Three Amazing Women--European Golf Pros and Zimbabwe Relief

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  Matt 5:16     "The light of the body is the eye . . . "  " . . . If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light."   Luke 11:34-36      "To give light to them that sit in darkness . . ."  Luke 1:79

I met these women AGAIN (a pleasure and a surprise) last night here in Utah.  It was July 2010, when we first met in England while my husband and I were serving a mission.  Reeve (right) was prompted to come speak with us when she saw us in the cafeteria of the Preston Temple.  

This post is actually a copy of the blog post written two years ago (with these two paragraphs added to bring it up to date).  You will see below, I stated that I felt this organization seemed worth getting involved with when we returned home from our mission.  This has been on my mind as I prayed that Heavenly Father would help get assistance to those in other countries where they can find no help, knowing full well he expects those on the earth to pitch in an do something.  It weighed heavily on my mind as I contemplated what "something" I needed to support with time, energy, and means now that I wasn't on a full-time mission.  It looks like the answer is here as these three have surfaced again in my little corner of the world!  The "hint" is clear:  All "instruments" for the Lord--work!

Get involved and help!  http://eyes4zimbabwe.org

Review this July 2010 post below and tell me miracle don't happen in the Lord's work to help those who cannot help themselves.

The woman in the middle is the professional golfer and golf coach from Zimbabwe (native African).  The one on the left is from South Africa, and the one on the right is from Norway.  One hurt her wrist and just dropped out of the British Open.  These choice women help people in Africa get fed and to have cataract removed from their eyes.  The children on the card are seeing for the first time in their lives.  The woman in the middle on the card is the one on the right in the photo first photo above.  She was prompted to speak to us and sat down in the cafeteria at the temple and discussed the culture in Africa.  It helped us better understand the Angolans we are teaching.  

This lovely woman served a mission in Provo, Utah.  Imagine that!  Their Eyes for Zimbabwe charity is meeting the needs of many Africans.  They do a lot of humanitarian aide in Africa when they aren't on the circuit.  What a beautiful example of selfless service!  They said they cannot feed all of the hungry in Africa, or restore sight to all who cannot see, but they can help one at a time and make a difference to them.  I think this organization may be one worth becoming involved with when we get home.  She gave us her e-mail for later contact.  Apparently, she is close friends with Sherrie Dew, who does charity work through them.  She is sending Books of Mormon and Bibles to Africa for them to distribute.

I heard an uplifting talk in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday related to all of us finding a way to be lights unto the world for others.  The speaker said to picture a dark room where there is no light whatsoever.  This room is divided by a wall in which there is a door.  On one side of the wall is the room with darkness so heavy that even a candle cannot be seen if lighted therein.  On the other side of the wall is a room full of light.  When the door is opened, the light penetrates the darkness.  The darkness does not have the power to darken the light.  Light always is more powerful than darkness.

Choose to believe that no matter how much darkness there is in the world, or in your own personal life, all you need to do is let the light in through faith in Jesus Christ and let your own light so shine so others can be uplifted. 

The three women golfers are shining forth with their light of love and generosity, literally bringing light to the eyes of thousands.  What marvelous people we meet along the way in life!

The golfer lady took our picture.  The wind was blowing and Elder Blain had the sun hurting his eyes.

An Old Truck Never Dies--It Gets Towed Away

To this story, a man would say, "No big deal."A woman would say, "Poor dear."
A psychiatrist would say, "Displaced anger--you're nuts--get meds."
Someone might ask, "Why didn't you have your husband towed off instead?"
Another might ask, "Why?"

The window is broken but it doesn't show in this picture.

It sat nigh unto 19 years in our front yard.  THE TRUCK.  It was an ugly, gigantic front-yard ornament that I used as THE identifying feature for directions to our home.  "You can't find our house by the address because it is not numbered in proper sequence, so just look for an old, beat-up, yellow and brown Ford pickup that is sinking into the ground,"  I'd say.  Lovely visual, right?

