The Power of Prayer~

My dearest Grandmother taught me at a young age what the power of prayer could be in my life. I remember her telling me; "always carry a prayer in your heart. You can pray anywhere."  
I love to kneel in prayer morning and night and at other times too. I like the idea that I have a Father In Heaven who loves me and wants to hear from me on a daily basis. I feel so blessed to know that I can pray anytime, anywhere and under any circumstance.
Just recently I received a call from one of my children. It was a deeply heartfelt call. I didn't know what to say to her, but I said a silent prayer and the words just came as to exactly what I needed to tell her. There are other moments when I need an answer for a question that I have had and after praying, I have felt that I should look at the scriptures and or other resources and there the answer would be.
"I believe that prayer will open doors; prayer will remove barrier; prayer will ease pressures; prayer will give inner peace and comfort during times of strain and stress and difficulty".

 ~ President Ezra Taft Benson 

 I do thank God for prayer. 
I have always loved President Ezra Taft Benson; he married my husband and I almost 48 years ago. We had the privilege to visit with him a couple of years after we were married. This was a sweet moment for us. I have always enjoyed his messages. This year in our Relief Society meetings we are studying his teachings. I want to share a few of his Quotes and thoughts~
"I would humbly urge all...to keep in close touch with our Father in Heaven through prayer."
"Jesus Christ has taught that we should pray always,"
"Families that pray together are blessed with stronger ties of love and the peace of heaven."
Here are just a few things we can do to improve our communication with our Heavenly Father: 
1. "We should pray frequently".
2. "We should find an appropriate place where we can meditate".
3. "We should prepare ourselves for prayer".
4. "Our prayers should be meaningful and pertinent". 
5.  We should ask for strength to overcome our problems. 
6.  We should pray for inspiration to guide us in daily decisions.
7. "We should always pray with a grateful heart for all we have been blessed with". 
8. "After making a request through prayer, we have a responsibly to assist in its being granted."  We should listen. Perhaps while we are on our knees, the Lord wants to counsel us". 
"Remember God is mindful of us and ready to respond to our prayers when we put our trust in Him and do that which is right. There is power in prayer. All things are possible through prayer." ~ Pres. Ezra Taft Benson

Here is a sweet poem on prayer~

"I know not by what methods rarer,

But this I know, God answers prayer. 

I know that He has given His Word, 

Which tells me prayer is always heard, 

And will be answered, soon or late. 

And so I pray and calmly wait.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the way I thought:

But leave my prayers with Him alone,

Whose will is wiser than my own,

Assured that He will grant my quest, 

Or send some answer far more blest".

~anonymous

I'm not sure what I would do if I didn't have the opportunity and ability to pray to a very loving Heavenly Father. I know that our Savior Jesus Christ lives and that He is there for us. He is our Advocate with the Father. They love us all and they know our names. I have had countless prayers answered and miracles have occurred. I have never doubted the power of prayer. 

All quotations are from President Ezra Taft Benson's message and can be found here.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - "See What Is Going On In My Day~

For Today... April 10th, 2015~
Take a moment and visit other Simple Woman's Daybook entries; Enjoy!

Outside my window...it is a beautiful partly cloudy day. I love it when there is sunshine because it elevates my mood.

I am thinking...that it is time to make some appointments with physicians that I need to see. I keep putting it off. All I need to do is pick up the phone and dial. What I dislike about making appointments is that you never can get to a receptionist anymore until you go through a menu of options. Then when they do answer they put you on hold. Ugh!! 

I am thankful...today for a very attentive husband that is always willing to listen to all my thoughts. He is a very loving and tolerate man. I am very blessed. 

I am wearing...Gray jogging pants, red top and black slippers. I am dressed well enough to go out front and pick up  my mail.

I am creating...genealogy and family history files. I have been having fun looking at old pictures. 

