Sam's talk and Alma 24

Opps! Accidentally republished this. It was originally written in 2006. Relevant now, though, because these chapters were the ones studied this last week for "Come Follow Me". The material reminded me of a talk Sam gave in November of 1996. Except for the added hyperlink, everything is as Sam wrote it. I don't know what the solitary "h" means at the end, but Sam had it there, so it's there. I had read this talk a number of times since I discovered it on the computer after he died, but it was nice to remember it as I reviewed these chapters.

Talk

Durring this time of year peoples thoughts often turn to gifts and giving. One of the greatest gifts that lord has given to his children is peace. In John 14:27 christ says; "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." The peace that christ gives us is not the same as world peace. The peace that christ gives us is an inner peace that comes from doing what you know is right, even thought others may not agree. In fact in Matthew 10:34 christ says "think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." in verse 35 he explains this by saying, "For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." Following the teachings of christ can cause conflicts with those who do not follow them. It is ironic that people who work for peace usually die for it also. Just a week and a half ago the nobel prize winning prime minister of Israel Yittzak Rabbin was assasinated because he wanted peace. Other examples of this type of person are: Martin Luther King, Gahndi, Joseph Smith, and of course Jesus Christ. In the book of mormon we read the story of the people of Ammon. How they were converted, and buried their weapons, and promised to never go to war or fight again. However some of them were not converted, these people became angry with them and came to war against them. The account of what happens next is in Alma 24 verse 21. If you have your book of mormon please read along. --Read it-- From this we can learn that the Lord has a different perspective than we do about war and peace and about life and death. The ammonites who died were prepared and had repented of their sins and were at peace with themselves, so death was not a bad thing for them. On the other hand, those who were wicked were not killed and were given a chance to repent and to come to peace with themselves, as many of them did. We have been promised that the lord will come again and establish his kingdom on the earth. When this happens will will have world peace. It is my hope that we will be prepared for that day and be at peace with ourselves by striving to live the teachings of the savior. I sya hetse gtihsn ni het mnae fo jesus christ mnae.

h

Happy Halloween

Today I found a storage bin in the basement labeled "Fall decor" and decided it was not too late.I especially like the ghosts. Thanks to whoever made these!

Opps

Our 2001 Camry had a bit of a problem the other day. Thankfully so one was seriously hurt. Mutti's description of what happened follows the pictures for those who have not heard the details. The car was declared a total loss and the insurance settlement is quite fair, but this is not the way you want to sell a car!

Did you realize that April 13 (I was about to say 'today' but looked at the time and realized that it was yesterday already. . . . ) is/was the 40th anniversary of Apollo 13? Although it happened in my lifetime, I don't remember it. I do like the movie. From what I've read, it gives a pretty faithful account. Gene Krantz, director of mission control, played by Ed Harris, says people didn't yell in the control room. I don't remember that character yelling. I do remember him saying, "Failure is not an option!"

Well, I had a problem of my own today. About 1:00 this afternoon, I was on my way to the Temple, traveling on the North Outer Road, when I failed to notice that the car in front of me had stopped behind a car wanting to make a left-hand turn. I had taken my eyes off the road for just a second, and when I looked back, I realized that they were stopped. I jammed on the brakes and plowed into the car in front of me. The front air bags both deployed. A little smoke or steam or something seemed to be coming into the car. I sat there, looking through the windshield at the mess the front of the car was in. I felt like someone had slammed me in the chest. I made a conscious effort to breath. My chest felt tender. I just sat there.

The driver of the car I'd hit got out of her car, and began walking toward me. She was talking on her cell phone. I reached for my phone and opened the car door. She asked me if I were all right. I said, "I think so." "Somethings leaking out of your car. I think you should get out." she said.

I got out of the car and we both stood off the road by the chain link fence until a policeman drove up. He asked if we were okay, and we said we were. The Worley's son, Steve, and his wife, Laura, were driving home from the Temple. They noticed me and stopped to ask if I was all right and offered me any assistance I might need. I assured them I was okay. I had called Art, and he was on the way.

A second police car arrived, and this policeman proceeded to move the front bumper and a lot of debris from the front end of my car off to the side of the road. Then he pushed my car across the road to the side of an entrance to the medical buildings next to Lutheran Family Services. These buildings are "next door" to the Temple.