THE TRUCK turned it into an evil thing over the years.  I allowed it to become my nemesis-- a punishment that I somehow deserved (The inward suffering which is the worst form of nemesis--George Eliot). It was a symbol of defiance and disregard.  How did THE TRUCK, an inanimate object, become transformed into something destructive?  It was all a product of my over-active imagination, with a passel of childhood history of being discounted mixed in.  It was an obsession with needing perfection (a place for everything and everything in its place, with its logical place being the junk yard!).

I had asked my husband (sweetly at first)  to move the Ford beast back behind the house if he wasn't going to have it towed away and instead planned to let it rot in the yard.  I hated that it was the first thing everyone saw when they came by our house and the first thing I saw going into or out of the driveway, even at night when the headlights illuminated it in all its deteriorating glory.  IT was in my face as a reminder my husband wouldn't do anything about something so important to me.

Using the process of deduction, it became obvious he love THE TRUCK more than me!  Who would have thought I'd be second best to a thing with four flat tires!  I only have one flat tire around  around my middle.  I should me the more desirable woman based on that.  Still, my husband wouldn't drop his affair with THE TRUCK to grant a much desire favor (the demise of it) to me.  For ME!  This triangle of whatever? became a personal issue that hurt deeply and played with my psyche until I was sorta insane, especially when my disassociation from the issue periodically broke down and my brain was forced, front and center, to "associate."

Meanwhile, through all this drama trauma, my husband obliviously went his merry, contented way.  He never realized the magnitude of the problem and the negative impact the disheveled outside environment had on me. 

 I know this state of affairs was my own undoing.  I once prayed for patience when I was ignorant as to how well prayers are answered.  Not only did I sabotage myself in that way, but I gave that stupid truck power over me to torment and torture all those years.  (Yes, I know it wasn't the truck that was stupid).  

I assigned THE TRUCK to be the surrogate object of my frustrations, disappointments, dead dreams, and unfulfilled  expectations (warning:  expectations are SO dangerous!).  It was kind of a complicated punching bag of sorts.  I could have learned somewhere through those years that I wasted with stuffing the destructive thoughts and emotions, to just let go of the things I cannot change, but I wasn't wise enough to know the difference (thanks AA).  Letting go of my rage as it sat there day after day would have been the smart thing to do.  It obviously wasn't going away any time soon.  But, no, I proved my marbles were lost when I stubbornly, tenaciously, and defiently held on to the idea that my husband would do the sweet and loving thing and show he cared about my feelings by getting rid of the truck.  This was transference in its worse form--to a truck?  Take that to the psycho analyst's couch.  Dang, and I have a master's in psychology?  Go figure.

Whew, what a waste of energy!  Just think if I'd taken all the negativity and turned it into good thoughts and deeds instead of ranting and raging inside myself over those long years, building up mountains of resentment and anger while plotting wicked plans in my head to blow THE TRUCK up (I actually asked the neighbor if he had any dynamite), or have the county send us a notice that it was violating the ordinances, or have a tagger paint bright green and pink graffiti to turn it into a  humongous work of art or eyesore, depending on one's taste.  I mean, if you're going to have a decrepit, disintegrating piece of junk metal in your front yard, the uglier the better, right?  Gee, I probably lost years of my life stressing through this garbage.  

Ta Da!

Did THE TRUCK become the icon of a marriage power struggle?  It wasn't something I could nag about because it wasn't worth upsetting my husband whenever it was mentioned.  I could hear the heels digging in.  Over the years, it was rarely mentioned unless there was an opening like we were leaving for a couple years and "wouldn't it be nice to get that out of the yard before we go?"  Once in a while I'd ask if I could call one of the places to donate and get a tax write-off.  Someone once even offered to buy it, for heaven's sake!  Nothing would budge my husband until a couple weeks ago when he asked me, out of the blue, to call the Kidney Foundation and see what it takes to donate a vehicle.  We have more excavators coming to do work on the driveway and yard and he decided the truck would be in the way.  I dutifully called, trying not to look too eager, got the information and wrote it on a yellow sticky note and stuck it in the middle of the kitchen counter where it could be seen at least fifty times a day.  It sat there for a couple of weeks and then my husband called to arrange the tow.  He told me that he had some news that would "probably make me happy."  That is the understatement of the century!  I tried not to jump up and down with glee.  I even feigned sympathy that he'd finally have to let go of his darling.

