Living a Covenant Life

I love serving in Primary, because I realize that if I can teach a gospel principle so that a child can understand it, then I probably understand it myself.  This past month, we taught the children about making baptismal covenants and how these covenants affect the way a person lives their life after they have entered the cleansing waters of baptism.

A covenant is a two way promise that we make with Heavenly Father.  We promise to do certain things and He promises to bless us with certain things.  To covenant means to "come together" or to be "bound together by promises".  The Lord has always made covenants with his children on earth. These covenants affect how we dress, talk, and act towards one another.

Baptism is the occasion for one of the first covenants we make with God.  Being baptized means we are serious about becoming a disciple of Christ and that we are willing to keep his
commandments.

One of the promises we make when we are baptized is that we are willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.  We become a member of his family, therefore, we take upon us the family name of Christian.  As we take Jesus' name upon ourselves we should want to act like Him and follow His example in our daily life.  We should be willing to "stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places." ( Mosiah 18:9)  Christ has given us guidelines that help us to follow him.  He expects us to love each other, to bear one another's burdens, to mourn with those who mourn, and to comfort those who are in need of comfort. (Mosiah 18:8-10)

Another promise that we make is that we will always remember Him.  Becoming a member of his church is a full time endeavor.  We are not just a Sunday religion, we are to walk the walk every day, mindful of Christ and doing our best to live according to his teachings.

We also promise that we will keep his commandments.  Not perfectly of course, but we will do our best.  We learn more about those commandments and gain a testimony of each one as we progress and grow spiritually.

The Lord promises us that as we do our part, he will bless us that we might always have his spirit to be with us.  What a tremendous blessing that is!

As we are faithful in living our baptismal covenants, then we will desire to make additional covenants in the temple.  Baptism puts us on the path that takes us to the temple, where we will receive even more blessings that will prepare us to return to live as families with our Father in heaven.

I'd like to share some ideas on how we can intentionally live our covenants each day.  The principles of covenant living are the same for all of us- those have been laid out by the Lord.  The practices may look different from person to person.

Living our covenants each day should be our highest priority.  Do we think enough about honoring the promises that we have made, and continue to make each week?  On Sundays, when we partake of the sacrament, we renew our baptismal covenant, recommitting ourselves to follow Jesus by taking his name upon us, always remembering him and keeping his commandments.  We could also start our day this way, reciting those promises in our morning prayers and asking for grace to honor them.  For those of us who have made temple covenants, what if we reminded ourselves as we dressed each morning, what those symbols on our sacred clothing stand for?  Would we have a greater desire to honor our covenants as we step out into our day?  Would we have a greater motivation to  make choices to help us to stay on the straight and narrow and to treat ourselves and others with respect? 

Part of the Lord's plan of happiness involves, "enduring to the end" or "remaining faithful".  As we intentionally honor our covenants, today, and then the next day, and the next, we will remain faithful.  "Enduring to the end" is doable when I look at the "end" as, not the end of my life, but the end of my day.  A string of days turn into a week, weeks turn into months, months into years and years into a lifetime.

C. S. Lewis, said, "Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing yet has been done."  I love this quote.  Each day we need to place our trust in God to give us the grace to faithfully live out his plan.

When we live our covenants daily it might look like this:

* We will show up and show love.  The way we do this will look different  as we move through the seasons of our lives.  The Lord knows each of us individually, our strengths and our weaknesses.  He knows our health issues, our energy levels and most importantly he knows the desires of our hearts.  He doesn't expect us to do more than we are capable of doing, but I think he expects us all to do "something".  He will dictate to us through his spirit how this should be done.  We should never be too busy to live our covenants and loving God and loving people are the fundamental part of those covenants.

* We will focus on ourselves and not judge how others are living their covenants. Dealing with my own issues is a full time job, thank you very much! 

We can't see into each other's hearts. God alone can do that, therefore he is the only one who can judge us correctly.  What we can do is to be encouragers for one another.  Smile, give hugs, send texts and emails, drop a card in the mail.  Pray.  Ministering to one another is covenantal living.

