Thoughts and stories, by Pal

Today, I'm feeling a bit under the weather.  I'm sending you beautiful quotes on Latter Day Devotion.  Have a wonderful Sabbath Day!  Ten days until Christmas!  Today is a good day to reflect on how much Jesus has done for us! DAILY DEVOTION __________________________ The Birth That Counts Nauvoo, Illinois December 15, 2013 SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY: 3 Nephi 1:13-14 "Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfill all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfill all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son-of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time i...

     This post is a bit longer than most.  It tells of my father, Orson Pratt Miles's time in the army, and the heart touching story just before he died.  In 1987, Mavis’ son Russell was living with Ruth Miles, his grandmother, attending Dixie College.  He was in the “middle bedroom” and in cleaning out the closet he found an old box.  It contained, among other things, a small journal which Pratt, his grandfather, apparently kept in his uniform pocket during World War I.  Pratt would have been 27 years old at the time the war entries were made. (Russell typed what his Grandfather Pratt had written.)      Some of the entries in the journal were of signals, etc., used in war training.  The following tells some of his experiences during that time.  It is interesting to notice the notes seem quite happy, but because of some experiences which undoubtedly were not recorded, he was left with “shell shock”, or what would now ...

I remember my mother, Ruth, a gifted school teacher, once had in her class the child of a medical doctor.  He was only 8 years old, but had been given everything any child could want, even before he realized he wanted it.  One year at Christmas he had been given a BB gun, and he wasn't even excited about it.  He never got excited about gifts given to him, because he hadn't had the gift of being allowed to "want" something, and then wait awhile to finally get it.  That is a great gift to children!  (Refer to my post on Dec. 1, 2013, "A Child's Christmas Prayer.) (I'll write another post later today, about my father, Orson Pratt Miles, who passed away 38 years ago today.)    These are ideas for helping children learn to become independent, happy adults, and not overindulging at Christmas time.  These two articles were in "The Spectrum", a local newspaper, today, Dec. 14, 2013.   Build Christmas spirit in your children this year (condens...

 I'll take a break from writing about my father, and finish tomorrow.  I have noticed that articles about my parents may not be as interesting to many people.  I do hope my own posterity read them!   Today I really liked this  article in the Meridian Magazine, Dec. 13, 2013.  At this Christmas I hope we can make peace with anyone with whom we may not have a "Godly Relationship."  What better time to forgive others, and show charity?  Jesus's life was always the example we want to follow. I have condensed the article, and put my own "italics" in some places.    Keys for Godly Relationships   By Wallace Goddard We might well ask, what has it cost Jesus to be our friend, our healer, and our Savior? We cannot comprehend the cost. He paid dearly!   We must make sacrifices in order to build, sustain, or grow a relationship . We tend to think that great relationships should be effortless. We often think they just happ...

     (By Ruth, his wife, my mother) :  "There are two memories Pratt has mentioned that occurred at the Red Hill home.  (It was just north of the Post Office on 2nd north and Main, a house or two going north on Diagonal Street.)  Both have to do with accidents, and both included a certain girl, Hortense McQuarrie, who later moved east and became a millionaire.  In memory of her time in Dixie she donated the money for the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Memorial Building Museum here in St. George, which contains many relics and pictures of the early Dixie Pioneers.      Pratt and Hortense were playing as all children loved to, up in one of the hay lofts in a barn.  Pratt fell through where some boards were broken and as a result, his arm, as well as the boards, were broken.  He remembers going home and then to the Doctor, who set it, not in a plaster of Paris cast as we do now, but in a leather cast that had to be lace...

   I want to tell about my father, Orson Pratt Miles.  He was born September 7, 1891, in St. George, Utah.  He lived most of his life in St. George, except for when he was in World War I.  He passed away on December 14, 1975, in St. George, and I will tell some about his life for the next 3 days.  Our favorite photo of him is at the end of the post on Nov. 20, 2013, just before Thanksgiving, in # 7, Thanksgivings past, and "The Suet Pudding Story".   I have already mentioned him in Post # 28, 29th (which was mostly about his mother Paralee, (Pal) whom I was named after.  Also he is mentioned in Post # 30, in the story about my mother Ruth's dream.    I want to give you an idea of his personality, especially before he was in World War I.    The following is part of what was written by my mother, Ruth Allen Miles, after he had passed away.---   as told in her own words:    ------------------  "Pratt lo...

I read this story below on facebook just a few minutes ago.  In 1997 for a time we had an extra bedroom.  We met Brian Sewell, a college student, and when he need a new apartment, he came to live with us for about 9 months.  We became lifelong friends, and he comes and stays with us now and then.  He has since married, and lives in California, and has a lovely family.  He is a wonderful musician, and has composed many beautiful songs, and also is an entrepreneur, and has worked in several successful businesses.   This story below he wrote, I suppose today, and left it available to "share", so Brian, in case you read this, I hope you don't mind my sharing it here, as a touching story which hopefully will help us all feel more gratitude for our own lives and blessings.  America is truly a "choice land".  We often don't realize that many many people in the world simply have to find food and shelter each day, and don't have time or money to do ...