When the tow day arrived, my husband was off playing golf.  I went outside to document the glorious event.  I told the tow-truck driver how happy and grateful I felt that this was finally happening.  He looked knowingly at me and said rather pointedly, "And I bet your husband is also relieved to have this gone."  I defensively replied, "I didn't nag him about it, but it did get ridiculous keeping something like this in the front yard."

He told me he had a perfectly good looking truck sitting in front of his own house and that his wife knew he was a car person when they first dated.  He had picked her up in a 1967 Impala. He and his five sons now do demolition derbies.  He said she doesn't like the old vehicles around, but that they are important to him.  So, what was this?  Did God send this man to teach me something I should have learned 20 years ago?  He could see the dismay on my face as I struggled to understand that I may have been way off base in this whole thing and my husband wasn't the only man in the world holding on to vehicles forever.  He said, "It is a man thing."  Then I remembered . . . it isn't just a man thing . . . 

                                                       

I had a '65 Chevy Nova that was painted yellow after I'd been rear-ended a couple of times.  The kids called it "The Taxi."  It was yellow so I'd be seen and other cars would leave me alone.  When it quit running, I parked it with the intention of getting it fixed for our oldest son when he could drive (I think he was 12 at the time).  Anyway, it stayed parked in our driveway for 15 years until it was apparent it was never going to be resurrected.  We needed the money and sold it for far less than it was worth as a classic.  I was sad.  I miss her.

I now realize, since I bothered to put the shoe on the other foot, that my husband is sorry to see his old pal gone (mistress?--silly me).  He told me he sat in it one more time the night before it was picked up.  Then, I told him about the feelings attached to it finally leaving and about the strong negative emotions I had struggled with, the resentment that had built up, and that it would have been one of the nicest things he could have done for me once upon a time.  He said, "That truck was never about any of that stuff you imagined."  Simply said.  No apology.  No real understanding of my goofy thinking either.

Like he said to me once, "I'm not a complicated person.  Things are what they are and I try not to waste time reading meaning into everything."  Hum.  Simple.  The chapter is closed on that episode.  Door slammed shut tight and locked.  Dissipated.  Kaput.  Etc. 

There she goes . . .  off in a cloud of whatever                                                       

 I guess this whole thing is like having one's appendix out.  It irritates until it is out and then you're cured.  I just had a truckectomy and I feel better already!

Well, that's an anticlimax for you.

Sequel:  How I handle the other old vehicle taking up room in our garage!

Vietnam Vet Tribute With Pictures & Flowers

Having the Vision to Do Posted: 27 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT "How do we, amidst the challenges of our lives, gain the vision necessary to do those things that will bring us closer to the Savior? Speaking of vision, the book of Proverbs teaches this truth: 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Proverbs 29:18). If we are to prosper rather than perish, we must gain a vision of ourselves as the Savior sees us." —Elder O. Vincent Haleck, "Having the Vision to Do", General Conference, Apr. 2012 Topics: Faith, Adversity

My husband is a Vietnam vet (three tours).  I know Veteran's Day is probably more appropriate to mention him, since he is still alive, but I cannot resist including him because of who he was before he went to war was lost and replaced by a different person.  Part of him did die (the innocence and peaceful part in his mind and heart).  I've seen the evidence of the price he has paid for 24 years of military service.  This weekend, especially, I am thinking of all of our war heroes (alive or dead) who have given a piece of their life for us and our freedom.  They could have just kept their lives for themselves but they didn't.  Their families also paid a price in their sacrifice.  Thank you to all the brave men and women of the military (and their family members) for all you've done for the world.

