Journals

I discovered a list of journals that Joseph Smith kept for different purposes. Knowing this about him makes me feel some companionship in my quirky habit of keeping several journals at once.

He kept a journal of observations. He kept a personal history and kept track of his letters. He made sure that the things discussed in Church councils were recorded. He kept a record of the names of the faithful and wrote tributes about many people.

This is my current stack of journals, and each has its own topic. I think that they’re important in my process of becoming, whether or not anyone else benefits from them.

The magic hour

The magic hour for conversations with Mark is between 10 and 11 pm. This has been true for most of our kids, and I read somewhere that teen circadian rhythms shift several hours beyond usual bedtimes. Late nights simply don’t feel late to them.

We try to be available for conversations late at night and early in the morning before school. This is also when we pray together.

I hope the rhythm of prayer will continue for our children long after they grow out of the funny rhythms of their teen years. I can think of no better comfort and help than prayer.

A reason to celebrate every day

This is the poinsettia that I bought in early December. I have never had one last this beautifully for this long!

I like to use the phrase, “Every day is Christmas” when I think about my blessings. Recently, I found this great quote,

As a child…[I] thought Christmas came once a year. “As an adult, I now realize that it is Christmas every day. Because of the benevolence of our Heavenly Father and our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, we are the recipients of a continuous flow of heavenly gifts—every day. Heavenly gifts too numerous to mention.”

Kevin R Duncan, Christmas devotional 2017

Current “family time”

I will never get tired of seeing all of these faces, even if it’s only possible through a video call because of distance.

Utah, Guam, Alabama…these are places we never guessed we would be. Our family is open to change, and this has enriched our life experiences. Sometimes, despite loving a place or a situation, we have left because we felt led to do it.

I have learned to not identify myself by where I live or even what I do. It can all change very quickly.

Our neighbors have been taking pictures of our house for weeks.

We have been through such a winter that our culdesac held a contest to see who could guess the day when the large mountain of snow would melt in front of our house. The snowplows push the snow straight up the street and leave the mountain in our yard and parking area. This year, it was taller than Richard.

This is a collection of photos our neighbors shared via group text as the contest became tight between the guesses of Richard and Blake. I have not included the video a neighbor filmed of the snowpile. These photos were taken by various neighbors, at night and day, from many angles. The number of text messages exchanged over the rules of the game and our neighbors’ enthusiasm to comment on this snowpile have been high.

Richard recorded its time of death Saturday, April 15, at 12:20 p.m.

Blake won.

What will the neighbors text about now?

Sending this one off today.

It needs one more ironing.

This quilt has been a year-long project, and it is finally ready to hand off to my friend to quilt it. The Dresden plates are hand-appliqued, and the colored fabrics are from my fabric scrap collection. The colored border is made from a few hundred squares. Good job, me. I like the quilt because the fabrics remind me of my history. I should be able to finish binding it by the end of the month.

Expectation vs. Reality

This was our Easter table. It has nothing to do with this post.

To Do Today:

  • Study
  • Work on writing a talk for Sunday.
  • Prepare for tonight’s meeting by reading about 25 things.
  • Be home to hand my church keys to someone.
  • Complete the back of my quilt so it’s ready to deliver to my friend who has a long arm quilting machine.
  • Record family names from a journal kept by my great-grandmother.
  • Take Mark to the oral surgeon for a follow-up appointment.
  • Prepare food.
  • Attend a church training meeting with my presidency.

What am I actually doing ?

I am watching YouTube videos and writing this nonsense.

Thoughts while washing dishes

It occurs to me that I spend time chasing after things that are already mine.

I look for measurements of my popularity, but I already know that I am loved.

I work to prove my value, but my worth has always been intact.

I seek joy in habits that don’t bring me joy, yet I knew how to have it long ago, dancing on the lawn as a child.

Joy comes after effort, but I don’t need to work so hard to find things that I am already carrying in my pocket. I no longer dance spontaneously on the front lawn, but the essential formula remains: Joy comes from just letting go.