Vaccines

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about health, nutrition and vaccines. If you ever had the smallest thought about them being dangerous or about their effectiveness I would recommend two very good books.

How To Raise A Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor by Robert S. Mendelsohn M.D.

Vaccines, Are They Really Safe & Effective by Neil Z. Miller

Happy reading!!!

Good Works #1

Record quiet acts of service I see in others and acknowledge their service in some meaningful way.

Mark is always helping out ward members in his ward. Most recently he has been helping his Bishop fix up a rental property because they are moving and need to sell it. Every time I talk to him, he is doing or has done something for someone in his ward. Last spring, he spent many hours helping with the flooding there in Fargo, mostly filling sand bags.

Amanda and Steve are always helping someone out. Often times we are the recipient of their quiet acts of service. Amanda is always thinking of ways to help someone.

Janice Piccolo visits Sister Lewis several times a week and takes her grocery shopping.

The Lynns' help Sister Lewis out by cleaning for her and doing little odd jobs around her house.

Dennis shovels the driveways and sidewalks most every time it snows.

Personal Progress: Divine Nature #1

What are some divine qualities of a daughter of god?
2 Peter 1
faith
virtue
knowledge
temperance
patience
godliness
brotherly kindness
charity
she that lacketh in these things are blind (spiritually), and she that do these things shall never fall (from a testimony of and faith in Jesus Christ)

Alma 7:23-24
humble
submissive
gentle
easy to be entreated
full of patience and long suffering
being temperate in all things
diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times
asking for whatsoever things I stand in need of both spiritual and temporal
always returning thanks unto God for the things I do receive
faith
hope
charity
always abound in good works

D&C 121:45
bowels full of charity towards all man
virtue garnish my thoughts unceasingly
then will my confidence wax strong in the presence of God and the doctrine of the priesthood distil upon my soul as the dews from heaven

The Family Proclamation
I was created in the image of God
I am the beloved spirit daughter of Heavenly parents, with a divine nature and destiny.
In the premortal realm I knew and worshipped God as my Eternal Father and accepted His plan to obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress to perfection and ultimately realize my divine destiny as an heir of eternal life.

How can I discover and develop each of these qualities:

First I had to look up virtue in the dictionary. I have heard this word so many times and wanted to make absolutely sure what it means.

Virtue: conformity to a standard of right; morality; strength; a particular moral excellence; an order of angels; a beneficial quality or power of things; valor; a commendable quality or trait; a capacity to act; chastity-especially in a woman.

The scripture comes to mind "Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies" paraphrased.

I am striving to have a moral excellence in my life, I am moral and chaste. I am constantly striving to be a virtuous woman.

I love learning and gaining knowledge.

I strive to be honest. A saying has really helped me and it goes like this: "are you going to let a nickel keep you out of heaven?" So when I owe someone any amount of money, or if the store gave me too much change, or I didn't pay for something I should have (no matter if it was my fault or the checkers) I think of this quote and do everything I can to remedy the problem.

I haven't always been temperate or patient. As I have gotten older I have improved, but it is something I am always working on. Much of the process is by gaining knowledge, praying for help and asking for forgiveness.

Brotherly kindness and charity are also areas that I am constantly working on. I know people who seem to have been born with the gift to be kind and charitable from birth, but I wasn't one of them. Some of the qualities of charity that I have struggled with are to not be easily provoked and to be long suffering. I definitely have room for improvement, but I am trying and that is what the Lord asks from each of us, that we keep trying.

I try to be diligent in keeping the commandments.

I truly believe in asking for whatsoever thing I need, whether it be spiritual or temporal.

I always thank Heavenly Father for my blessings, but I feel that I am kind of shallow in what I thank Him for. I actually prayed 2 nights ago (before studying this) to help me be more conscientious of all my blessings each day, so my nightly prayers can be more of thanksgiving. I tend to look at the big blessings and not recognize the little things. Often times when I hear other people pray I think to myself, "how to they think of those things to pray about, I can't ever think of that", then I try to remember what they said the next time I pray and can't remember. I know with the Lord's help I can improve in this area.

