Fun ???... it's all in the jello ...

I went to a restaurant tonight with my mom and step dad to celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary. While I was there I had an interesting conversation with a little girl on the next table ...I'm guessing she was about 4: She has three cookies setting on her plate:

Me: OOH yum!Those cookies look delicious!
Her: Ya know , when ya make cookies and then there they are and you just have to eat'em and they are good!
Me: Did you make those cookies?
Her: Not these, I have cookies at home that I made, but not these ... I guess a chef made these ...
Me: A chef, huh? The chef is very talented!
Her: Talent has nothing to do with it ... it's all about gingredants (no, I did not misspell ingredients, that's the way she said it)
Me: So, if you have the right ingredients ...they turn out good every time?
Her: Only if you don't burn them ...burned cookies are not good ...but daddy eats them any way ...even when they are burned!
Me: Daddy's are very resourceful ... Do you just like cookies or do you eat other kinds of food ?
Her: I like jello ... jello is good ... only with no stuff in it. Mommy always puts stuff in it.
Me: Welcome to Utah ... the Jello with stuff in it capital of the world!
Her: (She laughs with all the wisdom of a million relief society presidents gone by (as though she really knows))
Her: I just like plain Jello ... the way it wiggles around and stuff ... it's just like fun on a plate!
Me: I think jello is fun too! Well, I have to go ... Have fun ...
Her: Not any more, my jello is gone!

So, people, profound perils of wisdom from a four-year-old ... I say, eat plain jello and have some fun!

Faith is the only way ....

I have been pondering a conversation I had with a friend last night. We were discussing our Patriarical blessings. We have some things in common ... we're both 40 something ... we're both single and we both wonder why ... alot!!!
I wish I knew all the answers ... it would make the lonely times easier to get through ... and trust me ... the lonely gets really loud sometimes! I have my moments, when the trials of single life surface like scum on the surface of aging soup ... (was that gross? ...good, that's what I was going for!)

Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

I get through the rough times with faith ... I am so grateful to have been given such a wonderful cherished gift of faith. Don't get me wrong ... my faith is tested constantly ... but I have also been given the power to get through those tests. When I have those moments in my life when I am tried and tested and nothing seems fair I fall back on my favorite quote form Camelot, "Im wounded!" said Sir Launfal, "Wounded, but not slain. So I'll just lie and bleed awhile, then rise and fight again!" I bleed sometimes ... I cry ... I scream and throw a fit ... and then I move on! I don't understand the reason for all things but I have faith in all things andwhen I don't beleive, My Father helps me through that unbelief ... and I get through.

One thing I know for sure is that life is just a small moment ... a tiny pin dot in eternity and I know, deep in my soul, that everything I have ever been promised will come to pass as long as I am faithful. I don't think that it is too much for the Lord to ask of me ... to remain faithful, and to trust Him.

I think the easiest thing to do when we look at a part of our patriarical blessing that has never come to pass is to think ... "I must've done something wrong ... or I would have this in my life now! I think that that is exactly where the adversary wants us to be ...when our mind set is set on our personal failures, we are set on failing continually, and then he rejoices when he breaks our spirit. Well, he can't have my spirit!! Life is bigger than what we can actually see ... the rest we take on faith. So, with faith in every footstep I move forward and I know that when I am in thoes "poor me" moments, the Lord will see me through.

Daughter Of A King

I was going to blog about my pioneer heritage today in celebration of Pioneer Day ... Something else came up though, I received a call last night from an old friend ... I will call her Hope (not her real name). I use to work with Hope and there are times, even now, ten years later, when I wonder why we ever connected ... we are SO different from each other. Anyway, I haven't spoken to Hope for quite some time as we no longer work together so I was a little surprised when she called. Hope proceeded to tell me what a chaotic mess her life was in. After she made some very selfish choices, her husband has left her, her grown daughter won't talk to her, and her teen aged son went with his dad. My heart breaks for her. I am not going to get on a soap box and discuss what I think Hope's mistakes were ... We all have free agency and we came here to learn how to use that agency. We all make mistakes ... I know of only one man who didn't .. and He is the one who paid the price that we wouldn't have to live in the sorrow of our own sin for eternity. Unfortunately for Hope right now is that she has not invited the Savior to be a part of her life, so she doesn't really get it. Hope is one of those women who looks perfect. She is "drop dead gorgeous" and looks as though she just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. It is that very reason that we look "funny" as friends. I am so the opposite of her, physically. I have often wondered what made her want to be my friend. What could I possibly have that she would find interesting?? I think last night I figured it out. We are both daughter's of a King ... I know it, she doesn't and somewhere deep inside her she wants to know, and my mission is to remind her just who she is. Hope, your value is more than your pretty face ... you are "more precious than rubies" and the atonement is there for you too. I have a personal testimony that we are all daughters and son's of a Heavenly Father who loves us. I think Hope "sells herself short" when she doesn't recognize the beauty she has within her. I wrote a poem a couple of years ago and it is perfect for this blog:

The Daughter of A King
Written by Janalea Jeppson 2004

“Who am I?” I have often wondered…
I do not understand my worth.
Do I exist for some great purpose?
Why was I sent to live on earth?
When I look inside the mirror
Sometimes I cannot see
That beyond mortal reflection
A child of God looks back at me!

