March 27, 2016 Happy Easter

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. 

So it seems a little strange to realize that reading lyrics aloud to someone who is hard of hearing is like opening a window to a whole new world of understanding and appreciation.

Jesus climbed the hill

To the garden still

His steps were heavy and slow

Love and a prayer

Took Him there

To the place only He could go

He felt all that was sad, wicked or bad

All the pain we would ever know

While His friends were asleep

He fought to keep

His promise made long ago

The hardest thing that ever was done

The greatest pain that ever was known

The biggest battle that ever was won

This was done by Jesus

The fight was won by Jesus

Gethsemane

Jesus loves me

So He gave His gift to me

In Gethsemane

He is risen! He is risen!Tell it out with joyful voice.

He has burst his three days' prison;

Let the whole wide earth rejoice.

Death is conquered; man is free

Christ has won the victory!

We have so  much to be grateful for, Happy Easter!

The Assistants to the President Elder Hann and Elder Bowler 

weighing luggage for a missionary leaving on a jet plane Saturday morning.

Just a few missionaries saying farewell to friends and past companions as three IBM missionaries, Elders Anderson, Marostica and Smith, prepare to depart for home following an honorable release.

The smallest act of service is worth more than the grandest intention!

It's the Saturday before transfers so where would you find Elder Busath? 

At our infamous storage unit picking up beds, that's where!

 

Beds,beds, and more beds.

 It's crunch time and we still needed to find a few more places for our missionaries to lay their heads.  Fortunately one family stepped up to the challenge.

 President Thomas S. Monson has counseled:

“The needs of others are ever present, and each of us can do something to help someone.

“… Unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives” (“What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 85).

 

As is too often the case lately, the phone rang at the Mission Office with a landlord complaining about the poor housekeeping skills of the missionaries.

  Senior Office staff to the rescue!

Elder Busath and Sister Christensen surveying the damage.

(Viewed discretion is advised when looking at the BEFORE pictures below)

                                    

 What would their mother's say?

It wasn't a surprise to discover that their vacuum cleaner hadn't been working 

for some time.

 Two days later at their re-inspection:

Walkway swept!

                                             

Bed made and clothes put away where they belong!

 

No words are necessary-

 After a full day of cleaning and passing their re-inspection the Elders were noticeably humbled and promised to do better.  
Please note that most of our missionaries are 100% obedient 
and work hard to keep a clean house, but there are always a few exceptions.

Still hoping to have daffodils this spring!

 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

“This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”

                                                                                                   (Matthew 22:36-40)

                                                                                         

It is only when we love God and Christ with all of our hearts, souls, and minds that we are able to share this love with our neighbors through acts of kindness and service—the way that the Savior would love and serve all of us if He were among us today.

When this pure love of Christ—or charity—envelops us, we think, feel, and act more like Heavenly Father and Jesus would think, feel, and act. Our motivation and heartfelt desire are like unto that of the Savior. He shared this desire with His Apostles on the eve of His Crucifixion. He said:

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you. …

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” 

                                                                                                         (John 13:34-35)

The love the Savior described is an active love. It is not manifested through large and heroic deeds but rather through simple acts of kindness and service.

 May we show our love and appreciation for the Savior’s atoning sacrifice through our simple, compassionate acts of service.

Make it a great week!

March 20, 2016 Happy First Day of Spring

Sorry, just a quick trip down memory lane. 

Cracker Barrel restaurants were on every corner in Florida and so when we happened to see one in Boise we just couldn't resist. So after dropping off our oldest daughter, Andi, to catch an early flight to Sacramento, we decided to stop for breakfast before heading to the Mission Office. Definitely a great way to start the day!

Dax and Elder Busath aka "Grandpa" enjoying some corned beef and cabbage.

Laddies, William, Thomas and Charles

                Lassies, Shelby, Marianne and Sienna                Wee one Wade

It seems that our little leprechauns enjoyed St. Patrick's Day as much as we did!

 

As we patiently waited for our daffodils to make an appearance we almost missed seeing a fabulous spring flower extravaganza  in our own backyard at the 

Idaho Boise Temple. 

 Leadership Exchanges in the Mission. Never a dull moment. 

 The infamous storage unit.

 Saturday was a special day it's the day we got ready for...missionaries having to move temporarily to a new location due to spring vacation. With many of our missionaries being housed by members, when their kids come home from college or their grandchildren stop by for a visit we need to find the missionaries a new home; 

sometimes temporarily and oftentimes immediately.

                            
                   Temporary housing thanks to a dedicated High Councilor and his wife.

As Easter approaches, let me share with you one of my favorite Easter stories to help set the mood for the coming week.

It is the tender story of an eleven-year-old boy named Philip, a Down’s syndrome child who was in a Sunday School class with eight other children.

Easter Sunday the teacher brought an empty plastic egg for each child. They were instructed to go out of the church building onto the grounds and put into the egg something that would remind them of the meaning of Easter.

