We're all a little Nutty

I told my kids that Labor Day is the day we celebrate me going into labor with each of them.  They weren't buying it and refused to let me give them the play by play. Nevertheless, we still had an enjoyable time together. We picked up Mckay and then all went climbing near Storm Mountain in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Dillon led the climb. Mckay kept warm and studied Linear Algebra.  Lizzie used him as a balancing pole. Ian took FOREVER, but got brave after awhile. Dillon told me that he would take some good photos of me so that if I died while doing this climb, he could display them on my "memory table" at my funeral. Lee cleaned up the gear from the wall and rappelled back down. Then we enjoyed lunch at the cabin and a walk around Silver Lake.  This is our favorite moose spotting location, and we were not disappointed! Dillon waited patiently to catch a beautiful iridescent blue dragonfly for his school bug collection.  It is not an easy...

This morning I was feeling overwhelmed and discouraged so as I left the house, I said a little prayer for help in feeling happy and being able to spread that happiness to others.  Usually the most obvious answers to my prayers are "not yet," but sometimes just having the humility to ask for help makes me feel better. I grabbed the few groceries that I needed and checked out.  As I was pulling out my card to pay, the cashier handed me a receipt and said, "That is all.  You are good to go."  She said it was paid for by an "anonymous donor."  I protested that I didn't need my groceries paid for and she should use it on someone else that needed it more, but she insisted.  The lady who came behind me in line had the same experience.  I almost wished that the person who had paid was standing close by watching everyone's reactions. Perhaps for some, it was a miracle because they'd been wondering how they were going to make ends meet this week.  ...

I 've been thinking a lot about hope lately.  In Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapter 8 verse 25 , he says, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." I have been hoping to figure out a way to be without pain for a LONG time.  And I have tried everything.  I have prayed endlessly for guidance in finding solutions.  I thought this scripture was a good reminder that we can hope for things we don't know or understand...and then wait patiently.  (Waiting does not necessarily mean sitting around, passing the time.  I think it means doing our best in the meantime.) The next verse (verse 26) made me smile because I know Paul wasn't talking specifically about neck pain, but the "infirmities" and "groanings" made it feel like he was.  "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings whi...