Sabbath Prayer

Helping Hands by Marilyn Hunt

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;
When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;
When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;
When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,
And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help;
By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.
- Samuel F. Pugh

Happy Sabbath!

One of the most important things we do through the gospel of Jesus Christ is to build people.

Properly serving others requires effort to understand them as individuals —their personalities, their strengths, their concerns, their hopes and dreams— so that the correct help and support can be provided. Frankly, it’s much easier to just manage programs than it is to understand and truly serve people.

Brothers and sisters, may we focus on the simple ways we can serve in the kingdom of God, always striving to change lives, including our own. What is most important in our Church responsibilities is not the statistics that are reported or the meetings that are held but whether or not individual people—ministered to one at a time just as the Savior did—have been lifted and encouraged and ultimately changed. Our task is to help others find the peace and the joy that only the gospel can give them.
~M. Russell Ballard
O Be Wise ~ Conference Talk, October 2006

Have a wonderful Sabbath Day!
Elizabeth

The Voyage

"A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
—William Shedd

Do you ever feel like you have set sail for a never before seen destination, unsure of the storms that lie ahead, hoping and praying that you are sturdy enough to withstand the onslaught of towering waves, hurricane force winds, or days of such calm that there is no wind to fill your sails? Some of those around us, sail smoothly passed us seemly from start to finish with barely a ripple or cloudy day to mar their travel, while we may feel battered and nearly broken, arriving in port barely held together.

What sustains us as we move forward through both rough seas and calm? For some, it is the knowledge that they are well built and strong, but even some of these will never make it. It is having the knowledge that God is over the hurricanes, the winds, the rains, that helps us keep going. He is the brilliant Navigator in whom we must put our trust, for if we do, He will safely guide us. As for the seeming inequities in life, it is to trust that God will give us the understanding, in this Life or the next, why some smoothly sail while others are devastated by the journey.

Whatever our experience, God has made us for the open sea. It is only there that we experience the exhilaration of the wind in full sails. It is only there that we can feel we are fulfilling our destiny. It is where we learn to be sea worthy. It is our opportunity to learn to trust the Navigator that He will see us to safe harbor when our voyage is over and we return Home to go out no more.

Have a blessed Sabbath!

Elizabeth

Have I Seen His Hand In My Life Today?

Lillies of The Valley and Sunday Meme

Happy Sabbath, Sweet Friends!

I have been out of touch for awhile. Both my children have been fighting the flu and it has taken all my time and energy running between the two. My daughter is much better, but my son has taken ill again, this time worse than before, and so I am mothering overtime and have been unable to blog or visit blogs for awhile.

Having said that, I have a small period of quiet time and thought that I would share some pictures of my garden. The Lillies of the Valley are out in force. They are such delicate flowers. They remind me of my mother, because while I was still living in NC, I once gave my mother a small pot of them for Mother's Day.

These sweet flowers also remind me of a song my sister and I use to sing when we were children. It goes:


"White, coral bells upon a slender stalk,
Lillies of the Valley deck my garden walk.
Oh, how I wish that you could hear them ring.
That will happen only when the fairies sing."

We would sing this in a "round", while swinging on our backyard swingset.

Such lovely memories, all of them. And I leave them with you today, along with my wishes for you to have a wonderful Sabbath.

God bless,
Elizabeth

HERE'S A MEME TO READ FOR FUN:

A

• Are you available? For what?
• What is your age? XX
• What annoys you? Noise

B

• Do you know anyone named Billy? My cousins, Fallon and Val, have Billy for first names.
• When is your birthday? November
• Who is your best friend? I have several super close friends.

C

• What is your favorite Candy? Chocolate caramels
• Crush? Nope.
• When was the last time that you cried? I don't cry much, but after an upsetting dream.

D

• Do you daydream? Constantly.
• What is your favorite dog? Golden Retriever
• What day of the week is it? Sunday

E

• How do you like your eggs? Omelettes and poached.
• Have you ever been in the emergency room? Unfortunately, yes.
• Have you ever petted an elephant? Yes.

F

• Do you use fly swatters? I prefer persuasion.
• Have you ever used a foghorn? No.
• Do you have a fan in your room? No.

G

• Do you chew gum? Occasionally.
• Do you like gummy candies? Not really.
• Do you like gory movies? Rarely.

H

• How are you? Plugging along...
• What is your height? 5'3"
• What color is your hair? I say dark-blonde, but it's really light brown.

I

• What's your favorite ice cream? Chocolate chunk.
• Have you ever been ice skating? Yes.l
• Ever been in an igloo? NO!

J

• What's your favorite jelly bean? Licorice.
• Have you ever heard a hilarious joke? Yes. Favorite joke: "What's the last thing that passes through a fly's mind when he hits your windshield?....His fanny!"
• Do you wear jewelry? Earrings, mostly.

K

• Who do you want to kill? Mosquitoes.
• Have you ever flown a kite? Badly.
• Do you think kangaroos are cute? To other kangaroos.

L

• Are you laid back? Half of the time.
• Lions or tigers? Lions
• Do you like black licorice? Love it!

M

• Favorite movie as a kid? Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz
• Ever shopped at Moosejaw? What?!
• Favorite shop at the mall? Don't like the mall.