Always abounding in good works - I think I do this, at least I don't go around doing bad works. But I don't usually go out of my way to do good works. That is definitely an area that I need to work on. I am inclined to busy myself with things and projects and don't go looking for good works to do. If I am asked to do something, then I will do it, but I feel there is more to it than that. I know many good people who always seem to go out of their way to think of other people and do small random acts of kindness. To name just a few: Jeanette Dunn, Kellie Knowles, Betty Baker, Dawn Fox, Yeong-mi Phillips, LaDeena Peterson, Laura Pead, (these last two are Alisha's and Malinda's mother in laws). I appreciate the wonderful example of these great women.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to study this value. I know that I am a beloved daughter of God and that He loves me greatly, more than I can comprehend. One of my greatest desires is to become like Him and return and live in His presence. I am constantly striving for that goal by working on all these qualities.

Personal Progress: Knowledge #6

Memorize two of your favorite hymns. Learn the correct conducting pattern, and conduct them in a proper setting.

When I was 16 I memorized "There Is A Green Hill Far Away". One of the general authorities spoke about how memorizing a hymn would help us so whenever we had bad thought enter into our minds, we could start humming our song and that evil spirit would leave. At that time I drove my dad's old pickup and it didn't have a radio, so I would sing this song over and over all the time. It especially comforted me when driving in the dark.

Last year I started practicing the piano again for several months and memorizing some of the songs I was practicing.

"Come Follow Me" and "Did You Think To Pray"

I am thankful that I learned years ago how to lead the hymns and have had many opportunities over the years to lead whenever I was asked to or there was a need.

Personal Progress: Knowledge #5

Learn about an area of work or service that interests you.

I have been interested in alternative health for a few years now. At first I just listed to a radio program called "A Healthier You" on KSTAR 1400 AM on Saturday mornings at 9:00. Then I started doing research on particular topics of medical problems that I or my family had. Next I bought a few books and read them. Now I have enrolled in the School of Natural Healing which I am learning so much from. It is a two year course of home study and is excellent. It has made it all the more fun to do this with my daughter Amanda. I love learning! I love knowing that I am becoming prepared in such a way, that not only is this great information for everyday life, but in the event of a disaster when medical help for the masses is almost non existent I will know what to do to help my family and others. Since I have been learning about alternative health care, I have not had to go to the doctor in 3 years except to have cholesterol tests done. I am hoping that this last test I had on Friday will show that all the diet and exercise these past 18 months have proven successful in lowering and stabilizing my cholesterol and I won't have to go at all. I have seen my daughters use the information Amanda and I have learned and they now also haven't had to take their children to the doctor. They just know what to do when a child gets sick, and even better, what to do to keep them from getting sick. We started a book club in January so we can discuss with other people the important things that are in books written my medical doctors, that most other doctors don't want the masses to know. If everyone knew the things in these books, the doctors wouldn't make money.

Personal Progress: Divine Nature #2

Understanding and recognizing divine feminine qualities in ourselves and others. The young women are to ask their mother or another mother they admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother.

Some attributes I have seen in women I greatly admire, to name just a few: Sybel, my grandma, and Jeanette my dear friend

patient
soft of voice
uses everyday moments as teaching opportunities
show more love and less criticism
don't worry about what other people think, but only what the Lord thinks
charitable
always willing to help others, even when it is not convenient
always thinking of others


These are some of the attributes that I am still working on, but definitely lacked when raising my kids. I am thankful for the great examples of these two women and of many others that the Lord has placed in my life.

I am grateful to be a woman, mother and grandmother and will continue striving to be better. The best thing about being a grandma is that I can recognize all the mistakes I made with my children and not make them with my grandchildren. I can love them more unconditionally and see that things will work out alright with patience and LOVE. Lots of LOVE!!!

Personal Progress: Faith - Tithing

I can remember back when I struggled with paying my tithing. We were a young family and barely made ends meet. It wasn't something I was taught very strongly growing up, and with Dennis being a convert at 19, it was a new concept for him as well. We would pay for awhile, then when life got hard, we would quit, then felt we had to pay back tithing and couldn't afford to do that, and so the battle rage on within us. Finally we had a Bishop that got through to us. He read us the scripture in Malachi 3:8-11
Will a moan rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

Bishop Harding promised us that if we paid our tithing first, we would always be blessed with what we needed and this scripture would be fulfilled in our lives.
Ever since that time we have paid our tithing and we have been blessed. We have not been without our struggles (remember the post about prayer when I quit my job on faith?).
In the beginning we paid our tithing on our very humble faith and the tremendous faith of Bishop Harding. But as time when on we have developed a strong testimony of tithing and now don't ever think of it as a burden, but as a blessing. The Lord has blessed us with everything, absolutely everything, and all He asks in return is a mere 10% to keep His Gospel and this church going forward. I was glad for this opportunity to read this scripture again, as it brought back these memories and I could reflect on how much I have grown these many years.

