This quilt has been a year-long project, and it is finally ready to hand off to my friend to quilt it. The Dresden plates are hand-appliqued, and the colored fabrics are from my fabric scrap collection. The colored border is made from a few hundred squares. Good job, me. I like the quilt because the fabrics remind me of my history. I should be able to finish binding it by the end of the month.
To Do Today:
What am I actually doing ?
I am watching YouTube videos and writing this nonsense.
It occurs to me that I spend time chasing after things that are already mine.
I look for measurements of my popularity, but I already know that I am loved.
I work to prove my value, but my worth has always been intact.
I seek joy in habits that don’t bring me joy, yet I knew how to have it long ago, dancing on the lawn as a child.
Joy comes after effort, but I don’t need to work so hard to find things that I am already carrying in my pocket. I no longer dance spontaneously on the front lawn, but the essential formula remains: Joy comes from just letting go.
Dear Friend,
Here is a letter to begin the month of April.
Our lives feel like they are on pause in this endless winter with so much snow that our canyon is closed.
We watched general conference all weekend. For us, this looks like Legos and blocks on the floor, blankets on the sofas and chairs, a whiteboard and markers for making summaries of talks, and so many snacks. Every crumb of snacks that I poured into bowls was consumed. I made cinnamon rolls and broccoli soup, and served a key lime pie and lots of other things. We walked each day to restore ourselves after the stupor of watching television.
I write this on a scheduled lazy morning. We are expecting another pile of snow today. (Happy spring break to us!) I can’t get excited about this week of snow and the removal of Mark’s wisdom teeth. In fact, I dread, dread, dread the wisdom teeth appointment. (Snuggling deeper into a blanket) Maybe if I think about Easter and make some plans that will help.
I am also watching another flight for Tim. He is always chatty and energized when he gets a transfer, which for the Micronesia Guam mission means an oversea flight. Richard watches YouTube videos analyzing plane crashes for enjoyment when I am not around. He knows that I don’t need to feed my mind any more death scenarios. I will be glad when the little green dot on the website lands in Guam later today, which is tomorrow for Tim.
I had several unconnected conversations with friends last month that led me to pick up my orthodontic retainers and wear them again. Never stop wearing your retainers is my piece of wisdom for today. There are lots of retainers in our lives, not just orthodontic ones: Date nights, repentance, the sacrament, finding God in prayer, finding Jesus in scripture study… Never stop with the retainers.
I have a quilt to finish, but I think I will wait to shop for more fabric. My stack of books is growing. Last week I was a little sick, and one night I went to bed discouraged by what I hadn’t accomplished. But then I felt the impression to consider all I HAD accomplished that day, despite all. Sometimes we just need to make a backwards TO DO list, and simply list what’s DONE. For me, this is the ultimate self care routine.
It is Holy Week. Happy Easter celebrations await.
Love,
A
This was my favorite talk today, and I had many that I loved. The subject, delivery, and person made it extra special.
Many years ago, I wrote a post about this little 2″ x 2″ tile that I pulled from the floor during the demolition of my parents’ cabin. These very old tiles were so fragile, and my efforts to extract them mostly ended in them crumbling to pieces. It took a long, careful effort to dislodge this one. I wrote how the process of removing this tile was like helping people make changes in their lives. I displayed this tile to remind me to be patient and gentle with others, but I was definitely overlooking a beam in my own eye.
Later, I found this quote, “For you, I would keep working on me.” This challenged my reason for having this tile on display. I realized that I should think of myself as the stubborn tile.
I still display this tile, but it is no longer just a reminder to be loving and patient with others. It reminds me to keep working on me, and that it is God’s hand that lovingly frees us.
For Heavenly Father,
For Richard,
For my family,
For my friends and neighbors,
I will keep working on me.
Golden light or steely white, sunshine, snow, or rain? Two seasons vie for the title, jumbled, mixed, and frantic. Successor, king, usurper, winner, loser. Two seasons, tossed again and again. Winter cheats. It wins and wins.
We tend to find what we seek, especially in the temple. Today, I took spiritual shelter there, and I lingered for a long time. I was seeking rest in the midst of some concerns, and I noticed there was a comfortable chair waiting for me in the celestial room.
If you need some shelter, there is a chair waiting for you at the temple, even in the waiting area or on the grounds. The Spirit feels the same, wherever you are within the gates. Perhaps you could find your own comfortable spot under the shelter of a temple spire. It’s not about the building, though. Just like a grandmother’s house, the feeling stems from the one who lives there.
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Isaiah 25:4, KJV