SOAKING AND HOPING

“Who are we to tell Him what to do

and when to do it? Only yesterday you

told mother that the more astronomers

ponder and measure the stars, the larger

they become. You said that many of them

are larger than the sun. So how can

insignificant creatures like us, with our

tiny brains, understand what He is doing?”

from: Shosha

by: Isaac Bashens Singer

We had our first night in the hot tub (SIGH...winter has arrived)

And while basking in the warming water, I happened to spot a graceful, slow moving, arcing falling star over my Builder's left shoulder. (its been a long time since I've seen one of these!!)

My Builder and I were discussing matters of great importance at the time.

With a lump in my throat, I whispered....

“I wish...”

“I wish...”

“I wish...”

But wait!!!

I have no right to make demands or to try to call down favors from the Powers that be!!

My life is a charmed one.

It seems it always has been.

Its a life full of great blessings.

Blessing too innumberable to list.

I can NOT complain!!

So I want that star to know,

“I've changed my mind!”

I would like that star and it's Deliverer to understand...

I have great faith.

Faith in my Builder and in our future.

I have gratitude.

I even have a sense of wonder and awe and anticipation, wondering what might happen next!!

To me, a falling star can be more than an impetious for a wish.

I see them as a method of communication from a loving Father in Heaven.

A star can be yet another tender mercy, or a simple pleasure for me to acknowledge the watchful care I am given day in and day out.

Stars represent adventures and unfathomable possibilities.

Sometimes they might make us feel small and insignificant, but when Im feeling hopeful, I see them as witnesses that Heaven knows that I know we are in God's hands.

I find comfort in the stars-almost in the same way that I find such soothing comfort in the 102 degree waters of our hot tub!!

Ahhhhh...sweet blessing abound!!!

Look Who's One Today!!!

Making the decision to have a
child is momentous. It is to
decide forever to have your heart
go walking around outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone

RED CLIFFS EXTREME

To enter wilderness is to court risk, and risk
favors the senses, enabling one to live well.
The landscapes we know and return to become
places of solace. We are drawn to them
because of the stories they tell, because of
the memories they hold, or simply because of
the sheer beauty that calls us back again & again.
from: Refuge
by: Terry Tempst Williams

I have a confession to make. I havent hiked for a week...and today, today I had my butt kicked!! Granted...this hike is fairly extreme...but I felt every scramble, I felt the inclines, and my recovery time stunk!!! Im going to hike every day or at least every other day from here on out. I didnt enjoy the hike getting the best of me today. Good thing I was hiking with 'friendlies."
But, as you can see...it couldnt have been a more perfect morning for a hike!! Autumn in the desert is the best!!!

Being mistreated is the most important
condition of mortality, for eternity
itself depends on how we view those
that mistreat us.
from: The Peacegiver
by: James Fewell

Once again, this old time English Lit major has been caught unawares, and finds herself baffled by my never encountering this marvelous book.
I imagine that most good Christians would know about THE ROBE, written by Lloyd C Douglas...which is a great book and a great movie. How did I not know that Mr Douglas wrote a book entitled THE BIG FISHERMAN?!!
I have now had the great pleasure of devouring the pages in record time!!
Here is historical fiction at its best!!!
Its the story of Simon, the fisherman.
Who becomes Peter- the fisher of men!!!
Who is the ROCK!!!
The New Testament has never really been my friend. Of course there are sections of it that speak to me, or that have moved me to action...
But now...after reading THE BIG FISHERMAN, the scriptures have more flavor, have texture, have context!! In short, they have new life!!!
I now see the 12 apostles in a new light.
The landscape of the Middle East is alive and real to me!!
But the greatest gift from my reading these pages is the 'visual' I now enjoy of our Savior!!! The simpleton that I am...finds great value in the masterful descriptions of the journey our Savior took in His all to short a ministry here on earth. I now treasure the images I have of the land of Israel and of its people, due to Douglas's potent writing.
This is a book I'll read again.
And again!!

