Author: Angela

I write so my family will always have letters from home.

Consistent.

Here is a description I discovered this week of an early Christian sacrament meeting:

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.

Justin Martyr, First Apology, written A.D. 147-161

I feel a kinship with the early church when I read this. It is a precious gift to be able to participate in sacrament meetings in the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.

The miracle of the sunflowers

I have written before about our sunflower miracle that began when we sent off our first missionary. The week that Daniel left, the first flower showed up. The flowers continue to arrive, year after year. A couple of times we have inadvertently pulled them out with the weeds, but the miracle continues.

I have gone through an anxious season, and several times over the past few weeks, I have retreated to our backyard to study these sunflowers. I realized a new level of meaning behind my miracle flowers. They remind me that if God can orchestrate flowers to bloom on particular days, He is has a plan to help my family, too. I can trust Him.

Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Matthew 6:25-34

New York City

I had never been to New York City, so Richard took me there this week. We stayed in an Airbnb not far from Times Square, but definitely on a quiet street. We could walk to our shows in about five minutes.

Vacations and major family events are tough to condense into blog posts. Trips planned by Richard are usually so full that it’s impossible to cover everything, and this trip was just the two of us, so it also feels more personal.

Still, I know that Paige will probably like to see her old stomping grounds, and the future me will like this place marker in time showing some of our adventures together, so here goes.

A bike ride through Central Park
Museum of Modern Art
Show #1
Manhattan Temple
The Starry Night was at the Met for a special exhibit.
We saw a lot of beautiful art, but this was one of my favorites, also by Van Gogh.
I cannot capture all we saw in the nearly 5 hours we spent at the Met.
Show #2. Delightful.
9/11 Memorial and Museum: Somber, heavy, dark, important.
Beautiful view at lunch in lower Manhattan
Brooklyn Bridge
Staten Island Ferry at night

Trip Stats, according to Google maps:

  • 12 miles of walking
  • 59 miles of driving
  • 6 miles of cycling
  • 13 miles on the train
  • 4,019 miles by plane
  • 11 miles on a ferry
  • 11 hours of culture
  • 8 hours in airports
  • 5 hours at parks

Duckie Race

We have a duckie race in the river each year at the Sanchez reunion. Each person chooses a duck and someone dumps them into the river upstream and we watch them race towards our bridge. We do three heats and pull out the winners for a fourth and final race.

The children and adults line up on the bridge and in the river to watch and cheer for their ducks. It is a coveted job among the tweens and teens to stand in the water beneath the bridge to catch the ducks in nets as they cross the finish line.

Championship trophies are awarded, so these are highly sought-after titles. The jester duck won, which was my Uncle Doug’s duck, thanks to my nephew David, who chose it for him. Doug gave the championship cup to David after an emotional acceptance speech. đŸ˜‚ Mark’s monkey duck won a heat and was in the final race, along with Richard’s duck. My baby duck didn’t do very well at all. Maybe next year.

A long wait

Our carpet needed to be replaced 11 years ago when we bought this house, but we waited to make the purchase. Tonight, our kitchen is full of furniture, including our grand piano, ready for new carpet tomorrow morning.

This time tomorrow night, that old smelly carpet will be gone. Still, what did I do today? I carefully vacuumed it one last time.

Thank you, old carpet.

20 months

Each month, I add a new house on my kitchen windowsill to mark the time that Tim has served as a missionary. I think of the people he has met, and the many houses he has entered.

This display was marketed as an advent calendar, but the anticipation of placing a new house each month might actually be more exciting than counting down the days until Christmas.

I like to find ways to mark our days. Sometimes it’s impossible to convey all that has come during a period of time, but somehow, these little houses hold my secrets.

Prayer Fog

Such a helpful insight from Becky Craven on Instagram today!

In my journals from the busiest years of my life, I often expressed frustration because I struggled to concentrate during my personal prayers. In one journal, I used the pages to write out my prayers, thinking that this would improve my focus.

I wish that I had understood that some of those thoughts that snuck into my mind during my seemingly unfocused prayers were God’s way of reaching me.

Also, I understand now that during those elemental prayers, which were scattered and pleading, I was actually creating a relationship with God because I was being real. He didn’t want a formal structure as much as He just wanted to hear from me. My prayers were effective, and I didn’t know it.

So, today I encourage you to keep praying through the frustration and fog. We may not see it now, but heaven is closer and more helpful than we can imagine.