Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

Sunday, July 18, 2010

I gave a talk at church

from a talk I gave in July of 2010...

We are each of great worth to our Father in heaven. In a resent article by Thomas S. Monson, which I will be quoting throughout my talk, it says "The world is filled with yellow canaries with gray on their wings. The pity is that so precious few have learned to sing. Some are young people who don't know who they are, what they can be or even want to be; all they want is to be somebody. Others are stooped with age, burdened with care, or filled with doubt—living lives far below the level of their capabilities.
To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility. You ask, "How might we achieve these goals?" I answer, "By gaining a true perspective of who we really are!" We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that: created in the image of God. We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power."
This past week I was talking with Rudy advising him to ask the Lord for the thing we were so in need of, Rachel wearing only her diaper was crawling back and forth between us happy as can be. I thought we are so much like her coming to the Lord with our simple understanding. the things she needs are so easy for us to give. I know her needs before she asks. I don't take away all her challenges, and I find joy in her every accomplishment. She is walking this week Oh, it's so cute the way she throws her little legs out and just go's for it. She laughs with pure joy as she makes it to my arms and throws herself into my lap. She is so wonderful, but her life depends on our care for her, all the little and big things we do. and I thought if the Lord love me, with all my simpleness when compared to him, like I love my children he will take care of me and help me. In my simpleness I have a hard time understanding his ways and his love for me. but I know that he is there with his arms outstretched to catch me if I fall as I try to walk to him and we both find joy in the little accomplishments.
Proverbs 8:29-30
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
 
"Some are young people who don't know who they are, what they can be or even want to be; all they want is to be somebody." How many times as a youth I sat in the Oakland temple waiting room I can't say but my favorite move shown there was Johnny Lingo. Remember in Johnny Lingo...there was an island where men bought their wives with cows. It was something the women bragged about later, "well my husband paid three cows for me!" Four or five cows was a great honor. Well, poor Mahana...no one thought she would ever be married, they thought her so undesirable. When they found out that Johnny Lingo intended to ask for her hand, they thought he was a skin flint, just trying to get a "good deal", i.e. he could get a wife for one cow. But Johnny knew something they didn't. He could see her value. He paid ten cows for Mahana. . .a price previously unheard of in the village, and Mahana truly became a ten cow woman!
"The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (
1 Samuel 16:7)
We are like Mahana, Satan would like us to think we are only worth one cow. But the Savior has already seen our worth, and has paid more than ten cows for us. He believes you are worth more than ten cows, worth the price he paid, the only question now is do you believe Him?
A number of months ago I had a dream, it is very precious to me. in my dream I was sitting in a meeting not paying too much attention to what was being said, I think it was going long, Rudy was sitting in the pew next to me. We were about midway back. There was a woman commenting that she would be unable to deal with the challenge given her. She was taking on enough. This challenge, a boy, would be put in another place and left there. abandoned. I felt something well up in my tummy, I touched Rudy's arm, as the feeling grew making me stand-up, as I did this something turned to words "I want him" the sound of me saying the words woke me from the dream. I knew that the dream was a gift from the Lord about my sweet Phil.

There is a song from the primary program this year that really touches me, called "I'll Walk with You"
If you don't walk as most people do,
Some people walk away from you,
But I won't! I won't!
If you don't talk as most people do,
Some people talk and laugh at you,
But I won't! I won't!
I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.
That's how I'll show my love for you.

Jesus walked away from none.
He gave his love to ev'ryone.
So I will! I will!
Jesus blessed all he could see,
Then turned and said, "Come, follow me."
And I will! I will!
I will! I will!
I'll walk with you. I'll talk with you.
That's how I'll show my love for you.

As we learn to be like our father becoming extensions of his love we gain that true perspective of who we really are, We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Through this lineage our potential is truly awesome. To all faithful Saints He has promised thrones, kingdoms, principalities, glory, immortality, and eternal lives. (See
Rom. 2:7; D&C 75:5; D&C 128:12, 23; D&C 132:19.)
I bear my testimony of his love for us and of the worth of each person to him, no matter what we see the Lord knows us, who we really are "We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created." as we learn this we truly will "experience(ing) a profound new sense of strength and power."