Mother's arms are made of tenderness,
and sweet sleep blesses the child
who lies within.
from: Les Miserable
by: Victor Hugo

PLease, PLEASE go here to see amazing pics of a few of my amazing grandkids and their amazing parents...taken by an amazing photographer!!! (chelsea) Just let me know if you could keep from smiling....and they arent even 'yours.'!!!

...she was waiting patiently. She no
longer believed in talk. It never
rescued anything. At seventy she
had come to believe in time alone.
from: The Lovely Bones
by: Alice Sebold

For some reason we didnt receive an email from Clark this week!! Im trying not be be distressed about it. (it doesnt do any good anyway)
But this morning I went and checked out the mission blog...lo and behold...right there at the top is a photo is our goofy Spark!! Sweet relief!!! Another tender mercy!!!
Life is bright and cheery once again!!!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Where you tend a rose, my lad,
a thistle cannot grow.
from: The Secret Garden
by: Frances Burnett

Amber and Lachlan

Meagan, Olive, Amber and Lachlan

We had a lovely, fun Halloween this year!! Look at all the darling little people we had to share it with....how could we go wrong!!!!

Once upon a time when the world was
young there was a Martian named Smith.
Valentine Michael Smith was as real as
taxes but he was a race of one.
from: Stranger In a Strange Land
by: Robert A Heinlein

* The names of Popeye’s four nephews are Pipeye, Peepeye, Pupeye, and Poopeye!
A lightning bolt generates temperatures five times hotter than those found at the sun’s surface!
* A violin contains about 70 separate pieces of wood!

* It takes glass one million years to decompose, which means it never wears out and can be recycled an infinite amount of times!
* Forest fires move faster uphill than downhill!
* Almost half the newspapers in the world are published in the United States and Canada!

* The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the “American Pie.” (Thus the name of the Don McLean song.)
* When opossums are playing ‘possum, they are not “playing.” They actually pass out from sheer terror.
* The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all the books that would occupy the building.
* Elephants can’t jump. Every other mammal can.

* Five Jell-O flavors that flopped: celery, coffee, cola, apple, and chocolate.

* Internationally, Baywatch is the most popular TV show in history.

For the Love of Missionaries

The Carpenter talked about that," he said
quietly, "He thinks that most people spend
too much time making things up into porridge,
fretting about porridge, thinking that
nothing is any good unless it can be made up
into porridge; spending their lives worrying
for fear they might be short of food next
winter-and in their old age. Worrying- until
they have no happiness at all...He said the
birds did not worry- and yet they are fed.
from: The Big Fisherman
by: Lloyd C Douglas

Elder Joshua Sharp-- Houston South Mission

Well its been a pretty stellar week here in Houston..... We were able to bring a few investigators who also had a blast and I think it was good for them to see that missionaries aren't just robots and we can have fun too haha. Well this is the last week of the transfer so we are hoping to finish off strong and keep things rolling here. I also heard through the grape vine (the bishop) that Utah has passed BYU in the rankings... just wanted to throw that out there. Love yall
Elder Sharp

Elder Stephen Hill in Brazil!!

Hey Everyone! Awesome week!
I told Melanie a while back that we had lunch with these two young girls (12 and 16) and that at the end of our visit we found out that the 16 year-old was married to a 21 year-old... not legally of course... but we started working with these two moças and have been trying to get them to come to church.

then, about a week later, we met this guy, Jackson, on the other side of Ponte that we started teaching. Hes an awesome guy the only problem is he had a girlfriend that he was living with and isn't married to. Here is the crazy part... On our third visit we were sitting on the cement ground of his ´living room´ and out of nowhere the two girls we´ve been working with came in... Jackson was the 21 year old boyfriend of this girl. coincidence? I think not.