Here I am searching for some chocolate~ The beginning of my addiction~

I am going...to the temple tomorrow for my morning shift. I love the assignment I have right now. I work with the sisters that are coming to the temple for the first time. After the temple we are leaving for Rexburg, Idaho. Our grandson Austin will be ordained to the office of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. We are going to have with us our grandson, Joseph and Christian who are all the same age. I love getting them together; it is the best. 
We just had Austin's family here for three days and we had a lot of fun with them. I will be doing  a post on our family visits soon. 

I am wondering...why life seems to go by so fast. I am starting to feel my age more and I don't know if being old is all that much fun. However, I love life and plan to live a good one. 

I am reading...The New Testament with a commentary. I love The New Testament and I love reading about the Savior's life. It is the study this year in our Sunday School Class. I have been behind for a while; but I am now caught up.

 I will be going back to reading the Book of Mormon which I loved to read over and over. It is another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

You can obtain a free Book of Mormon Here~

I an reading the Novel, "Fire and Steel - A Generation Rising" by Gerald N. Lund. It is volume one so it is a series book. I really love Gerald Lund as an author. This book is set in the era of the rising of Nazi Germany. Thus far it is very captivating and I am loving the plot.

 Here is the link of info on this book~

I am learning...to play some mind strengthening games. I worry about getting Alzheimer Disease. My father had it. I am finding it challenging to do some of the games but I feel like I do well on some of them.

You can find free on line games here~ 

In my garden...there is nothing right now. However, I have decided to do a deck garden this year. I don't think that my husband and I can really do a big garden. I am planning on planting tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, carrots and some herbs. We will also be doing some landscaping with bushes and flowers. 

In my kitchen...there is nothing cooking. It will be a simple fare tonight. In fact, my husband hasn't been feeling very good; so I don't know what he will feel like eating. He has had an upset stomach today. 
Something new about me.......I love to decorate my home. I am getting ready to purchase some curtains for a few of the rooms in my home. I am also redoing some things in my kitchen. I am excited to brighten up that area. 

A favorite quote for today...

A peek into one of my days...

Here is my dearest husband with our youngest grand-baby, Haven~ 

One of my favorite things...is go to movies. I am sure I have mentioned this before. I will recommend two movies that we have gone to recently that were outstanding. I loved; "Macfarland USA", and "Cinderella'. Macfarland USA was such a marvelous movie of courage and endurance. I hope all of my children will take my grandchildren to this movie. I have always loved the story of Cinderella and of course I had to see this one. By far this is the best movie of them all. Both my husband and I cried in this movie.There are many values that are learned from this plot. The best of all was to always be Courageous and Kind. I love those qualities. I want to go to the movie; "Freetown". This movie is the inspirational story of missionaries that are caught up in a Civil War in Liberia, West Africa. I have placed links to all three of these movies. 

May You Celebrate This Easter That "He Lives" ~

Last Sunday I was giving an Easter Lesson on the Savior's Resurrection to three little boys in my Primary Class. At the beginning of the class I asked them what they thought about Easter. Of course, I already knew what they would say. They were excited for the Easter Bunny and the goodies they would get. I then taught them about the reason we have Easter. 
I know that my Redeemer Lives. I am so grateful to have the testimony that I know that our Savior Jesus Christ went through the Atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane; followed by the cruel Crucifixion for us. Then Three days later He was Risen. Our Savior appeared to a sorrowful Mary Magdalene; the very first to see the Risen Lord.  Oh, what joy Mary must have felt to see that He had truly risen as He and Prophets of old have foretold.    
Take a moment and view and feel the sweet warmth of the Spirit testifying that "He Lives".

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir  Sings"I Know That My Redeemer Lives". 

This Easter Weekend The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints will hold General Conference. Come and Listen to The Prophet and Apostles of today. You can find information for viewing this conference Here.
Have a wonderful Easter Weekend - Sending love and hugs to you all!
#BecauseHeLives

This Is My Happy Place, Right Here At Home~

It has been a little over 6 weeks since I have done a blog post. I have missed writing but most of all I have missed reading the posts of bloggers that I follow. I am anxious to get caught up on what you have all been doing. I consider you dear friends and have missed reading your posts. I have learned so much from you all; you are my dear friends. 

