As you do the right thing
Be humble and hearken
To receive this blessing
Studying the gospel is like- Catching a double rainbow; Each drop of wisdom reflects light- Hinting there is more to see and know!
Sunday, January 31, 2021
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Something's Missing
Desire to find what's missing,
to gain an authentic soul,
This will truly be a blessing
For there is purpose in one's role
Sunday, January 17, 2021
How to be a Witness
How to be a witness
Of things of the Lord
Requires meekness
And trust in God's Word.
Through mistakes and repentance
the work does roll forth.
The process...no one's exempt
Of promise... of worth...
It is as though God says, and forgive me for thinking words come from Him:
Let me come in
And make something of you
The veil can thin
Come, watch what I can do
Pull Yourself Together
Pull yourself together
It is time to move on
Humility gather
Weaknesses can be strong
Fit for the Cause
Though fit for the cause,
You may need to pause;
To work on your faith
And build up your strength
Just thinking about Joseph Smith and the lost manuscript. God reminds Joseph he is still chosen to do the work. Those couple of months were needed to learn what he needed to again qualify for the work.
To gain an eye single to the glory of God
remember who to fear
Desire to find what is missing to become authentic to your soul.
Merit
Purpose shatters.
Let good works abound.
Merit matters.
That's how trust is found
Shortcomings. though
Christ can make up
Faith, hope, charity
Can be enough
God's Word Before our Eyes
When we've God's Word before our eyes
It is so powerful indeed,
Our thoughts, Christ purifies
And our spirit He does feed
When we've faith upon His Word
It is so powerful indeed
That we recognize our worth
As we've eyes to see and ears that heed
It Is Time
Don't let the clock bind you,
Nor forget that it's there.
Prioritize and do
What puts you in God's care!
It is the Humble
It is the humble
Who treasure God's Word
Who, though they stumble,
Put aside their worst
The Better Prize
Let go of that prize
You hold, now, on Earth
Treasures in Heaven
Are of much more worth
WHAT prize holds me back? Remote control?
Friday, January 15, 2021
Winds of Tribulation
Don't let the winds of change
Blow your candle out
Turn. Walk in such a way
You've faith, more than doubt
Better
Some simply do not know
How much better they can be
How, with Christ, they could grow
In a way that all can see
More holiness
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Susan Easton Black: my testimony of Prophet Joseph Smith
of days gone by.
Seek for light.
It cannot lie.
I just finished a year of reading the Book of Mormon. I marked my scriptures with every mention of Christ and His various titles. I found this year's reading a treasured moment in my life. It was a blessing through this Covid time.
Susan, thank you for your years of contribution and for writing over 100 books. What a lifetime achievement. What a calling in life! You are a leader among women! You inspire me! #Givethanks
Random Or NOT? A New Year, Big Numbers, and Reflection
1,006,405 views through randomness
Is this what it all comes down to?
After having written thousands and thousands of poems
Somehow one poem has found its way to you!
Reflection
Angst and creativity.
I have known many periods of doubt. Why am I writing? Do I even have an ear for writing poems? I I have felt like I have felt pain, shame, embarrassment, and grief over being a poet.. I like the absorption of pondering and trying to say things with words. (limited meaningful words.) Mental illness? I have often thought something flowed well and liked it. When I went back to it, I saw mistakes. I submitted some poems here and there. Rejection! Have I ever written something that is worthy of attention? Will that ever happen? What is the purpose of it all? I have certainly slowed down. Is there something I am meant to write? If I give up, I will never find out!
Obsession
One thing that can't be said of my writing is that I procrastinate. Quite the opposite is true. I have been known to keep paper and pencil with me. I can get lost in an interest to write about. Sometimes words will wake me in the night. I know that words won't stay and so I go to the bathroom where I can turn the light on and not wake anyone. Once I lost a handful of poems while traveling. I had written them in the margins of an Ensign. I felt sick. I felt like they were inspired and I had not treasured them. I prayed about this and in the night I felt I wrote new and improved versions. I was so grateful and relieved for that experience. Sometimes I write out of habit, missing those moments of absorbed thought and pondering. It can be a scary feeling to not by inspired by much or at all. Hmmm. Here I reflect on a dozen years of angst like it is all behind me. I have definitely slowed down. Aging? The concussion? Post Covid exhaustion? I am not as intune with the spirit. Except, I did feel impressed to write this. Giving thanks is always a good thing. This reflection has been good for me, as I feel like I am at a turning point.
An old rusty hinge moved with quite a moan and a creek.
Light entered the room. There was something beyond to seek!
Who is not too busy to open the door and look?
Treasures from the past were growing dust in every nook!
Incredible Moments
Start a Blog
I wanted to personally give some poems to a general authority. This probably isn't to be encouraged. I was torn between doing this and not being a nuisance. (I often find the words from general conference inspiring.) I waited at the park after conference and the parking lot was almost cleared out. Am I a stalker or something? I found myself visiting with a man in a wheelchair who had had a series of health setbacks and had lost his legs. He had this persistent thought/question/concern about the days we live in. He felt that adults in his family were not acting like adults for their children. He saw this as a serious problem in our day. I almost missed seeing the stake president as I shared what I was up to and a little about the gospel. The general authority come out of the building. I think I would have missed my moment except I saw something that caught my eye- a light. I can't describe what I saw for I felt it was just for me. It was amazing. I crossed the neighborhood street and thanked the general authority and gave him some poems. He asked me if I had considered blogging to share them. I felt this was a confirmation that in spite of all my self doubt, I had a place in the poetry society or at least my membership's community. Well at least I pushed an anti-Mormon poet from being in the forefront when someone googled the words "lds poetry". Yes, this is absolutely true!
