Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Contrast

Art like this brings back memories of hearing these stories for the first time in the 1970’s from records and my mom reading from the illustrated Children’s Bible.

The story of Gideon is my favorite in the book of Judges. When I taught seminary, I remember shocking my early morning students by smashing a clay pot in my living room where we met, just like Gideon’s army smashed their pitchers. With trumpets, shattering pottery, lights, and voices, Gideon’s 300-man army surprised the host of sleeping enemies, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” and their enemy was destroyed. This might have been the only day my students left seminary more awake than when they arrived, except maybe the day we cast “stones” at a life-sized mural of Goliath.

This week as I studied Gideon’s story, I focused on two contrasting verses during the exchange between the angel of the Lord and Gideon about his call to deliver Israel, verses 12 and 15.

The Lord sees Gideon as a mighty man of valor, while Gideon sees himself as poor and unimportant. Pretty much my only takeaway this week from Bible study is enough: God knows who we truly are, who we were before we came to earth, and who we can become. He sends messengers to remind us that He is with us.

I have had a few messengers in my life who have helped me live with courage. One was a friend named Jody who told me that I had the capacity to homeschool my kids. Bishops and stake presidencies have also been messengers of the Lord’s confidence in me, and reminded me that the Lord would be with me. Perhaps the most common messengers are the people who trust me to listen to them and help them. When a friend opens her heart to me, I see this is as a call to valor. Today, we help rescue Israel one by one

Summer?

When Mark helps me decorate the kitchen for summer, we tend toward maximalism.

This cold week, I feel more like making a cozy beef stew than anything else. Truly, that’s on the menu tonight. So weird. We decorated for summer, despite the snow and nonsense. Summer decorations in the kitchen signal good times ahead.

We have another Carpenter

One evening last week, Mark and Richard worked to set up our new entertainment center downstairs. Mark wouldn’t let me come down until it was all complete, wires hidden and pieces all in place.

Mark designed and made this piece in woodshop this year. He enjoys working with wood so much that he deferred Drivers Ed to be in this woods class. (He’s taking Drivers Ed this summer.) He agonized over the details and specifications of his design throughout the year, and now he can enjoy his project every day.

Quilting in the kitchen

I am doing a little quilt work each day this week. I have set up my sewing station in the kitchen so I can come and go easily, or sew a few seams while I wait for something to cook. This strategy is working, and the blocks are stacking up.

This blog is the tiniest window into what I do and think. You certainly won’t learn about my stance on current events here. I hope that is refreshing.

Ramble

Richard and I spent time in Salt Lake City to celebrate our anniversary. The hills north of downtown were verdant and vibrant. These hills are usually straw yellow, but the grasses were young and bright.

The high school flags line the front of the school, the last concerts are over, and a new class graduates this week. Time is so compressed for me lately, it doesn’t feel like a year since Tim graduated. But then again, our lives are so different now, that time must have carried us to this new place. We certainly haven’t arrived at this end of another school year by any conscious, overriding plan of our own. We just kept working and kept moving, and here we are.

Here is an important quote I keep using as I see complexities in how to balance love of God and love of neighbor (thanks to my mom for this one),

“Ignoring the first commandment, or reversing the order of the first and second commandments, risks a loss of balance in life and destructive deviations from the path of happiness and truth. Love of God and submission to Him provide checks against our tendency to corrupt virtues by pushing them to the extreme. Compassion for our neighbor’s distress, for example, even when the suffering is brought about by his or her own transgression, is noble and good. But an unbridled compassion could lead us, … to question God’s justice and misunderstand His mercy.

“There are those, for example, who believe that loving others means we must twist or ignore God’s laws in a way or ways that advocate or condone sin.” (Christofferson, The First Commandment First, 2022 BYU Devotional)

I work in the yard each day, trying to reclaim sections of neglected areas. It’s so satisfying. Dirt outside and thread and fabric inside are my materials for work lately. In June, I will move to paint as my medium, as we cover more surfaces in my grand plan (many years old) to repaint every inch of the house.

Someone asked me what we are doing this summer. A wedding. Two family reunions. Drivers Ed. A trip to Yellowstone. High Adventure. Pioneer Trek. These are big events, and this is my last morning with Mark at school for a little while. I just keep moving and keep working, and here we are.

16th Birthday

We celebrated Mark’s 16th in every way we thought would make him happy. I hope he went to sleep with a smile. I am having trouble expressing what I want to say about Mark, so this won’t be a tribute post or a narrative about the day, but simply an imprint. He is so dear.

Some highlights from Mark’s 16th year: school musical, piano study, organist at church, Sparky’s friend, straight A student, cookie architect, skier, a light.

Deuteronomy

I thought of this quote by William Tyndale as I studied Deuteronomy this week.

This is a book worthy to be read in day and night and never to be out of hands. For it is the most excellent of all the books of Moses. It is also easy and light and a very pure gospel that is to wete [know], a preaching of faith and love: deducing the love to God out of faith, and the love of man’s neighbor out of love to God.”

William Tyndale

Some of my favorite words from Deuteronomy:

“Fear not, neither be discouraged.” (Deut. 1:21)

“God so nigh” (Deut. 4:7)

“Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)

“Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice.” (Deut. 4:36)

“Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut. 6:5)

“Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children…talk of them…in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deut. 6:7)

“Love ye therefore the stranger.” (Deut. 10:19)

“Open thine hand wide unto [thy poor brother].” (Deut. 15:7-8)

“Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee.” (Deut 26:11)

“Choose life…for he is thy life.” (Deut. 29:19-20)

“But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” (Deut. 30:14)

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Deut. 31:6)

“Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help.” (Deut. 33:29)

Do you have a favorite passage from your study? If you like, you can share in the comments or send me a message. I love to swap favorite scriptures.

herein lies the difference

I don’t believe in astrology, but I have noticed some noise about Mercury in retrograde? and something about a moon phase this week… Wouldn’t it be convenient if I could blame my blunders of the week on the planets and stars instead of my own flaws and mistakes? Richard has found me in a fetal position a few times this week, feeling so vulnerable about my choices and my words, even my opportunities. We face life together, and are dealing with many of the same things. But somehow, while I am still trying to muster energy to go to the grocery store, he has been able to get going and take Mark for a ride in the convertible to buy ice cream…at 9:00 am. I wish I could be more like Richard today.