Tue: 'Til all my works reflect thy goodness.'

Our works do reflect the intent of our hearts. It takes a willing mind & motivation to move us out of our complacency from wanting & intending, to doing good.
The world is full of 'I should haves'.

The last verse to "Write Thy Name Upon My Heart' by Sally Deford, talks about service.

"Grant me strength to serve thee well.
Light my spirit with thy grace.
‘Til all my works reflect thy goodness.
‘Til all my labors sing thy praise.
Endow my soul with loving kindness.
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance.
Write thy name upon my heart."

Have you noticed that even when you think you have no more to give, if a friend cries out to you.....you will find the strength to help?

Sometimes serving others lands in our lap. A just out of the oven batch of goodies or bread gives us the desire, to share. Do you have extra time available? Visit the sick or elderly. If flowers are on sale, make several arrangements & take to those whose hands hang down.

Rick Warren of 'A Purpose Driven Life' said, "I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.." & "One of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others."

Everyone wins when we forget ourselves in the service of others. Without much effort His name & image become part of us. We can write His name on our hearts every day of our lives.

Fri: Finding Faith in Christ

The second verse in 'Write Thy Name Upon My Heart' by Sally Deford explains ways to draw nearer to Him, as we prepare for Easter. It shows that we can deal with challenges, coming away as the victor. Tolerating others, with hands extended out to help is possible.

"When battles rage, when storms arise,
Make me a messenger of peace.
Teach me tolerance and meekness
And faith to bid the tempest cease.
Endow my soul with loving kindness.
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance.
Write thy name upon my heart."

Where do we go for strength to overcome our personal tempests? It takes alot of faith to turn our life over to Christ, letting him carry the load. Satan wants us to be in turmoil and unhappy. Submit yourself to the Savior. Humbly allow his love to wash over you.

Kathy, a woman I deliver Meals on Wheels to, recently lost a friend. She had opened her home to him, while he battled with homelessness & cancer. A lisening ear, to talk about how it happened. She found him deceased, in the bathroom late one night. She had no one to help, in getting the proper notifications. Hugs & caring made a big difference for her.

Peoples eyes glisten and their countenance radiate Christ's image, when they reach out to help themselves & others in need.

Wed: Write Thy Name Upon My Heart

With Easter fast approaching, it's time to contemplate the atonement of the Savior.
It can be difficult being 'At one with Jesus' in thought & attitude. In this world of making another buck & getting ahead, how do we submerse our lives with Him?

'Always remember me' isn't the easiest thing to keep in mind. 'Take His name upon you' is forgotten in the heat of the moment. How do we prepare for Christ?

The words to the song, 'Write Thy Name Upon My Heart' by Sally Deford, shows specific ways to help us draw near to Him. We really do try to make changes for the better. There is a compassionate, loving soul within us. We need more than a desire to imprint His name on our hearts though. Memorizing scripture verses, touching words to music & quotes help us feel & visualize ways to be more like Him.

"Write thy name upon my heart
Jesus, Savior of mankind.
Teach me charity unfailing.
Teach me compassion Lord like thine.
Endow my soul, with loving kindness.
Make me even as thou art.
Engrave thine image in my countenance.
Write thy name upon my heart."

Copy this first of three verses. Carry it around with you. Read each line over & over, while trying to incorporate the gentle words in your daily life. Imagine writing 'Jesus, Savior' in your best penmanship literally on your heart. It will become easier to find ways show charity & compassion?

While standing in an eternal check-out line yesterday, a boy asked if I would let him in ahead of me, because he had 1 item. I promptly said, No! I had waited for the 400 items the shopper ahead of me (15 items or less counter) had, was my reply. Coming to my senses I switched gears & apologized, then had to nearly beg him to get in front of me. What courage it takes to ask a stranger for help. I felt much better about the situation.

To listen to or get the music go to defordmusic.com

Mon: March Madness

Every year the NCAA collegiate basketball games provide a bracket for anyone who wants to join a pool to rank the games of each region & see how many we can guess correctly. Folks use all kinds of theories while choosing who will face off against whom. Our QA man chose them alphabetically. I usually pick West over East. Some even follow the teams from the beginning & win the $50 pot every year. I have 36 points so far. The leader, a single guy that follows the games religiously, is at 46.

Syracuse vs Butler & Kansas State against Xavier will be playing in Salt Lake on Thursday. The winners of each face off on Saturday. Tickets start at $112 for the three games. $413 for the best seats. Perhaps we'll hang around outside the Energy Solutions Center or just drive by for good luck to say, 'We were there!'

I predicted Kansas to play Kansas State in the championship game. So far one of them is still competing. The little known Northern Iowa ranked near the bottom upset Kansas this weekend. Who did you choose for the Final Four playing in the Lucas Oil Stadium home of the Colts on Easter weekend? UCLA won the year I graduated from high school. Villanova twenty five years later & Kansas won a few years ago.

May the best team win!!

Thur: Thousand Sheets Test

Think of how quickly toilet paper disappears on the roll, faster than the dials on a gambling machine. This is especially so, when you have children. Changing rolls more than we care to, caused me to buy one of those 1000 sheet single rolls of Scott tissue or the like store brand. At $.50 a roll, it seemed a better choice than a package of four rolls (175 square each) of 2 ply thickness for $1+.

Basically one roll is equal to 6 regular ones. Granted, the sheets appear to be .001 mil thick. The paper's as sheer as a nylon stocking. Ten squares are needed for adequate coverage, to even come close to the better brands. Remember, its half the cost for twice as much product. The bonus is that the roll lasts & lasts. I've had one of these mega rolls in use all week long. Reminds me of the 'Energizer' bunny. Now to stock up for when the grandkids come. They always use more than necessary and quantity is more important than quality for the little ones.