It has been a good experience for me to draw back from most of the social media. I have still popped in and out of Face Book to see what is going on in the lives of friends and family. Here is where I find out about my own family. I really prefer the precious phone calls to get an update of family news. However, I have learned that as much as I have missed blogging and reading blogs I have found that I enjoyed the break and was able to get a number of my goals completed. 

Here I am reading a novel; this was very fun! Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. 

Of course, I didn't get to relax and read until after I cleaned my study. This was a huge undertaking. I went through many files that I have kept for over 35 years. I threw away a tons of articles and other misc. items. There were a few precious treasures that I couldn't give up. However, I have found that with the internet I can look up whatever information I need. Therefore, I don't need a lot of files.

Here are two pictures of what the study looked like while I was going through all the files. I was able to make room for what I consider of top import-ants: family histories and genealogy.  Pop over to that site and look up your ancestors; it is so much fun.

Here are the after Pictures of my study. The one thing I loved most was getting the green couch moved out and just a small recliner moved in. My room is very light and bright so it is such a great place to do my reading. 

Note on my wall that my sweet husband arranged the photos of my Great Grandparent's family. The small photo's on each side are my grandparents and my husband's grandparents. I love this wall. 

I am looking forward to replacing my drapes; perhaps this weekend. My study now has so much more room and I am loving it. 

Here is my second favorite thing to do which is play my piano. I haven't had a regular practice time; but I will have soon. I  have a couple of projects left to get done and then I plan to schedule my time each day so I can be more productive. Playing the piano will be a top priority.

Here are some of the activities that I had while on my blog break. 

Click on the pictures if you want to view them larger~

My sweet youngest daughter came with her children for 10 days. We had such a good time. Here are pictures of our Valentine gifts. The roses on the table are from my dearest love. My daughter Tiffani, her two daughters Sarah and Kaitlyn with roses and flowers that her husband Dave sent them. 

On February 15th we had a birthday celebration for our Grandson, Joseph who  turns 16 years old on February 19th  and our Great Granddaughter, Jadyn who turns 5 years old on February 17th. We had a wonderful celebration for both of them. Joseph and Jadyn are in the Upper Left hand picture. Note the adorable Great Granddaughter, Myah in the Bottom Right Hand Corner. We had a total of three of our families here. Our oldest son Sean's family, our third son James's family, and our youngest daughter Tiffani's family. 

Left to Right - William, Sarah, Kaitlyn, Michael and Tiffani~

February 17th, I went with my daughter and her children down to Provo. We first went to a $1.00 movie. We then went down to the Brigham Young University to look around. We first went to the Wilkinson Center. This is a favorite hangout place for students. We spent some time in the gift shop and Tiffani bought each of her children a small gift. We then went for ice cream at the BYU Creamy. After the ice cream cones we headed up by the Provo temple and took a family photo. Tiffani showed her children where Dave and her lived when they were first married. They both graduated from BYU which was awesome. 

On Thursday the 19th of February, Tiffani's family and I went to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. All of our children love to take their families there because there is so much to see and do. We were there for about 5 hours and had such a fantastic time. We went through the huge LDS Conference center, then  temple square, which has the Salt Lake Temple and two visitor centers. The landscaping on temple square is so beautiful. We had lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. They have a great little Cafe there. Afterward we went over to the LDS Church Office Building which houses all of the offices for those that work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. There are many volunteers and missionaries that work around temple square. We had a missionary tour guide take us up to the top of this 28 floor building. The view from there was spectacular. We got a ton of pictures. We then went to Deseret Book which is  just across the street from Temple Square. This is their flagship store. This is a dangerous place for me to go. I can't leave the store without a book or two. We then went to the Airport to pick up Tiffani's husband Dave.  We had such a great day together.

Our Grandson William's birthday was on Saturday, February 21st. We had a fun day with him. William loves Legos so Tiffani had that as a theme for his birthday. She made him a Lego cake; which was cute. He loved all of his gifts and especially a huge Lego set that he got. He turned nine years old.

