Letter Week 10/22/23

Hello! How are you? Did you have an interesting week? We did here. If anything, Vegas is rarely boring! I usually write on Mondays, but my day is stuffed full tomorrow so thought I'd better write something tonight. Plus we had a fantastic sacrament meeting today so I thought I might tell you about that before I forget. Sister Zygmont spoke about the talk from conference called, "The Savior's Healing Power on the Isles of the Sea". I remember when I heard this talk too and was amazed by what a sister from Okinawa went through during and after WWII. Sister ZYgmont spoke about how much sacrifice this sister and others went through, selling businesses and homes just to get funds to get to the temple to have their ancestors sealed. She said that it made her think here she had a temple so close in vegas and has she really made it a priority? When her kids were smaller it was hard, but now that her kids are older she and her husband have made the temple a priority and have had many blessings! She bore a sweet testimony about how they had even taken family names for baptisms in Kansas City temple, then initiatory in Nauvoo and then endowments and sealings in Palymyra! I could almost picture their ancestors fictiously driving with them (maybe on top of the car) to see the sites AND have their work done!(I have an active imagination) ! I don't know, it just warmed my heart! The whole story and made me think to do something similar when we visit New York and Washington D.C. in a few weeks. I was grateful for her talk. Brother Zymont spoke next. He is a convert and has found over 200 of his families names. He says this is not that big a deal because he is the only one working on it. Then he told an incredible story about a home teacher that changed his life. His dad was not a member when he was young, so their home teacher baptized him. This home teacher passed away when Bro. Zygmont was 13, but left Bro. Zygmont the funds in his will for Bro. Zygmont to serve a mission! This just really choked me up! The spirit was so strong when he talked about it and you could tell this one act had a profound influence on his life! After he returned home from his mission, his dad ended up being so touched by the prior home teachers donation that he ended up joining the church and funding Bro. Zygmont's brothers mission. It really was an incredible meeting. We also attended tithing settlement today. While we have been full tithe payers, we have had a hard time funding our missionary because I had to cut back at work for awhile. I was feeling really guilty and even ashamed about this, but after hearing Bro. Zygmont's story, my heart felt and knew how much we really are just a ward family and the ward is more than happy to help us financially with our missionary. It was just a really good day to be at church! I did find a medicine this week that seems to have helped a little bit with my migraines. I was even able to climb Lone Mountain for the first time in a couple of years and this really meant a lot to me. I climbed it on my nephew's birthday and dedicated my hike to him.( My nephew Braxton celebrated his 34th heavenly birthday this week). When we reached the top I was amazed not only by the view, but by the large amount of butterflies that seemed to be enjoying the summit. We even saw a hummingbird! While I was up there my mind went back to Sis. RUnia's talk from conference that was about "God's perspective". I had had a rough week at work, but was able to put my thoughts and resolutions in order by simply changing my "view". All my problems somehow seemed smaller just like the tiny houses and cars I was looking at were smaller. I remembered the importance of not getting too close to my problems and somehow changing my physical "view" also helped changed my internal "view". I hope you have had a great week full of love and the fruits of the spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law). That kind of fruit sounds like a delish harvest for the soul! I am especially noticing that alot of those fruits might not be "flashy" or "exotic" but meek and simple and gentle. No poky dragon fruit for Paul...HAHAHA. We studied Galatians a few weeks ago, in Come Follow Me, but the message from that week keeps coming to my mind. Maybe because it is harvest time and the topics of "reaping" and "sowing" are on everyone's mind. Plus lots of apples and veggies to be found at Gilcrease orchard and at the grocery store! Good eating! I hope wherever you are you have a chance to have some kinda good produce! Tis' the season! Maybe these things came to my mind again because I also just finished reading the Book of Mormon and I just was in Moroni 10 this morning. Instead of comparing things from the spirit to fruit, like Paul did, Moroni chooses to compare things from the spirit to "gifts" (also tis the season...coming up). " For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom;And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; And to another, exceedingly great afaith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles;And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things;And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits;And again, to another, all kinds of tongues;And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will. And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that aevery good gift cometh of Christ.And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men." This reminded me how important it is to "see" the miracles in our lives. The bishop challenged us today in tithing settlement to look for these miracles on a daily basis and even record them when prompted. Our visitors from a couple of weeks ago, remember the ones who challenged the Book of Mormon and our beliefs, even though they were members themselves, had also said. "We don't like or believe when people talk about tithing miracles or other miracles in their lives. This is just magical thinking and is too prevelant in the church. People need to just accept things and not look for miracles so much". I have realized that this type of thinking has to do with only relying on our sense of "sight" to prove things. Kohihor was guilty of this thing too. Alma 30:15 " How do ye know of their surety? Behold, ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ. Ye look forward and say that ye see a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so." Well, call me weird, but I would rather err on the side of optimism that many things exist that cannot be seen by my physical sense of sight. That many things exist that I might not even hear or know about in my life-time. Unless I consider myself "queen" of my own universe right now, I do have to rely on faith. And I am going to try to list my daily miracles for a week. I will let you know how I do. Please let me know how you do too. If you do happen to have an email list, please add me if you have time. If, not that is OK too. Please just know how much we as a ward are praying and caring for you. The bishop has your plaques right by his office so he can see you and pray for you often. Your names are in the temple. I am going to a seesion this week and will put all your names in! I am SO excited the temple is open again and can't wait to return! Have an awesome week! Sis Budge