* As disciples of Christ, we will always leave things better than we found them.  At least, we will try.  This applies to our physical surroundings (Go ahead and pick up that trash), it applies to our encounters with others (Can people say they feel better after having been in our presence?), and it applies to our relationships (Are we the first to say "I'm sorry" and quick to forgive?  ).   Living our covenants can have a very practical side.

*When we are living our covenants we will be found praying and spending time in our scriptures each day. 

"After ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay..." "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father; Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20)

Sister Reeves in April 2014 conference said this, "A friend recently cautioned, When you ask the sisters to read the scriptures and pray more, it stresses them out.  They already feel like they have too much to do."  She said, "Brothers and sisters, because I know from my own experiences, I must testify of the blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.  These are the very practices that help take away stress, give direction to our lives, and add protection to our homes."   I would add my own testimony to Sister Reeves',  reading the scriptures and praying daily help take away the stress of daily living and bless our lives.

* God's covenant people approach life in a humble manner, always ready to learn and seek truth wherever they can find it.  They will study conference talks, they will attend their meetings ready to learn and will recognize that everyone they meet can teach them something about how to be more like Christ.

* Remembering is a powerful component of covenant keeping.  President Eyring shared in a wonderful conference message how he had a practice for many years of taking the time to write in his journal each night how he had seen the Lord's hand in his life that day.  As we journal, or even spend a little time talking with our family at day's end about the blessings we've enjoyed that day, we are living our covenants, because we have promised to always remember Him.

*The more we engage in intentionally living our covenants each day, the more we will realize that our lives are not our own.  As a disciple of Christ, our lives belong to Him.  He will make more of us that we could ever make of ourselves. He will also give us opportunities that we would never have without him.  What if we changed our attitude  about many of the things we do each day to, instead of saying, "I have to...",  to " I get to..."  For instance, I caught myself this week telling someone "I had to give a talk this Sunday."  I didn't really have to do this.  But, if I'm trying to live my covenants joyfully, then I will be grateful for the opportunity to serve.  So, for the past few days I've thought to myself, " I get to give a talk on Sunday."  "I get to serve in Primary."  "I get to go visiting teaching."   Covenant living offers many opportunities to follow Christ's example and serve one another.

* As we strive to live our covenants each day, we will at times fall short.  We are sinners.  Maybe one of the most important things we do as covenant people is rely on the Atonement of Christ to help us, not only to repent when needed, but to give us strength to get up each day and try to be more faithful and obedient.  We are never alone in our quest to become like our Savior.  Living and honoring our covenants doesn't have to be difficult.  It begins with the desires of our hearts.  If we have the desire and courage to act on what we believe, we will have God's grace to help us.

As God's covenant people are we happy?  Are we experiencing joy in our families, in our marriages?  In 2 Nephi, we read of a people who lived after the manner of happiness.  They obeyed God's commandments.  They built a temple.  They worked and lived and worshipped with one another.  They honored their covenants, and they were a righteous and happy people.  We can follow their example as we choose to live our covenants each day.  When we love the Savior, we will joyfully honor the covenants we have made with Him and we will be blessed. 

Living a covenant life fills me with hope.  I cling to my covenants, knowing that God will honor my attempts to follow Him, however feeble they may be at times.  I'm committed to this lifestyle of following in the footsteps of Jesus, learning from him each day, how to love and serve others more graciously.  Life can dish out some pretty tough experiences, but I know that only He can give me that peace that passeth all understanding.  I'm especially grateful to be walking this path of covenant living, side by side with so many good people who also love the Lord.  I learn from you each day.

* From a Sacrament Talk given on June 14, 2015.  I openly admit that most of these ideas are not my own.  If fact, I'm unsure if I ever have an original thought! I gather ideas for how to live a covenant life from many places.  A few sources that have influenced these words are:  This book by Shauna Niequist, this book by Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt and this podcast by Michael Hyatt.

Lemon Pie Ice Cream

Summer's here, which means it's time for ice cream!  Right?  This has become one of my favorite desserts and I've made it, oh, maybe four times already this year, and it's only the beginning of June.   For family dinners, church activities, birthday gifts and just to have around the house, this has been my go-to dessert.  Yep, I'm a big, big fan of this ice cream!  

