Thoughts and stories, by Pal

  I've just realized I haven't written a blog since May 12th!  It has been a rather hard time for me.  I am 88 years old, 89 in October, and I have had health problems that have kept me in my comfortable recliner quite awhile!  From June 26th to July 9th I was in a care center temporarily while my son that I live with, and his wife, went on a trip to Europe -- 3 days in Salzburg, Austria, and 7 days around places in Switzerland! They wanted to be sure that I would be taken care of.  I do have children who live rather close, but they all work, or have children who need care, and it wouldn't have been wise to leave me home alone!       I had some interesting times in the care center, and I'll write about them perhaps another day!  I know that I will go to a larger care center, after my widow's benefit starts, from when my husband Wayne was in the army during the Korean War.  He was in Europe because he knew a European language - Swedish - ...

  Dear friends who read this blog, even now and then: Many of the inspiring quotes I put in my blogs come from Meridian Magazine, LDS Living, and also Latter Day Light.    They are all good places you can go to, and have them come into your own e mail box.  So today I'm sending you the way to go and sign up, all FREE, and get them if you want to.  You may have to copy and paste the links below.   https://www.latterdaylight.com/sign-up/ (a Daily Devotional, all days of the week.) For Meridian Magazine, which is Monday through Friday -- the sign up is here, I think: www.ldsmag.com For LDS Living, I believe you can go to www.ldsliving.com and find it.  It is also daily. I also subscribe to Book of Mormon Central, which is really inspiring.  It is Monday through Friday, and has great videos which you can see at the bottom of each article.  All these are free, as is my blog. I will be writing my own thoughts, and histories from January 1st, 2...

This article is so inspired, from a book "This Life is a Test".  You may recognize that the Owner's Manual refers to the Scriptures and teachings of current day prophets.  The Teacher is our Heavenly Father, and Teacher's Aide's are those leaders, friends, or family who give us wise and inspired counsel we truly should listen to, and act accordingly. When the Lord Gives New Instructions By Ted Gibbons  · August 28, 2018 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Editor’s Note: The following comes from a series taken from Ted Gibbons’ book, “This Life is a Test.” To read the previous installment,  CLICK HERE .  “And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban” (1 Nephi 4:6). The right of the Teacher to change the rules by which we participate in the Test is nowhere better demonstrated than in this meeting of Nephi and Laban.   Dozens of times in the Owner’s Manual the Te...

More great insights for a happy marriage! LDS Daily A daily dose of what matters most Home   »   Home & Family   »   10 Ways to Create Greater Emotional Vulnerability in Your Marriage 10 Ways to Create Greater Emotional Vulnerability in Your Marriage Aleah Ingram  November 13, 2017 Home & Family Marriage may be ordained of God, but that doesn’t make it easy. While couples strive to experience a bit of celestial glory in this life, it is abundantly clear that marriage is often messy and hard. One of the best ways to get through the messy and hard together is to have a vulnerable marriage. What is vulnerability? When you are vulnerable, you are exposed and honest. You take the risk of being hurt. Vulnerability is essential to building relationships that last forever. Here are ten ways you can create greater emotional vulnerability in your marriage. Remember You Are Worthy Vulnerability can only be achieved when you lear...

This article would be important to read if your husband has a time-consuming calling as Bishop, etc., or if the wife also has a calling such as Relief Society President.  Very helpful and inspiring ideas! Side by Side: How Your Marriage Can Survive Church Service By JeaNette Goates Smith  · June 22, 2017 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Many years ago my husband was called to serve as the bishop of a seriously struggling ward. He spent many hours at the church, late nights visiting troubled members and endless hours on the telephone. It felt our marriage wouldn’t survive. During a time of deep despair I attended a professional seminar with other Marriage and Family Therapists. This was a seminar where they arranged for some small group interaction where we could be therapeutic resources to one another. There was one woman at the seminar who wasn’t even a therapist and I kind of eyed her with suspicion and wo...

This beautiful counsel from our Prophet is timeless! by President Thomas S. Monson, excerpted from "A Prophet's Voice"  | Dec. 30, 2016 Makes You Think Mormon Life Even though Christmas is over and our attention turns to making resolutions and the new year, it doesn't mean that we lose our responsibility to light the world. If you participated in the Church's 2016 #LIGHTtheWORLD Christmas campaign, you have served others for over 21 days, which is long enough to form a habit.  Although the Christmas lights may be gone, the light of Christ can continue to light the world, even in the new year. So to motivate you to keep serving others, here is some past counsel from President Thomas S. Monson that will help you continue your newly formed habit (or to start if you never did): As I consider the vast membership of the Church, I’m reminded that each of you is one of a kind. Each has had experiences unique to you, and you alone. We com...

When I was 18 I was privileged to be a typist for a then 88 year old Patriarch.  I did this for around 2 years, and it was a great blessing in my life.  I know that each blessing is given exactly to the person as Heavenly Father dictates.  For one instance, one grandson's blessing tells him that on his mission he "will learn to have respect and a great love for people of all nationalities, races, and religious backgrounds."  And he is now in Indonesia , which is 87% Muslim, with Buddhist, etc. and other Christian religions represented.   I recently received a copy of my great grandfather Samuel Miles' Patriarchal Blessing.  He was of the tribe of Benjamin, but his son, my father, and I are from the tribe of Ephraim.  It is so interesting!  He was a Patriarch for about 2 years before he died, and his son, William Gustavus Miles, my grandfather, was a Patriarch about 8 years before he died.   6 Ways to Get More from Your Patriarchal ...