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

The presents, the stockings and rising early before the sun rose up trying to see Santa are all beloved memories from my youth. I LOVED Christmas and bought into the whole North Pole fantasy without a second thought. To a child, the magic and promise  of "good things happening to the world" was not so hard to buy into. Fresher from heaven and angels, as a child, I did not think it was unusual for one man to load up his sleigh and visit every single house on Christmas Eve.  Of course he knew my name and every other child's name on earth. I did not have trouble believing in a babe that was born in a manger either.  Why wouldn't the donkeys, sheep and cattle surround that place and worship their Heavenly King?The thought of a salutory star rising in the Eastern sky,   guiding wisemen and sheperds made perfect sense. As the years have passed , my childlike faith has been replaced not so much with doubt, but with its bed-fellow fear.  The trials of the mortal j...
Read more

The leaf

Tears have spilled over onto my soggy pillowcase. Their damp, unwanted presence seep into my dream and interrupt my subconscious wanderings. I rub my sleep weary eyes in an attempt to reorient myself in time.  Where am I ? In my last thought I was old and then in the next scene I was young. My body turns and morphs somewhere to an inbetween indeterminate age.  "This is so silly, why can't my body make up it's mind if I'm young, old or somewhere in between?" And then , "Because you are all of those things! You are young, you are old, and not only in between,  you are eternal!" "Oh of course I am!Mr. Sandman!!Ok, if that's possible then take me back to the place where my kids were little, cuz that was the hardest yet best time of my life! So I teleported, actually Dave drove me in our old teal dodge van  which suddenly had the magical properties of a time machine, complete with the messy food stained carseats. We flew back to the beautiful wh...
Read more

Rain in the desert

Image
It rained last night and there is no better thing to a parched desert floor. Dust swirls up and meets the rain and combines into wondrous mud. Previously dirt-strewn roads are suddenly clean and shiny. Small puddles of mirrored water become impromptu baths for desert fowl or swimming pools for Jessie's tiny toes. I did not miss this delightful morning because I actually had a day off! Going through the papers in Jessie's backpack I am confounded that the pile of notices from the school has mysteriously multiplied overnight. How does this happen? I unfold a pink paper and I realize I am going to miss the Mom's and Muffins again ... working that day too. Dani says " Who's going to help Jessie remember her "dance moves" when she tries out for the talent show? Aren't you working that day too?" I stop a moment and wonder how I was able to participate so much more in the past with my children in their schooling. I already know the answer and I sta...
Read more