Thoughts and stories, by Pal

I first posted these stories on December 3, 2013, and then again each year.  Timeless memories of Christmas past! This isn't a Christmas photo, but Wayne loved "Jasper", and I have him here in my bedroom as a sweet memory.   I'm reposting a few special Christmas entries, I've used in the past.  I hope you enjoy them! MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2014 304. More Family Christmas Stories, first published Dec. 3, 2013, last year. This was posted last year on December 3, 2013, as blog # 24.  I hope you enjoy these family Christmas stories. There are several stories about Christmas in our family, and you may enjoy these: ----  (The photos are different from last year.) My mother, Ruth, was just 6 years old when her father passed away.   In the summer of 1914, her father, John Butler Allen, got a sliver in his eye.  Later a horse switched his tail and a long hair cut through his eye again.  These accidents caused him gradua...

I hope you all enjoy this part of a concert that "Gentri" and others put on in a Care Center yesterday!

This article by Wallace Goddard, from Meridian Magazine, has some insights that were new to me, even after 60 plus years of marriage .  Now I am a widow, it helps me look back on my married life, and understand, even more, some of the differences my husband Wayne and I brought to our marriage.  We were a most unlikely pair, as far as our native talents and interests were considered.  He was a total sports fan, and I couldn't care less about them.  I loved music and art!  But we also were both very committed to the Gospel, and had several interests we shared -- such as a love of live theater.  It would have been helpful to have read something like this early on in our marriage! When Spouses Make Each Other Crazy By Wallace Goddard  · December 4, 2017 People are as different as foods on a buffet. For example, I am an extrovert. I do my thinking on the outside. I think out loud. Nancy is an introvert. She likes to thi...

For anyone who missed this, it was wonderful!  You'll want to watch it! In Case You Missed the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional By LDS.org  · December 3, 2017 The evening of Sunday, December 3, was the First Presidency’s annual Christmas devotional. The speakers were Sister Cristina Franco of the Primary General Presidency, Elder Kevin R. Duncan of the Seventy, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency. They shared seasonal spiritual messages that can help all who listen to them have a more Christ-centered Christmas. The full broadcast is available on Mormon Channel or LDS.org. Watch it below: To read summaries of the messages as reported by the Deseret News,  click here (Sister Franco) ,  here (Elder Duncan)  and  here   (President Uchtdorf).  

A compassionate article about difficult children -- or perhaps you don't have  difficult children! A Loving Perspective on Difficult Children By Wallace Goddard  · November 27, 2017 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE When 3 year-old Ian comes to visit his adoring Papa, we fall easily and naturally into joyous companionship. We play with wind-up toys. We “cook” meals with play dough. We pop popcorn and watch Robots yet again. Loving him is easy. But what about the child who is harder—who is too loud, too negative, too demanding, or too hyper—the child who grates on our nerves? How in the world do parents get a loving perspective on difficult children? That is where God invites us to grow. As I regularly say, irritation is an invitation. We can stay stuck in our this-child-is-a-mess view or we can choose to open our hearts to the child. We can see all the muck in a fallen child or we can see the glory just barel...

At this beautiful Christmas season, I am including the pencil drawing by my grandson, Sam Lieske, of Del Parson's painting of Jesus Christ holding a lamb.  Sam is very gifted, and pursuing a degree in architecture. December 2, 2017 Trails are a Sign of the Times SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY 1 Peter 4:12-13 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." QUOTE OF THE DAY John Taylor "We complain sometimes about our trials. We need not do that. These are things that are necessary for our perfection. We think sometimes that we are not rightly treated, and I think we think correctly about some of these things. We think there are plots set on foot to entrap us; and I think we think so ...

I have mentioned before that I knew and loved Larry Barkdull, now deceased, who wrote this article.  He was willing to publish 3 Simplified piano books, back in 1989, and 1990, that I had written.    He passed away within the last year. Two of my own grandchildren had statements in their Patriarchal Blessings to the effect that they had a "Council of Grandfathers" who were watching over them.  That goes along with this choice article.   I have his book, "Rescuing Wayward Children", that is very inspirational.  Angels Are Not Always Strangers By Larry Barkdull  · November 26, 2017 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Editor’s Note: Our friend and longtime Meridian writer Larry Barkdull recently passed away. To remember and honor him this is one of a series of his past articles that we are republishing regularly. As we work to reclaim our wayward children, we are not alone. Often angels are...