We also watched the movie; "Meet The Mormons". It was well done and told the story of what Mormon's are like. We are really just normal everyday kind of people with a strong faith in Christ.  

Sunday morning came and Dave and Tiffani headed home. Here is a picture of this beloved family. 

March rolled in with mixed up weather which has been interesting. On Sunday, March 8th we went to Sacrament meeting and then headed up to Heber for Joseph's ordination to become a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. Joseph was ordained a Priest and then a sweet blessing by his father.  In our faith this is a very special occasion. Afterwards, we went over to Sean's home for a celebration dinner. Joseph is the one in the middle of the pictures.The rest of the pictures are of his older brother, Jed's family, his younger brothers,  and his mother Mary. Sean was busy cooking; no picture there. Regretfully not all of the pictures turned out since I was using my phone.

On March 14th we got Joseph and headed up to Idaho Falls to be with James's family. We had dinner that night with his family. Our Grandson, Christian turned 16 years old on Sunday March 15th. He was also ordained to the office of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. by his father. He received a lovely blessing too.  Joseph was able to be in the circle for this ordination. 

Afterwards, we went back to their home and had a birthday celebration. Top Left Hand Corner is Christian, Upper Middle the two cousins, Christian and Joseph. The Upper Right Hand corner is my dearest Granddaughter, Averi and myself. The center picture is my husband Roger, James, his father in law, Bob, Christian and Joseph. Lower Middle Picture is my daughter in law, Amber, Taylor Jo, myself and Amber's mother, Barbara. After dinner and the birthday celebration we headed home. 

The past 6 weeks have been so busy and fun. Sammy is exhausted. 

off I go to catch up on what you all have been doing. Hugs!

"Frozen Fever" - Dueling Piano Siblings "Frozen" Mashup + Backwards Piano

I am not ready to come back to blogging again; but I did want to share this incredible video. Miss you all and am looking forward to reading all of your posts again. Sending love and hugs your way. 
LeAnn

It's Living Waters 5th Year Anniversary~

My fifth anniversary - I began the "Living Waters" blog five years ago on February 9th. I have enjoyed the wonderful challenge of writing posts. I still have much to learn about writing; but the experience has been rewarding. I have learned about myself and the world around me. Through trial and error, I've learned to post pictures, navigate the internet, create custom designs for my blog site and a multitude of lessor skills.

I love the challenge of selecting subjects that I hope to be helpful, fun, informational and inspiring. I want my blog to be positive and uplifting. My purpose has been to share thoughts and stories about my life, my faith, my family or just my musings.
Today I want to share a portion of my first posting. At that time I was teaching a lesson in Relief Society titled "The Woman At The Well". I felt I could relate to that woman as she conversed with our Savior, Jesus Christ. I too wanted my Savior's living water. 
I have always enjoyed studying the scriptures, reading  books by LDS Church authors as well as good novels. I have desires to learn and understand more about the doctrines of Christ. I have a strong and fervent belief in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that we have a living Prophet on the earth today; President Thomas S. Monson. I am forever grateful for the testimony I have of the restoration of the gospel brought forth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I love Emma Smith the Prophet Joseph Smith's wife. She made so many difficult sacrifices for the establishment of the church during its beginning years. I have great faith in Priesthood power. I have been the beneficiary of many healing blessings. I do believe in Miracles. I recently witnessed my husband being healed through Priesthood blessings after having Pulmonary Emboli a few weeks ago. You can read that story here. 
I love temples. I've had the privilege of being an ordinance worker in two temples for more than 13 years. I find great peace within those walls and have received revelation for my own life.
I love The Book of Mormon. In recent years I've read it many times.  I enjoy the Bible as well; both the Old Testament and The New Testament. Also the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.These scriptures have helped me countless times during moments of personal struggle, and they have served as a mother's manual for raising children.

