The Thanksgiving Psalm

The story is told of two young Mormon missionaries down in the Bible Belt who tracked into the home of the minister of a local church. The minister seemed interested enough and even invited the two Elders to join him and his congregation for a Thanksgiving sermon.

They went and at the conclusion of the minister's remarks he pointed out the missionaries at the back of the room, announcing that they would be presenting "The Thanksgiving Psalm".

Well, there is no Thanksgiving Psalm. The minister was simply hoping to make the elder's look foolish in front of all the church members to discredit anything they might have to say. But as the ruddy youth walked up to the pulpit praying fervently in his heart that the spirit would direct what he should do, he felt impressed to read Psalm 100:

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

Stone Soup

We have been cordially invited to a feast presented by Lilly Brown, whose Kindergarten Class has learned all about the making of the delicious Stone Soup. Dinner is to be served at 5:30 p.m. at their home around the corner, and we will have the pleasure of dining with her family and other friends.
Caution, in her expert opinion, the stone is NOT to be eaten.

Examples of the Believers - My Seminary Students, Present and Some Past

Parker

Emily, Rachel and Jamie are Christmas bell ringers for the Salvation Army.

Adrian

Deeana, Rachel, Mason, Garrett and Shirah at school.

Brinnley in the parade.

Emily and Lindsey at Girl's Camp. Can you find them?

Oh my goodness!! Amanda and Clara are in this one, too!!

Jamie, Breanne and Malachi. Halloween Trunk-or-Treat.

J.D.

Kiley, Lindsey and Ammon in front of the Fresno Temple.

Shirah, Lauren and Matt at a dance.

Morgan, Clara and Emily.

Rachel, Cameron, Kaitlyn and Ammon

Tauleva, Garrett, Sola, Octavio, Cameron, Matt, Mason, Kevin and Logan. Youth Conference, I think?

Dinner before the formal. Clara and Garrett.
Each sets a standard wherever they go, faithfully keeping covenants and commandments. With them as our future leaders, we are in good hands. I love them all.

Silver Linings More Precious Than Gold

It rained last night. David and I were home and had just finished watching a movie. Mark was on his way home from the temple with three friends after stopping for pizza. They were in Visalia on highway 198 (driving under the speed limit) when the car fish-tailed. Mark got through the swerving and was still in the fast lane when he hit a patch of ground that slid them all the way across the blacktop to the right and up an embankment where the car overturned two and a half times and landed on the roof. Mark was the first one out of the car, each of them dropping as their seat belts were released, and then helped the three others out.
No other cars were involved, there were no major injuries, just cuts, the worst of which required five stitches, but as Mark stayed with the car, the others were driven in ambulances to the emergency room. Mark was left with only a few scrapes on one hand.
Mark called us around 9:30 p.m. and we went to the scene of the accident. The car was still at the foot of the embankment, upside down and waiting for the tow truck. Highway Patrol personnel were very helpful (although Mark said the one who tested him for alcohol seemed disappointed that he hadn't been drinking!). The tow truck came and the three of us drove to the emergency room where we stayed until 2:30 a.m. making sure everyone checked out okay. Each of the others had parents who were able to come for them and were so very understanding which helped Mark because he especially felt the weight of responsibility.
So no one was really any worse for the wear, and today I'm very thankful to Heavenly Father whose mercy let our kids come home with us safe and sound.

It's A Girl!

The happy parents are - David and Donna Chandler

Arrived - November 20th, 2009
Time - 8:15 am
Weight - 317 lbs.
Length - 72"

Name - Amana

Mother and child are resting comfortably.

Remember?

Do you remember:

- In 1976, Idaho Falls, the Teton Dam broke? We got to be part of the clean-up crew. We saw the church in action. Amazing!

- We had a milkman? In Iona, Idaho around 1977. There was a box outside our door where we left our order and he left the milk, eggs, butter, etc.. We city folk actually got our milk in glass bottles!

- A huge, fun water fight that took place in our half-underground house? Iona 1977

- We were snowed in and church was canceled? The kids sledded down the bank that was blown onto the side of our apartment. Missouri 1979

- All the campouts and doing 4-H? Making and decorating red and blue ribbon cakes? Ogden 1983-1987

- The glass room in Corcoran that fooled the wildlife? With windows open we had a bat fly in twice and a number of birds. 1987-1989

- "Mopping" the kitchen floor in swimming suits? Turlock, about 1996

- The ceiling fan that helped us have the craziest sockfight? Turlock, about 1997

- What today is? It's the twins' birthday! Over the years we have had our share of favorite movies and one of the biggies is "Parent Trap", with Haley Mills. Well, today is their birthday; one of the facts that helped them discover they were sisters. Happy Birthday Susan and Sharon!