I love "everything" lemon and lemon pie is high up on that list.  This ice cream is sweet and tart with crunchy bits of graham cracker, and really does taste like a frozen pie.  It's also easy peasy to put together and can of course be made days before you want to serve it, which makes it almost the perfect dessert in my book.  The last time I made this I substituted key lime zest and juice for the lemon.  It did take a little longer to put together, those key limes are so itty bitty, you know, and it took quite a few to yield half a cup of juice.  But it was mighty tasty.  So, go for lemon pie or key lime pie and enjoy!

Remember to zest your lemons first.  It's difficult to zest an already squeezed lemon.  I know this from experience.  The recipe calls for 4 lemons.  I usually buy a bag of lemons so I have enough to make a double recipe. My ice cream maker (which I love) came with two bowls.  When I have room in my freezer, I store them there, so they are ready to go when the ice cream cravings hit.   Also, this microplane zester is one of the most used kitchen tools that I own.

 Pour the half and half into a medium sized bowl.

Juice the lemons.  You'll need half a cup.  If the zest and juice from the lemons don't work out to the exact measurements needed for the recipe, you can freeze any extras for later use.  I freeze extra juice in ice cube trays and they thaw quickly when I need a little for a recipe.  Fresh lemon juice is so much better than anything you buy processed in a jar, so don't throw any away!

Pour the juice and zest into the bowl, along with the can of sweetened condensed milk.  Mix well and then pour into the ice cream maker.  My machine takes about twenty minutes to freeze to a soft serve consistency.

After you start the machine, take your graham crackers and crush them into pieces.  I just do this with my hands in a ziplock bag.  You don't want crumbs, so don't overdo this.

Near the end of the churning time, add the crackers. 

Scoop into a freezer container and freeze for a few hours before serving.  This is an important, although sometimes difficult step.  Who wants to wait?    

Hooray for summer foods!

Lemon Pie Ice Cream

3-4 lemons

2 cups half and half

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup coarsely crushed graham crackers

Grate zest from lemons to equal about 1 T.  Cut

lemons in half; squeeze juice from lemons into a

measuring cup to equal 1/2 cup.  Whisk together

half and half, condensed milk and lemon juice. 

Pour mixture into freezer container of an electric 

ice cream maker.  Freeze.  Add cracker crumbs when

ice cream is almost frozen.  Transfer to airtight container.

Freeze at least two hours before serving.

* Recipe source here.

Virginia Creeper Trail

It's the first week in June, and I've already accomplished one of the things on my Summer Bucket list!  I've been scheming about this little road trip for a year now, and decided this would be a fun birthday adventure to share with my friend Tara.  Each year, we try to plan some kind of "adventure" in which to celebrate our birthdays.  One year we made scarecrows for our gardens, sometimes we hike, go shopping or out to lunch.  Once we went to the Arboretum to look at all the plants.  The objective is to make a memory, because memories last longer than things.

On Friday afternoon, we drove to Abingdon, Virginia, a pleasant  two and a half hour trek.  I've always loved my neighboring state.  It's so beautiful!  We checked into our hotel and headed out to explore historic Abingdon.  Charming, all the fountains and sculptures.  I am smitten with this little town.  

We had dinner at the Peppermill, located in a beautiful historic home.  We chose to sit outside at a table on the wrap around porch.  The weather was perfect, and being in no hurry, we dined for hours.  I can't remember when I've had such an enjoyable meal.  After dinner we walked up and down Main Street.  

This is the Martha Washington, originally a girls college and now an inn.  After swinging under a huge oak tree for a few minutes on the grounds, we decided to walk right in like we were guests and check the place out. Wow.  We've already decided the next time we come to Abingdon, we are going to treat ourselves to a night here. 

This is the lobby.  Isn't it beautiful?  We snooped around in the parlor and the library, equally lovely rooms.  They also have a spa with an indoor pool.  Yeah, we definitely have to come back here.