A Book
We had just moved to Nevada and had a treasured moment when family came to visit. Something that I doubted would ever happen! My step-daughter asked everyone to sit down together and share their "bucket lists". I had never heard of this. A bucket list is a list of what you want to accomplish before you die. I shared how I wanted to write a book and to have it published. The next day, I shared this with a co-worker. She told me her daughter is a publisher locally. Wow. I saw it as permission to start immediately. I had read a series of books called "Son of Man" by Susan Easton. These books give you a sense of who Jesus was as a man raised as a Jew and how all the Jewish traditions point to the coming of the Savior. I felt passionate about writing on this topic as I have a dear friend who misses/mourns for his family and Jewish traditions/community. (It is a beautiful religion to learn from.) I wanted him to value his Jewishness and his contribution to discussions in Sunday school. After a very short period, the book was complete, though I kept adding to the bill through images and edits. I felt trapped in a money racket for a second. The crazy thing is, when I got the box of books, I got a bonus that paid for the whole thing! I worked for a private school and it was a one time way to show appreciation for the big turn around in enrollment. What a blessing: "Jesus Christ, Son of Man, A Jew" by Kelly Miller
Thank you
If you read this thank you! Please don't judge me as a bad poet. I am a work in progress.
But, more importantly, it was good for me to write this!
Sunday, January 10, 2021
As Much As We Allow
In as much as we allow
Jesus in, as our friend
When we seek His Word, to follow
Light and Truth does descend
Idle Growth?
You can't sit idly by
And think you'll come alive,
In Christ, that you might grow!
Through effort, light does show!
This thought really came alive as I thought about my own spirituality. I feel like Covid turned me into a recluse. We need each other and service. It takes a lot more effort to feel the spirit when you are closed off from the world. Ancestry helped a lot. Social media and family connections helped as well. The scriptures and youtube Come Follow Me lessons were gems. I am thankful for all these things. #givethanks
Saturday, January 9, 2021
The Call - Going Home
It will not be long.
Peace and rest, then to know!
Where all pain is gone!
With Our Lord, I will be
Where I'm loved and known
Here loved ones I now see
Call for me to come!
My journey waits for me!
I am going home!
Have you ever heard about someone who is dying seeing loved ones as the veil grows thin? These are tender amazing awe-inspiring moments!
I wrote this with a spiritual in mind. Goin' Home by Antonio Dvorak
There were no lyrics in the book, so I felt to write my own.
Step Back!
Step back, for civility's sake
And to your purpose, reawake.
It is only through unity we're strong
Forcing one's agenda is always wrong
Have you ever thought about the days when we heard news once a day? The family listened to it after dinner. It was just news. Some gripped our attention. We felt a response. When it was really important, it interrupted radio and TV broadcasting.
Now it comes all day long. Each one presented as something we have to know, now! I find it too much! Do you? I worry that our country, America, is usunder and damaged beyond repair. What will become now ? a fight for power and domination both foreign and domestic?? If there was ever a need for repentance, it is now! Our politicians have gone so extreme! Can they find a common ground for civility? Have you ever considered the money spent to campaign? Such high stakes Wow! Wow! Unchecked there is so much room for illegal actions!
I remember Astonia and how the people got recontrol over a foreign government's control by surrounding the capital with song! What a nation of singers! Patriotic singers.
WORLDWIDE UNITED Fast
I subscribed to a Facebook group that started, I think, with our prophet's call for a worldwide fast. People from all faiths, now, share concerns and ask for prayers and words of comfort and hope. It is a beautiful thing to see a social media platform that is absolutely appropriate. Covid has not taken our ability to be a community of believers!
Today, a woman thanked us for our thoughts and prayers and shared that this man, a focus of concern, had passed. How strong of her to share. I looked at his photo and I thought of what a last breath might be like...
The last breath
The last thought
Before death, what is taught?
Love, concern
Faith and prayer
Surrender, to God's care!
Love and Purpose
We all loved Thee, always and forever,
In the pre-existance realm
We have come here, through birth, to remember
That Thou, Lord, art at the helm.
Help us know
What to seek for
We have purpose ever to discover
Yes, we have purpose, ever, through our Savior.
In Heaven, we prepared. Help us, Dear Father!
Here we pray,
Though numbers, few!
For truth, to know, what would Thou have us do?
Help us repent, when we don't follow through.
We seek faith, and find love come from Thee anew!
Have you ever felt to write lyrics? I did this today.. imagine dancing around with joy singing to Heavenly Father! I wonder why we don't? Can dancing be reverent?
These are my lyrics to
Melody by Schumann. He loved music so much, he quit being a lawyer. Love seemed to inspire him. The year after he married, he composed nearly 150 songs!
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