True Patriots

Humble and special thanks to all who have served this nation and safeguarded our freedoms. My gratitude begins with those who have put themselves in harms way, both here and abroad. They have been willing to pay the ultimate price.
But my thanks go even farther because our men and women in arms cannot succeed without the support of our God which comes as a direct result of the personal righteousness of the citizens. So, to those who live up to a high personal standard, who are peacemakers and are kind, who show the way to others in word and deed, I am truly indebted. They live each day of their lives improving the world.

Personal Liberty

I am thankful for the knowledge that I am in a partnership with God. We together work for my self-mastery. It is not Him telling me what to do against my will. I am not a victim of His commandments or of the guidance of the Spirit. Rather, it is I who wants to do those things of my own choice. Knowing this makes it so much easier to make correct choices. This is what freedom is all about; and not only on the personal level but as a nation as well. Helping others find these answers so that they can go and do likewise is the only way to prevent further bondage and to restore what has been lost.

Happy Holidays!

How I love the order of the holidays. I love that we first set our thoughts on being grateful for the generous outpouring of blessings Providence sends our way. Being grateful makes us happy. It also brings our hearts to a place where we want to spread those blessings around by way of gift-giving, kindness and service. As Christmas arrives and our desires turn to giving more fully a gift to our Lord, we set resolutions to become better.

Dollars to Donuts

A very effective motivator for students to learn Scripture Mastery! The first to memorize get the first choice.
And the dollars were for learning the key words; $2 each. Learn them all for a total of $50! Could make all the difference come auction time :)
They loved it.

Ice cream, anyone?

For as long as I can remember, Ice cream has been "the family vice". We have it at almost any family function that involves food. And why not?? It's a delightful dessert! It's a beloved tradition that has even been the source of plotting and planning. For example - On more than one occasion, while visiting at Nancy's and we were up late that we would extend our Sunday night until it became Monday morning just so that we could make a trip to the store for "3 (half gallons) for $5". This was a while back, as you can see by the price.
As far as I'm concerned, I have no intention of giving up ice cream. In being allergic to sugar, milk and chocolate, I make my own with ingredients I can have. But I have made a solemn promise to myself that on resurrection day, I'm headed for the nearest ice cream parlour for a yummy hot fudge sundae!

Where The Wild Things Are

As the story goes, the child, who is in great need of one-on-one time and has no father around, cries out for attention by going a bit out of control. In his imagination he finds a group of seven monster-friends who accept him and look up to him as their king, but when the sad times come along he realizes that what they are missing is a mom, so he returns home.
Aren't we just like the child, in great need of one-on-one time and we cannot see our Heavenly Father? Sometimes, we, too, do a bit of exploring on the "wild side" as we look to find our way in the world.
King Benjamin teaches us that our voids can be filled by one-on-one time with Heavenly Father, that the wild side can lead to destruction and that through the Atonement, and as a team with the Godhead, we can tame those worldly ways that so easily beset us. Herein is freedom. It is the very heart and soul of those who are truly "Children of Christ".

And haunts far away...

From Hawaii:

we have Chandler as Harry Potter,

Jacob as a dragon, Adam as Mike from Monster's Inc.,

and Kamryn was a little lady bug.

In Utah, Dawn, Lawrence and Garret spent the evening with the Carrillo Family. Dawn is a witch, Lawrence is a monk and Garret is a teddy bear.

Our Halloween Haunts

If one picture is worth 1,000 words, then I'll have at least 4,000-worth of them appearing soon!

Paige was Sleeping Beauty, Abbie was Tinkerbell, Mollie was a little Black Cat, and Isabel was a Tootsie Roll! They were all darling.
Oooo, I can hardly wait to get those pictures!!!
...And here they are!

First on Saturday, we went to Travis AFB to pick up Shannon and Isabel who flew in from Japan on a 12 hour flight. Then we went to the church in Turlock to spend time Trunk-Or-Treating with Celeste and her family. Celeste and the girls also came to Trunk-Or-Treat with us on the Wednesday before because that's when our ward celebrated.
Fun times!!