember sitting with my own parents and just enjoying the moments when we were no longer just parents and children, but we could be friends too... and I wondered to myself if that day would ever come with my then young and needy children... Well, I am here to say that life comes full circle, if you are blessed to see it... For me the time has arrived that I see myself as my parents probably saw themselves and I see my children in a whole new light as the future, already arrived...

It's just plain COOL...!!!

Monday's musings...

This week will be a busy one... I have a plan in place to get some organization done before surgery later this month. Hubby is back to work in full swing and everyone else is working/in school as well...

I would really like to start baking again too... Hubby has missed the fresh breads. I love making ciabatta, so I think I will start with that today, small loaves make good sandwiches for hubby to take to work (the bread doesn't crumble...) and morning toast is great with this bread... Later this week we have pasta on the menu so I will make some rosemary peasant bread like Macaroni Grill serves.

A couple loafs of multi-grain should fill out the week's needs and keep us all happy... course if we go over to Son1 and Sweetee's on Thursday, I always like to take something to them, their busy schedules don't allow for much baking... maybe another ciabatta baking day on Thursday too?

I feel so happy today... I have learned to just accept this as a gift and not try to analyze these moments... I didn't make it to my aunt's funeral, and that was disappointing, but this morning my personal scripture study was filled with very positive thoughts... I love the gospel... I love my husband and children... I love life.

feasting on the Sabbath...

Hubby and I are teaching the temple preparation classes in our ward currently... As I have been preparing this week's lesson several quotes touched me very much and I looked up the references for the original text... The following words from a First Presidency Ensign message printed in 1994 are ideas I want to give much more thought to, in my own life...

Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve said:

“Temple work … gives a wonderful opportunity for keeping alive our spiritual knowledge and strength. … The mighty perspective of eternity is unraveled before us in the holy temples; we see time from its infinite beginning to its endless end; and the drama of eternal life is unfolded before us. Then I see more clearly my place amidst the things of the universe, my place among the purposes of God; I am better able to place myself where I belong, and I am better able to value and to weigh, to separate and to organize the common, ordinary duties of my life, so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the greater things that God has given us” (Conference Report, Apr. 1922, pp. 97–98).

***

President Howard W. Hunter continued:

"Truly, the Lord desires that His people be a temple-motivated people. It would be the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church be temple worthy. I would hope that every adult member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend, even if proximity to a temple does not allow immediate or frequent use of it.

Let us be a temple-attending and a temple-loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not only for our kindred dead, but let us also go for the personal blessing of temple worship, for the sanctity and safety which is provided within those hallowed and consecrated walls. The temple is a place of beauty, it is a place of revelation, it is a place of peace. It is the house of the Lord. It is holy unto the Lord. It should be holy unto us.....

But to have the temple indeed be a symbol unto us, we must desire it to be so. We must live worthy to enter the temple. We must keep the commandments of our Lord. If we can pattern our life after the Master, and take His teaching and example as the supreme pattern for our own, we will not find it difficult to be temple worthy, to be consistent and loyal in every walk of life, for we will be committed to a single, sacred standard of conduct and belief. Whether at home or in the marketplace, whether at school or long after school is behind us, whether we are acting totally alone or in concert with a host of other people, our course will be clear and our standards will be obvious.

The ability to stand by one’s principles, to live with integrity and faith according to one’s belief—that is what matters. That devotion to true principle—in our individual lives, in our homes and families, and in all places that we meet and influence other people—that devotion is what God is ultimately requesting of us. It requires commitment—whole-souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given. If we will be true and faithful to the Lord’s principles, then we will always be temple worthy, and the Lord and His holy temples will be the great symbols of our discipleship with Him." (The Great Symbol of Our Membership, Ensign, Oct 1994, 2)

(...written in advance of posting on Sunday)