Work spaces

Sometimes the simplest changes make a big difference. I have been focusing on some of my work spaces and habits.

I realized that if I sit at the kitchen table to study, I am much more likely to write notes and impressions. I am less distracted in the kitchen than when I study on the sofa, so I moved my books to a kitchen shelf for easy access. This is where I begin my day.

I have learned that a single office space for myself isn’t ideal. My adaptable study space in the kitchen is great, but I also like my secluded work space in the basement for writing (complete with a space heater). There is something powerful about a dedicated work area. At this basement desk, I have trained myself to focus on writing only. This desk has some paper, a few pens and pencils, and a stapler, and I am surrounded by books. There is nothing to set up, and I just turn on the computer and go.

I have another desk in the bedroom where I can store important papers and it’s easy to keep very tidy.

One of these days I will reclaim my sewing work area in the basement. What is it about a sewing space that invites clutter?

And yes, if you are counting, I have admitted to having 4 desks in my house. This arrangement is working really well for me right now. 😅

New places

In mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I had never before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

1 Nephi 11:1

I’ve heard it said that when the Lord has something to teach you, he needs to separate you from what you know. This has been true for me.

Removed from the familiar and the comfortable, we are in a position to level up in our understanding and even our joy.

So often I catch myself praying for my family to be protected from pain, when I should be praying that they will know God better because of their experiences.

A Close Embrace

The Prodigal Son from churchofjesuschrist.org

[This post is something I have shared before, but I discovered more on the topic that I want to share in the final quote at the end of the post. My personal testimony of the Book of Mormon doesn’t hang on academic evidence. Still, I smile to see that Joseph Smith’s translation of these concepts in the Book of Mormon align with Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic meanings for atonement.]

A few years ago, we were taught by a visiting leader in a stake conference that every major writer in the Book of Mormon used the imagery of a hug to teach the Atonement of Christ, with words such as clasped or encircled. He challenged us to search for these passages. As I have studied, I have found other words, including clothed to convey the effects of the Savior’s Atonement. Here are some examples:

  1. Nephi, in a time of grief, pleads with the Lord to “encircle [him] in the robe of righteousness.” (2 Nephi 4:33)
  2. Lehi tells his family just before his death that he is “encircled about eternally in the arms of [God’s] love.” (2 Nephi 1:15)
  3. Jacob teaches that the “righteous…are clothed with purity, even with the robe of righteousness.” (2 Nephi 9:14)
  4. Alma quotes Ammon, about those who repent, “They are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love.” Ammon also says that the repentant are  “snatched from their awful, sinful, and polluted state.” (Alma 26:15, 17)
  5. Alma, quoting Amulek, “[God’s mercy] Encircles them in the arms of safety.” (Alma 34:16)
  6. Mormon writes that if the people had repented, they would have been “clasped in the arms of Jesus.” (Mormon 5:11)

I don’t think it trivializes the Atonement of Christ to liken it to an embrace, being snatched from ruin, clothed with righteousness, or being held during a difficult time. The more I think about it, the more I want to share it.

Rich meaning is found in study of the word atonement in the Semitic languages of Old Testament times. In Hebrew the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means “to cover over” or “to forgive.” Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat meaning “a close embrace.”

Russell M Nelson, Daily Joy: A Devotional for Each Day of the Year, p. 178

Good Shepherd

This is one passage that I enjoyed in this lovely book,

The only sheep I kept at the ranch house were “the bums,” as orphan lambs were called in sheep parlance. They needed special care and I needed them. At the homestead they had been given their bottles of heated milk before we left the cabin, and then they followed the bunch, never very far ahead of me, however. I am sure they looked on me as just another old ewe. They were an engaging and endearing group, gamboling along the trail, playing and jumping, appreciative to a degree, the gentlest of all pets, for that is what they grew into…

As grown ewes, the former “bums” never seemed to forget the care they had received and were often leaders, cooperative and usually obedient.

Margaret Duncan Brown

Sheep are generally prone to fear and panic. Like us, they follow the wrong paths easily. No wonder the Lord is called the Good Shepherd, because he knows where to seek his sheep. No one can find rest without his special care, and those who rely upon him most come to know him best.

The Good Shepherd never gives up on us. Will we have eyes to see his efforts to help?

I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick…

Ezekiel 33:16