Does my life reflect my Father’s glory?
Do my choices sing his songs?
Is His image in my countenance?
For that is where my heart belongs.
Mortal life is very noisy.
It distorts the things I hear and see…
That’s when I seek to find some solace
As I pray on bended knee.

Then in faith I hear Him whisper,
He calls my very name.
Then I hear Him gently answer,
And know I will never be the same!
He said: “You are the daughter of a King!
What joy this knowledge brings!
From the days before your birth,
Long passed your mission here on earth
you'll be the daughter of a King!"

Hope, my prayer is that you'll hear this testimony from me so many times that you will eventually understand who you are ...part of the Father lives in you! You are the daughter of a king. I pray that someday you will understand exactly what heaven sees in you!

I WILL BE THERE

I Will Be Here(Steven Curtis Chapman)

Tomorrow morning if you wake up and the sun does not appear. I will be here. If in the dark, we lose sight of love Hold my hand, and have no fear' Cause I will be here.

I will be here When you feel like being quiet, When you need to speak your mind, I will listen. And I will be here When the laughter turns to cryin' Through the winning, losing and trying we'll be together. I will be here.

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up And the future is unclear I will be here. Just as sure as seasons were made for change, Our lifetimes were made for these years So I will be here.

I will be here And you can cry on my shoulder. When the mirror tells us we're older I will hold you. And I will be here To watch you grow in beauty, And tell you all the things you are to me I will be here. I will be true to the promise I have made To you and to the One who gave you to me. Tomorrow morning, if you wake up And the sun does not appear, I will be here Oh, I will be here.

A good friend of mine lost her Father yesterday. As I have been pondering words of comfort I can share with her, this song kept coming to my mind. I am constantly reminded by our Father in Heaven how important it is for us to be there for each other, "to comfort one another and bare one another's burdens..." I can't fix all of the hurts in life, but there is something I have or can do to ease the heart ache of someone in my life. I know there is always someone in my own life that I can count on. My sister, my forever friend, my mom ... there are friends from church and from my family, from sorority, from every place in my life, each letting me know that I am never alone. I am so truely blessed to have each and everyone of you in my life! I can't begin to name names, because I am sure I would leave somebody out ... I know that you know who you are! My message here is simple today, thank you for being there for me ...always. For your love and caring and listening ear and encouraging words in my life and thank you for lifting me with your love! My promise to you is that: tomorrow morning when you wake up, if the sun does not appear, I will be here ... I will always be there for you!

Inspiration Is Magic!

I shared some of my poetry recently with a friend and when she returned it to me she asked me how I get inspired to write my poetry.
Inspiration is the greatest gift because it opens your life to many new possibilities. Each day becomes more meaningful and your life is enhanced when your actions are guided by what inspires you. What generates enthusiasm in your life? What inspires you?

When your heart speaks to you about what you need to do to make your life full and happy, listen to it, you can find a way to express your inspiration ... I choose to write ...whatever speaks to you, express it and make a difference! Bring your enthusiasm for life with you everywhere you go, and it will be contagious.

My poetry is inspired by my testimony of the gospel ...most of my poetry is about my relationship with the Savior or other facets of the gospel. I am inspired by scripture stories that touch my soul, people in my life, humor can inspire me, age can, malfunctioning, aging body parts can, and we all know that music inspires me as I have blogged about song lyrics numerous times ...wow! ...just about everything can be inspirational to me if I find the "magic" in the moment. I promise you, there is magic in every moment, there are the people who notice the magic and thoes who pass it by! But I know from personal experience that thoes who notice ...have alot more fun than thoes who don't!

My newest "outlet" for writing what I'm inspired about is this very blog! I love being able to express thoughts and I love it when I can lift someone because of those thoughts!
We all have gifts and talents! Find what inspires you and use that inspiration to express your talents, whatever they are! It's an awesome thing!

Happy Birthday America!

As the birthday of our country approaches, I would be ungrateful if I didn't express a few thoughts about how blessed I am to be an American! Being a proud American does not mean I like war ... or that I agree 100% with the things our government does ...but I recognize that the beauty here is that I have the freedom to disagree and know that it is OK! I realize that being an American is not a birthright ...but a but an honor and a responsibility ... There are so many people who whine in protest at the "condition" of the country ... oh, what a great an awesome blessing that they have that inalienable right to whine in protest! One of the great freedoms this country affords us is that if you don't like it here ... leave! I get choked up at the playing of our national anthem ...I love to see the flag billowing in the wind! I am in total gratitude of the men and women of our armed forces who sacrifice their own lives at times to protect our freedoms! and I know that I don't have to like war to support our armed forces! I appreciate the joy of our freedom and knowing the joys of that freedom makes me want the world to share in that same freedom! I don't have a feeling of entitlement, I know everything I have is because I have a Father In Heaven who has blessed me with these things not because I am entitled but because I am blessed! I am proud to be an American! My prayer is this:

Thank you, Father
for giving me the blessing
of being born in a country where dreams can come true!
Thank you, for my heritage
for those who went before me so
these freedoms are now mine
and thank you for blessing those
who protect thoes freedoms today!
Help me to be an example of what a good American is
that those who might see will know what a beautiful thing it is!
Thank you, Father, for being the true thread that keeps us tied together!
We truely are ... "One Nation Under God"
amd what a blessing that is!