Church – Page 24 – Letters from Home

Some links from October

Here are some links to articles that have given me something to think about this month.

“Fundamental to looking after someone is finding where they came from and what they need.” This service to displaced women in Iraq really touched me.

Some of the benefits of writing are shared in this article. For the first two links, I thank Catherine.

This piece describes what it’s like to be a high school student, and it’s not about peer pressure and drugs. It’s about teacher-student relationships and restricted movement.

Mark and I needed these graphics a few weeks ago to show relative sizes of objects in the solar system.

Stephanie led me to this article that turned my heart. Go ahead and give those tall boys some candy on Halloween.

If you need a smile, here are some monsters for your Halloween delight, drawn by second graders and embellished by high school students. Brilliant! This one was from Russ.

Today these two boys spoke in church. It was Timothy’s last Primary program. How did that happen? We really enjoyed hearing all of the children speak and sing for us, but there is something special about being able to claim a few of them as our own.

Each boy carefully wrote and memorized his part. They were confident and prepared.

Here is a small quote from each boy today:

In our pre-mortal life we had free agency. Before we were born we chose to follow the Savior.

Satan had a different plan. He wanted everyone to follow him and be forced to obey. This is a bad plan because we wouldn’t be able to choose for ourselves.

The earth was made so we could gain bodies and be tested. It’s important to make our own choices on earth because it tests our faith. If we make good choices, we can be with Heavenly Father and our families in heaven.

-Mark, age 8

Part of the plan was that the Savior would die for us. This helps us all the time, at school, at home, and everywhere. We can repent and always have a good example to follow in Jesus Christ.

Part of the plan is to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has helped me in my life. I have learned that I can pray before tests and things I have to do at school and other places. When I do this, I am reassured that I will do well. Every time I have done this, I have passed the test. When we are sad, the Holy Ghost can comfort us. I know that the Savior understands what we are going through and helps us return to Heavenly Father.

-Timothy, age 11

Happenings

1-DSC_2292 — Just a smattering of thoughts today, readers.

1-DSC_2290 — These super hero prints were a gift to the kids from the artist, Josh Talbot. We bought my new violin from his wife.

1-DSC_2295 — I love pumpkins, and pumpkins from a friend are especially nice.

1-DSC_2291 — Photo is from Halloween 2006

There are fewer costumes to get ready for Halloween this year. When I think back to the years when we coordinated costumes for the kids, I feel thankful that we made those memories. Super Heroes, The Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars were my favorite themes. I spent a little time sewing Halloween bunting over the fall break. Mark has been my helper to decorate the house. One day he spent an hour wrapping little skeletons in t.p. so they would look like mummies. He emphasized to me that the mummies are NOT for the house, but special for his room. Mark and I found this to be a mutually agreeable use for the mummies.

1-IMG_20141017_174447 — Mark told us that he didn’t need help with his tie. Okay.

The kids had a piano recital this weekend. Paige played the Mendelssohn Concerto in g minor op. 25, 1st movement. Daniel played Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin and a nice contemporary concerto called Concerto Bravo by Olsen. Timothy played Bach’s Solfeggietto and a piece called Frenzy. Mark surprised us again with very expressive dynamics in Spy Bot (He’s a real showman!) and amazed us with his speed at playing Cinnamon Popcorn. The older kids who played concertos were accompanied by their teacher, who spent a lot of extra time working with them on their pieces. She’s in the photo with the kids.

1-DSC_2297 — Mark’s measurement robot. I can’t tell you how many times this robot comes to my mind when I am working in the kitchen.

Home school with Mark is comfortable, sweet, and a joy. I’m savoring the time with him. Our studies follow a familiar path through ancient history, math facts, science, and writing. With each child, however, there is zeal for different favorite subjects and I enjoy seeing Mark’s personality and strengths emerge as we work on projects. Mark is good company, and we have the best conversations, and by that I mean we talk through a depth and breadth of his thoughts about super heroes, Star Wars, planets, Calvin and Hobbes, and Harry Potter. I write down some of the things he says as a keepsake of this time together.

On another front…

I find sharing my faith on Facebook to be very tricky. I admire people who can share concise, genuine statements about their testimonies. One thing I am thinking about is how to convey my testimony more effectively (online, among friends) without sounding like a Puritan or shaking so much in my boots. I posted the following paragraph on Facebook, but didn’t get any “LIKES” from my friends of other faiths. Does this mean I sounded like a Puritan to them? Who knows.

