A Walk

Today I saw the sun was shining, so I took my lunch outside and ate while I listened to the birds chatter and the T rumble by. I watched the little black flying bugs that don't seem to notice you as they fly toward your face, almost smacking you before they veer off in another direction.  I saw little purple four-leaf flowers growing in the underbrush, a few robins hopping along looking for food, and lots of green.

When I got home, it wasn't dark yet, so I dropped my things and headed back outside for a long walk around the cemetery. I smelled the lilacs, trying to remember whether the deeply purple or the lighter flowers contain my favorite fragrance. I saw the persistent oak trees attempting to grow within the bushes at the edge of the fence. I heard the chatter of the birds, the little ones chirping at a higher pitch than the larger ones. I noticed how many weeds need to be pulled in my front yard (and ignored them) and how much litter blemishes the landscape around the cemetery, and thought how perhaps I should bring a trash bag with me next time I walk. And I wondered whether the ice cream shop around the corner from my house has their famous orange sherbet/vanilla swirl soft serve yet.

It was delightful.

Blue skies and lilacs remain on my list of favorites.

Everything

I was struck by this scripture today:

"Yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks..."

In everything? Really? It is easy to give thanks when I feel happy. Not so much so when I'm not. I'm probably not the only one who sometimes has such a hard day that the evening prayer starts with a pause while I search my mind to find something for which I am thankful... I also doubt I am the only one whose thanks in prayer is sometimes only cursory, not well thought out, just mere words. When I am truly thankful, though, my heart fills with joy and happiness. To learn how to have that all of the time would be a wonderful gift.

What does giving thanks for everything (even broken dreams or spilled milk) do to your heart? How does rejoicing (even in the hard times) change you?

I Know

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I know that God - our Father - loves us and hears and answers prayers.

I know because every morning, all week, I have prayed for just a bit of sunshine. Even a few minutes will do, I thought... but today, He gave me a whole day of sunshine, when I had the time to enjoy it! The sky really is blue, just in case you had forgotten. And it is beautiful. So was the feeling of warm sun on my skin, coupled with cool breeze - it was the perfect spring day.

I know because this morning, I prayed for revelation to come to me during our Stake Conference meeting tonight. And tonight, He blessed me with counsel to do certain things that, He promised, will open the door for revelation to flow not just today, but every day.

I know because yesterday, I realized which important element in my relationships is missing in my life, and today, He gave me a peek into how it can bless me when it returns.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

It's A Misty, Moisty Week

What can I get for you today?

I'd like the 60 minutes of sunshine special, please.

Your total will be $14.95 - pay at the next window.

If only I could order sunshine like you could order fries.  It would be so worth it.

We had rain, mist, fog (or maybe really heavy mist) and more rain today. And yesterday. And Monday. And Sunday. And most of Saturday. And we'll have it again tomorrow. As neat-o as it looks when there is a heavy layer of mist hanging in the air, framing the freshly green or pink and white blossomed trees...

If I had wanted this, I would have moved to Seattle.

Needless to say I was really happy to see a sun (even if it was only part of one) on the Google weather forecast for Friday.  Here's hoping!!!

I Am Learning

I love getting my hands into the dirt. It is therapeutic - especially when it feels productive.

I don't love arugula. It sorta tastes like soap or dirt to me. Does anyone need some extra greens for a salad?

(And no, it's not my dirty hands that made the arugula taste like that. It's probably the same reason I don't like cilantro. Blame it on my genes.)

Balance. Sometimes I feel like this, trying to keep everything from tipping too far in one direction, but in three or four different dimensions:

Then I remember I don't have to be perfect. Just progressing.

Last Night... Month... Decade

Last night was my temple night. It was a wonderful reprieve after a stress-filled weekend full of traveling, dealing with hard things, and not enough sleep.

Last month I celebrated ten years of temple attendance. As I reflected on the blessings of the temple in my life, I decided that the last decade has been good, made better by the refining power of the temple and the change made possible through the Atonement of Christ.

Last decade I started on an adventure that changed my life. And I am glad for what has happened since.

Guided

I felt guided this weekend.

Of the five or six options for church, I managed to choose the one that a friend I used to know in Boston attends. It blessed my life to have someone I know with me in church today.

Then I went to a cemetery to find a gravesite I wanted to see. After wandering for 45 minutes, searching among the headstones, I sat down and asked in silent prayer for guidance. Then I felt directed to search in a certain area, and within a minute or two, I found it.

These are little things, but they teach me that Heavenly Father knows me well, and that He loves me enough to guide me to that which I desire.

And He loves you that much, too.