The Lord is with me

March 16 (Thursday this week) is what I affectionately call my “stroke-a-versary.” 19 years ago, on March 16, my family was told that I had 24 hours to live, & that if I survived, I’d only be able to blink.  Not only have I exceeded the doctor’s expectations, but I have slowly had things like my right arm, speech, & more return…things that assist me in serving the Lord.  At the time of my stroke, I was the primary chorister (teaching music to the kids at church who were 18 months old to 12 years old), so naturally, I sang the songs in my head, while I lay in my hospital bed recovering from my stroke. It was there that I learned the power of the primary music I had been teaching, as I (through song) received assurance that the Lord WAS there…& He continues to stay by my side!

I have begun conducting in the primary. That means I welcome the kids & help direct the flow of the meeting.  It was through inspiration that I learned how it was possible, & for two years I’ve been trying to figure out the kinks & get brave enough to do it.  Ha!  At first, I was scared to death (so I believe the Lord helped me that first day), but as with any anxiety, the more I have done it, the easier it has become.  & as an added bonus, by doing it, more people (teachers, other leaders, & even some children) are learning how to understand me, so I’m less afraid to speak up when I visit classes or see them in the hall!

Lately, the primary lessons have had a lot to do with people being healed by Christ, & on how Christ can heal us.  Since I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a questioning child somewhere who wonders about me & how it affects their faith in the Lord healing them, I shared this with my primary teachers:

“The primary manual says to, “Explain that sometimes a miraculous healing is not the Lord’s will, but we can still be blessed by His love and comfort.”  I know that is the case for me, &  that I will eventually be healed in His own time.  In the meantime, I have been healed in other ways, & strengthened to endure the ways I have not been healed.“  Often I am unaware of how I’m being strengthened until later.  Here’s one:

I now like to start my day with activities that point me in the right direction, so I like to do morning prayer, meditate, & do my personal scripture study.  I haven’t always done this.  The routine evolved over the last 19 years.  On a particularly difficult morning, I decided to listen to the podcast, “Don’t Miss This” for my personal scripture study.  I turned it on because it was my routine to hear God’s word then, & I was so tired, I just wanted to listen to it, but they always make me laugh!  Between being uplifted by God’s word & the clean humor, it’s like my slate was wiped clean & it changed my entire day!  I am so glad I have implemented healthy routines in my life that can aid me in the struggles I face!

“Service for the Savior”

My favorite Christmas tradition growing up was putting straw into a manger for baby Jesus for every good deed I did.  I don’t know if it was truly a tradition for my siblings, but it was to me, & I took it very seriously, & as Christmas approached – if the manger was low on straw, I would do as much service as possible!

I tried to do this with my kids, but after my stroke (which occurred when they were only 2, 4, & 6 years old) it faded. 

In primary, we wanted to do “Service for the Savior” in December, & as we discussed how to do it, this memory popped into my head.  Later, I was on Etsy, & ran across this manger kit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/757208701/18-manger-kit?epik=dj0yJnU9MTRCbC1ONHRYOTFaVlluODNsS0dVUWFUMS02Nmt5QTcmcD0wJm49NkplaVFrd1V0SEJqZEdUWExJY0lQQSZ0PUFBQUFBR09Ed2NZ

I got sooo excited – I had done it with small mangers, but a manger like that allowed me to do it in primary! I could still do “my favorite tradition” & witness the children’s reactions as they did it!

In talking to the sweet store owner, I discovered they had varying sizes of the manger that could fold & possibly fit in our closet!  My husband is a woodworker, so he built me a manger like theirs, & the store owner sent me bags (& their book) free! 

I then made a sign to go with it, & a page of service ideas (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cmz-T40oZRSZL9cvs9Ktt-9f9x7GeVJ0lncFSgSWuNY/edit – which came from another idea that I just “ran across”)

This is just one example of how the Lord is in my life, & directs me to those who will help me!  I feel like I’ve been flooded with His love as I serve Him & His children!  I can’t get over it! 

I know that as we serve, we will be filled with His love!

& I want the children to feel that, too!

Halloween book

I was avoiding things I should be doing, & decided I needed some “me” time, so I created this fun Halloween book about a week ago:https://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/interests/happy-halloween-28810577?vk=O6cAMWBJ5BjUBP5ZlQxm

Now I’m procrastinating more by writing this post &  sharing my book!

BTW, I forgot to label 2 pictures: one I was (obviously) a hospital patient (in 2016), & the next year, I was a pig in a blanket (2017)

Happy Halloween!

 This year I was the mama oyster from the story that Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum tell Alice in the cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland. By some miracle, my husband agreed to be the walrus who eats the baby oysters (I think I caught him on a good day, cuz he rarely dresses up!)

We are all different

My old iPad would randomly turn off whenever it wanted to, & I’d lose whatever I was typing unless it was in the cloud.  At 1st, this was very irritating: typing is hard enough as it is, & to lose a huge text that I was typing was infuriating! But in time, I learned to type all my texts on the notes app.  I made a folder called “finish texts too…” & it actually helped me with another problem I was having, where I’d forget to text people back!  This was a welcome solution & it solved my issues for quite a while, but when I tried to copy & paste it into another app & it didn’t work, I  again wanted a new iPad.

I thought getting a new iPad would solve all my issues.  But it didn’t.  My new iPad just has different quirks & is a new kind of annoying!  HaHa!  I realized that every iPad I have owned has something different to get used to, & some are easier to adapt to than others.  There’s no “perfect iPad!”  (as nice as it would be!) 

People can be that way.  We are all different, with different quirks to get used too. 

On October 23rd the Bee Cave ward (12001 Bee Caves Rd.) will have its primary program at 10:30.  This is a wonderful opportunity to hear the children’s testimonies through word & song & let them share what they have learned this year – all are invited!  I was fortunate to assemble the program this year.  I won’t lie – it stressed me out.  But when I wrote the program last year, I learned that I like to involve the children in the process by asking them questions.  So I did that again this year, & it was very uplifting to read their responses. If u would like to hear it, but can’t come, even though the sound quality will be better in person, it will be available on zoom:

https://zoom.us/j/92517950378?pwd=Vjd4aUZVUVlhOFMwQ2hCNFZITm5jUT09

Passcode: 632442

Scan the QR code for the bulletin