The LDS missionaries in our area needed some teaching practice so they picked our family. I loved how they taught and shared their love for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I wish I had invited someone to join us. Next time you see the missionaries, consider listening to their message with an open heart and mind. It will make your day. Their message is the most important part of my life.

Do you have thoughts about sharing your faith online?

I write this as the missionaries sit outside with Richard at a correlation meeting. They are around our house a lot. I am NEVER prepared when they come. One day I walked into the kitchen after showering, looking for a hair brush in my purse. It wasn’t until I had loaded the dishwasher while sporting wet, messy hair that I noticed that the missionaries were in the next room watching me make a fool of myself. Today they have to sit outside because every living area in the house is full of toys and friends. I just never know when they are going to show up.

This is probably one reason people respond well to online missionary work. I just need to learn how to do it better. Really, do you have suggestions?

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner Take 2

We hosted another Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner party last week. This time there were 21 people at our house. I set 3 lovely tables in autumn colors but didn’t take pictures. We served pasta and played “Heads Up” on my mom’s iPad. If you haven’t tried this game, you should.

A Funeral Today

They sat on the back row of the chapel, feet crossed neatly in the aisle where people walked into sacrament meeting in my parents’ ward. They were a long line of widows and a few elderly couples. Their well-set hair and brightly-colored tailored jackets were predictable parts of the scenery at church. They may have sat at the back of the chapel to distance themselves from perfumes, infants throwing Cheerios, or just because that is where they always sat. I think they sat there for the view.

Every week I knew that they were watching me and everyone else who walked into church. They were the silent cheerleaders in my life, and a smile was their greeting. I was surprised at how they knew my name or occasionally singled me out to talk about something, even years later when I would visit my parents’ ward during college or after I was married and living out of state. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course they knew me! They had watched me walk into church my whole life. They were my in-town grandmothers that I saw every week, unlike my own grandmothers that I would see only a few times a year.

My parents live in the same house they bought when I was two. They haven’t been to church in their ward in seven years because of missionary assignments. Eventually when their missionary service is over, they will go back to a ward that no longer has a long line of elderly women on the back row. I think that will be difficult for them. Their mentors and friends are almost all gone now.

We lost another of our grandmothers from the back row last week. Her name was Pat and instead of working on my “to do list” today, I decided to attend her funeral. She is one of the last of a beautiful group of friends who raised children together, served in the Relief Society together, and grew old together. I just had to go today so I could see a few of their faces again.

It was the right thing to do. I wanted to honor the steady influence she and the others have had in my life. Although this sister was unwell and unable to attend the temple for years, she renewed her temple recommend faithfully. The last temple recommend interview was just a few weeks before her death and she asked that they place her recommend in her hand before her burial.

This is the caliber of women with whom I attended church in my childhood. I was influenced by them when I was young, and memories of them make me want to be a better person now. They are angels to me because they watched over me… Sister Dunford, Sister Axelgard, Sister Asay, Sister Christensen, Sister Whittle, Sister Carter, Sister Hanna, Sister Stone, Sister Holcomb, Sister Davies, Sister Peterson, and more… (Only one from this list is still living.) Thank you for being my in-town grandmothers, steady, beautiful, and true to the faith.

His grace is sufficient.

Post-edit note: Thank you for your prayers and kind words. I was calmer than I have ever been while playing in public, and that was a miracle in my life. The arrangement and my accompanist were amazing and I feel good about the song. I want to clarify that I love my “student violin” because it has done its job: I have learned to play the violin and I have had many wonderful experiences with music with it under my chin! The negative things that someone told me about my violin were not solicited. I have never asked someone to find fault with my instrument. Violin people can be snobby. I don’t want to sound snobby! I didn’t intend my words about the violin to be seen as a complaint, but to emphasize that we are all imperfect “instruments” that God chooses to use for His purposes and our benefit. Isn’t it great to look back on a difficult task and see the hand of God strengthening you though it? He loves us.

I love public speaking. I love presenting lessons. But I don’t get to do that very often. I feel like Alma in The Book of Mormon when he said, “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people.”

