My Spring Potpourri - A Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Monday, June 8th, 2020

Outside my window...
Outside my window, it is a dreary, cloudy day. We have had a lot of wind, rain and lower temperatures in the last few days. We needed the shower, but I do not like the cold at all. 

I am thinking...
My head is full of lots of thoughts today.  Our whole world is in commotion, as has been prophecied. I feel privileged in some ways to live during these difficult times. I pray that my husband and I can have peace in Christ. We desire to minister to those around us, and it is sad not to be able to make visits to friends like we would like too. 
I see evil in the world, and it is increasing. There are many lessons to learn from COVID 19. I hope to learn much from these experiences. Then there is the protesting and riots going on and on. I'm amazed at the hate that people have in their hearts for so many. 
I often reflect on the first two great commandments. 

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. "This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like, unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37–40; see also Gal. 5:14).

If everyone could just do that, what a wonderful world it would be. Why can't we look at one another as true brothers and sisters? We are spiritually begotten by loving Heavenly Parents. 

Why can't people wear masks and social distance as global citizens to help eradicate this virus? Yes, I understand herd immunity and also the importance of taking proper health measures to boost your own resistance. However, with this particular virus, it is not the flu. It is much more devastating. We often say we don't want to die from this one. The truth is you don't want to have it and be hospitalized either. The deaths and the fact that your loved ones can't even be with you in the hospital, let alone if you die, is just not acceptable at all.  If we follow all the recommendations, then we won't have as many deaths. I do pray that more will want to keep the first two commandments and learn and grow in their love for others through this adversity. I especially desire to increase my own relationship with my beloved Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ. I do know prayers are heard and answered. I do believe that the Savior loves us and knows us and will be there for us in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. In dark times reach for Him. He joyful times, thank Him.

I am thankful...I live in the United States of America. I love this country, and I'm so sad there is so much contention. We are deeply blessed to live in this great nation that was brought about by the hand of the Lord.
 I am deeply grateful for my Eternal Companion, and we have a large and spectacular posterity that I am very proud of. I have great children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that are good citizens trying to live good lives and that deeply love their Heavenly Father and Savior too. 

I am wearing...today, a blue shirt, Levi's, and flip flops. This is my usual attire each week, except for the Sabbath Day; I still put on a dress. 

I am creating...this blog, which is a miracle. I have a hard time getting to my blog. I do love to write, but I always seem to have so many other projects to do. I often wonder how I use to blog weekly. I would actually like to go back to that. 

I am going...I am super excited that my dear husband and I are going to go on an overnight trip down to Manti, Utah,  and the surrounding area. On Saturday, June 13th, we will celebrate our 53rd Wedding Anniversary. I feel so blessed to have been with this marvelous man for all these years. He has blessed my life in countless ways. I think we are one in every area of our lives. We enjoy all our time together. We seldom disagree on anything. We have been through a lot of adversity, many moments of joy, and through it all, we have grown more deeply in love. We do have an eternal love for one another. 
Usually, on our Anniversary, we go to the Salt Lake Temple, but it is now closed for 4 years for renovation. This little trip will be so lovely, and I am looking forward to it. 

I am wondering...when we will get back to normal. I do believe that things will get better, at least with the COVID 19.

 I am also wondering about how my two granddaughters are doing, that are serving missions right now. I have one precious granddaughter, Abbey, that is serving in Arizona. She remains in quarantine, but still can get out and do a few things with her mask on. She has some great experiences with spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ online. She recently had a baptism. 
Meanwhile, my other granddaughter, Taylor Jo that came home from New Zealand, is presently doing a service mission in her hometown. She is enjoying that opportunity and is learning so much. If New Zealand opens up again without quarantine, she desires to go back. 
My grandson, Michael, returned after his two-year mission during the COVID 19. He had to quarantine for 14 days after returning home. We had hoped to go up for his homecoming message, but with all of this, he hasn't been able to give it. He came home with a powerful testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ. He is centered in the gospel and ready to take on his life. He is presently planning on going to BYU. 
I have another Grandson, Joseph, that is serving in the Navy. I am so proud that he is serving our country. 

