December 3, 2014

This week Richard and I attended a session at the Temple.  I was able to perform work for Karin Arvidsson, an ancester who lived in Sweden in the 1600's.  Such joy to be able to do this work for others and we are working hard to track our family lines so we may continue to seal our family together.  This is the work of Eternity that really matters not the everyday stuff that drags us down. 

My records are in such disarray, I hope to find a way to organize them.  Recently I've discovered several sites that have tons of information for keeping genealogical records.  I've pinned them to pinterest and will add a few here as a reference.

Christmas is in a few weeks.  The tree is up and lot's of decorations but there is so much to do to bring the holiday atmosphere into our home.  My regret is that our family is so spread out and that even those that live close to us we do not see often enough.

Ashley left to return to college.  Zac had a mental breakdown and is in a hospital in Tenn. after travelling across country and 1/2 way back only to be stranded in Ohio after trying to take his own life.  My heart has been broken once again because of the suffering of someone I love so much.  I pray he will heal and that he will survive with the Lord's help.  

Wow, it's been a year since I have written in this journal!! I wonder why.  Where have I been and what have I been doing.

Life is a tangible, living entity that evolves through time creating itself into a creature we hardly know :) and like a runaway train it speeds like lightening into the future while you stand amid the dust trying to see where it went.

Well, today I decided to begin again and get on the next train.  As I travel forward, my reflections will also be glancing to the recent past before the memories are completely faded from view.

Today I was thinking about people, realizing there are so many good people in my life whose relationships I treasure.  Feeling blessed though we are so desperately broke all the time, what I have in my life are people and that is of greater worth.

As I pondered the good and the evil in our world of 2014, I realized what is published and talked about most are the evil deeds and negative events in society.  Yet, I have come to know the other side of life as a Mormon.

"I have always loved being a member of my church.  I am a Mormon.  The people I have met through church have been some of the dearest sweetest people I've known in my life.  What impresses me the most is their desire to serve each other and their love and devotion to Jesus Christ.  There are many who strive everyday to follow the commandments of God, to give of themselves, to bear one another's burdens, to uplift and love those in need.  I know this is true of other church communities besides my own and am grateful to live in country where the followers of Jesus Christ are re-markedly following Him.  In the end what will matter the most is not what riches we have obtained for ourselves in this life, but what we have given of ourselves to the other people in it.  That is "The Road Less Traveled" that will make all the difference!!"

jeri