Other family members have served in the military on countless tours of duty during World War II, the Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I am grateful for all they have given for us.  I hope you know your sacrifice is worth it to millions of people who not only live now, but it benefits those in the future.

Happy Memorial Day!

Later days

Earlier days

Celebrate Dandelions and Common Things

In Tune with the Music of Faith

Posted: 20 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT

"Our doctrine is clear; we are to be positive and of good cheer. We emphasize our faith, not our fears. We rejoice in the Lord’s assurance that He will stand by us and give us guidance and direction. The Holy Ghost testifies to our hearts that we have a loving Father in Heaven, whose merciful plan for our redemption will be fulfilled in every aspect because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ."

—Elder Quentin L. Cook, "In Tune with the Music of Faith", General Conference, Apr. 2012
Topics: Faith

This is our lawn (well, it tries to pass itself off as one).  Way out in the fields to the back of this photo you will see white.  These are dandelions.  The fields are a mass of them, so it is a losing battle to try to dig these lovely little flowers out of the lawn

I proclaim today Celebrate Dandelion Day!  If you can’t beat ‘um, join ‘um.

Sometimes the more common, insignificant things in the world are ignored and unappreciated.  Take dandelions, for instance, most people hate them.  They claim their lawns are ruined by them and they rage a constant war to eradicate them.  Forget that.  It’s a battle that shall not be won.

Actually, I’m quite impressed with these dandy little flowers called Dandelions.  I'll need to research from wenst the name originated.  They brighten up the green in the lawn with their sunny yellow, until they turn into fairy balls children love to blow into the wind.  They never let their tops being cut off dampen their spirits.   In fact, if you cut them off when they have poofy white heads, they’ll do you the honor of multiplying more quickly.  Not only that, the greens are good in salads and soups.  Ask anyone who survived the great depression.

Think about some people who seem like dandelions.  They may seem quite common and even annoying, but if you get to know them you may discover wisdom and beauty you previously didn’t appreciate.  No matter what the world has dealt them by way of short changes or challenges, they seem to bob along surviving and even flourishing.  They often have special ways of brightening up their little corners of the world.  There’s a thing or two to be learned from the common folks.

Grow babies, grow

I think it’s the common that really rule the world.  The exceptional makes a splash, but the common is the current that ebbs and flows throughout, around, under, over, and in between everything everywhere.  Praise the common!  Celebrate normalcy!  Dance through a field of dandelions and let them tickle your toes.  Dandelions arise and be joyful of ordinary lives!

It looks like they need no encouragement to grow where they are not wanted.  Yes, all the white in the fields in the back of our house are also dandelions.  We are the dandelion capitol of the world--I think.  Only one question, why is it they don't grow in our back yard with the other weeds?  They seem to prefer cultivated fields and lawns where people are trying NOT to grow them.  I'm putting up a sign so they know they are totally invited to grow in the back yard to their little warped hearts' content.

Life is Short-Savor it and Build for Eternity

The Race of Life

Posted: 14 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT

"Every thoughtful person has asked himself the question best phrased by Job of old: 'If a man die, shall he live again?' Try as we may to put the question out of our thoughts, it always returns. Death comes to all mankind. It comes to the aged as they walk on faltering feet. Its summons is heard by those who have scarcely reached midway in life’s journey, and often it hushes the laughter of little children. But what of an existence beyond death? Is death the end of all? ... My brothers and sisters, we know that death is not the end. This truth has been taught by living prophets throughout the ages. It is also found in our holy scriptures."

—President Thomas S. Monson, "The Race of Life", General Conference, Apr. 2012
Topics: Resurrection

While I am alive, I shall live each day seeking at least one priceless gift among whatever chaos there might be.  I shall savor all that is given to me, build relationships to last beyond death, and relish special moments, wrapping up the memories of them as cherished treasures that can be tasted with delight endlessly.

