Please Pay It Forward

I am participating in the Pay it Forward exchange. Keep in mind you have a whole YEAR to do this. This is how it works: Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward." I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and posted out within the next year. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'PAY IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL PAY IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients. Come and join me. Who doesn't love a gift or giving gifts??

Dreams With Depth

A couple of nights ago, I had a bizarre dream. I lived in a different house: it was an old historic house that Wayne and I were restoring. It had amazing wood floors that echoed a deep Thunk! when I walked on them. In this dream, I owned a snake; a King Cobra to be exact. (I know, how creepy is that?) This snake was old and a pretty beat up. When it was in its cage it just flopped into a ball and never moved or struck out at anything. One day, the house was quiet and I was there alone. I got to looking at that old, pathetic snake and felt a little sorry for the creature. I decided to let it out of its cage. (I know, you are all screaming, "AHHHH DON'T LET IT OUT!!!" Remember, this is a dream where I couldn't control my actions, okay?) I dumped Mr. Cobra out on the gorgeous hardwood floor, and he just curled up into a harmless little "S" curve and did nothing. I was busy refinishing something and didn't really pay Mr. Cobra much mind. He continued to lay on the floor doing absolutely nothing. I left the room for one second to get some supplies and when I got back, Mr. Cobra was gone. Just like that! I started to panic, "HOLY COW! There is a SNAKE loose in my HOUSE...a KING COBRA!!" No one else was home, remember, but I have 6 pets that I absolutely adore, all of whom would make a tasty meal for a big ugly snake! I started running through the house desperately looking for the filthy creep and praying that he hadn't eaten my husband's Chihuahua, my pug, or the cats.... (I wasn't too worried about Smokey; good luck eating a 75-pound labrador...) Finally, in an upstairs bedroom, I found Mr. Cobra. He was reared up in all his youthful glory, hood fully expanded, looking a WHOLE lot different than the old, sick, pathetic, "S" I had left on the floor only moments before. The focus of his beady eyes was one of my cats, Fizzy. She was crouched under a low table hissing and spitting to beat the band, but she was going to be dinner for Mr. Cobra! I was SO mad that this dirty bum DARED to try and make my kitty his dinner, and I reached out in a flash and grabbed the slimeball around the neck (do snakes have a neck?) and choked it to death.

Upon awakening from this disturbing dream, at first I laughed to myself and thought,"Wow, I must be wacko for dreaming about snakes!" Then, I started to think. Now, most things to me become a spiritual experience because I really look for God's hand in my life. I became aware, almost as slowly as the sun rises, what the meaning of this dream really was for me. How does Satan work? Oh yes, he is a snake for sure, I know he is, but he disguises himself or makes himself appear "harmless" or "pathetic" just like Mr. Cobra did in this dream. Additionally, if I turn my back for even just one second, his true nature will suddenly reveal itself and I will be in immediate peril. Just like in my dream, I need to search out where he may be hiding in my life, whether it be through media influence, complacency in prayer, the "all is well in Zion" syndrome, or any other matter of blindness. Finally, once I discover his influence, I need to recognize my own power to crush it and kill it and rid myself of it.

And maybe I should install wood floors, wow those were sure nice!

Spiritual Serenity

Peering out my window this morning, I saw a soft, white fog resting in the air. Quickly donning my winter gear and hoping for above-freezing temperatures, I stepped out into the clouds. As I moved forward through the quiet mist, I began to think upon spiritual matters. For instance, the fog softens and mutes the sounds of traffic and barking dogs, much like the Holy Spirit quiets the clamoring eruptions of the world. Furthermore, it curves and curls around the earth blurring the rough edges, much like an artist's magic putty. Walking quickly to stay warm, my little pug dog and I soon began to breathe heavily. I felt as if the clouds and I were breathing in opposition to each other; inhaling filled my lungs with the clouds' exhale and vice versa. They and I, existing together, are both God's creations. Further down the road, I discovered some trumpet vines with fog dripping from their naked, outstretched tendrils, and a patch of fountain grass bent meekly under the weight of frosty crystals. I began to think of all the plants and animals that must weather through the season of cold and bitter weather, and then my thoughts turned to my life, and your life, and the lives of all mankind. Truly, we are called on to weather raw and icy seasons of our lives, aren't we? Where do we turn for peace and warmth in those dark and dreary times? A scripture from The Book of Mormon came to my mind as I pondered this question. It is in 2 Nephi 25:26 and it says, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." Just as sunshine is the source of light and heat, Jesus Christ is our source to whom we may turn, if we will, in those sorrowful seasons. May peace from heaven wrap itself around us just as the tranquil fog rested upon the valley today.

Loving Leaders

Sister Neal (from church) called me last night and asked me to talk for a couple of minutes during her lesson about a leader that I have loved and why. The first person that came into my mind was my father and the second was my mother. I have had many other leaders who have deeply affected my life: YW leaders, bishops, RS presidents to name a few. However, by far the most influential leaders in my life were my father and mother.

Although I have countless examples as to why my father is an incredible leader in my life (I could fill up volumes if I wrote them all down), one particular example comes to my mind. My Dad was the bishop of our ward throughout all of my teenage years. Living in a very small, predominantly LDS town, I rebelled a little bit and started going with a guy who walked a touch on the wild side. My parents were surprised and a little befuddled because I hadn’t ever done anything like that before. During this time, we attended a Young Women in Excellance night where I received some kind of advancement award. On the back of the piece of paper was a place for the YW president and the bishop to write a little comment. My Dad expressed his love to me and then he wrote, “It only takes one fly to spoil a pot of soup. It only takes one folly to ruin a reputation.” Now: he and my mom could have had a FIT over this guy. They could have grounded me for life and demanded that I never see him again. Instead, they trusted me and trusted that I would make the right decision. I believe that my Dad, also being my bishop, was able to receive clear and distinct inspiration for me, and he acted on that inspiration.

My mother was an incredible leader in my life because she taught me how to care about other people. My earliest memories of my mother are of accompanying her while she faithfully went visiting teaching. She also baked fabulous, amazing, homemade bread. She was the first one at sisters’ houses when they had babies, were sick, or just needed a boost with a fresh, hot loaf of that miraculous bread. She did it because she really cared. There was never a calling she turned down, never a needy soul she turned away, and never a single moment of her life when she wasn’t building up the kingdom of God. She was a phenomenal example of “Charity never faileth.”

They followed the Savior every moment of their lives by feeding His sheep and teaching me to do the same. They knew me, loved me, trusted me, and showed me how to live a Christlike life by living one themselves.

And they still do!!

Ten Foot Tall Teenager

Joey loves massages. As a Christmas gift, I bought him a half-hour massage with a massage therapy instructor. We arrived a little early at her place of business, a physical therapy office, and took a seat in the waiting room. Soon after, a physical therapy patient rolled out of the office into the waiting room in her wheelchair. As she waited for her ride, she went to the vending machines for a snack. Her purse, slung across the back of her chair, was impossibly out of her reach. As she struggled to turn and reach for it, Joey quietly got up and walked over to her. "Can I help you?" he gently said. "Oh yes," she replied with relief. I watched with a joyful heart as he carefully extracted her purse from the headrest of her chair. Unable to reach the money slot (it was too high for her to reach comfortably from her chair), she gave the money to Joey. He slowly threaded it in and punched the numbers for her snacks. When she offered to buy him something, he said simply, "No thank you, I just wanted to help you." As he walked back towards me, he was ten feet tall in my eyes.