Coming Soon to a Chapel Near You

if you live in Ithaca, anyway.

"So, if this is a surprise to you, don't worry: it was a surprise to us too. We only started discussing it yesterday and decided today."

I was trying to avoid thinking about it for several weeks, but the Spirit kept bugging me. So last night I prayed in our family prayer - the first Joy heard of it - to know if it was time for us to head over to the Ithaca Ward. Joy was surprised and excited, and dared not hope that it might be so.

"I have nothing against the branch. But I've had some family wards I've really enjoyed and have been in branches or singles wards for ... more than a decade."

Nursery is the big reason. It's been different for Hyrum in the ward nursery in a very good way. I noticed and was impressed every time I came to pick him after or check his diaper during. Their nursery has been good for him. ... It's what he needs.

So we talked to Pres. Horrocks to ask his advice. It turns out, the Spirit has been ... "nudging him also in the same direction." He was trying to avoid thinking about it also. But when I came in to counsel with him, it seemed pretty clear what we need to do.

We're not sure just how long the transition over will be - I have some things I need to do before I can move over calling-wise, but Joy and Hyrum will start attending the ward regularly now.

"I told Derrill that I think it's what I need right now - after we made the decision. I didn't want to say it before we made the decision in case he didn't feel like it was right to. But when Derrill suggested it to me, I just immediately felt like that was the right thing to do. But I cried because I thought maybe I was being selfish. Derrill then told me that he thought that part of the reason was for what I need too - to have so many sisters older than I who have already travailed and succeeded in the noble cause for which we are trying to succeed in our family."

So that's what's new. "And we're excited and we're nervous" and we feel the hand of God nudging us this direction.

"And if there's anyone in the branch that's reading this, we want you to know it's a hard choice because we'll miss you." Yes.

Fasting, Joy, and Gifts

This post has been moved to our new family blog.

Hy pays attention

Hyrum missed his second nap today. That means the evening was proceeding ... less than optimally and Mama was at the end of her rope. We were talking about getting Hy ready for bed about an hour early when I remembered we hadn't read scriptures with him yet. There was no way he was going to sit quietly through them tonight, though.

Then I got a wonderful idea. I sat Hy in my lap and turned on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "We Are Sowing" on the laptop with some pretty fountains playing during the music.

Hyrum was enthralled.

He sat, staring intently, mesmerized by the music. Mama and Dada sang along with them. When it was done, he continued to sit quietly for a second, then took in a deep breath and let it out with satisfaction.

We bore testimony to him about the important lessons in that song, and how they tied in with our scripture reading. I read him the page out of the Book of Mormon. Then we spent another half hour listening to "We are Sowing," "This is the Christ," and "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus." Hyrum just sat in my lap, occasionally leaning in to me comfortably. SUCH a Spirit of peace and love and transquility had come to our home, "Mommy and Daddy cried," adds Joy.

How thankful we are for sacred music and for a son who loves it.




(Mind, he also was also excited today by the Beach Boys singing "California Girls" while he ignored Bach, Beethoven, and Bizet playing from Dad's office over the baby monitor.)

Life, Death, and Christmas

There has been a lot to think about this Christmas. I hope you'll forgive me for reciting the death toll for a moment before getting to the happier part, but in my more morbid moments it has seemed that Death has been delivering a great many telegrams this semester. If you'd rather skip all that, head on down to the dashed lines separating off Elder Wirthlin's testimony.

As you may remember, my good friend Evan Wade passed away earlier this semester. His death was quite sudden and unexpected. Timed as it was at the cusp of beginning so many wonderful things in life, it has made me feel particularly blessed to have been able to finish my own degree and be sealed to my wife. I commented to Joy the other day that I've been thinking of him regularly. I miss him, far more than I had expected.

Around Thanksgiving, Grammy had multiple strokes and the doctors also found there had been a heart attack at some point. This also was unexpected, and I find myself quite unprepared for the thought of Christmas without Grammy. In the last twenty years, that's been about the only time I've gotten to see her. Thankfully, Dad reports that Grammy is, to all appearances, fully recovered and doing miraculously well. But the realization of the fragility of mortality was hit home again. (This picture from the Ensign is of Grammy, though she doesn't actually need a wheelchair, then or now.)

A few weeks ago, Aunt Elizabeth died. I don't know that I ever met her or my great-uncle who is now left to mourn her loss. Uncle Calvin reported that she was "was released from the prison of her body" in hospice care after weeks of strokes and terrible pain. He is comforted that her death relieves her of the burden of that suffering, bringing her somewhere without the pain.

Last week our stake president succumbed to the battle he's fought with his cancer the last few years now. I didn't know Calvin Gehen well, but he had a powerful spirit with him at each stake meeting. He radiated peace and compassionate service, in part because you would sometimes never know how much he was suffering to be there. Being with him reminded me in many ways of the opportunities I've had to shake the hands of one of our apostles. Joy is hoping to sing in the choir at his funeral on Tuesday.

A couple weeks ago, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin passed away. This was not particularly surprising since he was the oldest of the apostles. Though I've known a number of people who knew him (my friend Darrell married his granddaughter and my first mission companion was Elder Wirthlin's home teacher - which provided some interesting stories), I never had the privilege myself.

So today, since I'm sick and unable to attend church, I thought I would get around to watching Elder Wirthlin's funeral, which the Church has graciously put on their website. It was a beautiful service. (Other friends of Darrell will see him and his wife walking out of the funeral at 1:11:42-1:11:56. She's in a red sweater.) In my favorite talk that he ever gave, he told of the Savior's suffering in Gethsemane on Good Friday, reminding us that no matter how bleak the Fridays are that must inevitably come to all our lives, "Sunday will come." During the funeral service, I realized that he gave that talk just after his sweetheart had passed away, surely going through his own Friday. How important the testimony of resurrection morning is!