The Barter is the Virginia State Theatre, and is located across the street from the inn.  We weren't able to make it to a show this trip, but next time, hopefully, that will be on the itinerary.

Early Saturday morning, we drove to Damascus to catch a shuttle that would take us to the trail.  We used Sundog Outfitters and were pleased with their service.  It took about thirty minutes on a twisty road (thank goodness we were in the front seat of that big van) to get to Whitetop Station, where we would get on the trail.  We were only a mile from the NC border at this point.  

So here's the history of this awesome trail.  It began as a Native American footpath.  Later, the European pioneers, as well as an early explorer, Daniel Boone, used the trail.  Shortly before 1900, the Virginia- Carolina Railroad was constructed from Abingdon to Damascus.  In 1905, the line was extended to Konnarock, NC.  In it's day, the line hauled lumber, iron ore, supplies and passengers.  It's nickname, Virginia Creeper, came from the early steam locomotives that struggled slowly up the railroad's steep grades.  Virginia Creeper is also the name of a vine that grows prolifically in this area.  The line had over 100 trestles and bridges.

The last train ran on March 31, 1977, having failed to turn a profit since the Great Depression.  Now...it is a quiet trail.  Well, except when children come flying by you on their bikes squealing with delight.  They were obviously having a wonderful time even though they didn't get to see views like this.  As much as I miss having little ones around, it's nice to be able to stop at every overlook and read all the informational signs, old people style.

My favorite color is green.  Ahhh...

Propping our bikes on the side of the trail, we wandered down a foot path to see this beautiful sight.  It smelled like Christmas, as we were standing on the edge of a tree farm.

The sixteen miles from Whitetop Station to Damascus is an easy ride, flat or downhill all the way.  My kind of bike trail.  We crossed lots of bridges and stopped at Green Cove to check out the restored Green Cove station.

This is how it looked back in the day.  

These original products were on the shelf when the train station closed.

For miles, the trail runs right beside the Laurel Creek.  

The AT criss crosses over the Creeper trail.  I had to stop and take this photo because I hope to be here on foot in the future.  If all goes as planned, I will start backpacking on the AT this summer, although I won't make it this far.

Much of the trail is wooded, but at times we would ride through fields.  Some of the trail is on private property and we talked about what it would be like to live here.  It's remote, but we think we could do it.  You'd have to make every trip into town count.

Red barns.  I love them.

Taking our time, stopping often for pictures and for lunch at the only restaurant on the trail, we were back in Damascus in four hours.  If my back side hadn't been hurting at this point (must get a fatter seat), I would have been tempted to have kept on riding to Abingdon.  The lower trail is supposed to be just as beautiful as the upper one.

We did it!  What a fantastic adventure.  The most difficult part of the trip was loading our bikes on my car.  And that wasn't so awfully bad.  You can rent bikes in Damascus, but we are partial to our own.  We were home on Saturday by dinner time, tired and happy. 

Thoughts from a Nonrunner on Running a 5K

"...let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

Hebrews 12:1

I'm not an athlete.  Never have been.  In fact, I still have bad memories of high school gym class when we had to do the Presidential physical fitness test.  Oh man, I hated that.  Especially the pull-ups.  Is it strange that I can still remember being the only one in my class that couldn't pull herself up to the bar?  That was thirty-five years ago for pete's sake and it's still etched in my memory.  Traumatized by gym class...

A year ago I started having an unusual desire to run a 5K.  Unusual because, well, I don't run.   But I thought it would be a great achievement if I could, just once.  So I added it to my bucket list and started training.  I put a Couch to 5K app on my phone and followed it faithfully for a few weeks.  I remember how I could hardly run for three minutes when I started.  I know.  That's sad.  Three days a week I was at the mercy of that lady on my phone telling me to walk, then run, then walk.  I was starting to feel pretty good, until about the sixth week, when she told me I had to run for twenty minutes with no walking.  What?  Ok, she was no longer my friend and I deleted her from my phone!  