Once my car was out of the way, he moved the car I hit. The back wheels were locked up; there was a terrible rubbing sound--probably from the back bumper being pushed up against the wheels. I learned that this car--a big, shiny black KIA, which the policeman mistook for a Lincoln--was brand new. sigh.

I had called Art before the car was moved. I told him I'd been in an accident, that I was fine, but I'd probably totaled the car. He left work immediately and came as the tow truck operator was loading both cars onto a long, flat-bed tow truck.

Rock Erickson--Lisa Pinkston's father-in-law--came over to us. His office is in the medical buildings. He talked us into getting out of the hot sun. He wanted me to sit down in the air-conditioned building for a few minutes while Art got a few things out of the damaged car. Rock also offered any assistance we needed.

My chest felt very tender when I sat down in the big easy chair in the lobby of the medical building. It felt so tender, I thought I was going to have trouble getting back up on my feet. Obviously, I was able to get up, but getting into the passenger seat of the '92 Camry was not easy.

As we drove home, Art and I decided it would be prudent to stop at the urgent care facility on Clarkson Road in our neighborhood. The doctor who examined me ordered an x-ray taken of my chest and an ekg. After seeing the results of those two tests, he recommended that I go to St. Luke's Hospital emergency room and have a CAT scan of my chest. He thought he saw some abnormality in the lower left lung. The doctor suggested going directly there without stopping along the way for dinner.

Well, going to St. Luke's took about another seven or eight hours. Lots of waiting. Bottom line is that there is some kind of abnormality in both lungs, but whether or not it is serious or just the way I was made or the way I am remains to be seen. I'll have to inform my primary care physician who will refer me to a specialist and the specialist will 'keep an eye on it,' using this CAT scan as a basis for comparison.

Well, that's my news for the day. And now it is tomorrow, and I'm pretty tired. I must say, I'm glad that nothing more serious happened. I love you all. :)Mom

More tradition

A single rose to mark our 36th wedding anniversary two Saturdays ago. It was an especially nice one (rose and anniversary).

Tradition

Mutti saves onion skins for the entire year so I can dye eggs. For those of you who question why she does this, here is the result. This year I did an entire dozen at once. I really like how no two are alike.

Happy Easter!

What remains

Here is an update on the two snowmen in the front yard. To give a much belated answer to Matthew's question, Mickey was in front of the house and Minnie was on the other side of the driveway where the big oak is. We had some warmer weather and Mickey and Minnie's ears melted off. Then Mickey's nose got bit off by a deer (Mutti actually saw the deer do this)--I wasn't quick enough to catch the deer in the act, but here is the aftermath.

Interestingly, Minnie's nose didn't get eaten at the same time. It just fell out onto the ground.


After a few more days of sunshine, both snowmen were now little midgets, and their noses were completely gone! Here is Mickey.


And here is Minnie.

Sam and Home Teaching - 2

I have already told about Sam and me visiting the Smith's in a post made in 2006.

The other family we visited was the Babler's. We met mostly with Brother Babler. He had a son close to Sam's age who joined the church a few months after Sam's death. When we visited we would use a chapter in the book, Gospel Principles, as the basis for the lesson. Sam and I would alternate giving the lessons. I sometimes wondered how seriously Sam was taking this because the lessons were pretty short when Sam gave them, whereas I tended to delve a bit deeper and give a few more details when it was my turn.

At Sam's funeral we asked those who attended to share any memories they had of him. This is what Brother Babler wrote:

"Sam was a profound young man of few words. He therefore was heard when he spoke. I always felt his testimony when he came to visit me with Brother Wittwer. I will miss him!"

Brother Babler is also a man of few and profound words. I still make visits there at Christmas time to deliver Santa Cookies. We don't talk about it specifically, but I know one of the reasons I am welcome is because we both have a love for Sam.

Snowmen

Last weekend we had snow, and on Saturday it was perfect conditions for rolling snowballs for snowmen. It had been more years than I could remember since I had helped build a snowman. The GR grandchildren were with us so here is the result:


The one on the left is "Mickey" and the one on the right is "Minnie". We used a carrot for each nose. The big question was how long their noses would last, given the large number of deer in our neighborhood. Well, I am happy to report that after 5 days (and more snow), Mickey and Minnie's noses are still there.


Maybe the deer were not expecting to find any food in such an odd location. The question is, how long will they last? Until the spring thaw?