Happiness is when someone takes the time to show he or she love you.  I had a great Mother's Day.  Happiness is also when we take the time to show someone we love him or her.  Love and unselfishness is a circle and cycle for those who do it.  It eventually comes back to you.

I love balloons and this one is the most unique I've ever seen.

Tulips still in bloom--lovely bouquet!

Beauty within and without

Got this as a gift last night.  Done reading it (with pleasure) today.  Love Richard Paul Evans as an author.  He has deep insights incorporated into small books.  A quote from the book I believe is true:  "To forgive is to unlock the cage of another's folly to set ourselves free."

Cards representing caring and love.  One from a visiting teacher, one from a darling husband, one from am equally darling son-in-law, and two from precious daughters.  Three phone calls from other precious adult children (one a step) and a call Saturday night from a dear friend, plus many good wishes through Face Book and email during the day, topped off the love and thoughtfulness extended to me for Mother's Day.  Lucky me!  Oh, the tower on the right is full of chocolate goodies!!

Family IS Everything--I Love you More Than ...

This is the saying on a plaque that hung in our home as the children were growing up:

Guide for a Loving Home

May we treat one another with respect, honesty and care, for that is the only way we will ever grow together.

May we share the little discoveries and changes each day brings, remembering that each one of us has something to say, and listening is important too.

May we try always to be sensitive to one another's joys, sorrows, needs and changing moods, and realize that being a loving family means sometimes not understanding everyone all the time, but being there to love and help them just the same.

Today is Mother's Day and a time when older mothers, like myself, reflect on their children's growing up years and the sweet and tender moments of joy they brought at each milestone in their lives.  No mother ever forgets the birth day of each child as he or she was laid into her arms.  No mother forgets the day their child leaves home to make a way in the world.  The theme for mothers of infants is, "I can't wait until I can get a full night's rest."  That is when a mother can't wait for the next phase of her child's growth.  The theme for older mothers is, "Time went too fast!"  That is when a mother wants to s-l-o-w down the clock and enjoy the company of her children and grandchildren whenever  they are able to stop running for a while.  Sometimes it is the other way around--when I stop running for a while.

I feel so fortunate to have children who do slow down for me and get off their speeding life cycles to call or visit.  My children, no matter what age, have been the greatest blessing in life.  They have brought me the greatest joy and the most sorrow.  All I desire for them is happiness and whatever they feel is success.  It hasn't always gone the way they like, and I then suffer with them.  When it does go well, we celebrate together.  Our roller coaster ride has been life with all the ups and downs and sharp, unexpected turns, but we hang together pretty much in tact (well, almost all of us).

Today, love flows more abundantly towards mothers around the world, where this day is celebrated, because it is dictated that mothers get honored in some way.  Thank goodness, it doesn't take my kids a special day to make me feel loved and appreciated!

Here is what I got in the mail yesterday from my youngest daughter (it thrilled me to the core):

This is the cover of the book my littlest angel (L.A.) made for me.  I didn't even know this picture had been taken by her husband in the Florida Keys when we were out there for their wedding.

A few years back, we, out of the blue, started the "I love you more than" in our daily e-mails.

She went back through all the old e-mails she saved over the past three years, and chose ones that go with the pictures of good times that would touch her Mommy roo's heart (her nickname for me, which I have no idea why it popped into her head to call me that.  I guess she just likes the sound of it).  The dates and names show who said the quote.  The picture on the left is with my youngest daughter and son in the Keys.  The picture on the right is when my husband brought all three daughters to surprise me on my birthday when we were on our mission in Georgia.  That WAS the biggest and most delightful surprise of my life!  They even brought me a Baker's cake from Salt Lake City!  If you have never seen or tasted one, you have no idea what you are missing.

Purple is my youngest's favorite color, so I would sometimes send her purple flowers in an e-mail.