Later he acknowledges that he “sin[s] in his wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted to me.” (Alma 29:1, 3)

Some of my zeal for speaking and teaching comes from pride in one of my talents. Some of it comes from the power of testimony. However, I am learning for myself what Moses and others have learned: God doesn’t always ask us to use our best talents. Sometimes (most often?) we are asked to act in one of our weak areas.

Instead of teaching, I am asked to share my testimony with a student violin and with a smaller talent that I struggle to find time to nurture. Instead of the favored path of hours of study and writing, I am asked to practice the violin, which is monotonous and lacks vistas of great thinking from favorite authors. (I should probably spend more time marveling at the work of the great composers I am practicing.) It also reminds me constantly of where I need to improve.

I have struggled with insecurity in my abilities. It wasn’t always this way. I just got out of practice. So, I resolved last year to practice the violin more often. I don’t enjoy practicing, but my confidence in playing in public is increasing, and my skills are better. I have also learned to ask people to pray for me.

My instrument is still old and needs new strings, a new bridge, and some repair. I’ve been told that no matter what I do, I won’t be able to play any louder on this instrument. So be it. I have learned that although imperfect, my violin playing is an acceptable sacrifice and God’s grace is sufficient to overcome my fears. (Ether 12:27)

Perhaps the greatest gift in being asked to play the violin in public is that it forces me to come out of myself and my securities, and the raw faith of that act may have greater effect on the hearts of others than my words would ever have. I’m not so selfish to think that it’s all about me. I really hope to bless others.

I’m playing a challenging piece tomorrow in church. Here is a recording of Jenny Oaks Baker playing it. I would appreciate your prayers.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSXM6LS4km4

A glimpse of Youth Conference

I took hundreds of photos at Youth Conference but very few have Paige in them and I didn’t take any selfies. I am hoping to collect more photos from other people so we can prove that the Ross Women were also there! Daniel had a great time. Each time I saw him, he was hanging out with someone different. I like to see that.

1-DSC_1507 — Rockin’ R Ranch lodge is in the background. We are at line dance lessons here.

1-DSC_1594 — A view of some of the horses

1-DSC_1598 — The Lodge where we ate and where the girls slept. The boys were in the bunk house across the way.

1-DSC_1673 — Daniel won 3rd place in the barrel races at the rodeo.

1-DSC_1833 — The donkey relay was hilarious.

1-DSC_1932-001 — Maple Leaf Rag on a twangy piano was just the thing to play in the Lodge.

Mark goes to Cub Camp

It’s a rite of passage to go to Cub Camp. Age 8 seems younger and younger with each child, though. I got to attend one day of camp with Mark and it was a delight to watch him during the skits and songs and see what he chose to purchase from the shop. Many boys bought $5 Indiana Jones whips. Thankfully, Mark only had $3 with him, so it wasn’t a temptation. Mark’s favorite activity of the day was the obstacle course. I took video of him climbing, swinging on a rope, doing somersaults, jumping, and running through tires. I could watch that for a long time.

Daniel’s High Adventure Trip

Daniel and Richard went on a High Adventure trip last week. They visited Zion National Park and hiked Angel’s Landing and walked some of the Narrows. They spent a day outside of the park rappelling and went boating in the evenings. Saturday night I sat up late and watched the videos that Richard took of the trip so I could see the fun. The footage that Richard took at Angel’s Landing made my stomach flip and my feet go numb. I also saw some spectacular rappelling by the boys and leaders. I am thankful for a great group of boys and leaders in our ward. I am glad that Richard was there, too.

Because of Joseph…

I just realized it is the 170th anniversary of Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s deaths.

I have visited the places they walked. I have visited the place where they died. However, it’s more important to remember and acknowledge that I am blessed and influenced by the Prophet Joseph Every Single Day.

This morning as we read the New Testament as a family I looked at the footnotes to find a clarification on the text from the Joseph Smith Translation. For personal study, I read a chapter in The Book of Mormon. Phrases from scripture he translated come to my mind when I have big decisions to make or when I have a problem. Where would I be without the scriptures? My temple covenants bring power and protection to me throughout the day. I can read my patriarchal blessing whenever I want; I can worship in the temple almost any day. I have a strong network of friends from church who lift me and love me. I know that our family relationships can continue forever because of temple covenants. I have been richly taught about the Savior all my life through The Book of Mormon. All of these things and many more have come to me because of the Prophet Joseph.

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah. I am blessed every minute because of what he did. How have you been blessed because of his work?

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