Among the words offered during the funeral, Pres. Boyd K. Packer shared with the family Elder Wirthlin's final testimony (it's about 30 minutes into the video), which he had spoken approximately the week before. Let me share a piece of it with you:
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From time to time if we are living worthily, the Spirit of God touches our hearts, and minds, and our lives, and improves us forever. The warm feeling penetrates our hearts, a silent, still small voice speaks to us, communicating through the burning of our bosom the knowledge given to us from God. It draws us closer to Him, sanctifying us and strengthening our desire to return to His presence. During such unforgettable moments, revelation comes to us and forever alters our view - sharpening our focus on what matters most. We sense more profoundly our eternal relationship with Him as the literal Father of our spirits. We also feel more acutely our complete dependence on the merciful atonement of His Son Jesus Christ.

I had such a revealing experience. It was Christmas time in Bavaria in the Alps in 1937. I have always loved Christmas. There is a special spirit about it. The chill of the winter air is the perfect counterpoint to the warmth that should fill our hearts as we contemplate the message of salvation found in the birth, resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I experienced that warmth many years ago while serving as a missionary for the church, just prior to the outbreak of WWII. As you might expect, the possibility of armed conflict was very intense, but as Christmas approached, our thoughts were drawn to the Savior. We rejoiced in the privilege of serving Him during that sacred season in the famous city of Salzburg, Austria.

On Christmas Eve, Elder S and I visited the village of Oberdorf, nestled securely in the beautiful Bavarian Alps. It was a clear, crisp winter night. We walked under the canopy of stars across the smooth stillness of newfallen snow to a humble little church where a familiar melody beckoned us with a message of peace and hope. [Pictured is the church to which he refers.]

Inside, a choir was singing in German a carol that brought warmth to our hearts on that cold winter night. Though we were far from our homes and families, we were filled with our Heavenly Father's love and comforted by His Spirit, as we listened to the calming strains of Silent Night, Holy Night.

Perhaps it was like the night that more than a century earlier inspired the assistant pastor in that quaint village to write the words to one of the most beloved hymns in all of Christendom. [He then tells the story of how the words and music came about.] As we listened to the choir's harmony while standing in the very same church where the first rendition of the sacred song was sung, we were spiritually moved. We were filled with the true spirit of Christmas.
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He told of how the Holy Ghost touched him and his companion at that time. As they walked the 15 miles back to their home, they spoke of a strengthened resolve to do what is right, to find a wonderful person with whom to spend eternity as husband and wife, and to keep their lives in focus with the principle and teachings of the Savior. He closed by saying, "I pray that our hearts and home may resonate with His marvelous message of love and peace during the holiday season. Forever with the apostle John, I testify that God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son...."

I've been looking forward to this Christmas all year. It's the first time I get to play Joseph. I've been a shepherd many times; I'm far too young to be a wise man; I've even been a dumb ox sometimes; but I've always looked forward to being the dad. No, Joseph wasn't the father of Jesus, but he was the man with whom God entrusted His Son, as He has entrusted me with a precious delight named Hyrum.

After all, besides death, this year has brought life. Wonderful, sweet life that has filled and changed our hearts in marvelous, miraculous ways. We are not the only ones so blessed. My dear friend Marcy and her husband have a dear little Emma after years of praying; our dear friends the Petersons just welcomed their third little one into the world; my former home teaching companion and his wife just received their first blessing; and there are countless more Corbins and Daniels and Timothies and Janes and Millies and more.

Each year, their families and friends will celebrate their lives, putting on cone-shaped party hats and singing old songs off key and eating good food and giving presents to each other because they are so thankful that this precious child is still with us. Every year, we also celebrate with funny little red cone-shaped hats, singing old songs off key, eating good food, and giving presents to each other on society's best guess as to His birthday. For behold, a virgin conceived, and she bore a son, and she called His name Emmanuel: God with us. I am so thankful that we all get together as brother and sisters, friends, neighbors, and family to celebrate the birth and resurrection of our Savior as well, whose sacrifice and sacredness conquered death, inaugurated hope, and promised peace. God be praised for the matchless gift of His Son.

Unbalanced

My life has been unbalanced for at least a couple of weeks as I have literally thrown myself into helping Derrill find a job. It has been difficult for me to work on anything else. But yesterday I broke the chain in some ways. I put away the laundry for the first time in two weeks. I really was so proud of myself. But the fact that it took me so long to get to it and that I would feel like getting it done was such a victory kind of woke me up to the situation that I was in.

I realized that I really need to refocus. I am good at just focusing on one thing at a time (like looking for a job), but I need a life that is more in balance. Jesus Christ was the only person that lived that had life in perfect balance, but I find that it is very important for me to keep reevaluating and seeking help from heaven for balance.

So one of my goals to help me to focus on what is most important is not only to read my scriptures daily as I have been, but to read from the scriptures and the current prophet and apostles for an hour each day (doing this first). It helps me remember the duty of love that I have for my husband, and that I can serve my family best by doing some of all the things that help our home run smoothly not just amassing all finding a job for my sweetheart. Our family needs things of the spirit, and physical things now, not just in the future.

We went to the OB doctor Monday and all is well. Hyrum does not appear to be ready to come yet, but we feel assured that he will be with us within a month. :D (even if he were two weeks late. Just in case I haven't mentioned it lately my due date is March 10, so there is just 1.5 weeks left until that time. Hurray for family and the love of God that helps us feel that all in our lives is beautiful even when we experience challenges. (You may be able to tell that I feel more centered today than my post might suggest). I have already ready my scriptures and I am about to get to the rest of the day.

I love all of you. Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!