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Amazing Phil!

This is an amazing drawing my five year old, Phil, did this January. We submitted it to The Friend for publication, but they are obviously daft & blind because it has not been printed.





Philip used his picture when he gave this talk he wrote (with a little help) on February 14, 2010.






Jesus I love you because I am staying with you Jesus.
I drew something for you, here, I drew Jesus.
Jesus smiled at me.
Heavenly Father is your best friend.
We have a book about Jesus.
I can read all the books.
I can sing songs about Jesus.
I have a mommy.
I love mommy, I love Jesus, and I love daddy.
I have a family, I have kids and more kids.
Jesus' loves me and my family.
Jesus loves everybody.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Preparedness Fair

This coming Saturday, March 13th we will be attending a Preparedness Fair being held at the Lodi Stake Center on 1510 W. Century Blvd.

My friends in the stake have worked hard getting ready for it. The one they had last year went really well. This year they will have lots of booths and demonstrations done with the help of local public agencies and many experienced volunteers. Topics will include:
* Emergency food and waters kits for the home, car and workplace
* Alternate sources of cooking
* Home protection, home safety, security, crime prevention information
* Different facets of emergency communications
* Documents and important records preservation, child identification kits
* Basic first aid information kits for home and car
* Emergency needs for the elderly
* Gardening in small containers
* Cooking with food storage in an emergency

Thursday, March 4, 2010

... are you down, down, down? ... Pick Yourself UP

As a youth and young mother I suffered with depression off and on for years. In dealing with it for so long I've learned to recognize it as it comes and the things that compound it into a big problem. There are, for me, two things that I can change that help/hurt me. I'm not going to talk about the things that I cannot change because when I focus on those things (ie. money, things that just happen, what other people do, or how they treat me) it only gets worse.

1. FOOD, what I eat. Am I eating foods that good for me? Most importantly, greens and the right types of oil.
2. SIN, you can't be happy doing things you know are wrong... for me it is mostly sins of omission, what am I not doing? prayers, reading scriptures, being loving to my family, serving others, or maybe I'm being lazy, wasting the time or talents given me by the Lord. Spending my time on the internet instead of on my children.
The problem is that I don't feel like changing those things. When I'm feeling sorry for myself I want to be lazy and eat junk...

Often I give myself a day to mope, then force myself to do better.
As an example earlier this week, Sunday, I was feeling really bad about my life, something my loving thoughtless husband had said. I could feel it coming on so Monday I was sure to drink my green drink (I highly recommend it for emergency like this) and set a goal to better myself, in this case it is to read the Book of Mormon and all of last conference before this next coming one (32 days). Now before you think I am a super hero let me just say that I will not really be reading it, but I will be listening to it online.

I'll track my progress here:
March 1st First book Nephi chapters 1-9
2nd chapters 10-16
3rd chapters 17- 22
4th Second Nephi chapters 1-8
5th chapters 9-17
6th went to Monterey :)
7th chapters 18-33
8th bad day, bad day...
9th Jacob, Enos, Jerom, Omni
10th-15th lost track :p
16th started Alma chapter 10
50% done woohoo :D
18th started my day with "O that I were an angel" Alma chapter 29, my heart almost sings with this chapter...
23rd started the Book of Helaman
30th 90% done
31st started Ether, right on track :)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

All About Our New Baby's Birth


Sorry, it's taken me so long to update you guys, but I have been busy ;)
She was born Aug.19, 2009
1:55 am
8 lb 6oz
20in long
head 13 ½in
We got home from Madelyn’s birthday party at ten. Rudy rubbed some “Labor Balm” that Renee had given us on my tummy before bed.

