Scripture Thought…Genesis 13:12-13 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Mosiah 2:6 And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple……
My thought on this is to ask each of us…where are we pitching our tents and what is the first thing we would see each day as we walked out the door…Sodom or the temple? I look at Sodom as being the worldly ways that we live in today…I see the temple as Christ and family….I think that if we looked at the worldly ways long enough that we would become so used to it that we would probably slip into that mode of living. I think that if we looked at the temple that our choices would be to live the way that the Lord would want us to. Not sure if this makes sense to you, but it comes to me that we in this day and age are faced with many outside temptations. And little by little we accept it as a way of life……Satan creeps into our lives, our sons and daughters too, and if we are not strong in obedience and keeping the commandments we will loose our feelings for those things that really matter. So, I ask us all…, which way will we pitch our tents…..to face Sodom or to face the temple? Just remember….remember who you are and what you are and then choose the right…………act accordingly.
Okay, lets see what is happening around this cold place. I guess after seeing how much snow and fluffy white stuff some of you have been getting, I should not complain, as it could be a whole lot worse…oh spring and warmth where are you……? I would guess that the big news here is that your father has decided, finally and at last, to come to the gym to work out for an hour 4-5 days a week. He is not as devoted as I am at a full 5 days, yet, but there is hope in that he is coming which is more than it used to be with not coming at all. He takes his newspaper along with him so that he can sit and read while waiting for me to get out of swimming. He and Bernell both do that. Then after sitting and reading he gets up to walk and looks like he is 100 plus years old with the old shuffle steps and moaning coming from him. Then he comes home, grabs his Pepsi and his blanket and settles down into his chair and promptly falls asleep. You would think that one hour work out was tough…..Now if it was golf going on, you can bet he would move around like some young kid….I on the other hand get up at 6:20am and head out to go swimming. I have found that I am much faster dressing if I leave the bra off and so I try that off and on. I really don’t want to scare people with the extra bulges but it really is faster getting undressed and dressed. Besides I have a coat on for coverage. Now, let me tell you about the many miles that I have been able to swim…..well, kicking and using arms for paddles as I do use a belt that keeps me afloat….we are almost within reach of the 100 mile swim mark….Yesssssss! I will have it within the next week. I get a certificate for accomplishing it. Yessssss! Now, there is a secret to how we have accomplished this…its call using your ‘marbles.’ We found that we could not keep count as to how many laps we were doing because we talk so much and we don’t multitask very well, and we were doing more or less than we should…so we bought marbles to keep count with and that way we could talk about what ever topic we wanted to without missing our count. It works for us!! The only thing is that we have had different people come along and take a marble or two out and hide them from us, or they like to trade the little plastic tubs around so that we get mixed up as to how many laps we have done, or just lately we had a fellow add three more marbles in so that we would loose count and do more laps…honestly what we go through trying to be honest in our laps. Bernell says that the only thing about our body loss is that our lips are getting thinner because they are getting the most work out with all our talking….not the body. Oh well, it is fun and a great way to start the day. Since getting food poisoning and getting dehydrated and recouping from that, which was not fun at all, nothing to much has happened. I know that dad misses being able to work and he gets a bit on edge. Our Saturdays at the temple will be coming to an end as they are going to do a reconstruction of the temple that will take a couple of years to accomplish. Not sure when they will start doing this and we will work there until they say stop! I have to say that I have had some really nice experiences working in the temple. It is one of the most wonderful places to give service at our age. I love the feeling of being out of the worldly ways for those hours spent there. I love the whole workings of the temple. I love the people who work with us and lets just say that it is a wonderful calling to have and be a part of. Last night I had the chance to talk with one of our new patron escorts as we were waiting for the Matron to come and give the little lecture ….she had just lost a daughter in October who was 17 years old to leukemia. They were wanting to do her temple work in October of this year. She was expressing her feelings of loosing this child. I mentioned the feelings we have had living with the loss of Brad. After talking to her about our experience and feelings, she told me that she was so glad that she had come to the temple and could talk with me about the death of a child. I guess that we can be of help to others if we remember the things that we have learned throughout our different experiences and then be grateful for the gospel lessons learned…..well, it was a good feeling and a good talk that I had with her. The spirit was there as it always is if we will just let it guide us in what we say and do.
Well, my loves, I am hoping to hear from each of you. I would so like to know what is going on in your lives and with my grandchildren. I love the pictures that I have gotten from you. Take care and remember to live each day the best that you can. Stay strong no matter the trials that come your way. The Lord will see you through, so have faith, hope and love for Him and the gospel teachings.
Love you dearly
Mom and Dad……..
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
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