I have so many other grandchildren that I will tell you about in other posts. I couldn't possibly do it all in one. 
I am reading...I am presently reading the 6th book in the Fire and Steel series that I started a long time ago. I am really enjoying this final book. It's is about the church in Germany during the starting of the Nazi realm. I am amazed at how many members of the church were in Germany in the early 1930s. There were over 20,000. Also, there were a fair amount of missionaries serving there. During that time, the missionaries served for 3 years. Now the young men serve for 2 years, and the young women serve for 18 months. 

I am studying the church "Come Follow Me" manual, which is part of a study of The Book of Mormon. I am learning so much this year. I have read The Book of Mormon many times, and this time I am really learning more good things about this marvelous book. It really is the most influential book on earth today. I can testify that if you read it with a sincere heart and then pray about it, you will know that it is true. 

I am hoping...for a lot of things. My number one hope is to be able to see all my children and give them hugs. We have been able to see our daughter Jenni and her family a couple of times, with social distancing. This has been very hard for us; we love and miss our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. During our last visit, I put on a mask and gave my Alyssa,  Emma, and Ben a big hug. 

Just before the COVID 19 shutdown, our stake Relief Society was preparing a gigantic 178th-year Relief Society Birthday celebration. We had planned on around 500 sisters coming from age 8 and up. We only had a week to go when we had to make the decision to postpone it. I am hoping we get to do it at some point. The program will be spectacular when we can do it. 

I am learning...many lessons through this experience. I feel like my faith has been tested, but at the same time, it is growing more robust due to the stay at home restrictions. Our Prophet and Apostles have given permission for us to have the Sacrament in our homes. My husband is a worthy priesthood holder, so he can administer the Sacrament to my self and my granddaughter. It has been one of the sweetest moments each week. I love how humbly, and reverent my husband is when blessing the sacrament fo us to partake. I feel the power fo the Sacrament more than ever in my life. I need daily the Savior in my life, and this moment is a chance to think deeply upon His infinite Atonement and what it means in our lives. 
We have a short meeting after the Sacrament, and my husband either assigns us a topic to talk about, or we can do whatever we want, and then once a month, we bear our own testimonies. I always use up a lot of kleenex on these days. 

In my kitchen...my husband is usually in cooking. I cooked for our family for years, and now he has taken over my kitchen. I have actually been enjoying this because he is an excellent cook and has a gift of flavoring food better than I. I am the setup and clean up person, and that is perfect for me. 

In the Garden.......One really great blessing is that we have a garden. My husband has always loved outdoor work. With him not being able to work at the temple, he has been spending time out in the yard. It is looking excellent, and we did a garden this year.
 I'm not a fan of dirt. I was raised on a farm and had to help harvest potatoes. I worked along the side of some fantastic Navajo Native American's. The truth is that I slipped away and played in the potato pit and pretended that I was a cowgirl. I really didn't like digging for potatoes. 

Here are photos of our garden, our front and back yards. I did plant flowers, which were a plus. 

A favorite quote for today...

A peek into one of my days...

One of my favorite things...is just being with my husband. I have actually enjoyed being with him 24/7. We have always enjoyed going to movies or out to eat. It has really been sad not to really have a date night out. Since this slow-down, we enjoy our date nights in.

I'm dreaming of.... the day that we can be back to normal. It may be a different normal, but it will be sweet. I can't wait to be back working at the Jordan River Temple. I am missing my friends there, and I really miss the temple and the feelings I have while in it. There are incredible peace and joy found within the walls of the temple. 

I'm also looking forward to being back in our ward Sacrament meeting, Sunday School, and Relief Society classes. I miss all my friends from church. I do have contact with many, but it isn't the same as seeing them and having hugs. Our wards are planning on opening up in July. However, they are still recommending that our age group stay home. I'm hoping that they might hold a meeting just for the Seniors to have a sacrament meeting. My husband said; it would be fun to go back to a Senior meeting and have our senior moment there.  HaHa! 
Something to Watch...