Church – Page 28 – Letters from Home

Weekend Recap

We went out for breakfast one morning and discovered that we were wearing rainbow colors. Wow, that photo looks awkward. We really were enjoying being together.

Here are a few things we did together this weekend:

We planted our garden.

We delivered 200 fliers for a neighborhood social activity.

We placed flags in our neighborhood for Memorial Day.

We enjoyed homemade cookies one night when Daniel had his friends over for a movie.

I threw a birthday party for Mark but sadly only one boy that we invited was able to attend. Timothy joined the party to make things less lonely for Mark. It turned out to be a good time. I think it’s another reminder to me that I am not good at “friend” birthday parties. I will be keeping only family parties from now on. Let’s see if I can keep that resolution…

We enjoyed a neighborhood social activity where we walked among three homes where the families hosted refreshments. We met several new people and visited with many friends. The boys rode scooters and bikes.

We had a scooter repair shop on Saturday in the garage.

We attended church, 3 of us sang in the choir, and Richard was a substitute teacher in Timothy’s class.

We had fun meals, including a very colorful salad bar one night and fajitas from the grill the next night.

Mark and I made pretzels for family night. Speaking of family night, we decided to gather out beneath the trees. Things were going fine, but then Sparky lost a fight with a cat that wandered into our yard. He limped, bleeding back to the house and cowered in corners the rest of the evening. We gathered again under the trees and the neighbors’ sprinkler system came on, soaking those who were relaxing in the hammocks. Ha! That was the end of family night.

Today

I brought these bouquets from the garden into the house today. They are so fragrant that I don’t know if they can stay.

Here are some things I am thankful for today:

Flowers in our yard
Quiet corners in the house
The piano
Testimony meeting at church
A prom dress ready two weeks in advance
Friends
Mark’s giggles at store mannequins
Timothy’s bursting social calendar
A golf cart full of Daniel’s friends
An opportunity for Paige to shine as an artist
RICHARD
Safe arrivals
A soft lawn
A day of rededication and worship

He is Risen

Easter music has accompanied me this week in the car. I’m working through Handel’s Messiah sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir this afternoon. Today the choir at church sang two beautiful numbers. I am thankful for music at Easter time. It gives voice to what’s in my heart and helps me make this a real day of celebration.

A lesson from seedlings

A favorite spot in our home is the kitchen in the morning when the light comes through the windows. Light coming over a mountain has a different quality than any other kind of sunrise.

This morning the light is streaming across our little tomato seedlings sitting in the window. Earlier today I noticed that their 1 1/2 inch stems were all angled toward the window. I rotated them so they curved away from the light. Already I can see them straightening up and turning the other direction toward the light.

They have it figured out. No matter what changes occur, they will seek the light. We can learn a lesson from the seedlings. We can’t afford to turn away from the Savior. Sometimes that means giving up things we love or seeing popular philosophies for what they really are: a means of turning us away from life-giving light.

As an observer and a participant in these perilous times, I don’t believe that we need more sophistication, but more simplicity. The light is predictable and strong and we simply need to turn toward the light, angling our spirits, our actions, our thoughts, and our words in line with the source. It helps to remember that there is power in that. The light is the source of energy behind those enormous redwoods and the source of energy to make delicious fruits. We need the Savior every minute, and we can’t afford to turn away from him.

Year 6

The tradition continues…

Here we are in our annual photo before the ~~Young~~ Women General Meeting.

We took about 60 photos. I chose the above photo, but the following photo was in the running:

I won’t share all of the photos from over the years, but this was our first photo when Paige was 12.

Sacred Gifts

Paige had the day off from school on Monday and we decided to get tickets to the Sacred Gifts exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art. We went with my mom and made a day of it. If you have an opportunity to go, you should. These paintings are on loan from several locations, mostly churches, and they are all depictions of the Savior. The altar pieces take some time to study. There are paintings by Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hoffmann, and Frans Schwartz.

