Mmmmm......Peanut Butter

I love peanut butter. Seriously! I really do.

Sometimes I crave it! You know....scooped up with apple slices or spread on celery sticks or stirred into hot corn syrup and sugar, then mixed with Rice Krispies or Corn Flakes. I like it with honey on toasted seven grain bread or with jam on soft white bread. A waffle with peanut butter and syrup is one of my favorite breakfasts. I admit I even occasionally eat it plain with a spoon.

I like peanut butter creamy and sticky, requiring a glass of milk to get it off the top of my mouth. I like peanut butter thick and crunchy with bits of peanuts that stick between my teeth. I like peanut butter cookies and peanut butter bars and peanut butter frosting on chocolate cake. If candy has peanut butter in it, you can bet I like it.

I don't remember when I first fell in love with peanut butter. I think it must have been early in my life, but was only recently rediscovered. I suppose that making it "forbidden", as it was during recent months of dieting, has only enhanced it's enticement. But I can't remember a time that I didn't like peanut butter.

Interestingly, peanuts alone are not at the top of my list. Cashews have always been my nut of choice, with pistachios a close second. I like almonds and pecans and macadamia nuts. But I'll rarely, if ever, choose to munch on peanuts. I even buy mixed nuts without peanuts!

I guess there is no explaining it, but it is true: I love peanut butter. I really do.

HOME

"A home is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as for the body. For human beings are not so constituted that they can live without expansion. If they do not get it in one way, they must in another, or perish." (Margaret Fuller)

Today I sat in my kitchen for hours with a variety of friends and family, eating and then conversing in an unhurried way. We shared thoughts and ideas on a plethora of subjects. We discussed possibilities and hopes for the future. We laughed about unexpected events of the week past. We solved a few scheduling problems and considered the possible reasons for an unhappy baby. Then we ate some more.

I've lived in a large number of houses in my life, most of which were very common and unremarkable, nothing fancy. I've never had much money or riches of the world. But I have a HOME-- a place where I am heard, where I can learn, where I can ask questions, where I am valued. I have a home where I can try new things, succeeding at some and failing at others. I have a home where everyone is always welcome. I have a home where I can find answers to my questions and new questions to open my mind.


My home is a comfortable place often filled with sound: voices, music, balls bouncing, treadmill running, cards shuffling, weights clanking, laughter, phones ringing, horns honking, TV and computers blaring, even animal calls. But in these same walls are moments of quiet study and contemplation, earnest conversation and prayerful pondering.

I may never live in a new house or have new furniture or a big screen TV. But in my home, we will often have banquets for "the mind as well as the body". Though I never finished my college education or furthered my formal training in music or art, I have found in my home opportunities for "expansion" that keep me learning and growing..............and very happy.


"Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need." (Sarah Ban Breathnach)

"The Lord looketh on the Heart"

"Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;...for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Several years ago, my daughter Sarah pulled up the old, well-worn carpet in her front room to reveal an old hardwood floor. Some elbow grease and varnish later, she had a beautiful new floor for her salon.

A story in the Church News last week tells of a woman who fought for years unsuccessfully to make a patch of grass grow green and healthy, only to discover a "quaint, old-fashioned patio made of a mixture of vintage bricks" when she dug the grass out.

When I first moved to Cokeville, I met a woman nearly ninety years old, skeletal and home bound by her weakened immune system. As I spent time with her, I glimpsed brief insights into her soul. She was always lively, likeable, lovely. She always told stories of her youth, her marriage, her family and her life. She always had a smile and bit humor to share. She always bore strong testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father with confidence that she was known and loved by them. We laughed together. We learned together. We cried together. I came to appreciate that, though she appeared old and frail, she was a strong, stalwart, special daughter of God. On the outside I could not see it, but on the inside was a heart of gold and a spirit of great beauty. Alva died last week. She would have loved her funeral. Everyone she loved and cared about (except those that are with her now) was there. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to look beyond her outward appearance to see as "the Lord seeth" this wonderful woman. I will miss her.

I hope that others can look beyond my "old carpet" and "yellow grass" to see me for who I am inside. I have confidence that God sees me and hears me and knows me....and loves me just as I am. I'm so thankful for that knowledge. It gives me hope and peace.

The Meaning of Living

"To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty --- the fulfillment of which brings true joy." Thomas S. Monson

We sustained a new bishopric in our ward today (Cokeville 2nd Ward, Cokeville, WY in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints): Bishop Bill Thompson, 1st Counselor Leon Pope, 2nd Counselor Roger Warner, with Brian Toomer as executive secretary. These men were called by God through inspiration given to our Stake President and his counselors. They accepted the call with faith that this is what God wants them to be doing right now. They will willingly donate countless hours of service to those of us in their stewardship because they "surrendered (their) ego(s) to the service of (their) fellow man" and their God. They will have to balance this new duty with their careers and family responsibilities. This is not a paid position. There is no financial compensation for service in this church. But President Monson assures "the fulfillment of (the call to serve) brings true joy."

The outgoing bishopric (Bishop Wade Fiscus, 1st Counselor Jade Hendersen, 2nd Counselor Kevin Walker, Secretary Duane Maddock) have served for over five years. Their comments in our meetings today confirm President Monson's words. All three of them indicated they experienced vast personal growth, increased faith in God and Jesus Christ, better understanding of Christ's atonement, greater love for those they have served, and gratitude for the opportunity to serve. They found joy in the fulfillment of their duty, their calling to serve.

I have learned that, while duty in the church is an essential service I freely give, there are multitudes of other opportunities to serve all around me...giving of my time, talents and resources to those in my own family...recognizing and filling a need in my neighborhood or community...sharing what I have with any that cross my path. Sometimes serving is simple--a smile, a kind word, a hand up. Sometimes service requires more thought, more tact, more sacrifice. Sometimes we will see the need and sometimes we will be asked for help.
Regardless of the circumstance, putting others' needs ahead of our own will always bring us joy in return. I know this is true.

So, as I look ahead to the new year, I want to include more giving and less self-indulgence, more service and less self-pity, more concern for others and less concern for myself. I will try to move the "focus outside (my)self" and "find real happiness." I look forward to the new year ahead.