just peachy

Of Late Nights and Early Mornings...

I have been pondering lately this scripture...

John 7:17-----If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

I have always considered myself a "commandment keeper" so naturally I have felt that I should be able to know HIS doctrine when I heard it.

Then a few weeks ago, this story came to my mind, and it made me laugh with utter delight, as I could now see clearly the things that were so hidden from me at the time :)

To work my way through college I became happily employed as an early morning custodian (an EMC) as I used to like to fancy calling it.  This required grueling early morning hours, great discipline of waking at the right time.  I prided myself on arising early, studying my scriptures (before work), and working hard for my money.

Now here is the humorous part, I DID NOT GO TO BED EARLY!  Not even close, but I insisted on believing that I was receiving the whole blessing of waking early, so even though my eyes burned with tiredness as I read my scriptures, and I fell asleep in class (I once woke up to a loud noise during a lecture class and realized everyone was staring at me because the noise was my head hitting the wall behind me), I insisted on believing that I was enjoying the full blessing of arising early...being invigorated.  

It is easy to see the false thinking now, but at the time I truly believed I was invigorated, because I believed in the law.

My take home from studying this experience is:  How can you know the full blessing, if you are not living the full law?

The full law is, retire to bed early and arise early that your mind and body might be invigorated.  I was forgetting half the LAW...  Oopsy :)

So I have been pondering how this experience could apply further to my life.  It requires me to look at all my life and determine if I am keeping many other half-commandments :)

My little loves...

Brrrrrrr Lake

I suppose late June does not guarantee good weather, but in the 50's?  bear lake turned out to be brrrr lake, although Eliza assured me she was quite hot :) all so we did not have to leave.  We did have the beach to ourselves.  

Family Portrait

I stayed up way to0 late last night making this family portrait :)  The fun of creativity!

Perspective

The other day while driving the kids we talking about taking a short cut.  I told them that would be a really bad idea, to cut across the road down the ravine to get to the store.  We could roll the car I warned.  With big eyes from her booster Miriam said, "Yes, and we might even get a flat tire!"

In her mind that was the worst possible thing that could happen, a flat tire.

The other instance I have been reflecting on was that during family scriptures little Miriam confided in me that Eve was very wicked.

I was shocked, when had I ever, ever even hinted at such a thing.  I asked her why she thought she was wicked and she said it was because she listened to Satan.

So I realized how quick out minds come to conclusion without any guidance, and how I must watch over their little minds and see they are learning truth from my hand.

Being Tone Deaf...

My father's family are gifted musicians.  My grandpa, Clarence LeRoy Bentley, died when my dad was 8, but before that he was a coal miner and a singer.  Singing at clubs in Pleasant Grove and entertaining.  My Dad sang a lot as a boy and won a local contest for singing MacNamara's Band.  So music is in my blood I suppose.

All growing up my mother is a self proclaimed "tone deaf" individual.  I inherited this trait from her.  I came this conclusion because when I was in primary my friend Angela turned to me during singing time and said, "Stop singing off key."

I was crushed!  Had I been singing off key, what was off key anyway?  Well at the tender age of 9 I vowed I would NEVER sing again.  Silly, I know that now, but I thought at the time, if I can't even tell that I'm off, how will I ever know when I am on?  And being off key really irritates some people and in my weak mind it seemed the only honorable option :)

Years of lip singing during primary and young women's, my deep secret was well hidden.  I could not sing and no one was going to laugh at me for it.  Oh the pride of youth.

Then one day, I was at the piano and I played a D and just by chance my voice matched and.....

I HEARD IT!!!!!!

I was finally singing the right note and I knew it!

I was almost in college and I finally could do what most could do as sunbeams.

I played the note again, that trusty D, and this time I was off and I couldn't get back on.

So I hammered that D again and again and again until I could hit it with only a little wibbling around.

I started singing VERY quietly at sacrament, and I realized how much more fun it was.

I still struggle to stay on pitch, but now I have found if I tug my right ear in just a bit I can even sing without the piano, almost on key.

So here is the take home for me that came through today...

We are born a bit tone deaf to the voice of the spirit.  I feel like I have gone for years not knowing if I was in or out of tune with the spirit.  Not to say I couldn't sing the right words...I'm always good at knowing the lyrics, but to truly be in tune and know it.  That is what I am striving for with the spirit.  So I am going to prove the Lord and diligently seek him so that I can sing his words.... on key!!!!  But learning from my childhood folly I know practice is the "key" (pun intended)

I have great faith that I can learn the delicate tones of the spirit, just as gifted musicians can hear the subtle variances in pitch.

There is a second part of the story...

I shared my pitch discovery with my mom and said, "Mom, If I can do this, you can too, just sit with me by the piano and let me help you find the note"

She agreed

We had to go to a low G for her until I matched the piano key to her note.  She teared up.

"Can you hear Mom?" I asked in earnest.

"I think I can!" she said smiling

You see there is no end to things you can do if you are willing to just try.

So I am going to play my spiritual D until I KNOW and not just think I know that the spirit and I are in Harmony :)

When you tell one lie....you turn into a goat

I know I looked so innocent as a child, you would have never thought that I would grow up and tell a LIE!!!!

It happened one beautiful Saturday afternoon.  Jared and I were gearing up to feed the picky eaters.  We were searching the refrigerator for something healthy, easy and enticing to feed the kiddos.  As I went through the fridge I notices a yucky old bag of noodle soup...so I threw it away, pleased that it would not have a chance to mold in my fridge or get spilled on accident.

I began cooking and Jared said to me,

"Where is that bag of noodle soup?"

AHHHH I thought, he wanted that, I don't want him to know I just chucked it, as that would seem to be very wasteful, neither did I think I wanted to go grab it out of the garbage can...so....

I LIED!

"Oh, I ate those for lunch"

Then he said, "No, it was just right here, I just saw it, what could have happened to it..."

I became very uneasy...because when you tell one lie it leads to another.  I had to choose, lie again? or fess up in front of the kids...

Oh the pressure, the pain, the humiliation!

So...I fessed up

"I'm sorry!  I just told a lie."

BLUSH BLUSH

BLUSH BLUSH

At first the kids stared with open mouths, then sweet Hazel came running over, "It's okay mommy, we still love you!"

So we used it as a GREAT lesson about what to do when you have told a lie, we said a prayer, I repented, and we talked about what would have happened if I had kept lying.

So we laugh a little at Mommy when we sing that song, "When you tell one lie..."

Jared even made up a bedtime story about it...so now we say,

"When you tell one lie you turn into a goat..."

Yeah, don't ask, Jared's stories are really entertaining :)

Toothless sisters :)