Treasures

This morning brought a fun adventure. Now, I have been to yard sales. Plenty! I had never experienced an estate sale however until today. And let me tell you, A-MA-ZING! While I wasnted just about everything that was in that beautiful home I found 2 things that caught my eye as well as my imagination. Here were my treasures for today:

I have always had a strange fascination with bottles. There has long been a secret wish within me to be walking down the beach, enjoying the breeze and the sand beneath my feet, and coming across a bottle enclosed with a message from another time. Perhaps, one day, I will set adrift my own message out into the seas. A love letter, a plea to the world, or a prayer. It is simply such a beautiful idea to me and when I saw these bottles I couldn't help but let my imagination get the better of my pocket book. Five dollars for a little piece of dreaming in my window... truly, it is priceless.

This estate sale that we went to was incredible. There were old black and white photographs of what looked to be family, old linens that looked like they had been used in a different age, beautiful white gloves, tea sets, walking sticks, vintage furniture, old jewelry, kitchen ware from today and past yesterdays... it was full of history and memories so thick that I couldn't help but be overwhelmed. I assume that the tenant had passed away and had left such beautiful memories behind. Their is a journey in each peice of memory. While the meaning is unknown to the new owner, that meaning is never lost. It remains with it's unknown presence. This makes me wonder about the bottles that I have acquired. While they are simply two glass bottles, they are full of memory, and have a history all their own. How beautiful.

Who knew?

Well, it is official... I am allergic to wheat. How could I not see the signs before? Funny thing about allergies... THEY SNEAK UP ON YUH! (When I wasn't looking of course.) I have been doing some food testing by slowly adding things back into my diet. Doing tests on ones self probably isn't the safest of ideas but after test #2 I found that I should probably just accept the allergy instead of experimenting to see if my throat would get super tight again. Yup, swolen throat, itchiness... uggh. But I heart bread so much! Oh, and pasta! And cereals. It is when you realize that you really can't have something that it seems to be EVERYWHERE you look.

All I can say is that I have so much more compassion for those with allergies than I did before.

My Dearest Wheat,
Our time together must be cut short. How long we have been friends. I will always remember the long summers we had. Peanut butter and jelly. Deli ham with mustard. Egg salad and mayo. And oh, the winters! Hot chocolate with toast! Grilled cheese with tomato soup. Our memories are blissful. Of course we had our messy spaghetti times, but those happen. I will never forget the good times. You will be forever missed as I now must substitute rice flour for wheat flour and granola for sweeter things. Change has to come. I tried to make it work. Believe me I did, but alas, we must move forward. It will be better for both of us. So long my dearest of friends. Remember me well.
Erin

Something New

Do we learn something new every day? And not just the facts from school. Don't get me wrong. These things are definitely important. Gaining knowledge is a wonderful thing. But do we learn something new about ourselves, the world around us, or someone we love? Do we learn things that we can apply into our lives and make a difference to others? Learning is so important. It's good for the soul and it enriches our lives. School learning, life learning, and soul learning. Make sure all three of these categories are getting attention. Joy comes from learning.

The Love Post

1. Welcome to Texas. Glad you arrived. My sister told me that I must have brought this cooler weather with me. No complaints on my end. I think I would have died if the 110 degree weather persisted any longer. Happy day for perfect weather! Looove it!

2. I also love the feeling of being unpacked. No more storage unit! No more junk in the car! (I can actually take people with me in my car now!) I know where everything is as well.

3. Oh my gracious! Can they be any cuter?? Neice and nephews!

4. Sleep. I have been sleeping oh so good! The saying "I slept like a rock." Ya, that just doesn't cut it.

5. Reading is so nice!

6. I was reading a talk this morning and I wanted to share these thoughts:

"As we go through the rest of the days of our lives, now is the time for decision making. What am I going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? When tomorrow comes with challenges, opportunities, successes, joys, or disappointments, we must be ready to perform effectively when 'what shall we do then' becomes now.
 
We are all different. God in his wisdom has so created us. Only we can determine what we will do with what happens to us. What we do with what happens to us is more important than what happens to us. Certainly with God's help we can do what is right.
 
What shall we do then? Let us resolve to so live that the Lord can say to us, as he did to the Prophet Joseph Smith in some of his darkest, most trying hours: "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph" (D&C 121:7­8).
 
God lives. He is our Father. He knows us. He stands ready to help us. He has placed us here in life to see what we will do under all conditions and situations. It is a time of trial, tribulation, and testing. Often we would prefer to have "this cup pass" rather than go through the consequences. We must never lose sight of the fact that often success, popularity, and fame are more difficult to live with than uneventful calm or even tragedy. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8) or the things he experienced.
 
We came into this life for experience, and that's all we can take out of it. Thank God we have the right to decide personally and individually what we shall do then. The future does belong to those who know what to do with it. Look forward to the unknown with optimism and confidence. Look to tomorrow with happy expectancy, realizing that with God's help you can do all things. You and your Heavenly Father can make right decisions together, and with his companionship, I promise you success."
 
Marvin J. Ashton was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address
was given at Brigham Young University on 21 January 1975.

Answers come line upon line. It's a beautiful new day.