Thoughts

Two of my daughters just posted blogs listing their thoughts. 
It was interesting to  get inside their heads.  Scary but interesting.
Here is my brain on any given second of the day.

Not in any order.....just like I think.

Fall
Sleep
What to fix to eat.
Getting Organized
David
David's business
Bigfoot
My preschool
Sewing
Scriptures
Prayers
My children
My grandchildren
Gardening
Rasberries
The Temple
How old my skin is looking
How old everything is looking
House work
Gluten or not to Gluten.....that is the question.
Sugar.....always sugar
Football
Instagram updates
Relief Society
Visiting teaching
Doc Martin
Popcorn (buttered and/or caramel)
Boo
David
Yardsales
Carol and/or Leslee
My brother Jeff
My sisters, Lynne and Coleen
Quotes
Cold feet

Ok, that is enough.

The Woman At The Well

 

I read about the Samaritan woman who meet

Jesus at Jacob's well.  She was about her business

of the day.  It was that task that brought her

to Christ.  I loved this story.  Our daily work

can also be filled with confirmations of

our faith.  We just need to look for them.

 

 

On Woodland Pond

 

" A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. . . . trees next [to] the shore are the slender eyelashes which fringe it, and the wooded hills and cliffs around are its overhanging brows. "

Henry David Thoreau, Waldon Pond

 

Lee and her babies came to visit this week. 

 Daisy, Lee's almost three

year old, never forgot that mom was supposed

 to take her to the lake and feed the ducks. 

So last evening we went over with

a loaf of bread and fed nearly a hundred ducks.

 

No, we didn't take any pictures of the ducks!  It was all

consuming to just keep track of which duck needed a bite

of bread. (There are some greedy buggers out there.) 

 

We went for the ducks but were awed by the

beautiful clouds in the eastern sky.  I was glad

Lee brought her camera and took these shots.

 

 

 

The lake is a bit higher right now.  Not full but healthy

looking.  It was so inviting.  I think I will start running

again just so I have an excuse to come and enjoy it every day.

 

 

Rockwell, one of the little people that

make us grandparents.

 

 

I love the boat and fisherman in the scene.

 

 

Rockwell, almost 10 months.

 

 

Lee and Daisy.  Lee is a good little mom.

And Daisy is full of it.

 

 

Oh, here are some ducks coming in.  I know~ they are just

ducks.  But it is so fun and funny to see them come

from every direction for a morsel of bread.



Mary and Martha

The sisters in our Relief Society are in the middle

of a program called

21 Days Closer to Christ.

It has been a good experience for me.

Each day we have a reading exercise and

then a "journey" for that day.

 

Day 14 was about Martha in the story of

Mary and Martha.  I appreciated the approach

that was taken about Martha.  So many times

she is characterized as the lesser of the two.

 

Our reading emphasized her gifts--her talents,

and encouraged us to consider our gifts and

how they can bless the lives of others.

Martha's gift--talent to serve is mentioned

more than once in the New Testament.

 

I have thought about these two women

all day.  They were both followers of Christ.

They were true to Him.  They both loved Him.

 

Martha's heart was in the right place.

Her preparations were for Him.  That was

her way.  She asked Christ to consider

the work that was not completed and the

fact that Mary had stopped helping.  He

simply told her that there was a better

way.  It was an invitation to let other things

go and come and be with Him.  He

helped her to see that enough was enough.

 

~

 

Am I Mary or Martha? In the past  I have always

considered myself a Martha for two reasons:

 

1. Mary is a woman who never forgets her

devotion to Christ.  She is always watching

for Him and preparing her heart for Him.

 

2. Though Martha is devoted she is also

caught up in the idea that things have to

be perfect to show devotion.  Things like

organization and cleanliness.

 

I have always operated better if things are clean.

Saturday evening is for final touches

on the house so Sunday will be perfect, for

example.  I think Martha felt this way

about her life.  Mary could see past the

clutter.  Martha and I cannot.

 

I have always observed the Mary's

in my life and in comparison I

see myself as less than these.  I know

some wonderful women.  When I grow

up I want to be them!