I have been blessed with an Eternal Companion whom I have been married to for 47 years. He is my forever love. We have experienced many difficult trials and challenges; but we know where the source of our comfort and peace comes from. We love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with all of our heart and soul. We know that all our prayers have been heard, and many have been answered as hoped for. 

Our children continue to be our greatest joy. We have three boys and three girls. Four have served missions. All have been married in a Temple to wonderful companions. They are faithful in serving the Savior. We have thirty two Grandchildren and four Great Grandchildren to bless our lives continually.

One of the greatest joys of blogging is the opportunity for new friendships. I have had sweet experiences meeting face to face with three such women, as we follow each other's writings. There are many more of course that I have not met personally, but I have grown to love them just the same as I enjoy our blogging friendship. I have prayed for you and with you during times of struggle and I have felt your prayers during mine.

May you all know how much I  love you and how much I have learned from reading your posts. You have all been a great blessing in my life.

I love blogging and will continue to write posts and read your inspiring thoughts.

I find right now that I need to have a short break. I won't be posting any blogs for a while but I will drop in here and there to read your posts because you are my friends and I want to stay current in reading your thoughts and life experiences. I will be back, but I do need a little time to close out some important priorities.

I will be doing short updates on my Living Waters face book page. If you like you can follow me there. 

Living Waters by LeAnn

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Lung Leavin' Day 2015 ~ Throw Your Fears Away!

Visit Heather's web site here. 

When I read the following story; I knew I wanted to spread the word on this. I was touched by Heather's story. She was only 36 years old and had just given birth to her daughter Lily when she was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by asbestos.  She was very young for getting this diagnosis. When she was just a young girl, she wore her Dad's coat all the time and it was covered in asbestos from his construction job which was the source of this disease. 
At the time of diagnosis Heather was given only 15 months to live. Can you imagine the fears that Heather had at this time. She had fears of the unknown. What would her new little one and husband do without her? What was she facing in treatments and surgeries for this diagnosis. Would these treatments work? What about the recurrence of this after treatment?
Nine years ago, Heather had her lung removed. Just think about the fear of losing one of your lungs. Her fears were overwhelming. Her sweet sister wanted to lighten her thoughts and she named Heather's surgery; "Lung Leavin' Day". So each year on February 2nd and through the week they celebrate "Lung Leavin' Day. This celebration helps to spread the word on this lung disease.
Lung Leavin' Day is about overcoming your fears. They celebrate each year by getting together as a family and friends and then they write their fears on plates and smash them in a fire. 
Mesothelioma is a disease that at this time has no known cure. It is treated with chemotherapy and surgery;  which can prolong life. You can read more about Mesothelioma here. Cameron Von St. James, Heather's husband has a web site with more information on ways of helping fight this dreaded disease.
The reason that I wanted to share this is that I have fears about lung diseases myself. When I was in my early 20's, married and had one little son; I was diagnosed with a rare lung disease called, Sarcoidosis. This disease can be life threatening. I was deeply concerned and fearful about my future. This disease is not as serious as what Heather has; but at that time I had deep fears about it. I was blessed and this disease has been in remission for over 40 years. 
Twenty four years ago my husband had a heart attack at the age of 45. Within two weeks of having the heart attack he had a plural effusion in his right lung. He had chest tubes placed to drain the fluids off his lung. This was a very scary time for us. Within that year he also had heart double by-pass surgery.There are many fears associated with these kinds of diagnosis-es. Through many prayers of faith, priesthood blessings and medical treatments he is alive today.  
 Just two weeks ago my husband was diagnosed with Pulmonary Emboli. He has small blood clots in both lungs and one larger one in his right pulmonary artery. This was life threatening but treatable. He is recovering now and doing well. My husband's story can be found here.
 Heather and her husband Cameron Von St. James invite us all to write our fears on a plate and smash them in the fire on their web site here.

 Have faith and hope in your future and don't let these fears overcome you. I have found great peace in my own faith and religious beliefs. In closing these thoughts I do feel that there is something very therapeutic in throwing your fears away in the fire.