The Lord is behind this work, and even though we were working with these two poeple individually and had no clue of their connection, the Lord did and now we're working with both of them. Right now its too early to know whats going to come of it, but I have faith that the Lord is behind it, and even if nothing changes, I know it will be because of their agency, not because of the Lord. This work is real, and people are being prepared!
Elder Stephen Hill

Sister Melonie Hill- Denver Colorado Mission

My goodness time flies. Its amazing to think that I've been in Coal Mine for a month now. So winter has come, gone, and come again.

This week has been a good one. We had amazing lessons with two fairly solid investigators. Both are named David : David T is the father of a recent convert. We taught him Sunday after church and it was amazing. He expressed a desire to be baptized, but also feels that he has a lot to work on, which is true. But we know its obtainable. We had our ward mission leader there, and he was perfect. .

We also had an incredible lesson with David C. He is a friend of one of the members in the ward. He was raised Buddhist and so doesnt have much of a background in Christianity. We've really been working on his faith in Christ, and he expressed last week that he is beginning to believe, HUGE! We were so excited.

So those were the highlights of the week. The work continues to go well and we continue to have a blast together. All is well in Coal Mine, and unfortunately the time is going way to fast, as it tends to do. I love you all and hope that you are well. Keep smiling!!

Love
Sister Hill





Uncle Bob (and family of course)!
Felicitaciones with the new granddaughter!! Whats is her name? How many times are you grandpa now? That is so cool! My family needs to get moving a long and get my nephews and neices coming!
>
> Thanks for sharing about Alma 17 with me, I really liked that scripture. It is amazing how much we can learn from the Book of Mormon everytime we read it and it amazes me how some people actually think that Joseph Smith (or any man for that matter) could have written it. As a mission we are all reading the Book of Mormon over again and we are marking all the references to Jesus Christ and all his words. It has been such a spiritual experience for me and many others. I wouldn't have any testimony of the church if it weren't for the Book of Mormon.

> Things are going great here in the mission and I am loving every moment. I don't want to go home quite yet but it'll be here before I know. I love you all very much!
>
> Love,
> Elder Ben Ehlert
>
>

On My Honor....

...he had such a hopeful and confiding
nature that he was always ready to believe
in whatever seemed beautiful and good. He
kept his heart continually open, and thus
was sure to catch the blessings from on
high when it should come.
from: The Great Stone Face
by: Nathaniel Hawthorne

We had a WONDERFUL evening celebrating Brian's and Blake's achievement of the Eagle Rank!
So many people contributed to making it a perfect evening!! And I thank them all from the bottom of my heart. It was one of those moments when you knew that it truly does take a village to raise a child. Especially a boy child!!!
We are so very proud of Brian!! and Blake!!!
Its a BIG deal getting such an award!!!

Blast From the Past!!

The sweet little fairy princess is my niece, my brothers youngest daughter! This was last year's Halloween. The amazing pics were taken by a VERY talented neighbor!!! I love how these photos make me feel!! Its depicts all thats good about Halloween!! Enjoy!!!!

The gods only go with you, Cerdic,
if you put yourself in their path.
from: The Crystal Cave
by: Mary Stewert

We are so proud of our last born!! Hes the first to put in the serious time and work to get this award!! Tonight is the celebration...and we are grateful for all the family and friends that plan on joining us to honor Bri and his best bud Blake!! Pictures will follow tomorrow!!!
(chelsea is the artist behind this great shot!!)

Such a tragedy!!This is a very sad story about a bear. Everybody should heed the warning to not feed wildlife because they become dependent and cannot forage for themselves anymore. This is such a tragedy to see what they have done to our country's wildlife! The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect US wildlife . . . .... Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signsof belonging to the Democratic Party.... as they have apparentlylearned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and providefor their care and sustenance. This photo is of a Democratic black bear in Montana nicknamed .. .. .Bearack Obearma.


(thanks lynley--it was cause for a good laugh)

I MISS This Boy!!!