I fell asleep, not sure for how long. I was up & down to the bathroom. I knew I was in labor, but thought we might not need to call the midwives till morning. Most of the contractions were pretty intense, but not all. I was feeling really tired and was wishing for some sleep instead of laboring all night, after a particularly hard bathroom trip I laid down and told myself I was just going to go to sleep then finish when I woke up the next morning, over and over… I started to believe it as I laid there with no contraction for about 5 minutes (the longest I had gone for awhile) then a monster of a contraction hit me, I was unprepared and not in a good position, after that I tried to get up but another one hit as I started to move, then another when I tried again but this time there was fluid dripping down my leg so I made myself get to the bathroom. I figured the baby had kicked my bladder during that contraction and didn't think much of it. Had a few more strong contractions and in the bathroom cleaned myself up. I had turned the light on this time so when I came back to bed Rudy asked if everything was OK? I said it was fine I had just peed the bed a little. I’m not sure if I ever made it back to bed. After a few more major contractions I started to feel like I needed to throw-up, then I couldn't stop shaking. I thought this feels like transition, but it couldn't be not so soon… plus with my first I had signs of being in transition but an hour later when I had gotten to the hospital I was only at 5 cm.

Rudy came into the bathroom to check on me. He asked how I was, I asked him to get me something to throw-up into. I could tell by the look on his face, he was thinking *All right, we’re going to have a baby!* We were both thinking we would call the midwives in the morning.

The contractions were quite overwhelming, I knew I needed to get them under control if I was going to do this for another 10 to 24 hours. I asked Rudy to start the shower, thinking the warm water would help. When I got in the shower the contraction were coming so fast that I barely had time to turn around in the shower before the next one would hit. After a little bit I thought we should call the midwives… but I was too distracted whenever Rudy came in the bathroom to tell him. I didn't know it at the time but he was on the computer trying to find a page I had pulled up for him a few days before a "dad's cheat sheet" for recognizing different stages of labor and what to do in them.

At one point in the shower it was like I could feel each drop of water hitting my back, it did not feel good. I turned off the water. With the next contraction I went down into more of a squat and (UHHH) felt myself start to push. Rudy came in, I told him he might want to call the midwives. I told him where to find the number. (1:50 am) I heard him talking to Jen (our midwife). I felt my water break, and said “My water just broke!” I don’t think anyone heard me. I could feel a lot of presser. Jen could hear me in the background and told Rudy to get ready to have a baby because it didn't sound like they were going to make it, they live more than an hour away. Rudy hung up the phone and turned his attention toward me. I told him the head was coming I don’t think he believed me, or I don’t think he had really come to grips with what was happening. After the next push I asked if the head was out, Rudy looked and was surprised to see that it was. I flipped over and went in to a reclining sitting position. I checked for the cord, but I couldn't tell. Rudy reached down like he was going to check, I told him to Get His Big Man Hands Away From Me!! I pushed for the next two contractions but nothing happened, her head was turning blue I was going over my different options in my head; I decided hands & knees were my best bet. As I was going to flip over she started kicking within me bringing on contractions too strong for me to move through, I tried again so did she. I think she was scared. I finally succeeded in flipping over. I told Rudy to pull, he did so gently, I pushed and out she came. Her little body flopped into the tub all limp and blue. I sat down and scooped her up. She wasn't breathing. I gently sucked out her mouth/nose. I rubbed her thickly vernix covered back. She made little congested baby noises. But still looked blue to me, then I noticed her body was pinking up, now it was just her face and head that were blue. She was bruised from her fast entry and her head being out had broken many of the blood vessels in her face. I offered her my breast and she suckled some.

Noah (my 2yo) had been awoken by all the commotion and came in as I was getting on my hands & knees, so he got to see the baby come out. I told Rudy to call the midwives back, (1:58 am) Jen was in her driveway. Then Rudy woke up the kids, they were very excited. Within half an hour I had passed the placenta into a bowl and went to lie down in bed. After I was in bed I realized that we hadn't actually checked to see that she was a girl... so I let the kids check, and what do ya know, mom was right! It's a girl!

The midwives got there a little after 3 am. When they checked me they found I had torn, they offered me a stitch I said that's OK, no need. They checked out my baby and found her to be perfect.