I realized that I had never seen real art before. I have visited community and university museums all of my life, but never felt what I did at this exhibit. Part of it was the subject matter and seeing original paintings rather than the washed out prints I have looked at all my life. The paintings were luminous and vibrant in color. I could see the foreground of the paintings were painted differently than the backgrounds. I could see the “spectators” in Bloch’s paintings more clearly. My favorite was the first painting, Frans Schwartz’s Agony in the Garden. It touched me deeply.

One caption near a painting by Heinrich Hofmann told of the inadequacy that Hofmann felt when he began painting the Savior. The painting took him two years to complete, and the writer of the caption emphasized the courage it took for Hofmann to paint, despite his youth, inexperience, and the immense subject matter he was trying to depict.

I think that’s the message that I needed to hear this week. Even though we may feel inadequate, our time and talents given to others can become sacred gifts, and they can be magnified in quality when we give with a pure heart.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Our party was fun on Friday night. Our guests were chosen for us by someone from church, and as hosts, only we knew who was coming. Paige was our pianist while we ate. She made it feel so elegant to be eating at the Ross house. I have learned that a little help in the kitchen makes an evening so much more enjoyable. Daniel cleared our plates and loaded the dishwasher quietly so we could visit. He heard some great stories from some fun people as he worked.

This was my favorite picture of the night. Daniel took all of these photos.

Everyone brought something special. Just look at the colors of that food… and those rolls! I don’t take credit for any of the food. I just warmed things in the oven and microwave. Richard’s smoked chicken was a hit. These were gorgeous, gorgeous plates of food.

We heard so many fun stories and that was the best part. I think we were so lucky to get this mix of people.

The little boys came out in their suits to serve trifle for dessert. I made individual trifle servings in mason jars. These were so pretty. One of the couples in our group is serving a mission and the elder gave Timothy his name tag to wear for a few minutes to see how it felt.

I am thankful for my neighbors and ward members. It was so good to get to know them.

These women are two of my children’s teachers in church. How great is that?

When the evening was over, I fell into bed in my clothes and slept in the next morning. Sleep is sweet when you’ve worked hard for something.

Party tonight

I’m preparing for a dinner party for 12 adults today. I haven’t finished the table yet, but things will get crazy later and I may forget to take another picture. My sister Susan provided the lanterns and Long tablecloth. I have leftover bird nests from a Young Women activity filled with chocolate eggs and get-to-know-you questions for the guests to discuss over dinner.

The kids are helping tonight and will play background piano music, photograph the event, and the little boys will serve dessert in their suits. Mark has permission to change IMMEDIATELY after dessert. Richard is preparing some of our meal in his smoker. (I always want to type that he is smoking chicken, but that sounds like something else.) His smoked chicken is so good.

The theme for the evening is “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and the guests don’t know who is invited. Our church is holding these parties in 7 or 8 members’ homes tonight. Only the hosts know who is coming. It’s a great chance to get to know people.

I finished hanging frames for a gallery wall, but I may not get all the frames filled today. All well.

Our basement flooded last night and our fence is still down in the backyard. Other than that, we’re looking good for company!

A New Feature

My voice is small and my influence is very narrow, but I have written some things on this blog about my Church that I hope will be helpful to someone. I have added a new page to my blog called, “Angela’s posts about our Church”. If you use a reader rather than visit my site, you will miss it, so I am telling you it’s there.

Here’s a link so you can look at it if you feel like it. It’s a collection of posts that I have already written. There’s nothing new here, but they are organized in one place for you.

Why is it important that I share this stuff? I don’t know. I just feel like doing it. That is all for today.

Grace

Everyone is home on this Sunday afternoon enjoying individual pursuits. There is sweet piano music echoing through the house. Thoughts from church this morning rise to the surface as I take some time to rest. I am grateful for the Savior, and that His grace carries us through difficulties. I am glad to know that the gift of grace is just that: a gift, not earned by me, but it’s up to me to accept that gift.

When I obey the commandments I show that I accept the gift.

When I repent I show that the gift is appreciated.

When I help others I show that the gift has changed me.

Nothing I do will repay the gift of the Savior, but through his grace and my obedience (acceptance of His laws) I know that I can be perfected in Him.