Put the 1000 roll to the test. You'll never be caught at the worst time empty handed again.

Tues: Trunk or Tree

I pass this amazing tree on my way to work and have watched it over the years. It's fascinating how the vine has nearly engulfed the entire trunk, if there is one under there somewhere. Look how healthy & green in the middle of winter the dependent vine is. Even more surprising, that the tree is still alive. Do they support one another or is the future of the tree at risk? It's common for one plant to take all the energy of the other, overcome it & death happens. Both lose in this case.

"Me lift thee, thee lift me and we shall ascend together" is the quote for the Texas North Mission. I think of this saying with the tree & vine working together to achieve something rare & unique. It almost looks like a giant gloved hand reaching to the heavens.

Wed: Wayward Weekend

'Choose the Right' that's my motto unless rebellion sets in, which it did this past weekend. Two movies: Bad Boys II (toned down for TV) & School for Scoundrels (not rated)on dvd took my mind from nice gal to smart alec real quick. This set the stage for gossiping about the absent relatives, to everyone I encountered at the family reception.

Although I fasted for the people of Chile to get help, not once did I contemplate their state or how to assist them. During the Sacrament, my mind was full of worldly thoughts, humility & bearing my testimony was out of the question. My 'I want my mama' nursery job was burdensome. I considered quiting while the kids cried.

I've made a rule of not reading my current book of the week on Sunday, spending my time in the scriptures, Ensign or upcoming lessons. Undaunted by Gerald Lund is like a church book I convinced myself, after finishing off 50 pages; but didn't feel inspired by it. Negative & not nice thoughts climbed the growing pyramid of anger in my mind, after yielding to temptations so readily.

No wonder I awoke at 12:50 am with a splitting headache. I quickly decided the Jackpot type weekend wasn't the answer to peace. How would the week proceed with no spirituality in my heart? Getting on my knees, I asked the Lord to forgive my faulty ways, pleading Him to continue to remind me to 'stay the course' when tempted to stray. We are both working on it. I appreciate He proves that each one of us is more precious than gold, through the Atonement freely offered to all.

Mon: The More the Merrier

There were ten in the bed & the little one said, "I'm crowded, roll over!"

This has been our life for the past sixteen days, as we have been host house to the Wightman wedding party. Hotel Schmidt ended today, with the final four extended family flying home to Florida. Friday night we had a total of thirteen people, in town for Courtney's Wightman's wedding &/or Hunter's baptism.

The guests were:
Breann & Jed in the yellow room with their own air mattress from home. They're here for the baptism.
The pink room went to Tony & Ann Wightman with son, Tucker (5).
Dallas (21), Courtney (20) (the bride), & Jen, the friend, slept in Jory's room.
Hunter (19) & Austin (17) got the living room floor.
The married daughter Brigitte & her two children, Bo & Gage, took the playroom.

Our adventure began February 19th with three cousins arriving from Florida. It gradually increased every few days until reaching thirteen this weekend. Our shower, computer, washer, dryer & TV were going 24/7 or so it seemed. I contemplated putting an 'Occupied' sign on the bathroom door. If hot water was desired, a 5 a.m. shower was the only option.

With the house all a buzz, the breakfast buffet rivaled the complimentary ones offered at your favorite motel. Thanks to Kristine Pryor for her sweet dough & grapefruit contributions (some extra she had after a ward party). I whipped up some cream cheese frosted cinnamon rolls, added a fresh fruit platter, toast & such. It all came in handy while feeding the masses.

On Sunday, while twelve worn out guests (the bride was gone)slept in, showered, shaved & such, I sought refuge in my bedroom for the morning to claim back a little peace & quiet.

By Monday, there was only one in the bed & she said, "This feels soooo good!" And it was!

Thur: Thermostat Theory

With nineteen days of winter to go, I still have yet to program my thermostat to turn on, off or both according to plan. Instead, I prefer to do it manually. If I forget, our gauge stays at the 63' setting until a chill runs up my back or we have company coming. Wouldn't want others to know our home temperature is similar to Antarctica's. Allan is very wise not touch the dial. Although he has my verbal approval.

This is how I keep our equal pay for a two furnace home at $39. A year ago some scuttlebutt was on the news about Questar Gas under charging some residents. For four months the bill shot up to $121, which I paid without complaint. After recovering their losses, the original amount was restored. If the government, banks & debtors could run on that premise, how nice it would be.

Soon I won't even need to adjust the thermostat. With Spring a few weeks away,
the snow & cold will be forgotten until the end of the year. Thanks, Mother Nature.

Tues: Take It, Don't Leave It

Where was my mind last week when I was shopping? Have you ever been chased out of the store by the clerk carrying the bags you left on the counter or arrived home empty handed? It's maddening to have to return & claim your goods.

I was so excited about using my $5 gift card, $3.10 in coupons & the $2 rebate after buying some things at Rite Aid, that I walked off without my purchases.
The next day when I needed the shaving cream I'd bought & couldn't find it anywhere, I decided it must be at the store. The employee on the phone identified my items & said he'd hold them until I made it back. Mine wasn't the only bag on the shelf waiting for its owner.

Why is it our minds zone out at the tiniest distraction? We forget the task at hand. Often I've had to remind myself over & over, so as not to forget to do or say something. Minutes later it's out of sight out of mind.

Perhaps we should strap it to our backs, then we won't forget.