I knew that if the training was too hard, that I would give up.  I was willing to push myself, but I wasn't willing to kill myself!  I decided that I would take as long as needed to get ready for my first race.  Slow and steady was my motto, although I had no idea that would take almost a year.  I ran at a park with a half mile loop and each week added a little more distance.  1 lap and a lamppost.  1 lap, a lamppost and to the gazebo. 2 laps.  And so it went...

When it became unbearably cold, I resorted to running on my treadmill.  Some days it took everything I had to make myself step onto that machine. I don't enjoy running on a treadmill.  Is there anything more boring than running on a treadmill?

In February, I took a leap of faith and signed up for my first race.     I posted this on my Facebook page...

"Well, I'm committed now. Who wants to join me?"

Woodfin's Read wRite & Run 5k

Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015 Venue: Woodfin's Read wRite & Run 5k Location: Asheville, NC

ACTIVE.COM

I had two friends who said they would run with me.  That made me feel a little better, because this was pushing me way out of my comfort zone.  We never trained together, but I knew it would be encouraging to have someone with me on race day.

About halfway to my goal, I became sick and had to take a few weeks off.  It was surprising to me how quickly I lost momentum and stamina from missing a few workouts.  The setback was discouraging.  I struggled with intermittent pain in my knees, ankles and heel.  I think my body was trying to tell me I should have started this running thing about twenty years earlier.  I began to worry that I wasn't going to be able to run my first race as planned.  Looking back, I realize I was in what I call the messy middle, that place when you've been working really hard on achieving a goal and you're tired.  I just wanted to give up and started thinking of all kinds of valid reasons to do so.  I was injured.  I was too old to start running.  I had other things I could be doing with my time.  It was a silly goal anyway.  Who did I think I was?  Certainly not a runner. 

 I had to dig deep to stick with it.  I listened to running podcasts.  Bought pretty new workout clothes.  I changed up my running routes. As I think back on it, I think it would have helped to have had a running buddy, someone to help me through that time.

About a month from race date, my friend asked if I had good running socks.   She thought this might help my heel problems.  Running socks?  I had no idea I was supposed to be wearing special socks.   I went into the first sporting goods store that I'd been in since my kids played soccer (a long time ago) and discovered a display of all kinds of socks.  Oh, my gosh.  I can't believe I had been running all this time without them.  I still had to cut back on my workouts so as not to do more harm to my feet, but I kept at it a couple of times a week and tried to add a little more running time each day.  The first time I ran three miles without stopping I was so excited I did a happy dance.  I didn't even care who was watching.  This old girl had met her goal!

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful race day.  I was happy to see these friendly faces as I was more than a little nervous. Melanie had been sick for a week and I know she didn't feel like running, but she showed up and she ran.  That meant a lot to me.  This was a big day and I was happy to have these ladies share in making this memory with me.  

I didn't know ahead of time what the route would be like, and it's probably a good thing I didn't, because I would have backed out for sure.  So many awful hills.  I hate hills. I hated those hills.  I wanted to say bad words every time I came to one!  Emily and Melanie both said this was a hard 5K, and they should know as they've run a few.  I can't tell you how relieved I was when I crossed the finish line.  My sweet husband was there taking pictures and cheering me on, as well as Emily and Melanie, because of course, they finished before me.

Here's the picture that says it all.  See how Emily and Melanie have nice smiles on their faces.  That's because they are real runners.  Did I mention that they've both completed half marathons?  Real runners like to run.  Notice the grimace on my face.  That's a "thank you God for letting me finish this race" look.  That's a "I don't really like to run" look, BUT, I DID IT!  

This is the "I can mark this one off the bucket list" smile. 

As I think back on this past year, I realize I learned some important lessons.

* I can do hard things.  Now, in all fairness to myself, I'm not really a couch sitting, sedentary person.  I'm an active person.  But running a 5K challenged me physically in new ways.  It was hard, really hard, but I stuck with it and proved to myself that I can do hard things. I am not a quitter. 

* The discipline required to achieve this goal spilled over into other areas of my life.   Whenever I finished running I felt strong and empowered, ready to take on anything.

*Half the battle is just showing up, dressed and ready to go.   Sometimes the greatest victory was just getting out the door in the morning.  