All returned joyfully. As each egg was opened there were exclamations of delight at a butterfly, a twig, a flower, a blade of grass. Then the last egg was opened. It was Philip’s, and it was empty!

Some of the children made fun of Philip. “But, teacher,” he said, “teacher, the tomb was empty.”

A newspaper article announcing Philip’s death a few months later noted that at the conclusion of the funeral eight children marched forward and put a large empty egg on the small casket. On it was a banner that said, “The tomb was empty.”

With John of old, we bear especial witness and testify that “the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14) and that a major purpose of his sacred mission was to teach us how to love and serve one another.

Easter is a time to remember all that Jesus Christ has done for us. It's also a time to consider His simple invitation that has the power to transform us forever: "Come, follow me."

If you haven't done so already I would invite you to log on to mormon.org and listen to an amazing virtual choir #Hallelujah, or watch one of the many videos of the Savior's ministry that will be available beginning Monday and ending on Easter Sunday.

Wishing you a wonderful week filled with the joys of spring and a celebration of Easter!

March 13, 2016 It never rains in California

It pours...

It has been many years since California has seen rain. As many of you know California has suffered from a drought for years, and it seemed apparent to me this week that the Lord has heard and answered the prayers of his faithful and obedient children.

We have been promised that if we pay our tithing we can unlock the windows of heaven.  In the scriptures,  Malachi 3:10, the Lord has said, ""Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there might be meat in mine house, and prove me herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, there there shall not be room enough to receive it."

We know that all blessings are predicated on obedience to law and that we will be abundantly blessed for our obedience and faithfulness to the Lord's laws and commandments. I hope that Californian's recognize the great blessings they are receiving because of their obedience, because it is a great lesson for us all.

 Long story short, I had the opportunity to fly to California this past week to spend a little time with my California kids and grandkids and to provide assistance to my daughter, Sam, and her family while she recovers from her recent heart surgery. Elder Busath sadly stayed behind to take care of the needs of the Mission Office.

 My first stop, following a brief appointment at Kaiser and a quick visit with GG, was to the Gibson-Chance home where my granddaughter, Jill, willingly agreed to share her room (and cats) with me until Sam was discharged from the hospital.

Sunday we attended church at the Ripon Ward in Manteca. 

The church building was not at all what I had come to expect since moving to Idaho :0

  After church the Bacchus family and Steve and Megan arrived to help celebrate Thomas' 6th birthday and to spend a little time with me before I headed off to Rocklin to be with Sam and her family.

"Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation,

in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

 1 Timothy 4:12

It became very clear to me as we visited as a family that what we say and how we say it tend to reflect on who we are and who we are becoming. The words we utter truly reflect the feelings of our hearts, the strength of our character, and the depth of our testimonies. I am so proud of my children and the people they are becoming.


The day finally arrived and Sam was officially discharged from the hospital in San Francisco! Now it was my turn to play nurse (Mom) and spend Grandma time with my sweet grandson, Wade.

We cooked...

 and cleaned...

and enjoyed little powdered donuts-one of Grandpa's traditions, 

among many other things!

I have to admit that before I arrived I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to do enough, to make a difference and help provide the things that were needed. 

I need not have worried-love was spoken here!

"Neglect not the gift that is in thee. 

1 Timothy 4:14

"Your training, your experience, your knowledge are tools to be skillfully used. They have been self acquired. Your conscience, your love, and your faith are delicate and precious instruments to guide your destiny. They have been God-given."

President Thomas S. Monson

  

 Just before I had to catch a tearful flight for home we took a few minutes to celebrate Wade's 2nd birthday! How grateful I am for sensitive children who know just what a Grandma needs.

The Peterson family-now well on the road to a full recovery :)

"And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Galatians 6:9

It's been said that to find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. I can testify that service (even service to our own family) brings true joy.

 It seems that spring had spring while I was away! 

The sky was blue, not a rain cloud in the sky 

and my tulips were poking their heads out just to say hi!  

 It's was another birthday, shout hooray! They wanted to sing to Dax today. 

One year older and wiser too, happy birthday to Dax too! 

Grandson, Dax turned 10, the very same day Wade turned 2. 

So it was time for another birthday celebration and I had arrived home just in time!

Surprise!!! I found this little stowaway, Lambie,  in my luggage while unpacking. 

In closing, I just want to share a little secret I discovered on my recent trip that is sure to give you joy and happiness in this crazy world. 

I had the privilege to be included in family scriptures and prayers while visiting my kids this week and I have to tell you that it is an incredible experience both as a Mother and a Grandmother to watch my son in laws preside over their families and to listen to my grandchildren, even as young as two years of age, share the things that they are thankful for. Find time to be "at the right place at the right time" for you will not want to miss it.

 "Pray in your families unto the father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed."

3 Nephi 18:21

Wishing you the luck of the Irish this coming week!