I helped my daughter move from Colorado to Oregon last year and swore I'd never clean another window with leftover tape from the decorations that were hung the year before.  She is a huge fan of Halloween--and tape.

 YUP!  You can't beat the gift of memories of family and happy times!!  This makes it so much easier to hold onto them.

Good Thoughts to Live By #20

Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service

Posted: 26 Apr 2012 11:00 PM PDT

"I testify that the sacrament gives us an opportunity to come to ourselves and experience ‘a mighty change’ of heart—to remember who we are and what we most desire. As we renew the covenant to keep the commandments, we obtain the companionship of the Holy Ghost to lead us back into our Heavenly Father’s presence. No wonder we are commanded to ‘meet together oft to partake of [the] bread and [water]’ and to partake of the sacrament to our souls."

—Elder Robert D. Hales, "Coming to Ourselves: The Sacrament, the Temple, and Sacrifice in Service", General Conference, Apr. 2012
Topics: Sacrament, Repentance

Jesus Christ gave us all of his life and love.  He continues to do so.  We can show our thankfulness and love to him by loving and serving others.

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More Unknown Author's Quotes I Love:  (maybe I'll find them one of these days and give rightful credit)

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

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Memories are postcards from the heat.  They tell of the many roads we have traveled and the people we have loved along the way.

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Love is like a mirror.  When you love another, you become his mirror and he becomes yours . . . and reflecting each other’s love, you see infinity.  Love is always open arms.  If you close your arms about love, you will find that you are left holding only yourself.

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The most wasted of all days is that on which one has not laughed.

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Everyone is uniquely packaged to do something special.  Not one person is of greater worth than the other, but we all have something to give.  Do not ask to be the best, but do you best at whatever is tried.

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After the worst is over

With nothing left to fear

The sun continues rising

With undiminished cheer

Birds continue singing

Skies continue fair

As hearts continue bearing

The thing they could not

bear

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Fragrance lingers on the hands of those who hand out roses.

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If, while we are young, just one person love us uncritically, then we will have love to give for the rest of our lives.

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Perspective on priorities:

If I knew I was going to die, would I live life differently?

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Use the talents you possess, for the woods would be silent if only the birds with the best voices sang.

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It’s the start that stops most people.

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When asked to plant a garden, the first thing many people dig up is an excuse.

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A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.

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Never let the seeds keep you from enjoying the watermelon.

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Given with love, a fistful of dandelions means as much as a dozen roses.

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There was a time I seemed to sail upon a vast blue sea, scanning the horizon for some distant, golden shore, imagining that happiness lay ahead of me in some wonderous perfect place.

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Things we can learn from a turtle: We all need a home we can retreat to that is a safe place for us.

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Taking a nap doesn’t mean that I am not getting things done.  I am resting.

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Education is a down payment on opportunity.

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The secret to life is knowing that beauty and great wisdom can be found in the simplest of moments.

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When someone cares enough to love us in our perfectly imperfect form, they bless us with a rare kind of joy.

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Remembering is a journey the heart takes back into a time that was.  Our thoughts are the only tickets needed to ride.

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The laughter of a child is the most beautiful music on earth.

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Knowledge is Power.  Power is victory.

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Trust in the promise of time and you’ll see that the stars hold wonderful surprises for us all.

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By nurturing friends and family, we are reminded of the precious miracle of love.

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Be like the moon–reflect the Son.

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Go thy way and harm thee none.

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The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in that one word LOVE.

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Excellence can be obtained if you: Care more than others think is wise.  Risk more than others think is safe.  Dream more than others think is practical.  Expect more than others think is possible.

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May you greet each new day with the excitement and anticipation of a child.

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Never be afraid to dream, for the simplest dream can take you where your heart yearns to go.

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Some of life’s promises may not come true, but morning always comes and behind each cloud the sun is still shining.

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Forgiveness is the fragrance a flower gives off when you step on it.

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