PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, & LOTS OF TRIAL & ERROR! SEVERAL OLD POSTS COME 2 MIND, LIKE DUMPING WATER ALL OVER MYSELF AT CHURCH!) BUT “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound. Rebuild those plans and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.” Author Unknown)
YEARS OF BABY STEPS & LOTS OF PATIENCE. I STARTED SMALL & I HAD AN ARM BRACE AT 1ST. I EVENTUALLY GOT A “TREAT MACHINE” (IT LOOKS LIKE A GERBIL FEEDER, & I TWIST A DIAL, SO SNACKS FALL IN A BOWL). THERE’S A PICTURE OF BOTH ON MY BLOG, ON A SCRAPBOOK PAGE CALLED“JENNY’S WAY”–http://www.jenannlynn.org/?page_id=648 . ANYWAY, I KEPT FEEDING MYSELF, & MY ARM GOT STRONGER. MEANWHILE, MY MUSIC THERAPIST HAD ME LIFTING 1 LB. WEIGHTS 2 MUSIC, WORKING ON MY GRIP, & WORKING ON MY AIM. I WAS A MESS AT 1ST, & 4 A WHILE, I STOPPED, CUZ IT BOTHERED ME THAT THERE WAS MORE FOOD AROUND ME, THAN IN ME! BUT WHEN I WAS LOSING WEIGHT, I DIDN’T CARE ANYMORE, & WATCHING A BABY GROW INTO A TODDLER HAS ITS BENEFITS! ? STILL, EVERYTIME I EAT, I HAVE 2 PRACTICE THE ANGLE 2 HOLD FOOD ON A UTENSIL—SO THE 1ST FEW BITES ARE MESSIER. HENCE, I PREFER MY HAND! LOL
WHAT’S IMPORTANT 2 REMEMBER IS 2 ENJOY & APPLAUD URSELF 4 EACH SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENT ALONG THE WAY, & 2 ENJOY WHAT U HAVE, CUZ IT MAY BE AS GOOD AS IT GETS, BUT DON’T LET THAT MAKE U GET COMPLACENT!
“Aim at the sun and you may not reach it; but your arrow will fly far higher than if you had aimed at an object on a level with yourself.” Author Unknown
THEN WHEN IT GETS BETTER, U CAN BE SURPRISED & THRILLED!
“Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity.”
Gordon B. Hinckley
EVERY JOB (OR WE SAY “CALLING”) IN MY CHURCH IS ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS, & LASTS AS LONG AS GOD WANTS U THERE. 4 AWHILE NOW, I HAVE TAUGHT THE TEENAGE GIRLS, BUT I WAS RECENTLY “RELEASED” FROM THAT CALLING—I WAS SOOO UPSET! I LOVED TEACHING THE GIRLS, CUZ I FELT CONFORTABLE & ACCEPTED THERE, & IT ALLOWED ME 2 GROW SPIRITUALLY & MENTALLY. (BESIDES, IT DIDN’T SEEM POSSIBLE THAT “SOME1 LIKE ME”: WHO CAN’T TALK & BARELY MOVES, COULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! LOL)
SOMETIMES IT IS SO HARD 2 GO, BUT THE LORD KNOWS WHAT IS BEST 4 US, SO WE NEED 2 HAVE FAITH IN HIS PLAN 4 US, & WE’LL GROW IN WAYS WE DIDN’T KNOW WAS POSSIBLE! (I FIND THAT TRUE WITH ANY CHANGE IN MY LIFE, & U’D THINK BY NOW– AFTER SUFFERING A STROKE THAT TURNED OUR WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN, I TOLERATED CHANGE BETTER, BUT I DON’T!)
I RECEIVED A NEW “CALLING” AS COMPASSIONATE SERVICE LEADER, WHERE I HELP COORDINATE THE OTHER WOMAN AS THEY TRY TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER (HELPING WITH MEALS, DRIVING PEOPLE PLACES, VISITING PEOPLE, BABYSITTING AS A FRIEND MOVES, ETC.) SO, I HAVEN’T REALLY POSTED SINCE GETTING THIS NEW CALLING, BECUZ I’VE BEEN SUPER BUSY SENDING LOTS OF EMAILS, & ORGANIZING A LOT RIGHT NOW.
THIS WEEKEND IS OUR GENERAL CONFERENCE. (TWICE A YEAR, ON THE 1ST APRIL & THE 1ST OCT. WEEKENDS, THE PROPHET & APOSTLES SPEAK TO US) THERE ARE 4 SESSIONS–10-12 MDT & 2-4 MDT SAT. & SUN., EACH FILLED W 10-15 MIN. TALKS. (IF U WANT 2 CHECk IT OUT, U CAN SEE IT ONLINE:HTTP://WWW.LDS.ORG, ON DISH NETWORK #9403, DIRECTV #374, SIRIUSXM RADIO #143, & TIME WARNER CABLE #889.)
WHEN I ATTENDED MK’S WORK CONFERENCE IN UTAH, THE THEME WAS FORGIVENESS. THERE WAS A SPEAKER THERE WHO MADE A BIG IMPRESSION ON ME. AS I PLANNED MY YW LESSON, I RAN ACROSS A MORMON MESSAGE VIDEO OF HIM, AND I WANTED TO SHARE IT W/U:
I ACTUALLY TOOK NOTES (SO COOL!), & HE MENTIONED 3 TRAPS THAT CAN PREVENT US FROM FORGIVING:
1- THINKING, “I DON’T HAVE HOLES (IN MY BOAT)”
2- THINKING, “YOUR HOLES ARE BIGGER (IN YOUR BOAT), THAN MY HOLES (IN MY BOAT)”
3- THINKING, “I’M WORSE, & YOU ARE BETTER, BECUZ THE HOLES (IN MY BOAT) ARE BIGGER (THAN IN YOUR BOAT)”
& HE MENTIONED HOW WE SHOULD FORGIVE OURSELVES, BECUZ IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW BIG YOUR HOLES ARE, OR HOW MANY HOLES YOU HAVE.
I HAVE BEEN MARRIED QUITE AWHILE, & I THINK THE LONGER U ARE MARRIED, THE MORE NATURAL IT IS TO SEE THE HOLES IN THE BOAT OF YOUR SPOUSE, & FAMILY. BUT RECENTLY, I HAVE BEEN TAKING NOTICE OF THE HOLES IN MY OWN BOAT. HAVING A STROKE HAS SURE PUT A LOT OF HOLES IN MY BOAT, BUT MK IS STILL HERE. MANY STROKE SURVIVORS CAN’T SAY THE SAME THING. I WANTED TO THX MK 4 ACCEPTING ME, EVEN WITH THE HOLES IN MY BOAT, & 4 HIS & MY kidS HELP 2 PATCH UP THE HOLES IN MY BOAT!
IN RESEARCHING MY YOUNG WOMEN’S (YW) LESSON, I FOUND SOME GREAT STUFF I JUST WANTED 2 SHARE (REMEMBER, I PLANNED 2 LESSONS, & THIS IS STUFF I COULDN’T USE):
“In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles; . . . His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh, in that moment when He might have saved His Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He
did not fail us. . . . I rejoice that He did not interfere, and that His love for us made it possible for Him toendure to look upon the sufferings of His Son and give
Him finally to us, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Without Him, without His sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified
into His presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in heaven to give the gift of His Son”
(in Melvin J. Ballard . . . Crusader for Righteousness [1966], 137).
“How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not
betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1991,
117; or Ensign, May 1991, 88).
