FEELING HIS LOVE

Most of you who read this will have had the experience of sitting in church and having the leader who's conducting the meeting ask for one or more persons in the congregation to extemporaneously bear his/her testimony. In fact, maybe you've been that person. I have sometimes heard the person who was asked begin by saying he/she had a feeling that might happen and had begun gathering thoughts. I have sometimes thought I might be that person, but it's never happened. Until last Saturday evening. At the adult session of our Stake Conference. In a room of hundreds of people. People who have lived here for years and years. People who our Stake President knows. People who might have had an impression that they would have this opportunity.

You've guessed it - I was caught by complete surprise. Not only did I not have any such forewarning, I wasn't in the best of moods. It had been a somewhat challenging day and I had gone to the meeting with a great desire to be fed spiritually. The theme for our conference was seeking, inviting, and using the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I was learning a lot as I listened and took notes. Suddenly I was putting my shoes back on, standing up, and heading toward the pulpit. It was a long walk from the center of the cultural hall (where we weren't visible to the stake president) to the stand. As I approached, I smiled at the stake presidency hoping they would know I was not upset, just overwhelmed.

As I looked out on so many members of our stake, I saw a sea of faces and recognized only one - that of my husband. I know there were a few more that I should have recognized, but I either didn't see them or I was blinded by the circumstances. As I began to bear my testimony I felt the sweet sustaining of the Spirit. I was able to express my knowledge and thoughts clearly, inspite of my emotions. After I finished and returned to my seat, I wondered why I had been one of the two people chosen to bear testimony. Two possibilities came to my mind and heart.

The first was that my loving Heavenly Father knew of my inner struggle and wanted to comfort and strengthen me as immediately as possible. He did that by providing an opportunity for me to remember and voice the truths that I know. While I bore witness to the congregation, I affirmed to myself that I do indeed KNOW that the gospel is true and that Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us individually, that His Son atoned for us, and that the gift of the Holy Ghost is real. When I recognized that this "opportunity" was a gift from Him, it was if I felt His loving arms around me.

Second, perhaps the stake president was looking for direction in his closing remarks. He said he felt impressed to talk about the Spirit's ability to bring peace. He described the additional blessings that accompany peace - light, optimism, enthusiasm, joy, confidence, and more. (I couldn't write fast enough.) He taught that the Holy Ghost is the mechanism for heaven to interact with earth and that we have control over whether we qualify for that mechanism to work in our lives. He said much more and I gained new insights and felt uplifted. I began to feel the peace that he was speaking about.

The moral of my story: God really does move in mysterious ways to perform his wonders. And if we put our trust in Him and seek to learn the language of the Spirit, we'll recognize His hand.

HELP! (please)

Our home has a very big ledge over the family room.


We ignored it for several months after moving in, but then we got brave enough to purchase some artificial trees.



They are a great improvement, but they are just a start.

Karen and Jeff gave us the letters spelling HOME which Roger hung on the wall that's part of the ledge, just below the trees and above the bookshelves.



Now we're working on filling in the space, and you're invited to help. Here are 2 more artificial plants in baskets that were hanging over the ledge until he put up the letters. I didn't like the look of the greenery hanging on or between the letters. Do you think we should put the letters closer together?


Here are some items that we already own and might use to complete our project. Which ones would you recommend? Some items are in need of a change of paint color. Feel free to make suggestions...


The brass teapot belonged to my parents; I'm not sure which country it came from. The pewter dish is from my Grandma Jensen, the fan made by one of my sweet children, the red container from our trip to Singapore, the cookie jar says "biscotti and is from a friend in New York.


The goose is made of wood, the upright dish is leather and from Brasil.




Roger bought the blue watering can at the second-hand store. I like it but not the flowers coming out the top.
















I found the large plate (it looks red, but is actually closer to maroon) at DI. The thing on the right is a metal plant holder. The white plate is from Roger's trip to Rome.








What do you think about putting up this plaque that my mom gave me?








What about putting birds up around those trees? I actually have 4 cardinals (reminders of New York) and 2 of the wooden birds with long necks (from Mom & Dad's mission to Jamaica).





















Or candlestands?




Last question for all you decorators - What would you suggest adding that you didn't see in any of my photos?

Why It’s Smart To Be Optimistic

Last week I resurrected my Grandma Linda Blog. I hope I'm not overdoing but moving on to this one...

Here's an article from Reader's Digest December 2010 by Meryl Davids Landau. Hopefully you're in the mood for a little bit of inspiration:

Expecting good things can make you healthier and might even lengthen your life, says researcher Suzanne Segerstrom, PhD, author of Breaking Murphy’s Law. Segerstrom is coauthor of a recent review of studies on the benefits of a positive attitude—and has experienced them herself. We asked her about optimism’s principles and payoffs.

1) Feeling well helps when you’re not well.

“When researchers look at people who have similar medical conditions, they can predict who’s likely to live longer: the one who feels his health is better. There’s something about that feeling of wellness that’s important, even—maybe especially—if you’re ill. Optimism also seems to help buffer you against stress. I’ve been studying first-year law students for 16 years. That’s a very stressed group, but in my most recent study, each time a student’s optimism increased one point on a five-point scale, his immune response to an injected virus or yeast improved by 20 percent.”

2) Optimism is something you do.

“Anxiety and other negative emotions are known to be detrimental to the body, especially to your cardiovascular and immune systems, and having an optimistic nature seems to protect against those effects.

In addition, research shows that people who are optimistic about their future behave differently. They exercise more, are less likely to smoke, and follow a better diet. And if they get sick, they’re more apt to actively participate in their treatment. I’ve seen that myself—I have back pain from arthritis, but I think my willingness to do whatever it takes has helped a lot.”

3) Not happy? Don’t worry.

“Happiness is a feeling; optimism is a belief that aspects of your future will turn out well. Happiness can fluctuate a lot, but an optimistic disposition is usually pretty stable. If you’re not optimistic, you can try creating a ‘positive events’ log. Good things happen to everyone, but pessimists often don’t take notice; spending a few minutes every day writing about at least three positive things may help you expect them more often. Or instead of trying to be optimistic, do what optimists do: Work hard to reach your goals. Each accomplishment should make it easier to be hopeful about the next one.”


Depending on which study you read, optimists …

…are 9 percent less likely to develop heart disease.

…are only 77 percent as likely to be rehospitalized after some types of major surgery.

…have blood pressure that’s five points lower, on average.

…live an average of 9.5 years longer.

My advice is to adopt the attitude that things will work out for the best. That's a quote from one of my daughters and it is a very powerful statement. No matter what's going on, you have control over your attitude. And being OPTIMISTIC will help you recognize the good and make it happen.