Today our neighbor Shane saw that our driveway hadn’t been cleared since Richard was still at work, so he took the time to do it himself without announcement or fanfare. This isn’t the first time he has done this for us, and as always, I am so grateful for this good neighbor and friend.
I serve as a Sunday school teacher right now and I’m reading this excellent book as a supplement to my study of the Old Testament.
Also, this is very good. The hard cover, coffee table book, color edition is out of print, so I bought it used. Deseret Book will print a black and white paperback copy for around $30 but it isn’t the same experience as the original version.
I realize that my life and ideas don’t have the Sirens’ call of a TikTok video. As I read books like this, I grow less trendy, and more like those old men in the ward of my youth who couldn’t stop talking about the Abrahamic Covenant. I’m more aligned with them these days than any other mentors in my life, and I like that about myself.
This is also very good.
When we are young, we learn about rainbows.
Rain + sunlight = 🌈
We know the story of the Flood and the covenant that God made with Enoch and Noah. In the Bible, the rainbow is the token of that covenant. We know it so well that we might consider it a great story to tell children, but find little meaning in it for ourselves.
When I read a little deeper, though, I find a beautiful lesson about God,
The Lord’s tears for the wicked who will suffer are as the rain upon the mountains.
Likewise, when Enoch sees in vision the suffering of the wicked in the flood, he weeps and thinks that he will never be comforted.
The Lord weeps for the wicked, but He doesn’t want us to weep, but look to the atonement of His Son and rejoice. Will we allow Jesus Christ to carry the burdens of our sadness, fear, weakness, and sin?
Heaven’s tears are as the rain, and the Savior is the sunlight that can cut through our darkness.
A rainbow reminds me of the Lord’s covenant. It also reminds me of a God who weeps, who is just, merciful, and sends light to shine through the tears.
Tears + Light = 🌈
A just, merciful and loving God who weeps + the Light of Hope in Christ = A Fulness of Joy 🌈
We had a nice visit with Richard’s parents this week.
While we were there, we decided to watch opening ceremonies for the Olympics. I enjoyed Andrea Bocelli singing Nessun Dorma as the Olympic flame entered the stadium. It was so moving to me.
I get a small window into Paige’s life each week on a video call. Her little boy won the lottery when it comes to great parents.
Rejection is one of the greatest teachers in life. Mark is experiencing it as a missionary, and you can probably recall a time when you’ve been rejected. I think of a small rejection I faced just last week and ouch, it still hurts.
Rejection makes us see that we aren’t going to be chosen every time; we can’t all be the favorite; the gifts we prepare won’t always be appreciated; and sometimes, the precious things we share with people will be ignored.
Let’s remember that poor reception from others can’t obliterate our efforts. We haven’t failed if we have loved, sacrificed, and shown the courage to share. And if we are unable to accomplish the big things we hoped, let’s remember that our identity and our worth in God’s eyes have never been a matter of popularity, outward measures, or appearance.
…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
What can we do when we experience rejection? It’s tempting to get discouraged, feel like a victim, or become angry. But Jesus knows a lot about rejection, and he met it with love and truth, whatever the personal cost.
Today, I am going to keep facing the winds of possible rejection and keep loving, serving, and sharing. I also take comfort that in some things, such as temple work, we see things as they really are:
There is value in giving, even if we don’t see an immediate result.
Congratulations to David! We celebrate his accomplishment! 🦅
I made this salad a few times this week, and it nearly made me forget that it was January. It’s tangy, crisp, savory, sweet, and satisfying. This isn’t a food blog with pictures, so you’ll need to imagine a colorful salad. The recipe is adaptable, so don’t overthink it. The apple was my favorite part.
Ingredients I had this week:
a handful of greens, such as spring mix with spinach
1/2 apple, diced
1 carrot, diced or shredded
A spoonful of beets, diced (I used picked beets)
A spoonful of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
feta cheese
Chicken leftovers, chopped
sunflower seeds
a little chopped fresh parsley
dressing: two parts olive oil mixed with one part balsamic vinegar*, a spoonful of dijon mustard, and a drizzle of honey
*I had lemon-infused olive oil and a fig balsamic vinegar on hand from a foodie friend, so I used these. Yum. Any vinaigrette will taste good, though.
This salad is a mood booster, for sure. 😄
Gradually, our church is rolling out new hymns, so it’s becoming more common for me to hear unfamiliar music at church. This hymn was sung in my parents’ sacrament meeting on Sunday and although it isn’t new, it was new to me.
It’s a beautiful prayer, and it was written by a woman I admire, Ellis Reynolds Shipp, an early female medical doctor in Utah.
Some of my favorite lines,
Calm the surges of the soul,
Bid the dark waves backward roll,
Let us all thy mercies feel,
Thru the pow’r thou dost reveal.
The storms we face are usually hidden in our souls, with dark waves and uncertainty that can feel consuming. This verse reminds me that we can ask our Heavenly Father to calm our storms. Jesus Christ showed us that He is really good at that.
My parents are getting settled after their mission. Today they spoke in church about their experiences and then we gathered in their home to enjoy a meal. The young cousins (not pictured) joined one another in the usual arrays to play while adults settled into conversations long overdue. Sunlight reached inside to illuminate a very nice family gathering. My parents are themselves, and more tender and refined because of their missionary service.