Personal Progress: Faith - Learn more about the Sacrament

For the past 3 weeks I have been pondering during the sacrament as value #4 says to do. I try to do this every Sunday, but I wanted to make a very concerted effort this time. I love the sacrament hymns as they always set the tone for receiving the emblems of bread and water. As hard as I try to ponder and focus, I find that I am easily distracted. When I close my eyes it is even worse, as I tend to fall asleep or my mind really wanders all over the place. I get as far as thinking about what I might have done during the past week that I need to ask forgiveness for in my prayers, and then try to think of ways I can improve. Then my mind just starts to wander. One week I sat in the choir seats all meeting because the choir was singing. I didn't dare close my eyes as I could easily fall asleep and anyone looking would see my head bobbing. If I looked out in the congregation then I would see particular things that would make me wander like: oh look at that pretty dress, or that child is being kind of rowdy...I'm sure you get the drift. Today, there was a toddler that kept crying. I felt for the poor parents, as they tried and tried to calm him down, but he was having none of it. Having been there as a young mother with small children, I remember how awkward it is to wonder, do I stay with this crying child so I can take the sacrament, or do I take him out and risk missing out. Finally the poor mother took the crying toddler out. I noticed that I was having a really hard time focusing and when the sacrament prayer was said, I was trying so hard to focus on it, but the crying child was so loud, it drowned out the words. After he was taken out, I noticed a tremendous difference. One thing I noticed in particular is that the Spirit is truly felt in quiet times. It is much harder to feel or recognize the Spirit when there is noise around us. I have believed for a long time that Satan uses noise to distract us. It is an easy tool for him to use on us and we must be very careful in our every day lives because we tend to fill them with popular music, Television, IPods blaring in our ears and just general noise from cars, crowds, etc. I have found that when I take some time every day and put on some quiet relaxing music I feel so much better. I am thankful for this personal progress value to help me try once again to focus more on the sacrament and constantly work on keeping my mind focused.

January Blues? No Time for the blues!

January was a blur. In the past I always looked forward to January as a time to do crafts and sew. A time to relax, refresh and renew after a hectic holiday season which at our house seems to stretch from October to the end of January. I was looking forward to a nice calm relaxing January this year as well, but it just wasn't meant to be. Here are some of the things that have kept me busy:

1. I am taking an online course called "The School of Natural Healing" It is a 2 year course and there is a lot of reading involved as well as getting together with a study group to watch the videos on the computer, fill out worksheets, and have discussions.

2. I started a 12 week class to learn how to use the new embroidery software I got. Plus there is a homework assignment every week.

3. I made a quilt and pajamas for my grandsons birthday.

4. I belong to 2 book clubs and have been busy trying to keep up on all the reading.

5. To support my daughter Alisha, I joined her choral group (in Payson no less) with my other 2 daughters and we practice once a week.

6. I also started going to our ward choir after a 3 or 4 year hiatus.

7. I started cleaning out my basement. Started is the key word, but I did get rid of a lot of stuff and cleaned out some closets, but the contents now sit on the bed waiting to be reassigned.

8. I have tended my sweet grandkids.

9. Spent one day in wedding activities for my nieces wedding (of which it was a delight and honor to be included. Thanks Kim, it was a lovely day!

10. I started working on personal progress.

11. Every Saturday I went to a 4 hour class on how to improve your brain. Plus the homework from the classes.

Whew, that made me tired just thinking of it all. Now that February is here, life still won't settle down any. All the classes and schooling are ongoing, except for the brain class which ended, but there will now be some other things associated with it, I'm just not sure yet what they are. The Payson choral group goes through Easter, and there are always books to be read. I hope to get the basement finished (cleaned and organized), several craft projects that I really want to do, and gardening to get ready for (I just started a 6 week gardening class). I think I need more hours in a day, and more days in the week. But I love it all, because it keeps my mind and body active.