*Slow and steady really does win the race.  It took me three times as long as most people to train for a 5K.  We all have to work at our own pace and that's ok.  Comparison.  It's real and it's damaging.  Melanie and Emily both told me to run the race looking straight ahead.  They said, "Don't look at the pregnant women, or men pushing strollers, or people older than you that pass you by.  Just focus on yourself."  Good advice.

*Celebrate every victory.  I never focused on time when I ran. What I did focus on, was how much longer I could run today, than I could yesterday, or a month ago, or a year ago.  That always made me feel better about myself.  Progress, however small, brings me joy.

*Pushing myself out of my comfort zone is scary, but that's how I grow.   I'm a bit of a perfectionist and am nervous about trying new things, because rarely am I good at something new.  It takes work and practice and the risk of failure.  I don't want to fail, so staying in my comfort zone is safe.  This is why I have to push myself into unknown territory, but I'm always glad when I do.

* It's important to have people who believe in you and are willing to support you in your goals, no matter how crazy they may seem.  Doing something hard is always easier when people you love are encouraging you along.  My husband was my biggest fan.  He wasn't just proud of me on race day, but every time I worked out, he praised my efforts.  My running friends kept telling me I could do it and I believed them.

* Even though I can run (slowly), I'm not a runner in the true sense of the word.  I kept waiting for that runner's high that you hear about to materialize and it just didn't.  Most of the time I did feel good after I ran, but I didn't enjoy the process.  I realized on race day, that the most fun I had that morning, was after I had said goodbye to my friends, downed my second bottle of water and had returned to the finish line.  Clapping and cheering for those who were just completing their race, I was in my element.  That made me so happy!  I think rather than being a runner, I'm supposed to be a clapper.  I am an awesome clapper.

Will I ever run another 5K?  I'm not sure.  It could be like having a baby... maybe in time you forget how hard it is and have the desire to do it all over again.  But right now, this baby is only a month old and the memory is fresh.  I've been walking a lot, taking yoga classes and focusing on restorative exercise.  I feel content.

Holy Ground

First Monday counting....
                                   when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal.

" I'm of the opinion that we're always on holy ground and

some days it's just more apparent. "

Jason Gray

201- a lovely home for Travis and Becca

202- purple wildflowers

203- spring trees

204- little girls on scooters

205- listening to the rain as I drift off to sleep

206- a day when Mark went to work late and came home early!

207- using the last winter squash to make soup

208- the luxury of a nice hot bath

209- another year of life

210- sushi with Kenzie

211- today's to do list that reads- have fun and celebrate!

212- visits from friends

213- a gift basket delivered by angels

214- sunrise over the ocean

215- new yarn

216- cards, texts and Facebook messages filled with best wishes

217- dahlia class

218- cutting asparagus in the cool of the morning

219- day at Biltmore House with LaWren

220- Ben's baptism

221- having Travis ask, "When are you coming to see us?"

222- new books

223- fresh banana bread and homemade caramel sauce

224- race day recovery bag

225- chocolate layer birthday cake

226- new music for the car

227- spring!

228- rain on new seeds

229- celebrating 54 with family

230- dogwood blossoms

231- toes coming out of hibernation

232- watching "Call the Midwife" while catching up on the ironing

233- the morning sky

234- stacks of clean towels

235- new work out clothes

236- streak free windows

237- morning thunder

238- lilacs in grandma's pitcher

239- seed potatoes in the ground

240- massage with warm oil

241- singing Happy Birthday to Kenzie

242- clinking sounds of coins dropped into a piggy bank

243- mother daughter time

244- oohing and aahing over beautiful yarn

245- new camera lens

246- silly pics

247- the smell of bacon cooking

248- waterfalls

249- trillium

250- singing brothers

251- breakfast in bed

252- celebrating thirty four years of marriage

253- thirty four long stemmed red roses

254- stretching out on my comfy bed

255- turning off the tv - just to talk

256- bananas

257- ziplock bags

258- bucket list achievement

259- watching Travis cook breakfast

260- sorting and shelving favorite books with Travis and Becca