 

~

 

This one other thought.

Maybe I am both Mary and Martha.

 

In the early morning I am Mary.

I love the quiet time to read

the scriptures and ponder and pray.

I love writing down my thoughts.

I am sad when I see the clock

telling me it is time to do other things.

 

And so enters Martha and all

the other things.  But my other things

bring comfort to our lives.  I have

to take care of things like David's work.

It is needful.  I make our home

clean so it is comfortable and

keeps tensions away.  The

"cumbered about" list goes

on and on.

 

So to say I am or anyone is

only a Mary or a Martha is

too narrow for my thinking. 

 If we are to be one

more than the other then, yes,

I would be Mary.  But I think

Martha is a learner, a seeker,and

a follower.  And she uses her

gifts to bless the lives of others.

And she is loved dearly by

Christ. 

 

~

 

And then one final thought.

As I was thinking of my years

of raising children I was too

much a Martha.  If I have

one thing I would change,

it would be that need to have

a perfect environment for

things to happen.  When the

house was clean life could begin.

 

There is the thought "life is what

happens when you are busy

 making other plans".

Don't let "other plans" rob you

of being with your children.

 

Life is about relationships.

Choose that better part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



" . . .my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

 

        "Come unto me, all ye that labour and

 are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

    "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;

 for I am meek and lowly in heart:

 and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden

is light."

 

Matthew 11:28-30

 

 

I learned something about a yoke from

the September 2013 Ensign.

 

The yoke works as the beam rests

in front of the shoulder hump (or withers),

distributing weight and enabling

natural and comfortable movement.

Custom fitting each side allows oxen

of unequal size or strength to pull

together without one being

dragged by the other.

 

I love the idea that the yokes

are "custom fit".  

 

My side is obviously unequal

to His.  But I am not stressed by

his greater strength.  We move

together even though he is

carrying the major part of the

load. And "it's His yoke we take

 upon us --  the one best suited for us".

 

"You come unto Christ to be yoked

with Him and with His power, so that  you're

not pulling life's

load alone.  You're pulling

life's load yoked with

the Savior and Redeemer of the world,

and suddenly your problems,

no matter how serious they

are, become lighter."

Russell M. Nelson

 

I love the Savior.  He calls to us

in every situation.  He excludes no one.

We just have to come to Him.

 

 

 

 

 



The Road Not Taken

 

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

 

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.       

Robert Frost

Well now that I have waxed poetic. . . these are pictures

from our 136 dirt road trip yesterday.

 

Nobody wanted to mow the lawn or clean the

house yesterday morning so we loaded up the

dog and drove up the mountain.  I had to

take pictures. 

 

Above:  Man and his dog.  I mean man

and his wife's dog.

 

 

I love to take a picture of David bordered

by trees.

 

 

There has been a lot of rain up high.  Normally

the streams are dry.  This culvert was just

bubbling.

Big Lake was beautiful.  It has risen quite a bit.

It was so colorful. Wish my camera could capture

the beauty.

 

 

 

Well the map said there was once a road

over this stream.  This is NE of Big Lake.

We ended up on an old landing for

logging.  Old skidder trails were still there.

But no road to this scene.  So we walked

down to the stream.  I can't help but wonder

about times gone by when this stream

was a common site to loggers and ranchers

and others. 

 

This was good to see.  We drove down Water

Canyon from Big Lake and, who knew,  the

mill in Springerville is in operation.  It was so

good to see life. . . and employment.

 

David told me that the burn from the Wallow

Fire is being sold for something called

"gray lumber".  As the trees dry out they

have this gray streak weaving though the

wood.  It makes beautiful decorative

lumber.  Maybe these logs will be cut into

that stuff. 

 

It is always good to see large

operations come back to life.

 

 

Headed south off Hwy 60 between Springerville

and Show Low.  This took us north

of Greens Peak.  Just green rolling hills..

Again, my camera can only do so much.

 

 

 

This stream was rushing down.  For native

Arizonians water is always amazing. 

Loved it.

Just before Gillespie Flats.

 

Prairie Flowers