N

• What is your nickname? Beth (don't call me that!)
• What's your favorite number? 15 and 17.
• Do you prefer night or day? Day

O

• What's your one wish? For HEALTH INSURANCE
• Are you an only child? Nope.
• Do you like the color orange? Uh, no, but my son gave me an orange mug for Christmas and I LOVE anything he gives me!

P

• What are you most paranoid about? Being an idiot.
• Piercings? One set for earrings.
• Do you know anyone named Penelope? An old friend's basset hound.

Q

• Are you quick to judge people? No.
• Do you like Quaker Oats? Just plain quick oats.
• Know anyone who makes quilts? Sue!

R

• Do you think you are always right? Except when I'm wrong.
• Do you watch reality TV? Dancing With The Stars!
• Reason to cry? The loss of loved ones.

S

• Do prefer sun or rain? Sun!
• Do you like snow? Yes.
• What's your favorite season? Spring and Fall.

T

• Time is it? 2:15 p.m.
• What time did you wake up? 10:00 a.m.

U

• Can you ride a unicycle? No!
• Do you know anyone with a uni-brow? NO!!
• Uncles do you have? Three still living.

V

• What's the worst vegetable? Brussel sprouts!
• Ever watch Veggie Tales? Oh, yes!!
• Ever considered being a vegan? Yes.

W

• What's your worst habit? Picking my cuticles - yuk.
• Do you like water rides? Yes.
• Ever been inside a windmill? No.

X

• Have you ever had an x-ray? I glow in the dark.
• Ever xeroxed anything? Yes.

Y

• Do you like the color yellow? Yes, very much.
• What year were you born in? 1957
• Do you yell when you are angry? yes

Z

• Do you believe in the Zodiac? No.
• What is your zodiac sign? Scorpio.
• When was the last time you went to the zoo? Last year.

To participate, click HERE.

Happy Sabbath

Hello, Ladies!

Happy Sabbath! Whew! I am so happy to be back to my old self again. That's one fun thing about being sick...It feels so good when it's over! However, now both of my children are sick, so I'm still at home! Thank you for the sweet comments.

I would like to ask you to please pray for my sweet friend, Beth, over at Aunties With Advice. She has been sick for weeks and was just diagnosed with pneumonia. She really needs prayer power. When you read this, please offer up a little prayer for Beth. Thank you so much!!

For my Sabbath message...I'd like to link you to a wonderful story about my favorite picture of Jesus Christ (above). Scroll down the page to the link, "Jesus, The Masterpiece", and read about how this wonderful woman was inspired to create this painting after suffering a Near-Death Experience.

Hope you have a wonderful Sabbath!
Elizabeth

Happy Sabbath

I had a wonderful opportunity today for a long prayer session which I normally never get. As you may have read in my earlier posts, my son and husband have been away on a weekend retreat with some friends at a mountain cabin about an hour or so from here. My daughter, Sarah, has been staying at the house where the wives and I had a Girls Night. Today, I awoke to a silent house.

Whenever I am in silence, my heart wants to fill the silence with prayer. Usually, I never get quite this much. When I found out that I have to pick up my husband and son in the middle of the time that we normally attend our meetings, I decided to use the hour or so when I would normally be getting ready for church to say the kind of prayer that was a regular offering for me when I was single and had lots of alone time to be with the Lord. Oh, my goodness, the time flew by today. Before I knew it, my heart had been pouring out to God for close to an hour. I felt His Spirit all around me and enjoyed His peace. I gave thanks for all of my many blessings and didn't have to rush through my supplications for the people I present to Him for His help.

Now I feel just wonderful and thankful. I am grateful all the lessons I've been learning in my life. I feel like a number of situations/challenges have come full circle and they are a testimony to me that the Lord has had a plan for my life.

I hope that you are having a wonderful day today, too, however you choose to spend it. I hope it is full of sunshine (either real or emotional) and peace.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Happy Sabbath

"None of us is wise enough to make it on our own.
We need the help, the wisdom, the guidance of the Almighty in reaching those decisions that are so tremendously important in our lives.
There is no substitute for prayer.
There is no greater resource."
--President Gordon B. Hinckley

Love,
Elizabeth

Happy Sabbath

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with our friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows . . . May we cherish those we hold dear, and express our love to them in word and deed." —Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints

One life and one alone we have to live
Upon this earth.
One life in which to learn so much –to
Seek and find and prove your worth.
So many dreams there are to dream —
So many things to know and do.
So many rosy peaks to climb —
So many pathways to pursue.

So waste no time on fruitless quests that
Get you nowhere in the end.
The God of Time is yours to squander or
With care, to use and spend.
It’s folly to postpone good deeds. "Tomorrow
Never comes," they say.
The future belongs to God. Your only chance
Is now –TODAY. ~ UNKNOWN
Love,
Elizabeth

The last of the Fall leaves are turning here. It has been a beautiful Fall. Can't hardly believe that Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks away. We have had snow, rain and cool, beautiful weather. This next week will mostly be the latter. I will take many walks because I know there won't be much more of this.

My father has been visiting from Virginia. He leaves today. I have much to post, but will save it for this coming week.

Have a wonderful, blessed Sabbath.
Love,
Elizabeth